At the January 26th, 2026 Lansing City council meeting many residents and folks from the surrounding area voiced concerns about the proposed downtown data center, trade union workers spoke in support. The city’s planning department and the Board of Water and Light (BWL) presented and answered questions about the project. Public commenters and the council had concerns about the city's policy for addressing homelessness and the cold temperatures, as well as the treatment of homeless folks by the city police as captured in a video circulating online. The Union Missionary Baptist Church applied for a rezoning of their property on S MLK Jr Blvd to continue to operate as a temporary warming center for families. Council drafted a letter asking Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to remove their masks when in Lansing, and asked the mayor to make a plan to protect all people here.

Be advised, violence is discussed in this episode.

Our guest this episode, Selina Máté, has worked in refugee resettlement for the last six years, she is also a creative content strategist, the co-owner of Peculiar coffee co., and was appointed to Lansing's Historic District Commission last year.

Check out Selina’s coffee company here:

https://www.peculiarcoffeeco.com/

Deep Green more info for Lansing website:

https://deepgreen.energy/lansing-public-info

Lansing City Council meeting schedules and documents:

https://www.lansingmi.gov/186/City-Council

Find meeting issues maps and bingo results from the meetings on the podcast’s patreon page here:

https://www.patreon.com/whatLansingCouncil