Sophia Kalakailo

United States

Public Safety Reporter at MLive

covering ypsi @annarbornews | [email protected] | past: @michiganpublic @BridgeMichigan @thesnews @theeasternecho | she/they | follow on bluesky instead?👇🏻

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Articles

“Blimpy Burger was who he was”: Restaurant owner remembered for belief in 2nd chances

6 days ago | mlive.com | Sophia Kalakailo

ANN ARBOR, MI – As a University of Michigan art student living in West Quad, Richard Magner lived near a small burger joint. He’d often go to eat just before they closed up shop for the night. It was his sophomore year in the fall of 1969 and “Rich” – as his friends called him – needed a job, according to his daughter Emily Magner. Soon after walking into Krazy Jim’s Blimpy Burger old location on Division and Packard streets, Rich’s life would change.
Long term, Ann Arbor event closures: Washtenaw road work for May 30

1 week ago | mlive.com | Sophia Kalakailo

WASHTENAW COUNTY, MI — Ann Arbor drivers can expect a number of traffic interruptions from special events this weekend. The Dexter-Ann Arbor run special event will shut down road throughout the city early Saturday, May 31. Streets will also close 7 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Sunday, June 1. The “Taste of Ann Arbor” event will also close portions of South Main Street and Liberty Street 6 a.m. Sunday, June 1 until 6 a.m. Monday, June 2.
Condemned Ypsilanti apartments must stop demanding rent, judge orders

1 week ago | mlive.com | Sophia Kalakailo

YPSILANTI, MI – An apartment complex getting sued by Ypsilanti and Washtenaw County officials has been ordered to stop demanding rent from tenants among other stipulations in a recent court order. Arbor One Apartments must also provide relocation assistance to tenants who wish to leave, make urgent health and safety-related repairs and stop leasing to prospective tenants, a May 23 preliminary injunction from Washtenaw County Trial Court Judge Carol Kuhnke states.
District to open K-8 Spanish immersion school this fall in Ypsilanti

1 week ago | mlive.com | Sophia Kalakailo

YPSILANTI, MI – A new dual language Spanish immersion school is coming to Ypsilanti this fall. Ypsilanti Community Schools will expand its existing elementary Spanish immersion program into a kindergarten through eighth grade school. It will be located in the district’s former middle school building on Emerick Street, according to Assistant Superintendent Carlos Lopez.
Expect nightly shut downs on U.S. 23 ramp

1 week ago | mlive.com | Sophia Kalakailo

MILAN, MI — Drivers will see nightly shut downs of a U.S. 23 exit ramp in Milan. The southbound ramp — exit 25— to Plank Road is closed 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. each night through Tuesday, June 3 for surface sealing, according to the Michigan Department of Transportation. Traffic will be detoured via Carpenter Road Exit 27, then take southbound Dexter Road to Plank Road. Want more Ann Arbor-area news?
Eastern Michigan to sever ties with Chinese universities amid pressure from lawmakers

1 week ago | mlive.com | Sophia Kalakailo

YPSILANTI, MI – Eastern Michigan University will cut ties with two universities in China, officials announced Wednesday. The university will end its engineering teaching partnership with Beibu Gulf University and Guangxi University. The move comes after U.S. Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Caledonia and U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Lenawee County called on EMU to cut ties with the two universities through the Joint Engineering Program and the Information Security Joint Program in China, per a Feb.
Multiple break-ins to downtown Ypsilanti businesses under investigation

1 week ago | mlive.com | Sophia Kalakailo

YPSILANTI, MI — Police are investigating a series of break-ins at downtown Ypsilanti businesses. A man broke into three Ypsilanti businesses between midnight and 7 a.m. Thursday, May 22, according to the Ypsilanti Police Department. The man has still not been identified as of Tuesday, May 27. In security footage obtained by the city, the man appears to enter Café Liv at 202 N. Washington St. through a window. The suspect then appears to take a cash register and exit through the broken window.
Road reopens almost two years after flood damage near Ypsilanti

1 week ago | mlive.com | Sophia Kalakailo

YPSILANTI TWP., MI — A road near Willow Run Airport has reopened two years after a washout from historic rainfall shut it down. Since then, Tyler Road between McGregor and Airport roads has been reconstructed and reopened, the Washtenaw County Road Commission announced Friday, May 23. The road shut down in August 2023 after nearly five inches of rain fell on some parts of eastern Washtenaw County in just a few hours as storms swept across the area.
Find handmade Mexican cowboy boots, western wear at new downtown Ypsilanti shop

1 week ago | mlive.com | Sophia Kalakailo

YPSILANTI, MI – From the window of Mi Rancho Boots, an old hat can be seen sitting in a display case, surrounded by shelves of leather boots and western wear. Ariel Arreola displays his late grandfather Roberto’s work hat alongside flowers from his funeral as a tribute in his new downtown Ypsilanti boot shop on Michigan Avenue. Roberto, who died last summer, brought the family to the United States from Mexico and was the “hardest working man,” Ariel said.
Ypsilanti has $3.2M leftover this year, but city leaders say more budget cuts needed

2 weeks ago | mlive.com | Sophia Kalakailo

YPSILANTI, MI – Ypsilanti has $3.2 million in unexpended funds this fiscal year, but city expenditures still outpace its revenue. The leftover money means the city can minimize the need to make transfers from its general fund next year, City Manager Andrew Hellenga said at the May 20 City Council meeting. Unexpended money came from the fire, police and capital improvement funds among other areas, he said.