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Southwest Michigan Today For Friday February 2, 2018

Upton's office says an employee dispute years ago was not related to sexual harassment. The Michigan Democratic Party says Abdul El-Sayed should get a court ruling on his eligibility to run for governor this year. The K-Wings win a defensive battle. 

Michigan State University interim president John Engler faces criticism for his handling of a prison sexual assault scandal that unfolded while Engler was governor. The Detroit News reports that Engler tried to stop a Justice Department investigation into sexual assaults by prison guards against female inmates in Michigan. The case went forward and the state settled in 1999, promising to change the conditions in women’s prisons. Michigan State University appointed Engler after former president Lou Anna Simon resigned amid fallout from the school’s handling of the Larry Nassar sex abuse scandal. Some faculty and staff have criticized Engler’s appointment as “too political.” (Detroit News)

West Michigan Congressman Fred Upton’s office says an employee dispute settled years ago was not related to sexual harassment. But one of his Democratic opponents is calling for more transparency. George Franklin says Upton’s constituents deserve to know if the Republican Congressman’s office used secret settlement funds that in Franklin’s words “led to a culture of abuse on Capitol Hill.” Franklin is one of six candidates for the Democratic nomination to challenge Upton. In an email to the St. Joseph Benton Harbor Herald-Palladium, Upton spokesman Tom Wilbur says neither Upton nor any member of his staff has ever had any sexual harassment, claim or settlement.

The Michigan Democratic Party is asking gubernatorial candidate Abdul El-Sayed to seek a legal ruling on whether he is eligible for the ballot this year. A recent story by Bridge raised questions of whether El-Sayed meets the Michigan Constitution’s requirement that a candidate for governor be a registered elector in the state for four years before the general election. El-Sayed spent time in New York as a professor at Columbia University, and was registered to vote there as recently as 2015. In a statement, the Michigan Democratic Party says El-Sayed should seek a court ruling to settle the issue.

In hockey, Kalamazoo beat Rapid City Thursday night 2-1. The K-Wings play at Quad City tonight.