LANSING, Mich — Lansing Mayor Andy Schor's ninth State of the City address felt less like a formal speech and more like a talk show, complete with a live audience, guests and a host who wasn't shy about the theatrics.
- Mayor Andy Schor delivered his 9th State of the City address Wednesday night in Lansing.
- City officials highlighted plans for over 1,000 new housing units, $12 million in road investments, and continued gun violence reduction efforts.
- Schor notably left data centers off the agenda, saying the city doesn't yet know if or when they'll move forward.
WATCH: LANSING MAYOR GIVES DELIVERS TALK SHOW-STYLE STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS
From t-shirt tosses to guest appearances, Schor leaned into the showmanship but beneath the spectacle, it was business as usual at the podium.
The mayor kicked off the address with an emphasis on economic development. His guest Rawley Van Fossen, the city's Director of Economic Development and Planning, spoke to progress on one of Lansing's most pressing concerns: housing.
"We have over 1,000 units either in production or in the pipeline to be built in the city and those units to be made available," Van Fossen said.
WATCH: MAYOR ANDY SCHOR REVIEWS PROGRESS ON HIS 2025 STATE OF THE CITY PROMISES
Guests from Public Works also took the stage to remind residents that pothole season is approaching, and the city says it's ready.
"[We're] investing about $7 million into our major road system... over $5 million rehabbing about 9 miles in neighborhood streets," said City Engineer Nicole McPherson.
Schor also had guests who touched on homelessness and public safety.
Police Chief Robert Backus was not in attendance, but appeared in a pre-recorded video update highlighting reductions in shootings, progress he credited in part to gun lock distribution and a new safe storage law.
"That safe storage law that came out that we've been educating people on is so important for us to addressing firearm violence. So we were giving out gun locks last year, we're going to continue that in 2026," Backus said.
One topic absent from the night: data centers. After the address, Schor explained why he chose to leave it out.
"Until City Council has [ a data center] and makes a final decision we don't know what the future is. It really wasn't the state of the city because a lot of that is what happened last year and what's coming. And this didn't happen last year so we don't know if it's coming or if it's not," Schor said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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