Mount Pleasant’s Bracken family bonded by music

More than anything else, music ties Mount Pleasant’s Bracken family together. Even though they’ve grown apart physically over the years, with some children moving to different parts of the country, the family members are bonded by their affinity for a charming chord or great vocal harmony. “It was always there,” said Kathleen Bracken, the second oldest of four siblings. Kathleen has played in nationally touring bands Those Transatlantics and Cameron McGill and What Army. Their father, Daniel Bracken, Sr., was always playing guitar around the house, which was filled with other instruments too, making live music around the house a constant.

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Jay Leno gets real in Mount Pleasant at Soaring Eagle Casino show

The last time Jay Leno stopped by Saginaw for a chat, “that was 20 years ago, 21 years, easy,” he said, chuckling. He was on a cross-country trek, doing stand-up, convincing the network decision-makers that he was the one to succeed Johnny Carson in 1992. And it worked. Other than a short-lived move into the 10 p.m. time slot in 2009, he’s hosted “The Tonight Show” ever since. “Stand-up was what I always liked to do, long before then and still today,” he said, calling about his Saturday, April 21, show at the Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort in Mount Pleasant. “I do about 50 or 60 nights a year; it keeps me sharp.”

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CMU to set 2012-13 tuition rates Thursday, aims to allow students time for financial planning

Central Michigan University students will know Thursday what they'll pay for tuition three months early. The Board of Trustees will set 2012-13 tuition and room and board rates this spring instead of in July, when the trustees traditionally set the rates. A CMU statement about the meeting said the change is "to allow students a better opportunity to participate in the discussion and to give parents and students more time for financial planning." Last summer, CMU had the lowest percentage point tuition increase among Michigan's 15 public universities.

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Trey Zeigler chooses to go to Pitt

Pittsburgh pulled off a huge recruiting coup to start the ACC in fall 2013 when Central Michigan guard Trey Zeigler chose the Panthers over Duke and UCLA on Saturday. Former Central Michigan coach Ernie Zeigler told ESPN.com on Saturday his 6-foot-5 son will play for his former colleague Jamie Dixon at Pitt. Zeigler and Dixon were assistants together under Ben Howland at Pitt. Ernie then followed Howland to UCLA. Trey Zeigler averaged 16.3 points as a freshman and 15.8 points and 6.7 rebounds as a sophomore. "He's with really good people at Pitt," Ernie Zeigler said. "He's back where me and Jamie started off." Ernie Zeigler said Trey will sit out the 2012-13 season and have two seasons of eligibility remaining.

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Huskies Steal One From the Chippewas

The Central Michigan softball team dropped the second of two games against Northern Illinois on Sunday, 4-2. With one out in the top of the seventh, the Huskies (16-20, 4-4 Mid-American Conference) got a two-run homer from Dani Parrish, over the right field fence, allowing the Huskies to grab a 3-2 lead. Three straight singles brought another NIU player home, extending the lead to 4-2. The Huskies got on the board first in the top of the second when Amanda Sheppard hit a triple off the center field fence. She would then score on the next play following a Chippewa error. A great diving play by Chelsea DeLamielleure ended the inning, with the Chippewas (16-16, 3-4 MAC) trailing 1-0.

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Central Michigan University students to hit ramp on April 14

Central Michigan University (CMU) students are getting ready to take the runway for the Threads fashion show being held April 14 in McGuirk Arena at 7:30 p.m. Threads, which is considered one of the largest events on campus, is organized by students from the apparel merchandising and design department and will feature 36 collections from 39 designers. Fraser senior and co-producer of the event Laura Czupinski said what sets this year’s show apart from shows in the past is its time period theme. “Designers have re-interpreted and modernized the decades,” Czupinski said. “The selected time periods range from Ancient Egypt to futuristic. Elements of the time periods, such as silhouette, color, materials, patterns and culture have been inspirations to the designers.”

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Two charged with identity theft in Clare Co.

Two charged with identity theft in Clare Co. A pair of Warren residents have been charged with identity theft in Clare County as the result of a Michigan State Police investigation. Troopers from the Mount Pleasant Post report the investigation stemmed from a report of check fraud made in May of 2011. Two suspects were identified during the investigation -- a 32-year-old woman and a 41-year-old man. The pair were arrested Thursday by the Michigan State Police 2nd District Fugitive Team in southeast Michigan. Each faces one count of identity theft, which is punishable by up to five years in prison and a $25,000 fine. Both are being held in the Clare County Jail. A Midland man was jailed for drugged driving and marijuana possession after a traffic stop in Isabella County's Union Township on Friday.

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