Events that will shape the next decade: What's ahead for Greater Lansing in 2020
Starting the new year that is 2020 turns thoughts toward a new decade. From elections to a U.S. census count, actions taken in this year will shape the decade ahead.
Here's a look at major news to expect on the political and economic fronts:
2020 census: Greater Lansing gets ready to be counted
The year 2020 will count in more ways than one.
Half a million workers nationwide will be gathering data for the decennial U.S. census. Nearly every American household will receive an invitation to participate in the census, with 95% of those invitations arriving by mail, federal officials say.
The monumental endeavor affects more than $675 billion in federal funding and the data is used to determine boundaries for political representation. It also determines how many Congress members each state will send to the U.S.Capitol.
Census day is April 1, but leaders in Greater Lansing are already mobilizing to avoid an undercount.
Research shows the census undercounts certain groups, including racial minorities, transient and homeless people and children younger than 5.
At least six Ingham County census tracts, mostly in Lansing and East Lansing, have been identified as particularly hard to count, with more than 30% of residents not expected to respond initially to mailed 2020 census invitations. That's according to the Census Bureau's Response Outreach Area Mapper which uses data from the bureau's 2013-17 American Community Survey.
East Lansing leaders have formed a Complete Count Committee to educate residents about the importance of the census.
"The history indicates we lose individuals in group quarters" said East Lansing City Council Member Mark Meadows, a liaison to the committee. "It’s just harder to connect with them to begin with."
That's a particular concern for student dormitories and apartments in East Lansing, the home of Michigan State University. Immigrants also tend to be undercounted, in part, due to mistrust of the federal government, Meadows noted.
"We need to make sure people know that just because a census worker is at your door, it doesn’t mean an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer is going to show up at your door," Meadows said.
Federal law prohibits the Census Bureau from releasing individual data or sharing it with other government agencies.
East Lansing's Complete Count works in partnership with the Capital Area United Way's tri-county Complete Count Committee and with Lansing's Complete Count Committee.
"This is about resources and making sure Lansing is afforded the resources we need," said Andi Crawford, Lansing's director of neighborhoods and citizen engagement.
Elections will put Michigan voters in the spotlight
Voters, get ready for a big year. Michigan's role as a swing state is likely to put you at center stage for the national election.
Not that Michigan voters were ignored last year. President Donald Trump rallied in Battle Creek on Dec. 28, and Democratic presidential contenders including U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar visited to make their pitches in a state that will be key in determining who is next to control the White House.
Michigan voters' first chance to weigh in on the presidential election will come March 10 in the state's presidential primary. They'll cast their final votes during the general election Nov. 3.
And don't forget about state and local seats, many of which will be on the 2020 ballot, too.
In August primaries and the November general election, voters will choose congressional and legislative representatives, judges for state and local courts, university trustees and local candidates. They'll also weigh in on statewide and local ballot initiatives.
2020 will be a major test for Michigan's new voter laws, enacted through a 2018 ballot initiative that made it easier to register to vote and vote absentee. Now, all voters can cast absentee ballots without declaring a reason, can cast a straight-party ticket and can register to vote through the mail up to 15 days before Election Day or in person through Election Day.
Work will start on drawing new political boundaries with a nonpartisan process
The new Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission will use population results from the 2020 U.S. Census to re-draw voting district lines in Michigan.
The state currently has 14 U.S. congressional districts and 148 state House and Senate districts, but the census data could change the number of congressional seats and all the boundaries will be under review. Final maps will become law by Dec. 31, 2021, in time for the 2022 mid-term elections.
People interested in serving on the nonpartisan commission must be registered voters in Michigan. Applications are due by June 1 and already are being accepted online at https://redistrictingapplication.sos.state.mi.us/.
The commission will be formed in the fall, but before they can draw new boundaries, they will need public input. So even those who don't want to serve on the commission have a chance to be heard.
Be part of the process:How to apply for the Michigan Independent Citizen Redistricting Commission
People who want to see change where they live can contribute by drawing their own district maps and by giving input on what districts should look like at public meetings that will be held after the commission is formed.
“Most people, even those who are politically active, may think they’re not an expert on redistricting. ‘What can I contribute?’” said Jowei Chen, a political science professor at the University of Michigan.
Chen and students in U-M’s School of Information are now working on a website to make it easier for the public to create maps and suggest them to the commission. He expects the website to be finished by the time the commission is formed.
In addition to interested voters applying on their own, the Michigan Department of State randomly mailed 250,000 applications to voters in November.
"They will be independent. They will make their own rules," said Jake Rollow, the director of communications for the Michigan Department of State.
Selections for commission members will be made randomly from a final sample that is representative of Michigan’s demographics and geography.
Recreational cannabis will be gearing up as a significant industry
What’s that smell on the horizon?
It could be the smell of pot. It might also be the smell of money.
Legal weed will be open for business, with Lansing and East Lansing expected to award their first local licenses to recreational pot shops this year.
Medical marijuana dispensaries have already promised to invest more than $82 million in Lansing, according to City Clerk Chris Swope. The addition of recreational product could add millions more to that total.
Marijuana business owners are planning to hire more than 2,000 people in the city, according to Swope.
And the growing industry could have a substantial impact on the area's energy use. A marijuana grow facility uses 70 times more electricity than a typical commercial office building, according to research from New Frontier Data.
Controversies are likely to ignite in the new year as Brandon Betz, a council member whose approach to marijuana is more liberal than his predecessor’s, joins Lansing City Council.
Betz favors allowing more marijuana retailers in the city, which has caps on the total number of sales outlets it will permit in addition to zoning restrictions on where they can locate. He also would give an edge to Lansing-based small business owners in the licensing process.
Legal battles are likely, too.
The city of Lansing, which has fielded more than a dozen lawsuits over medical marijuana licensing, is steeling itself for more legal challenges from rejected recreational business applicants.
FRIB to hold workshop for scientists
More than 1,000 researchers from around the world will come to use Michigan State University's Facility for Rare Isotope Beams once it's finished in 2022.
But first, they'll need to have their research work approved. That process will begin in 2020.
This spring, FRIB officials start a call for proposals, an early step in considering what research to approve for the $765-million facility. They'll first host a one-week workshop for several hundred people so FRIB officials can show them how to file proposals, learn what the scientists need and begin to teach different safety measures, said Thomas Glasmacher, FRIB laboratory director and project director.
“We need them to succeed, so we need to understand what they need in detail,” he said.
Meanwhile, construction is nearly done and the project will inch closer to completion in 2020.
FRIB workers sent out holiday cards thanking supporters and sharing that the project is more than 90% complete. Some of the work that got the project to 90% complete includes firing charged particle beams through 15 of 46 superconducting cryomodules that make up the 400-kilowatt superconducting linear accelerator.
Work will continue into 2020 to finish installing and commissioning the linear accelerator and connect the accelerator and the rest of the FRIB facility to the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory.
“2019 was the year we got the accelerator demonstrated, now we just have to do a little more of the same,” Glasmacher said. “2020 is the year of facility integration with the current facility.”
The first third of the linear accelerator is installed and running. The second third has been installed and will be commissioned in March, Glasmacher said. The last third will be installed in 2020.
Workers will shut down the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory in the fall and connect the accelerator to the beam lines, he said.
The project is expected to be fully completed by June 2022, about six months ahead of schedule, Glasmacher said.
The FRIB will provide 1,000 permanent jobs, with hundreds already employed.
The facility will generate $1.7 billion in wages and add $4.4 billion to the state's economy, according to an MSU Center for Economic Analysis study.
“It’s a 14-year-long project, and the middle is kind of long. Now we can see the end,” Glasmacher said. “You always knew the end would come, but it was so far away. Now it’s exciting to see that the science will happen soon.”