With 76 students enrolled, Michigan’s 5th law school — and the only one outside Detroit or Ann Arbor — began classes on Monday night, January 15, 1973. It’s name honors a Michigan Supreme Court Justice of a century ago, Thomas McIntyre Cooley, who is remembered as one of the State’s outstanding jurists. On the Supreme Court bench from 1865 to 1885, Cooley was also Dean of the University of Michigan Law School, the first chairman of the Interstate Commerce Commission, and author of numerous legal textbooks. He died in 1898.
Since its beginnings, the Cooley Law School expanded and became one of the largest law schools in the country. In 2006, Cooley had more than 2,900 students at its Lansing campus alone. Last year, it had fewer than 1,800 spread across five campuses.
More recently, the school has renamed itself the Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School and has closed one campus in Ann Arbor (as of the end of 2014).
Sources :
State Journal, January 12, 1973.
Kem Palmer, “Law school plans to sell former Masonic Temple building”, Lansing State Journal, December 22, 2014.
On January 15, 1993, a front-page Detroit News article began to unravel an extensive legislative corruption scandal that led to felony convictions for 10 people, including a lawmaker from the Upper Peninsula. That Detroit News article and dozens that followed also helped push one of the state’s most powerful politicians — Dominic Jacobetti — onto the Capitol sidelines, uncovered political influence in the awarding of state contracts, and triggered tougher oversight of the House Fiscal Agency (HFA), the nonpartisan office that analyzes tax and budget issues for the House of Representatives.
By the way, the Detroit News won a Pulitzer Prize for its efforts.
Sources :
Jim Mitzelfeld, “State fiscal watchdog under fire”, Detroit News, January 15, 1993.
“Capitol Ethics Not ‘Sterling’ 20 Years After HFA Scandal”, Inside MIRS Today, January 18, 2013.
In January 2012, Kriste Kibbey Etue became the first female head of the Michigan State Police.
Kriste Kibbey Etue grew up listening to her dad’s stories about his Michigan State Police narcotics investigations, and she knew that wearing the blue uniform was in her future. She started her career with the state police working in the clerical unit of the department’s fire marshal division. From there she advanced steadily through the ranks to the top position.
Source : Lisa Roose-Church, “Kriste Kibbey Etue is first female chief of the state police”, Livingston County Daily Press and Argust, January 25, 2012.
Fadwa A. Hammoud, a resident of Dearborn, Michigan was appointed as Michigan’s Solicitor General by Michigan’s Attorney General Dana Nessel on January 15, 2019, becoming the first Arab American and Muslim Solicitor General in the history of U.S.A.
According to Attorney General Dana Nessel, “I am proud of the seasoned veterans who have chosen to return to state government – and to those who have already committed their careers to public service. Today’s appointments show a diverse cross-section of Michigan. I am proud of the team we have built to advocate for and protect all Michiganders. Together we will bring the Department of the Attorney General back to the people of our state.”
Fadwa A. Hammoud, served as lead attorney in the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, where she established the Business Protection Unit. Prior to her appointment as lead attorney, Hammoud prosecuted criminal enterprise, homicide, financial crime and identity theft.
Hammoud is a trustee and treasurer of the Dearborn Public Schools Board of Education and the Henry Ford College Board; a Snyder-appointee to the Commission on Middle Eastern American Affairs; and, sits on the Legislative Committee for the Hispanic/Latino, Asian Pacific American and Middle Eastern American Affairs Commissions.
A graduate of Wayne State University Law School and the University of Michigan-Dearborn, Hammoud clerked for the Honorable Judge George Steeh in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan and a 2018 member of the Harvard Business School’s Young American Leaders Program.
Source : ” Fadwa Hammoud appointed to Michigan’s Solicitor General, first Arab American and Muslim in the U.S.A.“, Arab American News, January 15, 2019.
Born January 16, 1937 Blanche Martin was an academic all-American MSU football running back (1956-1959). The 1957 Spartan Football team were national champions, one of six seasons in the team’s history in which they held that distinction, and thanks in no small part to Martin. During that season, he scored 7 touchdowns and ran for over 600 yards. But Martin is known for so much more than being a great Spartan running back.
Dr. Blanche Martin (DDS, University of Detroit Dental School, 1967) was elected to the Michigan State University Board of Trustees in 1969, the first African American to hold the position. He chaired the Board from 1974 to 1976, and served on the board until 1984.
MSU Board of Trustees, 1969. (standing L to R) Don Stevens, Frank Hartman, Warren Huff, Frank Thompson (sitting L to R) Stephen Nisbet, Blanche Martin, C. Allen Harlan, Frank Merriman
Dr. Martin also made great strides in improving conditions for minorities at Michigan State, increasing minority hiring and enrollment. Dr. Martin was also a co-founder of the College of Urban Development at Michigan State University.
Source: Matthew Wilcox, Audiovisual Archivist, “Blanche Martin and the 1957 Spartan Football Team”, MSU Archives & Historical Collections Current Events Blog, January 16, 2017..
Snow trains brought hundreds of ski enthusiasts to the opening of the Caberfae Ski Resourt in 1938. Caberfae, whose name comes from the Gaelic word meaning stag’s head, was started as a joint project by the U.S. Forest Service, the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Cadillac Chamber of Commerce, and local volunteers. Carved out of the Manistee National Forest, the resort is helped temendously by the large amount of snow, as well as many snowmaking machines. And skiers can’t forget that because Caberfae Peaks is the destination ski resort closest to major metro areas in Michigan they’ll spend less time in their car and more time on the slopes than anywhere else in northern Michigan skiing. With 34 runs spread out over 200 acres with 485 feet of vertical, one SKI reader commented that it’s “the best bang for your buck” in the region.
Check out Caberfae Peaks History
Caberfe Peaks Ski Resort courtesy of Pure Michigan.
On this day in 1955, Eastpointe, MI native Capt. Jerry M. Linenger (USN, Ret.) was born.
Captain Linenger received a bachelor of science degree in bioscience from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1977; a doctorate in medicine from Wayne State University in 1981; a master of science degree in systems management from University of Southern California in 1988; a master of public health degree in health policy from the University of North Carolina in 1989; a doctor of philosophy degree in epidemiology from the University of North Carolina in 1989.
He was selected in the fourteenth group of astronauts in 1992. His first mission was as mission specialist of STS-64 Discovery in September 1994. On January 12, 1997 he was launched on STS-81 Discovery (piloted by Pontiac-native Brent Jett) for 4-1/2 months onboard the Russian space station Mir. During his stay, Linenger became the first American to conduct a spacewalk from a foreign space station and in a non-American made spacesuit. Despite the difficulties he and his crewmates faced, such as the most severe fire ever aboard an orbiting spacecraft, failures of onboard systems, a near collision with a resupply cargo ship, loss of station electrical power, and loss of attitude control resulting in a slow, uncontrolled “tumble” through space, he still managed to accomplish 100 percent of his mission objectives. He returned to Earth on May 24, 1997 along with the crew of STS-84 Atlantis.
Captain Linenger has been awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Meritorious Unit Commendation, Navy Unit Commendation, National Defense Service Medal, Navy Battle Efficiency Award, Navy Commendation Medal with gold star, and two NASA Space Flight Medals. He was also the top graduate of the Naval Flight Surgeon Training and Naval Safety Officer’s School. Captain Linenger, who orbited Earth over 2000 times over 143 days, 2 hours and 50 minutes in space, retired from NASA and the US Navy in January 1998. He has authored two books: “Off the Planet“, and “Letters from Mir“.
The first photo shows Capt. Linenger enjoying an inflatable birthday cake while celebrating his 42nd birthday on STS-81 Atlantis while beginning his 4-1/2 month tour on Mir.
The second photo shows his flightsuit, uniforms, and other donated items on display at the Michigan Heroes Museum.
Recognizing that most PBS KIDS programming airs at times when kids are in pre-school and not in “peak kids media-viewing hours” of 5p-9p, PBS and Detroit Public TV are launching a new 24/7 PBS KIDS channel on January 16, 2017. Over-the-air in Detroit, the channel will be broadcast on digital 56.2, displacing WORLD, which will move to 56.4. Simultaneously, the 24/7 channel will be streamed live on the internet and viewable through dptv.org or the PBS KIDS video app. We hope you enjoy the new service which will differ from 56.1 during daytime, and present popular PBS KIDS programs such as Wild Kratts, Splash and Bubbles, Odd Squad, and many others, throughout the evening. Stay tuned and check your local listings.
View Schedule:
Did you see a bright light, or hear what sounded like thunder Tuesday night just after 8pm? Experts are saying that was a meteor.
The American Meteor Society received hundreds reports of a fireball all over Michigan. There were also reported sightings as far as Wisconsin, Ohio, and Ontario.
Some residents reported their homes shaking. NWS Detroit says the atmospheric pressure wave generated from the meteors penetration into the atmosphere caused a M2.0 earthquake to register on seismometers.
The meteor was estimated to be about 6 feet in diameter and was traveling around 28,000 mph. when it hit the atmosphere.
Due to snow cover, Michiganders may be able to find meteor pieces after the event.
Source : “Meteorite fragments scattered across Mid-Michigan“, WILX, Channel 10 News, January 16 and 17, 2018
Broomball is so popular at Michigan Tech that it now features its own newspaper, The Broomball Blitz! Here’s an article from the first edition explaining the phenomenon.
If you’ve never been to Tech in the winter before, you might not understand what that means to us here.
Around 2000 students participate every year, and for the two month season, you can’t walk across campus without hearing word of it. But there is more than just two months — as soon as registration opens in October you will walk through Wadsworth and see groups of students making brooms in various kitchenettes. That anticipation continues to grow until the bitter cold of January rolls in and we return from winter break to brave it out to watch our friends and halls get out on the ice, and more than likely fall in the first few minutes of play.
If you didn’t already know about it, let me explain Broomball for you from a spectators standpoint. We bundle up, wait in line for our free hot chocolate, and watch the ensuing show. The beauty of watching Broomball is that no matter the talent of the teams it’s still entertaining.
Good teams make play competitive and unpredictable, frequently resulting in nail-bitters and large comebacks. But even the less competitive teams are bound for entertainment: between the players slipping and falling everywhere and the randomness of the play, it’s bound for some good laughs.
So to all you new students, get yourselves ready. You all will soon learn what the hype is all about. Even if you don’t generally like sports, don’t be so quick to turn down this opportunity, you might regret missing out. If you play or just watch, come out and enjoy all the fun and excitement we all share every year!
Special events include a tournament and all-star game held every year at the time of Winter Carnival.
For more information, see History of Broomball at MTU