LANSING, Mich. — The Lansing City Council held a public hearing Monday night on a proposed brownfield plan to bring new housing to Old Town on Turner Street. The project also involves the sale of parking lot 57 to accommodate the development.

One nearby resident told councilmembers the investment is long overdue. “I bought the house there about four years ago and ever since it’s been a blighted property,” the resident said, describing the area as overrun with “unexpected residents from humans to raccoons to termites.”

Meanwhile, the Lansing Charter Commission is inviting the public to informational sessions this week about potential revisions to the city charter. Proposed changes include expanding the size of City Council and measures aimed at boosting transparency. Meetings are scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Alfreda Schmidt Community Center and 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Letts Community Center.

In court, murder suspect Dennis Whaley took the stand in his own defense Monday, claiming the April 2024 shootings of his girlfriend, Christine Cambric, and her cousin, Jason McKenzie, were accidental. Prosecutors argue Whaley followed through on threats he had made in messages days before the killings.

In a separate case, 30-year-old Montez Hopkins was arraigned Monday on multiple felony charges tied to the July 2025 shooting death of 36-year-old DeAndre Campbell near Capital Region International Airport.

Lansing police also continue to investigate two weekend shootings. A 22-year-old man suffered a gunshot wound to the ear Saturday night on Elizabeth Street but is expected to recover. Another man was hospitalized in stable condition Sunday after being shot on South Pennsylvania Avenue. No arrests have been made in either case.

Outside Lansing, Howell Township officials are set for a heated Planning Commission meeting tonight over what could become Michigan’s largest data center. The nearly 1,000-acre project, planned for farmland owned by Van Gilder Farms, is backed by the family as an economic driver but has drawn opposition over environmental concerns and transparency issues.

Elsewhere in Michigan, severe weather brought reports of a possible tornado over Torch Lake in Antrim County Monday night. The National Weather Service has not yet confirmed the touchdown.