St. Johns
18-year-old man pleads guilty in slaying of student
ST. JOHNS, Mich. (AP) - Another person charged in the slaying of a 19-year-old Michigan State University student has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.
Eighteen-year-old Tyrel Bredernitz of Saline entered the plea Monday in Clinton County Circuit Court. Under an agreement with prosecutors, he's expected to serve at least 15 to 25 years in prison. He'll also testify in the case. Sentencing is Nov. 10.
Dustyn Frolka of Owosso was beaten and robbed Feb. 15. He jumped from an SUV in Bath Township near Lansing and was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Samantha Grigg of Saline was sentenced to up to 15 years in prison earlier this year after pleading guilty to manslaughter and unarmed robbery. She also agreed to testify in the case. Brendan Heim of Saline is charged with murder and unarmed robbery.
Saginaw
School district puts properties up for sale
SAGINAW, Mich. (AP) - The Saginaw School District is trying to reduce its $7 million deficit by selling 15 properties.
The Saginaw News reports nine Saginaw buildings and three empty lots totaling $1.6 million are on the market. The district is also selling two vacant schools in Buena Vista.
Saginaw has closed 19 schools since 2003 and now operates 15. One building has been leased and two have sold.
The state ordered Saginaw leaders to zero out the deficit by July 2016.
The executive director of Michigan Middle Cities Education Association says it can be difficult to turn the buildings into something other than schools. He says it's also harder to sell them as more go on the market. The Lansing-based association is a consortium of urban school districts.
Lansing
Test planned to deal with carp attack this week
LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Ten U.S. and Canadian agencies are taking part in a field exercise this week, testing their ability to respond to an invasion of Asian carp in western Lake Erie and head off a major environmental threat to the Great Lakes and their multibillion-dollar fishing industry.
Participants will try out methods such as netting and electrofishing while working on logistics of coordinating their efforts. Officials are concerned that bighead, silver and grass carp may reach the Great Lakes, damaging food chains and the habitats that are important to native varieties such as perch and walleye.
No reproducing populations of Asian carp are known to exist in Lake Erie, although the carp's DNA has been found in some places.
