East Lansing ― Michigan State University President Kevin Guskiewicz said Friday that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, an MSU alumna, will be speaking at the university’s spring 2026 graduation ceremony.

Whitmer will be speaking at MSU’s spring undergraduate convocation, which is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. on Friday, May 1, at the Breslin Center.

Whitmer is a two-time MSU graduate, earning both her bachelor’s and law degrees from MSU.

Whitmer has been the governor since 2019.

Christopher Fernandez was announced as the speaker for the university’s master’s and educational specialist ceremony, scheduled for 9 a.m. on May 1 at Breslin Center.

Fernandez is a member of MSU’s School of Human Resources & Labor Relations Advisory Board, which he served as president of from 2014-16. He also runs a company called Agentic Connect, which is focused on individuals in the labor market realizing a direct benefit from a human-centered artificial intelligence approach.

Ann Austin, university distinguished professor for the Department of Educational Administration in the College of Education, will be speaking at the doctoral ceremony for the university, scheduled for 2:30 p.m. May 1 at the Breslin Center.

Austin has served on the faculty in higher, adult and lifelong education in the College of Education since 1991, including serving as interim vice provost and associate vice president for faculty and academic staff affairs from 2022-23 and assistant provost for faculty and academic staff development from 2016-21.

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The Detroit News contributed.

If there was any doubt that Elliot Cadeau wasn’t going to return to Michigan for another season, it was officially put to rest.

Shortly after ESPN reported Thursday that Cadeau has agreed to a new deal for the 2026-27 season, the point guard shared the news on Instagram with a short message: “(Let’s) do it again.”

Several Michigan basketball assistant coaches also reacted on social media, including Akeem Miskdeen, who wrote: “PG1 back! Lets gooooooo.”

The news comes just days after Cadeau helped lead Michigan to its first national championship since 1989 and was named Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four.

A counterfeit money investigation that started near Traverse City, Michigan, is believed to have connections to similar activity in 14 other states, Michigan State Police said.  

The five-month investigation into the use and manufacturing of counterfeit currency has resulted in one arrest so far, with a 56-year-old Grand Rapids man now in custody in the Benzie County Jail.  

An MSP trooper was sent to a Dollar General store on Reynolds Road in Benzie County during October 2025 to investigate counterfeit $10 bills that had been passed, police said. During that investigation, the trooper learned of two other incidents under nearly identical circumstances in Grand Traverse County. 

During the next five months, troopers worked with several local, state, federal, and out-of-state law enforcement agencies on the case. The investigation included serving multiple search warrants, and a suspect was identified.  

The Benzie County Prosecutor’s Office then authorized a warrant for five felony counts of uttering and publishing counterfeit bills or notes. 

Troopers said the MSP Sixth District Fugitive Team found the Grand Rapids man on March 27 at a hotel near the Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids. He was accompanied by two individuals from Malaysia who had recently traveled to the U.S. 

In the meantime, troopers served a search warrant at the hotel room where they found additional counterfeit currency, a fraudulent check, multiple electronic devices and a printer “along with materials consistent with the production of counterfeit bills,” police said. 

The Grand Rapids man was initially lodged at the Kent County Jail and then transported to the Benzie County Jail. He is “alleged to have been involved in interstate criminal activity, including the local manufacture of approximately $30,000 in counterfeit currency,” troopers said, adding that the Michigan man is also believed to have committed similar offenses in 14 additional states.  

He was arraigned on Monday in Benzie County District Court on the five counterfeiting charges, authorities said. Bond was set at $25,000, and his next court date is April 20. 

Law enforcement agencies in Iowa and North Dakota have also issued felony warrants for the man, police said, “with further charges anticipated.”