Local News Archives

Michigan State Police say an Illinois man is in the Van Buren County Jail following a chase on I-94 Friday. It started around 6:30 p.m. when troopers tried to pull over a mini van for speeding on the westbound side of the highway near Hartford. The driver took off with police in pursuit. He finally stopped around Coloma when he hit some stop sticks. It turned out the van the man was driving had been stolen out of Detroit earlier in the day, and a search of it turned up marijuana, a large amount of cash, and an assault rifle. The 19-year-old is now facing five felony charges. His name hasn’t yet been released.. ...Read Full Story

Planned for this weekend in Lawrence is the 32nd annual Ox Roast and Homecoming Festival. The celebration takes place all over town all weekend, says Paul Garrod, the festival president. He tells WSJM News Saturday kicks off with a run and walk, a truck show, and then a lighted truck parade at 8:30 p.m.. ...Read Full Story

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump will be in Detroit this weekend. He’s slated to visit a church on Saturday as he tries to reach out to black voters. However, Michigan AFL-CIO President Ron Bieber says Detroit is Hillary Clinton territory.. ...Read Full Story

A representative of Celebration Cinema says the theater chain’s decision to add closed captioning services to all of its locations had everything to do with a lawsuit filed against the company, and nothing to do with it. A St. Joseph man filed suit this month against Celebration for its lack of accommodations to the deaf. Celebration Cinema spokesperson Steve VanWagoner tells WSJM News the chain had been holding off on installing that technology, but realized it was time to act.. ...Read Full Story

Michigan’s attorney general is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene so a new ban on straight-party voting can take effect for the
November election. The emergency request filed Friday says a federal district judge and the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals wrongly blocked the law when “all Michigan has done is adopt an approach that 40 other states already follow.” The ban would prevent voters from supporting all candidates from one party with a single mark. Republican Attorney General Bill Schuette says a response from the justices is needed by next Thursday so election officials can start printing ballots. The lower courts ruled that the GOP-sponsored law – which is opposed by Democrats – would disproportionately burden black voters by creating longer lines.. ...Read Full Story

A suspect has been arrested in the robbery of a Marathon station in Dowagiac this week. The Cass County Prosecutor’s office says 30-year-old Christopher Rhodes is charged with robbery, larceny, and felony firearm. Police say he walked into the Marathon station on Spruce Street Monday night flashing a handgun, and made off with the cash from the register and a customer’s wallet. Rhodes was tracked down with the help of a state parole officer, and arrested in Coloma. Police are looking into whether he was also responsible for a gas station robbery in South Haven Monday night. Rhodes was arraigned on Friday afternoon with bond set at $500,000.. ...Read Full Story

In this week’s WSJM Week in Review, sponsored by Basney BMW, for September 2, 2016, Celebration Cinema is adding assisting technology for the hearing and vision impaired, Orchards Mall in Benton Harbor faces foreclosure next year, and more.. ...Read Full Story

Many of the schools on Michigan’s newest bottom 5% list are in Detroit and will not be closed by the state until 2019 at the earliest because of how the laws enacting a financial bailout of the district were written. Governor Rick Snyder’s administration on Thursday made public the lowest-performing schools across the state. 58 of the 116 open schools are in Detroit’s district or will be folded back into the district when a state-created turnaround entity dissolves next year. A Snyder spokeswoman says the state will not force the closure of Detroit schools for at least three years because of the legislation that created a new debt-free district. Also Thursday, Michigan’s School Reform Office released seven schools from “priority” status after students improved their test results. Among those is Decatur High School.. ...Read Full Story

The Michigan Department of Transportation is doing what it can to help make the roads easier to travel this Labor Day weekend. Spokesperson Nick Schirripa says they’re suspending most of the construction projects they’ve got going on around the state.. ...Read Full Story

The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development is again warning drivers about gas pump skimming devices. The skimmers can be attached to a gas pump to steal your credit card information when you pay outside. Department spokesperson Jennifer Holton says about 70 of them have been found in the state.. ...Read Full Story

Nearly $10,000 has been raised for the United Way of Southwest Michigan, thanks to everyone who took part in the Whirlpool “Rock the Boat” cardboard boat races Thursday. The event featured seven entries, which were judged according to creativity, theme, and speed once the vessels were raced in the river outside the Inn at Harbor Shores. Ryan Cheevers braved the waters in the United Way’s Titanic-themed boat.. ...Read Full Story

Authorities say the search for two teenage boys who went missing while swimming in Lake Michigan has become a recovery effort. Authorities who gathered at Holland State Park in western Michigan say four teenage boys were swimming 7:30 p.m. Wednesday when they were dragged out by strong currents and high waves. Two boys managed to get out of the water, while boats and helicopters tried to rescue the others.
Before 11 p.m., authorities said the water was too rough and they temporarily halted the search. But the U.S. Coast Guard says its crews actively searched through the night. The Ottawa County sheriff’s department returned to the water Thursday. The department has identified the missing boys as 14-year-old Vincent Green and 17-year-old Christopher Mimis, both of the Holland area.. ...Read Full Story

Coming up this Saturday will be one final festivity along the bluff in St. Joseph for the summer. St. Joe Today’s Whitney Behnke says it’s the Lake Bluff Craft Fair. There will be plenty to do.. ...Read Full Story

Indiana Michigan Power is celebrating the completion of its latest solar power facility. This week, it’s plant east of New Carlisle, Indiana went online. I&M spokesperson Tracy Warner tells WSJM News it’s their biggest solar farm yet.. ...Read Full Story

Michigan residents still will be allowed to use the state’s long-standing straight-party voting option in the November election. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati Thursday rejected Secretary of State Ruth Johnson’s request that the full court immediately review
a panel’s 3-0 decision that kept intact an injunction blocking the ban. A majority of 15 active judges did not favor an initial “en banc” hearing.
U.S. District Judge Gershwin Drain blocked the Republican-backed law last month, saying an increase in long lines would disproportionately burden blacks in the November election. Straight-ticket voting is popular in Michigan cities with large African-American populations. It has been on the books for 125 years and has been a common choice in some counties that are steadfastly loyal to Republicans, too.. ...Read Full Story

Police all around Michigan are keeping an extra close eye on the roads this Labor Day weekend to make sure no one’s driving drunk. Melody Kindraka, with the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning, tells WSJM News there are extra cops on the road just about everywhere.. ...Read Full Story

Celebration Cinema has announced it’s adding closed captioning and descriptive audio services to all of its theaters. The movie theater chain was sued earlier this month by a St. Joseph man for not offering closed captioning for the deaf. On Thursday, Celebration Cinema announced it’s going to start doing just that. The closed captioning devices soon to be at all of its locations will be small screens that attach to the seat cup holder. The screens can be adjusted with a flexible arm so the movie goer can see them. The descriptive hearing devices for the blind are headsets that provide narrative about key things happening on screen. Celebration Cinema says it’ll be rolling out the technology to its theaters in phases through mid-October. WSJM News has reached out to Celebration Cinema to find out if the move is in response to the lawsuit it’s facing, but has so far not heard back.. ...Read Full Story

Foreclosure is a possibility for the Orchards Mall in six months.
The owner of the Orchards Mall in Benton Township owes $324,000 in back property taxes to Berrien County and is flirting with foreclosure. County Treasurer Bret Witkowski is hoping a resolution is found.. ...Read Full Story

The owner of the Orchards Mall in Benton Township owes $324,000 in back property taxes to Berrien County and is flirting with foreclosure. County Treasurer Bret Witkowski is hoping a resolution is found.. ...Read Full Story

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is airing TV ads in Michigan for the first time since winning the state’s primary in March. The ad began running today, will last for a week and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to air, according to broadcast TV station records on the Federal Communications Commission website.. ...Read Full Story

Emergency crews have temporarily suspended their search for two teenage boys who went missing while swimming in Lake Michigan. Authorities at the scene in Holland State Park say four teenage boys were swimming Wednesday evening when they were pulled out by strong currents and high waves around 7:30 p.m. Two boys managed to get out of the water, and boats and helicopters were used to search for the other two. The U.S. Coast Guard and the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department plan to resume searching for the teenagers today.. ...Read Full Story

The future of the Orchards Mall in Benton Township is cloudy at best. Foreclosure next year by the Berrien County Treasurer’s Office is a possibility, as mall owner Mike Kohan owes $324,000 in property taxes dating back to 2014, the year he bought the facility. Treasurer Bret Witkowski says unless Kohan starts making payments, the county could wind up taking ownership of the mall. It could be put up for auction at that point. Witkowski says vendors are worried about the possibility of the mall being foreclosed, and he’s working on getting answers for them. There are just two dozen tenants at Orchards Mall, with 14 of those being retailers.. ...Read Full Story

Kids all over Michigan will return to school next Tuesday, and police are reminding drivers to be extra careful. Kalamazoo County Sheriff Richard Fuller says it’ll still be dark out when many youngsters are walking to school. Parents should take precautions, too.. ...Read Full Story

A grant of $2.25 million is coming to Michigan from the Centers for Disease Control to try to get a better handle on the state’s opioid abuse problem. Jennifer Eisner, with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services tells WSJM News the money will be used to collect data over three years.. ...Read Full Story

School starts for most students next Tuesday, and parents are already trying to get their little ones to go to bed earlier. Dr. Alice Doe is a sleep specialist at Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo and says to get the body clock of kids reset off summer hours, they’ll need a routine which could include reading, putting on their pajamas, brushing their teeth, and other activities to trigger sleep.. ...Read Full Story

Congressman Fred Upton will be in Flint Thursday to learn more about what’s been done to solve the city’s water crisis. He tells WSJM News there are still things Congress can do to ensure more cities don’t wind up with lead tainting their water supply.. ...Read Full Story

Senator Gary Peters is spending this week touring Michigan on a motorcycle, stopping in 26 counties. On Thursday morning, he’ll be in Bloomindale to talk with staff at Bloomingdale Communications, a broadband provider. Peters says he wants to help expand high-speed internet access to rural areas.. ...Read Full Story

Apple growers around southwest Michigan say they’re pleased with this year’s crop. The Michigan Apple Committee announced this week 2016’s harvest will be much larger than usual, and Sarah Jollay, with Jollay Orchards in Coloma, says that sounds right to her.. ...Read Full Story

Officials say no genetic material from invasive bighead or silver carp has been detected in Michigan waters this year. The state Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are searching Michigan’s Great Lakes tributary rivers for Asian carp DNA. After this year’s work is completed, more than 7,000 water samples will have been collected since 2013. One sample from the Kalamazoo River tested positive in 2014, but officials say the source probably was a boat or angler from another water body. The DNR says it is waiting for results of a final round of sampling from the St. Joseph, Grand, Kalamazoo, Muskegon, Macatawa, Galien and Black rivers. But thus far, no samples this year have turned up signs of Asian carp.. ...Read Full Story

A 50-year-old man charged with striking and killing five bicyclists with his pickup truck in Kalamazoo has been found competent to stand trial. A hearing was held Wednesday in Kalamazoo County District Court for Charles Pickett Jr. He was evaluated by the state’s Center for Forensic Psychiatry at the request of his attorney. Pickett is charged with five counts of second-degree murder, four counts of reckless driving causing impairment and driving while intoxicated causing death. Police have reported that Pickett had taken pain pills and muscle relaxers less than two hours before the June 7 crash. Another four bicyclists were injured when he struck them from behind on a two-lane road in Cooper Township, south of Grand Rapids. Pickett faces a September 21 preliminary examination.. ...Read Full Story

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is planning to speak at the University of Notre Dame. University president the Rev. John Jenkins announced that Ginsburg will speak at the Purcell Pavilion on September 12. He says she will talk about a wide range of issues with U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Ann Claire Williams, who is a Notre Dame alumna and board of trustee member.. ...Read Full Story

Voters will not be deciding on the sinking fund millage for Benton Harbor Area Schools in November. The school board has voted to move that to the May primary at a special meeting last night. Board member Stephen Mitchell told our partners at WNDU NewsCenter 16 he’d rather put the question in front of voters now, rather than wait.. ...Read Full Story

The search is on for an armed robber who pulled a gun at the Quick Stop liquor store in South Haven just before 9:30 Monday night and got away with cash out of the register. Police are looking at surveillance video trying to identify the suspect, who is described as black, about 6-feet-2, and was wearing dark clothing along with a mask and gloves. There is also the possibility according to police that the same suspect robbed a Marathon station in Dowagiac about an hour later. In that robbery, a customer’s wallet was also taken along with money out of the till. A police K-9 was unable to track the man out of the gas station. Anyone with information on the robberies is asked to call South Haven Police or Dowagiac Public Safety.. ...Read Full Story

With multiple tornadoes touching down this month in west Michigan, residents are being reminded of ways they can help keep themselves prepared. Berrien County Emergency Preparedness Coordinator Rocky Adams says each family should talk about where they’ll go if a tornado strikes.. ...Read Full Story

Congressman Fred Upton is expecting the Zika virus to be the top priority when lawmakers return to Washington in a few weeks. He says Congress may approve more than a billion dollars to not only wipe out mosquitoes in the south, but also to develop a vaccine.. ...Read Full Story

The Lake Michigan College Board of Trustees has welcomed a new member. On Tuesday, the board swore in Jeff Curry to serve in a three-year term replacing Stephen Small, who joined in 2013 and resigned this month. Curry is a past president of the Lake Michigan College Foundation, and a past president and current treasurer of the Niles Board of Education. He’s also a member of the Michigan Gateway Community Foundation and the committee for the Buchanan Promise. Previously, he’s worked with Kinexus, the United Way of Southwest Michigan, and the Niles-Buchanan YMCA. Curry is a St. Joseph native who lives in Niles and works for Stay Metrics. LMC Board President Mary Jo Tomasini says he’s an excellent addition with the insight to help LMC innovate. Curry replaces Stephen Small, of South Haven, who stepped down to teach at the college.. ...Read Full Story

Recent rains around southwest Michigan could be a double-edged sword for regional farmers. Mark Longstroth, with MSU Extension in Van Buren County, says the effect all of this rain has had all depends on what you’re growing.. ...Read Full Story

Senator Gary Peters is going to make a stop in Van Buren County this week. Peters is currently on a motorcycle tour of the state, heading to 26 counties and making 12 stops over five days to talk with Michigan residents about things going on in Washington. On Thursday, he’ll stop at Bloomingdale Communications, on West Kalamazoo Street in Bloomingdale, to discuss the work being done to get broadband internet to rural Michigan residents. Bloomingdale Communications is a broadband provider. Peters will roll into town about 11 a.m. Also Thursday, Peters will make stops in Jones and Sturgis.. ...Read Full Story

More than a dozen Michigan-based organizations and companies will share $89 million for energy assistance programs for low-income
households or schools. The grants were approved by the Michigan Agency for Energy in conjunction with the state Department of Health and Human Services. The projects include helping low-income utility customers pay their bills on time and assisting them with budgeting to provide for energy expenses. Grants include $17 million for DTE Energy, $15 million for TrueNorth Community Services, $13.7 million for the Salvation Army, $13.2 million for Consumers  Energy and $8.8 million for the Heat and Warmth Fund.. ...Read Full Story

Gas prices in Michigan are expected to fall once Labor Day is over. GasBuddy’s Patrick DeHaan says when travel for the holiday weekend starts this Friday, you can expect a gallon of regular unleaded to cost about $2.30. Come Monday, he thinks prices will go down.. ...Read Full Story

Michigan students improved in slightly more than half of the grades and subjects tested on newer, more rigorous standardized assessments,
but their proficiency declined in other areas. M-STEP results released Tuesday show that fewer than half of the students were proficient in 17 of 18 subject-grade tests. State officials say there’s work to be done, but they’re pleased testing times dropped and results are being released four months earlier than last year — the first time the M-STEP was given. Also being released are SAT college entrance exam scores. The SAT was
administered to 11th-graders for the first time after Michigan switched from the ACT. 60% of students were deemed college and career ready in reading and writing, but just 37 percent were college and career ready in math.. ...Read Full Story

Lincoln Township police are reminding residents to keep their cars locked, as there’s been a rash of vehicle break-ins lately. Police chief Dan Sullivan says the thieves have been striking mostly unlocked cars since the beginning of August. Most recently, there were 15 reports of car break-ins this past Sunday and Monday. Sullivan says one tip is simply to not leave anything valuable in your car.. ...Read Full Story

Police are looking for an armed robber who struck a Marathon station in Dowagiac Monday night. Dowagiac police say the suspect walked into the gas station on Spruce Street around 10:40 p.m. flashing a handgun. He made off with the cash from the register, as well as a customer’s wallet. The suspect was wearing a mask and a hood at the time, along with dark clothing. He’s described as being about 6’1 and 200 pounds. A search for him with a police K9 didn’t turn up anything. Anyone with information on the crime is asked to call the Dowagiac Police Department.. ...Read Full Story

It’s expected Michigan apple growers will harvest a record 31-million bushels or 1.3 billion pounds of apples this year. The Michigan Apple Committee says that’s up by 7-million bushels from last year, and well above the average of 22.8 million bushels for the state. Michigan Apple Committee Executive Director Diane Smith credits excellent weather conditions for growing apples this summer, and says with the heat we’ve had, the flavor is also expected to be as excellent as the size of the crop. Harvest is underway now for early-season varieties, and will continue through the fall. Michigan has over 800 family-run apple farms with over 11-million apple trees in commercial production.. ...Read Full Story

(South Bend, IN – AP) – The University of Notre Dame has received a $5 million donation to build the second phase of a business incubator near campus. The donation was made by the late Thomas Quinn and his wife, Diane. The money will fund a 40,000-square-foot, three-level facility located on a 12-acre site immediately south of the campus that will expand Innovation Park. Construction is expected to begin in late fall or early winter.. ...Read Full Story

He has been the prime suspect since an 88-year-old neighbor was beaten to death in his own home on Kalamazoo’s east side three years ago this month. Now, authorities in that city say 43-year-old Todd Maneke is facing open murder charges for allegedly killing Alfred Minka. Kalamazoo Public Safety Captain Victor Ledbetter says the man they arrested was the most likely candidate from the beginning, but it took a lot of good old fashioned detective work and a bit of evidence that had been overlooked to finally put all the pieces in place.. ...Read Full Story

If you’re planning on going out of town this Labor Day, you’re not alone. Triple-A Michigan expects over one million Michiganders to travel this weekend, making it the third most traveled holiday of the summer season. And with so many people on the roads, spokeswoman Susan Hiltz says the risk factors greatly increase.. ...Read Full Story

Parts of southwest Michigan are under a flood warning until 3 p.m. today. The National Weather Service says a thunderstorm this morning dropping about three inches of rain an hour from Benton Harbor to Cass County is to blame. Northeastern Berrien and northwestern Cass counties are under the warning, including Stevensville, St. Joseph, Benton Harbor, Dowagiac, Eau Claire and Millburg. The National Weather Service is urging people to not drive through flooded areas, noting most flood-related deaths happen in vehicles.. ...Read Full Story

A new list of colleges considered “dangerous” for LGBTQ students includes two in Michigan. LGBTQ advocacy organization Campus Pride released its “Shame List” on Monday, which features 102 schools that the organization alleges openly discriminate against LGBTQ youth in policies, programs and practices.. ...Read Full Story

More than 15,000 microwave ovens are being recalled by Whirlpool. Manufactured in China between January 2014 and April of this year, the microwaves pose a fire hazard. There have been five reports of problems, including one house fire. The recalled items are microwave hood combinations in black, stainless steel and white. The recalled microwaves should be unplugged immediately and not used. Whirlpool says internal arcing during use can ignite a plastic component. More information is available on the Consumer Product Safety Commission website and at repair.whirlpoolcorp.com, including a list of model and serial numbers included in the recall.. ...Read Full Story

As public frustration over the influence of money in politics continues to grow, a new study shows some evidence the US political system is more “one dollar, one vote” than “one person, one vote.” Thomas Ferguson, with the Institute for New Economic Thinking, tapped big data on congressional races and discovered a stark correlation.. ...Read Full Story

As Michiganders with second homes prepare to shut them down for the winter, Consumers Energy says they can use smart meter technology to monitor their cottages to make sure electricity isn’t being wasted. Spokesperson Debra Dodd says the utility has rolled them out throughout the state.. ...Read Full Story

The annual Mackinac Bridge Walk will be next Monday, and once again, the Michigan Department of Transportation is holding a bridge photo contest. For the next two weeks, everyone’s invited to post a photo to any of MDOT’s social media accounts. Spokesperson Jeff Cranson says the winner will get to take a free tour.. ...Read Full Story

Great Lakes researchers have gotten a big boost from the state Department of Environmental Quality. More than $155,000 has been given to Oakland University to create technology to deal with harmful algae blooms that can kill off fish. David Schlagg, assistant Professor of chemistry and environmental science, says the money will go to good use.. ...Read Full Story

Road construction in southwest Michigan should start winding down for the year in the next couple of months. The Michigan Department of Transportation’s Nick Schirripa says work in Berrien County will be finished by the end of October.. ...Read Full Story

Some occupational therapy students from Western Michigan University are about to begin an unusual project to prepare themselves for working with seniors once they graduate. They’re moving into a retirement community. Director of resident living at Clark on Keller Lake in Cascade Township Nancy Ayers says it’s a pioneering research project. The intent is for the students and the seniors to learn from one another.. ...Read Full Story

With the new school year starting next week, Benton Harbor Area Schools is reaching out to the community to ask for a little help in preparing its buildings. Curriculum Director Patricia Robinson says many teachers had to move to new buildings over the summer, and they’re hoping volunteers will come out this week to help them clear some of the clutter.. ...Read Full Story

Kalamazoo mass shooting suspect Jason Dalton is expected to face 16 felony charges when he goes on trial late this year or early next year. That’s according to Kalamazoo County Prosecutor Jeff Getting who says Dalton is currently being evaluated for competency. Getting expects that when the results of the defense-requested exam are in, the prosecution is going to ask for a second opinion.. ...Read Full Story

A southwest Michigan Welcome Center has doubled as an animal rescue center, as employees managed to save a cat that escaped from its cross-country bound family. Milkie, a 14-year-old tabby, was traveling in a moving truck with Graham Skelly and his 10-year-old son, Simon, from Seattle to Arlington, Virginia. The father says they stopped August 21 at the travelers’ center in New Buffalo. Skelly says Milkie, who was leashed, became scared by a dog and ran into woods. The Skellys searched for two hours before leaving empty-handed. Center employee Alyson Payne says workers finally safely trapped Milkie on Friday. Graham Skelly drove from Virginia to reclaim the pet Sunday. He says by phone – amid Milkie’s meows – that the family is “grateful” for the rescue.. ...Read Full Story