Latest news with #InghamCounty
CBS News
04-07-2025
- Health
- CBS News
Deadly opioid carfentanil reemerges in Michigan, linked to 11 deaths in 2025
Michigan health officials say the state is seeing a reemergence of the potentially deadly opioid carfentanil. Carfentanil is a synthetic opioid, typically used by veterinarians to tranquilize large animals, like elephants, and is not approved for use in humans. State health officials say that so far this year, 11 deaths involving carfentanil have been identified. None of those individuals tested positive for carfentanil alone. Ten of those who died also tested for cocaine, and fentanyl was found in eight of those deaths. The deaths occurred in Ingham, Livingston, Eaton, Genesee, Oakland and Wayne counties. The synthetic drug is a small, white, powdery substance that looks like cocaine or heroin, but officials with the Drug Enforcement Administration say that using even a small amount could kill. "Imagine like a speck of baby powder; that's how much could be a lethal dosage of carfentanil," said Brian McNeal, public information officer with the DEA's Detroit division. "It is a Schedule II drug, meaning it does have medical use, but it is not approved for human use, and it has found its way into the illicit drug supply." Carfentanil is 100 times more potent than fentanyl and about 10,000 times more potent than morphine, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. "Carfentanil is an extremely potent and deadly drug," said Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, Chief Medical Executive for the State of Michigan. "We're urging people who use unregulated drugs – and their loved ones – to carry naloxone, an easy to administer nasal spray that can reverse opioid overdoses and save lives. Awareness and quick action can help save lives." The DEA says some users mix carfentanil with other drugs like OxyContin or Xanax. "Whether it's heroin, marijuana, or cocaine, it follows the same routes up from our southwest border into distribution hub, like any other business, and then into smaller communities and neighborhood, but the precursor chemicals mainly come from Asia, from China, India into Mexico, where drug cartels are putting these chemicals into the illicit drug supply," McNeal said. Carfentanil was previously seen in the state in 2016 and 2017, with the drug contributing to 107 deaths in 2016 and 111 deaths in 2017. Deaths associated with the drug fell in recent years, dropping to a handful a year in 2018, 2019 and 2020, and then to zero in 2021 and 2022. Health officials say the drug can rapidly cause central nervous system depression, which can lead to quick death, and that because an increasing number of overdose deaths associated with carfentanil also include cocaine, methamphetamine and other stimulants, users may not know those drugs contain carfentanil. Treating a carfentanil overdose can also be extremely difficult, and officials say reversing an overdose may require several doses of naloxone.
Yahoo
27-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lansing City Council At-Large Candidate: Tirstan Walters
Here are the responses from Lansing At-Large Candidate 2025 Tirstan Walters to the 6 News Pre-Primary Candidate Questionnaire. Website- Facebook- Instagram- Threads- BlueSky- I am proud to serve as an At-Large member of the Lansing Park Board, Vice-Chair and First Ward Representative of the Lansing Neighborhood Advisory Board, and as Vice-Chair of the Ingham County Equal Opportunity Committee. I have had the honor of bridging the gap between these departments and the residents that they serve and I am running for Lansing City Council At-Large to expand my advocacy to citywide issues that matter most to our residents. I graduated from Michigan State University with a bachelor's degree in Environmental Geography and Economic Geography and I currently work for the State of Michigan as a grant coordinator focusing on gun violence intervention and community policing grants. I previously served as the Ingham County Democratic Party Elections Committee Chairperson in 2024 and have been an Ingham County Democratic Precinct Delegate since 2022. I am focused on improving our city infrastructure to better fund our roads and sidewalks, ensuring that we have safe and supported neighborhoods, bolstering our parks system to encourage and increase recreation and green space for our residents, supporting our small businesses, increasing opportunities for our youth through increased collaboration between the City of Lansing and the Lansing School District, and increasing housing developments to ensure adequate and affordable options for all residents. My accomplishments include assisting our neighborhoods and civic organizations through the neighborhood grant programs and with accessing neighborhood resources, creating Capital Improvement Project (CIP) recommendations and overseeing the creation and funding of the Park Board Grant Match Program, and working to broaden the contractor pool of Ingham County to make it more representative of the population. The role of City Council is to act as the legislative branch of the City of Lansing. The duties of the council are to approve the yearly budget, to pass city ordinances, to advocate for constituent issues, to attend council, committee, and external board meetings, oversee the approval of board and commission appointments, and to work with the administration on policy and budget amendments throughout the year. The role of a City Council member also includes serving in an advocacy role for residents to our county, state, and federal representatives regarding local priorities. As a City Council member I will support additional housing projects, funding additional code enforcement officers to ensure our current housing stock is kept up to date and our red and pink tagged properties are brought up to code, supporting our new form-based housing code to increase housing densification, and working with the Economic Development and Planning Department to make our permitting and inspection processes more efficient for new and existing housing projects. As a City Council member, any disagreements would be addressed on a case-by-case basis. I would work toward expressing my perspective in various ways depending on the circumstance, whether that be discussing those differences during council meetings, constituent meetings, on social media, or in private conversations. I have been able to work effectively with both the current administration and with many current council members on issues involving parks and neighborhoods and I feel that these relationships will allow for meaningful and respectful conversations on issues that there may be disagreement. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBS News
16-06-2025
- CBS News
Pedestrian struck and killed while walking into traffic in Ingham County, deputies report
Suspected shooter captured in Minnesota; death investigation in Bedford Township; and more top stori Suspected shooter captured in Minnesota; death investigation in Bedford Township; and more top stori A pedestrian was struck and killed Sunday while walking on Interstate 96 in Ingham County, Michigan, deputies reported. The collision happened about 11:38 a.m. Sunday on I-96 westbound at the M-52 overpass, the Ingham County Sheriff's Office said. First responders arrived on scene to find a man dead on the freeway pavement. The driver of the semi truck that struck him was not injured. Officers learned the man had walked into a lane of traffic while the tractor trailer was westbound. The Ingham Regional Crash Investigation Team and the Medical Examiner's Office are assisting with the investigation and identification. This investigation is ongoing. Deputies ask that anyone who has information about the circumstances of the crash contact ICSO Deputy Ben Manns at 517-676-8444, ext. 1952.
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ingham County Democrat, gun violence victim remembered at capitol memorial
LANSING — Hundreds gathered on the capitol lawn on Saturday, June 14, and heard about the impact Ted Lawson had on the Lansing area. Lawson, 63, was well-known in political circles and had worked on many election campaigns for Democrats before he was shot and killed in on Oct. 8, 2023, while campaigning for a Lansing City Council candidate. Lawson's family and friends held a memorial on the capitol steps, which kicked off what was expected to be a day with more speeches and plenty of protest signs. Following the Lawson memorial, a No Kings rally, one of more than a thousand planned across the country, began to protest President Donald Trump's policies and the recent military response to ICE protests in Los Angeles, California. More: Tireless advocate for voting rights killed while out canvassing for Lansing candidate State Sen. Sarah Anthony, D-Lansing, told the crowd that she woke up Saturday morning thinking about her friend Ted Lawson, once a member of Ingham County's Board of Canvassers and secretary for the Ingham County Democratic Party, "If you knew Ted, if you happened to share space with this amazing activist and volunteer and mentor, you know that Ted would have been here with us today," she said. "He would have been organizing. He would have been passing out water, making sure that chairs were here. "He would have made sure that he greeted you with a smile and a directive and the next step after the gathering here today." Other speakers included Brian Jackson, chair of the Ingham County Democratic Party, Barb Byrum, the Ingham County clerk who is running for Michigan Secretary of State, and representatives from voting rights and gun violence awareness organizations. Katie See, of the Michigan chapter of Michigan chapter of Moms Demand Action, pointed out to the crowd that June is gun violence awareness month. "Please do whatever you can in the wake of this gathering," she said. "Find a way to join in our efforts to advocate, to educate, to support survivors, to press for reform of the gun industry and to create the peaceful democracy that Ted Lawson embodied." Lawson was a Cub Scout in elementary school and worked for a state congressional candidate while in high school, his family has said. Lawson served in the Marine Corps and worked for the Meijer store chain for decades, becoming active in his union and Democratic Party politics. Police and prosecutors have said his shooting death was a robbery gone wrong and wasn't connected to Lawson's political activities or beliefs. Days after his death, Lamar Kemp, who was 15 at the time, was arraigned on murder and weapons charges. He later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and in 2024 was sentenced to 35 to 70 years in prison. Ingham County Prosecutor John Dewane decided to charge Kemp as an adult, citing the nature of the offense and Kemp's prior record in the juvenile system. Contact reporter Matt Mencarini at mjmencarini@ This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Ted Lawson, Ingham County Democratic activist, honored with captiol memorial
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
MSU hosts cybersecurity conference
LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — Be careful who you talk to online. That's one of the key takeaways from a cybersecurity conference held at Michigan State University Friday. 'Cybercrime is a huge problem that affects virtually everyone in society, whether you know it or not, there is data breaches that you might not even be aware of where your data is compromised, but there's computer hacks that compromise your computer,' Tom Holt, a professor in Criminal Justice at MSU. 'There's cyber stalking, there's harassment, there's all kinds of sexual offenses and interpersonal crimes. Really, anything that happens in physical space.' The goal of the event was to inform and educate business owners, city officials, and law enforcement about the potential dangers they could face online. The event comes after the Ingham County Sheriff's office recently reported an uptick in cyber crimes. 'To talk about different kinds of cybercrime, different strategies for cybersecurity, and to share some of the more cutting-edge research that's happening so people can take things back to their agencies or their organizations and do different work,' said Holt. Holt says criminals online will target anyone. 'As an example, you might see seniors being more susceptible to certain kinds of fraud because they may have a lack of understanding or knowledge, they may be a little more lonely or a little more willing to answer friend requests, but that's true,' said Holt. 'People on dating apps and any other place where you're interacting with people who you don't know.' Participants at today's conference told 6 News they wanted to learn how to protect themselves and the community. 'Cybercrime, the biggest concern is scale, right? Everybody can be accessed through their phone, through their computer, and so whether or not you're careful with your information can be really important, because even if they access your devices, if you have proper encryption or proper safety precautions, then it's a lot harder for them to get at your actual information,' said Dr. Fisher, an associate researcher with a focus on cybersecurity at MSU. To fight back against cybercrime, Dr. Fischer has some tips. 'People know to use strong passwords, they know not to click on links that come from people they don't know. But the important thing is, is not to give over any information, and even if you do find yourself in a conversation with someone that you think is a scam,' says Dr. Fischer. 'Hammer not giving up that personal information or giving any personal details, and it can really help kind of cut them off'. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
