Michigan

How Michigan State football will deal with Indiana without LB Jordan Turner for a half

Published

2 years ago

October 31, 2024

How Michigan State football will deal with Indiana without LB Jordan Turner for a half

EAST LANSING — The loss to Michigan cost Michigan State football one of its best defensive players for 45 minutes of football

It’s an inopportune loss at an unfortunate moment — with No. 13 Indiana’s high-powered offense up next.

Linebacker Jordan Turner will miss the first half of Saturday’s game against the Hoosiers (3:30 p.m., Peacock), leaving the Spartans without their leading tackler in the heart of their vastly improved and swarming defense.

“Very unfortunate. A little bit of a crazy call, in my opinion,” fellow linebacker Jordan Hall said Wednesday. “But we gotta keep pushing on, keep moving on. We’ll miss him in the first half, but we’re going to keep preparing out through the week and get ready for him to contribute like he always does in the second half.”

On the final play of the third quarter in Saturday’s 24-17 loss to the Wolverines, Turner crashed down as U-M’s Alex Orji took a shotgun snap and faked a handoff. Turner met Orji in the hole, with the running quarterback spinning off the initial contact for a 3-yard gain.

During the TV timeout between the quarters, replay officials reviewed the hit and cited Turner for a targeting penalty. He was ejected from the game, missing the final 15 minutes. U-M scored four plays later, with running back Donovan Edwards throwing a 23-yard touchdown pass to tight end Colson Loveland as the Spartans’ linebackers and safeties overplayed the run with Turner out of the game.

“We practice making the right form tackles, so it’s not something that I’m like, ‘Oh, I’m going into a tackle,000 like, I need to keep my head up.’ It’s just something that we practice and it becomes routine,” Hall said. “Sometimes in the heat of the moment, depending on the angles and whatnot, stuff happens. Which I think happened in JT’s case in the slightest bit.”

MSU coach Jonathan Smith on Monday said the school challenged the call to the Big Ten after the game, and league officials denied MSU’s appeal. Turner will be eligible to play in the second half for the Spartans (4-4, 2-3 Big Ten) against the Hoosiers (8-0, 5-0), per NCAA targeting rules.

That likely will move Hall, a sophomore, into Turner’s spot next to Cal Haladay in the middle of Joe Rossi’s defense, which held U-M leading rusher Kalel Mullings to just 18 yards on 13 carries Saturday and limited Iowa star Kaleb Johnson to 98 yards (75 of which came on one late touchdown run) on 14 attempts in an win a week earlier. It also will expand the already-growing role of senior Darius Snow and Wayne Matthews III.

Turner leads the Spartans with 48 tackles, with five of them coming in Saturday’s game at U-M. The 6-foot-1, 231-pound fifth-year senior, who transferred to MSU from Wisconsin in the offseason, also has three sacks, an interception and two QB hurries.

“He’s really important. Obviously, you’ve seen the plays that he’s made,” Snow said of Turner. “He’s not just a good football player, but he’s a great leader and vocal. We’re just gonna have to play, and we’ll get him back in the second half, which is cool. But I have confidence in Jordan Hall, I think he’s a great player.”

MSU ranks 45th in the nation in run defense, allowing 129.6 yards on the ground, and is tied for 23rd nationally in giving up 315.9 yards per game. The Spartans will try to continue that trend against Indiana’s high-powered offense that ranks sixth in the nation in total offense (487.6 yards), 24th in rushing yards (200.6) and second in the Football Subdivision in scoring (46.5 points)

Hoosiers starting quarterback Kurtis Rourke suffered a thumb injury on his throwing hand during a game two weeks ago and sat out Saturday’s 31-17 home win over Washington. Rourke had surgery last Monday but, according to ESPN, the Ohio University transfer is expected to try and play against the Spartans.

Backup Tayven Jackson was 11-for-19 for 124 yards with an interception along with passing and rushing TDs against the Huskies, while running back Justice Ellison, a Wake Forest transfer, ran 29 times for 123 yards and a score.

“The only thing I know is they’re going to have a quarterback,” MSU secondary coach Blue Adams said Wednesday. “My approach is the guy that they put in is going to be the guy to give them the best chance of winning. And I think in college football, especially at the level that we we play on, I think every quarterback is a legitimate quarterback. They can throw the ball well, and they can call plays and manage the game well.

“So the only thing I can kind of prepare for is that dude is going to be a good player, and so we kind of attack it that way.”

Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.

Subscribe to the “Spartan Speak” podcast for new episodes weekly on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or anywhere you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts.

Source link

Click to comment

Michigan

Gotion wants Michigan township to pay the $23.7M it owes in incentives

Published

1 hour ago

June 3, 2026

Press Room

Gotion wants Michigan township to pay the .7M it owes in incentives

Gotion Inc. has asked a federal judge to order the Michigan township where it was supposed to call home to repay the roughly $23.7 million it owes the state in taxpayer-funded incentives.

Green Township’s actions opposing Gotion’s planned battery parts plant made it all but impossible to move forward, the company argued, leaving Gotion in default under its agreement with the state and on the hook for the $23.7 million in taxpayer-funded incentives it received for land purchases and improvements.

“Now that it is clear the project cannot move forward in the face of this continued opposition and the state of Michigan’s withdrawal of support, Gotion seeks to add these constitutional claims and request damages as a result of the township’s breach of the development agreement and violation of Gotion’s constitutional rights,” a May 29 court filing in the case said.

Last week’s filing seeks to amend an earlier lawsuit Gotion filed against Green Township over zoning changes that made its development all but impossible to proceed.

In February, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals blocked Gotion’s lawsuit, arguing that it was moot because the state had already found the project in default and had demanded back roughly $23.7 million that had been given to the subsidiary of a Chinese company to purchase and prepare land in Green Township. In light of that ruling, Gotion is seeking to amend its lawsuit to seek additional damages.

“…the Sixth Circuit implied that given the facts of the dispute at this point, the correct form of damages for Gotion’s breach of contract claim against the township is likely monetary damages and no longer injunctive relief,” Gotion said in the May 29 filing.

The amended filing includes demands for damages arising from the “millions” Gotion paid or spent in reliance on the project moving forward, lost profits the company would have made if the manufacturing facility were built, attorney fees and an amount “not less than $23,670,873.56 for funds advanced towards land and development costs related to the project that the state of Michigan is now claiming should be repaid.”

Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office, which is seeking to recoup the $23.7 million on behalf of the Michigan Strategic Fund, said it was aware of Gotion’s May 29 filing against Green Township and is “monitoring the situation.” The office declined further comment, citing attorney-client privilege.

Gotion first sued Green Township in March 2024 after the board — all of whom had been replaced in November 2023 with members concerned about the Gotion project — rescinded two resolutions needed for the project to move forward. Gotion sued in federal court for breach of contract, and a U.S. district court judge issued a preliminary ruling in Gotion’s favor.

But the Sixth Circuit later blocked the case after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration, last fall, found Gotion to be in default of its grant agreement.

The state’s finding of default was in part due to the Green Township lawsuit. The company’s agreement with the state prohibits involvement in a suit that “would reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the project or the grantee’s performance of its obligations under this agreement.”

The state also maintained Gotion’s “cessation of eligible activities” for a period of 120 days constituted an “abandonment” in violation of the grant agreement.

The Michigan Strategic Fund said it would seek to recoup the $23.7 million used to purchase and prepare land for Gotion in Green Township.

The Gotion project in Green Township was fraught with controversy shortly after its announcement. The company had planned to locate a battery parts plant in the Big Rapids area, creating up to 2,350 jobs and receiving about $175 million in taxpayer-funded incentives for the project.

Local opponents pushed back on the project because of the secretive nature with which it was negotiated, the unknown environmental effects of the project and Gotion’s parent company in China. Those concerns were amplified by Republican candidates in 2024, including both Vice President JD Vance and President Donald Trump.

The legal maneuverings with Gotion have already come at a cost to the township.

For the past three years, the state Treasury Department has flagged Green Township in Mecosta County because its expenditures have exceeded the amount of money authorized in its annual budget. In a corrective action plan submitted to Treasury last month, the township said its deficits were “primarily due to the legal fees.”

eleblanc@detroitnews.com

Source link

Michigan

Residents in Taylor, Michigan, fight against possible rezoning

Published

11 hours ago

June 3, 2026

Press Room

Residents in Taylor, Michigan, fight against possible rezoning

A group of residents on Holland Road in Taylor, Michigan, say they are now doing everything they can to keep their neighborhood the way it is after some of them received a letter saying the city is considering rezoning their neighborhood.

“People across the street from me could have warehouse front property instead of woods and nice residential homes,” said Matthew Streicher.

Streicher, whose family has owned property on Holland Road for more than 100 years, says that has been his concern after he received a letter from the city about a proposed rezoning from residential to light industrial directly behind his home near Wick and Holland roads.

“So that’s when I also decided to start knocking on doors around here and saying this is what is going on, we need to speak out and have a voice as to what happens in our backyards, literally,” said Streicher.

Streicher told CBS News Detroit that three of his neighbors received that letter, informing residents that there’s a possibility of a new cold storage warehouse development if this land is rezoned.

“Nothing that belongs in a neighborhood,” said Tim Adkins.

“Heartbreaking, heartbreaking, you know,” said Denise Haggadone.

Many who live on Holland Road say this possibility is even more disturbing because of how long everyone has lived on this quaint road. And these same homeowners say that an industrial facility would only bring in more traffic and take away natural green space, most likely hurting their property value as well.

“It’s nice to see the wildlife, you know, there’s so few places left,” said Adkins.

On Tuesday, CBS News Detroit spoke off-camera with City Council Chairman Charley Johnson, who also lives on Holland Road. Johnson says he understands all of his neighbors’ concerns and agrees with them.

He says the company proposing this rezoning has every right to do so, and that the planning commission will vote on it Wednesday evening.

“It’s sad, I raised my kid here, and he’s planning on having this home after I pass or retire or what have you,” Haggadone said,

The residents hope to see a big turnout at Wednesday’s planning commission meeting at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, June 3, at Taylor City Hall.

In:

Source link

Michigan

Sterling Heights to consider opposing Michigan House tax policy bills

Published

21 hours ago

June 2, 2026

Press Room

Sterling Heights to consider opposing Michigan House tax policy bills

The Sterling Heights City Council is set to consider a resolution Tuesday evening opposing tax policy bills in Lansing that one councilmember contends put every municipality “at risk.”

The Michigan House voted in May to pass several bills that would slash property taxes across the state, but skipped a vote on a bill needed to replace some of the more than $5 billion in lost tax revenue.

At its Tuesday evening meeting, Sterling Heights City Council is slated to consider the adoption of a resolution opposing Michigan House Bills 5872 through 5879 due to “their potential negative impact on local government revenue, financial planning, and administrative operations,” a city document said. Sterling Heights City Manager Mark Vanderpool said the city would lose about $5 million in annual revenue from the bills. He said there’s no “guaranteed replacement” for the lost revenue, and the city would need to cut services, he said.

“So we’re deeply concerned about that,” he said.

The House’s sweeping tax cuts can’t be implemented without the passage of a separate bill levying a loosely defined 6% sales tax on services that has yet to be revealed. Republicans who control the House did not hold a vote on the sales tax hike bill, which remains in committee.

All combined, the four property tax cuts passed by the House are estimated to result in a tax revenue loss that could progress from $5.5 billion to $7.5 billion a year, according to a series of nonpartisan House Fiscal Agency analyses.

Vanderpool, the Sterling Heights city manager, said he wants the state Legislature to work “hand in hand” with cities, townships and villages to come up with a solution for “guaranteed revenue replacement.”

“We are more than willing ― I think our reputation precedes us ― to work with our state legislators hand in hand to come up with viable solutions that … may reform property taxes without harming communities across the state,” he said.

Sterling Heights Councilwoman Barbara Ziarko said the legislation reduces the city’s revenue without a guarantee of what it will be replaced with. She said that in the future, the legislation could prevent the city from maintaining positions that it has promised residents it would maintain, including public safety roles.

“When they put the burden on our local government, they’re actually putting it on the residents of whatever community it is,” she said.

State Rep. Steve Frisbie, a Calhoun County Republican, previously said that Michigan residents need to see tax relief immediately. He noted a ballot proposal collecting signatures last year would have eliminated all property taxes in the state. That citizens’ initiative, known as AxMiTax, fizzled out and won’t be on the ballot this fall.

“They realized that our property taxes are too high and they demand that we take action now,” Frisbie said.

More on the bills

The cuts passed by the House in May would eliminate the 6-mill State Education Tax and eliminate the 0.75% real estate transfer tax assessed on the sale price of real estate.

House Republicans also signed off on eliminating the personal property tax. That bill, largely intended to benefit utility companies, is tied to separate legislation that requires utilities such as Consumers Energy and DTE Energy to pass on personal property tax savings by cutting electric and gas rates for their residential customers. It also requires utilities to freeze rates for two years.

Jennifer Varney, Sterling Heights’ finance and budget director, said the elimination of the personal property tax would result in a $4.3 million annual revenue loss for the city. She said the personal property tax refers to the taxes that businesses pay on their assets, such as their machines and vehicles.

Another tax on the chopping block is the so-called “pop-up tax,” an increase in a property tax bill that occurs when a house transfers from one owner to the next in Michigan, uncapping a constitutional limit on the property tax increase on a home’s taxable value.

Under the state Constitution, a property’s taxable value cannot increase by more than the rate of inflation or 5% each year. But when a property is sold, that cap lifts and is reset at a new, often higher taxable value, resulting in a “pop-up” in property taxes.

Varney said the “pop-up” is the only way cities “recapture” the true value of a home. Michigan also has the Headlee Amendment, a state law that requires local governments to roll back millage rates if taxable property values rise faster than the rate of inflation.

“If you take away the pop-up … and you keep the rollback of the millage, you’re basically limiting any kind of growth in taxable base for municipalities,” she said.

Staff Writer Beth LeBlanc contributed.

asnabes@detroitnews.com

Source link