State Roundup

Muskegon
Student paddles kayak on 216-mile fundraising trip
MUSKEGON, Mich. (AP) — A Western Michigan University student has completed a six-day, 216-mile kayak trip down the Muskegon River to raise money for Parkinson’s disease research, education and advocacy.
Cody Ledsworth paddled to the finish line at a boat launch on Muskegon Lake on Tuesday. The 20-year-old’s trip was in honor of his grandmother, Marguerite Ledsworth, who has the disease, The Muskegon Chronicle reported.
The trip has raised more than $2,300 for the nonprofit Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, just short of his $2,500 goal. Considering that his original goal was $500, he’s pleased with the results.
“I was surprised,” he said of the donations. “It’s a lot more than I thought it would be. We crushed $500 in the first few hours.”
The journey was filled with challenges. Headwinds made the paddling more work. And on the first day, his kayak sprang a leak and started taking on water. He patched it and later received a new kayak from Muskegon’s KL Industries, which also made a $500 donation.
“It’s fantastic, just fantastic,” Dennis Ledsworth said of his grandson. “The love that is shown through this is amazing. ... We’re just so proud of him.”
Cody Ledsworth, who graduated from Mona Shores High School in 2011, had company over the weekend; Mona Shores High students Jared Karnitz and Nate O’Neil joined him on the river on Saturday, stayed overnight, then paddled again on Sunday.
The family’s fundraising efforts are expected to continue.
Next month, Cody Ledsworth’s 15-year-old brother Chase plans to ride a longboard to from Ludington to Bay City. Chase said he was inspired by his brother.

Flint
Man accused of lawmaker threats ruled incompetent
FLINT, Mich. (AP) — A Flint man who authorities say threatened to kill three lawmakers from Michigan has been ruled incompetent to stand trial.
The Flint Journal reports U.S. District Judge Mark A. Goldsmith made the determination Tuesday about 54-year-old Randall Dellinger.
Dellinger’s lawyer Elias Escobedo Jr. says the ruling followed a review by a psychologist, and Dellinger likely will be referred to a federal mental health facility for treatment.
The FBI says threatening calls were made last June to offices of U.S. Sens. Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow and Dellinger’s then-Congressman Dale Kildee.
Dellinger was indicted in August. He told investigators that transmitters were planted in him while serving a state prison term for detonating grenades.

Grand Rapids
After complaints, police helicopter patrols are halted
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — State police announced Tuesday that they are halting helicopter patrols over Grand Rapids after getting multiple noise complaints.
The decision to halt the patrols is less about noise complaints and more about greater needs in other parts of the state, said state police Lt. Chris McIntire.
McIntire told MLive.com that the patrols began to assist Grand Rapids police with anti-crime efforts after a jump in crime several months ago.
“Lately, the crime hasn’t been that much,” McIntire said.
He said state police got several complaints from Grand Rapids residents after a 3-hour patrol Saturday evening covering several neighborhoods.
“Is the good we’re doing outweighing the complaints? It’s a balancing act,” he said.
City resident David Lubbers said he tried to host a dinner party for seven people on his back porch Saturday night, but a helicopter made it impossible to enjoy the evening. He said it was enough of an annoyance that he signed an online petition seeking to stop the patrols.
“It was getting to be so we could hardly talk. It was absurdly loud,” Lubbers said. “It was like someone mowing the lawn underneath your window for three hours.”
Grand Rapids police have said the helicopter patrols have been beneficial, particularly when police are searching for fleeing or armed suspects. But on Tuesday, Grand Rapids officials said they planned to ask state police to reduce some helicopter patrols.
The decision to use helicopter patrols had been in the works for some time, but a spike in violent crime at the end of 2012 and beginning of 2013 pushed it forward. The cost for patrols is part of the existing state police budget. Helicopters routinely patrol over Detroit, Flint and Saginaw.
Brian Kelly said the flyovers Saturday proved an annoyance and made residents wonder whether some type of crime was happening in the neighborhood. He has an 8-year-old daughter whose bedtime was disrupted, and he described the patrols as “disturbing the peace.”
“It’s stressful for the kids to hear them,” Kelly said. “They have questions about why the helicopters are flying over.”

Alden
Domestic assault complaint leads to big marijuana bust
ALDEN, Mich. (AP) — Authorities investigating a domestic assault complaint in Michigan’s northwestern Lower Peninsula ended up finding a marijuana growing operation with hundreds of plants.
The Traverse City Record-Eagle reports Antrim County sheriff’s deputies went to a home in Alden on Monday and discovered 30 marijuana plants outside.
The Traverse Narcotics Team responded, and authorities seized 962 marijuana plants, 2 pounds of processed marijuana, $25,000 in equipment and about $1,700 cash. Undersheriff Dean Pratt says it was a “very elaborate” illegal growing operation.
Authorities say the Antrim County prosecutor’s office is expected to review the case for possible charges. There’s one suspect, but Pratt says others may be involved.

Canton Township
Service set after man dies day after wedding ceremony
CANTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — A memorial service is this weekend for a newly married Detroit-area youth minister who was killed in a traffic accident as he and his wife were en route to their honeymoon in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
The service for 21-year-old Jordan Costa is 11 a.m. Saturday at Connection Church in Canton Township, Mich.
Costa was pronounced dead at the scene of Sunday’s rollover crash in eastern Ohio’s Tuscarawas County. Twenty-one-year-old Heather Favazza-Costa suffered minor injuries.
The Costas were married last Saturday at Connection Church.