Laura Meriweather is the managing editor of operations at The Eastern Echo. She started as a news reporter in the fall of 2025, covering local politics, technology and culture. She is a senior majoring in media studies and journalism and minoring in entrepreneurship.
For her, the best part of her job is being connected to the community and finding new aspects of life in Ypsilanti to explore.
She can be contacted by email at managing@easternecho.com.
Roughly two-dozen people attended the second annual TEDxYpsilanti event in Pease Auditorium on June 26, 2026. The event was titled, "A Talk For Everyone: Perspectives That Shape Tomorrow."
Eastern Michigan University's division of IT released an FAQ on June 12, 2026 explaining that alumni Google accounts will switch to Gmail-only on a rolling basis, but that alums should be prepared to lose access to non-Gmail services by July 1, 2026.
Eastern Michigan University web services began to resume service around 3 p.m. on June 16, 2026, after a damaged fiber optic cable near campus took access down for over an hour.
U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell sent a letter to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Monday, June 8, 2026 requesting intervention and increased transparency at the Women's Huron Valley Correctional Facility in Ypsilanti after a third inmate in under a month was reported dead on Sunday.
The University of Michigan is continuing to plan a large-scale data center in Ypsilanti Township, despite three denouncement resolutions from the city and township, consistent opposition from local residents and a recent moratorium on Ypsilanti's water and sewer services that restricts their use for data centers and similar facilities.
Across the 37 operating gas stations in Ypsilanti, the average cost for a gallon of regular gas was $4.784 — $0.28 above the national average.
Eastern Michigan University President Brendan Kelly sat down with The Eastern Echo for an interview on April 29, 2026 to discuss his plans for the future of the university, and his thoughts on a range of topics that included enrollment, tuition pricing and the federal education landscape.
After a data hack derailed access to the Canvas educational service across the U.S., the site was restored near the end of the day on Thursday, May 7, 2026.
The Michigan Press Association held a forum for gubernatorial candidates during its annual conference on April 23, 2026.
The Ypsilanti Township Board of Trustees passed a new resolution on April 15, 2026, requesting a 12-month moratorium on the township's water and sewer systems in relation to data and computing centers.
The Ypsilanti Township Board of Trustees held a special meeting on April 15, 2026, in the Tilden R. Stumbo Civic Center to vote on resolution 2026-08, which requests that a moratorium be placed on the township's water and sewer resources as they relate to data and computing centers.
The Little Free Library outside of the Alexander Music Building holds several books Dec. 19, 2025. Nina Freeman, the student government vice president who was behind the creation of the little library, said it was designed to look like the nearby phone booth.
The Ypsi Cocktail Club, at the intersection of North Huron and West Michigan Avenue, hosts the second in a series of "Tarot Nights" started by general manager Megumi Mast. The bar, which Mast says doubles as a tasting room for the Ann Arbor Distilling Company, hosts tarot reader Lex Noble in a partnership that allows customers of Noble's service to get half off their cocktail purchase with each reading.
Solutions by The State News
