Some businesses are just about selling products. Others are about building community, championing causes, and proving that success and social consciousness can go hand in hand. Capital Hippie, Downtown Lansing Inc.’s Business of the Month, is in the latter category.
When you think about what makes a community thrive, it’s people like Tony Beyers who come to mind — individuals who don’t just show up, but who roll up their sleeves and help shape the very fabric of Downtown Lansing.
As Downtown Lansing Inc.’s Volunteer of the Month, Tony has become an indispensable part of our community’s success. Whether he’s serving on our Promotions committee or spearheading the popular BrrrCrawl event, Tony brings both passion and expertise to everything he touches.
Guest Writer: Jay Krammes
Opening Day will hit a little differently this year (pun intended). When the gates open at Jackson Field on Thursday, April 2, it won’t simply mark the start of another season. The Lansing Lugnuts are celebrating their 30th anniversary in 2026 — three decades after more than 10,000 fans filled Oldsmobile Park on April 11, 1996.
Guest Writer: Jay Krammes
The Masonic Temple Building at 217 South Capitol Avenue was completed in 1924 and stands a few blocks from the Michigan State Capitol. The seven-story structure, designed in the Classical Revival style by Lansing architect Edwyn A. Bowd, was built to bring Lansing’s growing Masonic membership under one downtown roof.
By: Kristen Matthews (via WITL 100.7FM)
Lansing has enjoyed some pretty warm days recently, but of course the weather would inevitably get cold again. What did you expect? It is Michigan after all.
Honestly though, the cooler weather will be the perfect pairing for Downtown Lansing’s Brrr Crawl this weekend.
The Capital Area Transportation Authority (CATA) unveiled a special Rosa Parks Tribute Bus on Wednesday, February 4, 2026, in Downtown Lansing as part of events honoring the civil rights icon and Transit Equity Day, which coincides with her birthday.
By Mike Ellis (via Lansing City Pulse)
You’d expect to find a tie-dye shop in Old Town, REO Town or East Lansing.
But downtown Lansing?
Laura Castle has been running the downtown shop Capital Hippie for almost four years, plus six months beforehand at the also-downtown Middle Village Market.
“I must just love to struggle,” she said, “because I would make more money in REO Town, I’d make way more money in Old Town, and forget about East Lansing. It could even be like a winter business, open two days a week.”
The Bank of Lansing Building, located at 101 North Washington Square in Downtown Lansing, was constructed in 1931–1932 and opened during the Great Depression. Built during a wave of early-1930s downtown commercial development, the building was part of broader construction activity in Lansing’s city center at the time. It joined other major financial buildings of the era, including the nearby Boji Tower (originally the Capital Bank Tower), as downtown Lansing’s skyline continued to take shape.
