State rep requests $5 million for Lansing fieldhouse while students struggle to read

An earmark request sponsored by Rep. Kara Hope, D-Holt, asks for $5.2 million from the 2026 state budget to renovate the Don Johnson Fieldhouse. 

The facility was once part of Eastern High School, which has since been shuttered due to low enrollment in the district. - Jamie A. Hope 

• Three years after residents approved a $129.7 million bond for improvements in the Lansing School District’s infrastructure, a local state representative is asking state taxpayers for money to upgrade a district-own facility....

Lansing students are struggling with basic proficiency, according to M-STEP test results from the 2023-24 school year.

• Of the 99,206 fourth grade students who took the English Language Arts portion of the test, 56,299, or 57%, scored partially proficient or not proficient...