The Chikaming Township Police Department is investigating a Friday armed robbery in Union Pier. It says officers were sent to the Whistle Stop Store on Red Arrow Highway just before 8 a.m. and learned a suspect had gone into the store, pointed a handgun at the clerk, and demanded money. The clerk complied, and the suspect ran out with cash. The suspect is described as a white male, very thin, with dark hair, standing between 5’8 and 5’11. He was wearing a mask over his jaw. He took off in a dark or navy blue Chrysler 300, model year between 2008 and 2010. Police ask anyone with information regarding the suspect to contact them. The Chikaming Township Police Department says the “armed robbery is being aggressively investigated by our staff.” Meanwhile, it also says it has arrested a suspect in a series of burglaries to unoccupied homes in the Harbert area. However, it has not released further details on that development.. ...Read Full Story
Michigan’s U.S. senators are seeking more federal funding to continue a wide-ranging Great Lakes cleanup program. Democrats Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters have announced bipartisan legislation to renew and expand the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.. ...Read Full Story
A good apple crop is expected in Michigan this year. Michigan Apple Committee executive director Diane Smith says 25.25 million bushels are expected in Michigan, a top apple producing state.. ...Read Full Story
State Senator Aric Nesbitt of Lawton is trying again to get a change made to how state Supreme Court justices are chosen in the event of a vacancy mid-term. As it stands now, the governor would appoint a new justice, and it’s not subject to a vote in the Senate. Nesbitt says that shouldn’t be.. ...Read Full Story
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson is seeking some college students to serve on her office’s new Collegiate Student Advisory Task Force. The force is intended to make recommendations for improving voter engagement among college students. Benson tells WSJM News they want input before the 2020 elections.. ...Read Full Story
Berrien County property owners are being reminded their summer tax bills are due soon. Berrien County Treasurer Bret Witkowski tells WSJM News all but two taxing units in the county have a due date of September 16 for summer taxes. He says there are always those who run into problems.. ...Read Full Story
A Berrien Springs apartment building has been destroyed by fire. It happened Saturday night at Park Manor Apartments on Rosehill Road. The entire building, consisting of 20 units, was wrecked. Our partners at WSBT report crews had to tear down what was left of the building. There were no reported injuries.. ...Read Full Story
The demand for lighthouse tours in St. Joseph has been up this year. In fact, the Heritage Museum and Cultural Center says there has been a record number of tours. The museum’s Kate Ulrey tells WSJM News there has been great demand from tourists and residents alike.. ...Read Full Story
Southwestern Michigan College needs a new president, and it’s going to start by looking within. At a meeting this past week of the SMC Board of Trustees, the vote was six to one to do an internal search for a new president. That’s as Dr. David Mathews plans to retire at the end of this year. Mathews has been SMC president since July of 2001. SMC Board of Trustees Chair Thomas Jerdon tells us he thinks they’ve already got some qualified candidates right there on campus, and the college knows them better than it could get to know anyone from a one hour interview. Also, he says SMC wants to be upwardly mobile. The board directed that the position of president be posted as soon as possible for internal candidates, with the application period closing in time for materials to be available to it by the September meeting. Jerdon also invited the public to come to the September 16 session to offer its input. Jerdon said hiring a firm to do a national search would be a good Plan B if the internal search doesn’t work out.. ...Read Full Story
A new campaign to educate the public about marijuana has been launched by the Berrien County Health Department. Spokesperson Gillian Conrad tells WSJM News The Dirt on Weed features a new website, billboards, radio ads, social media activity, and presentations regarding how marijuana affects different groups. She says the campaign is possible thanks to a $45,000 state grant that became available when marijuana was legalized for adults in Michigan.. ...Read Full Story
A survey has been put online by Benton Harbor Area Schools asking the community for feedback regarding the state’s latest proposal to improve the district. This is following a presentation last week by the Michigan Department of Treasury to the Benton Harbor Area Schools Board of Education. Treasury proposed that a Community Engagement and Advisory Committee consisting of various local stakeholders and education leaders be established to assess the school district and then draft a list of recommendations. The committee will have six months to put together its report. The board of education was asked to approve a resolution in support of the idea, perhaps at a meeting in September. In the meantime, the school district has put its survey and an electronic copy of the state proposal up at BHAS.org. The survey asks people for feedback and suggestions for improvement. The district asks everyone to have their input in by August 28.. ...Read Full Story
Set for September 7 is a 5K run in Benton Township to benefit two Berrien County non-profits. Marianne Groth with the SWMI RACERS tells WSJM News it’s the third annual Run for Hope and Recovery.. ...Read Full Story
Coming up on September 7 will be event for paddlers of all kinds to help fight invasive species in southwest Michigan. Michigan State University Extension Sea Grant educator Mary Bohling tells WSJM News kayakers and others are invited to come out to the Southwest Michigan Planning Commission office in Benton Harbor for a paddling session in the Paw Paw River.. ...Read Full Story
Preserve the Dunes and Chikaming Open Lands are inviting everyone who wants to learn about protecting the region’s environment to come out to a guided tour at Warren Dunes State Park next month. Set for September 14, the tour will feature information on protecting the dunes, says Preserve the Dunes President Marcy Hamilton, who spoke with WSJM News.. ...Read Full Story
A rare form of gonorrhea has shown up in southwest Michigan. Michigan Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson Lynn Sutfin tells WSJM News there have been four confirmed cases in Kalamazoo County, and one in St. Joseph County. It’s also investigating one possible case in Calhoun County. This form of the illness, commonly called DGI, is more serious than your standard gonorrhea.. ...Read Full Story
Whirlpool is celebrating the opening of a new child care facility at its Lakeview campus. Project leader Erin Schroeder tells WSJM News the Eddy, as it’s being called, will serve the families who work for the appliance maker.. ...Read Full Story
A joint meeting of the city of South Haven, South Haven Township, and the South Haven Housing Commission will be held next month as the three work on developing more affordable housing in the area. South Haven Assistant City Manager Kate Hosier tells WSJM News there is a need.. ...Read Full Story
Set for Tuesday is the Berrien County Health Department’s annual Back to School Bash. Spokesperson Gillian Conrad tells WSJM News the event is a way for parents to take care of several of the things ahead of the new school year, all in one place.. ...Read Full Story
Western Michigan University is getting a $1.35 million federal grant to fight the opioid epidemic, and it’s partly thanks to the help of Congressman Fred Upton. He tells WSJM News the funds from the Health Resources and Services Administration will go to WMU’s Youth Prevention and Recovery from Opioid Youth Disorders program, or MY-PROUD.. ...Read Full Story
What some people thought might be an algae bloom spotted in Lake Michigan off St. Joseph this week has turned out to be a harmless mass of duck weed. The Berrien County Health Department was contacted this week about the green patch. It brought in the Michigan Department of the Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, and samples were collected and tested. Health department spokesperson Gillian Conrad tells us all indications, once officials got a close look at the material, is that it’s the harmless water plant, duck weed. That usually grows in rivers or streams, but Conrad says recent high levels of runoff could have caused some of the duck weed to wind up in the lake.. ...Read Full Story
He’d rather talk about anything else, but the superintendent of a west Michigan school district says their new high school, now under construction, is designed to protect against an active shooter. Bob Szymoniak, superintendent of Fruitport Community Schools, told Michigan News Network this week the school will have curved hallways to reduce a gunman’s range.. ...Read Full Story
From the Associated Press — The Michigan Republican Party and other Republicans have filed a lawsuit challenging the formation of a redistricting commission to draw congressional and legislative lines. Thursday’s suit is the second one brought in under a month.
The party, chairwoman Laura Cox, former Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land and others say a 2018 ballot measure approved by voters violates the GOP’s fundamental right to associate or not associate. They fear people who do not represent Republicans’ interests will be selected as Republican commissioners. The constitutional amendment requires that a panel of four self-identified Democrats, four self-identified Republicans and five unaffiliated members draw political maps instead of the Legislature, starting in 2021.
Voters Not Politicians, which spearheaded the anti-gerrymandering change, says it is confident the law will withstand the latest challenge.. ...Read Full Story
State Representative Beth Griffin of Mattawan is relieved to see the results of the Michigan PFAS Action Response Team’s PFAS testing around Michigan. MPART, as it’s commonly known, released its screening results late last week, showing 90% of water supplies in the state tested for no PFAS. However, that still leaves 10%. That’s why Griffin tells WSJM News she’s introducing legislation to extend MPART.. ...Read Full Story
Some asphalt resurfacing is coming to Napier Avenue in Berrien County. At this week’s meeting of the Berrien County Board of Commissioners, the work in two areas was approved. First will be Napier from the Bainbridge and Benton Township line east to Morgan Road, and the second part will be from 625 feet east of Blue Creek to the Bainbridge and Benton Township line. The county board signed off on the asphalt resurfacing, traffic controls, and related work to be done by the Berrien County Road Department Thursday. The total cost of the project will be $620,000, although the county’s share will only be $22,000. Federal funds will contribute to the project, which has the approval of the Michigan Department of Transportation.. ...Read Full Story
The Berrien County Health Department is working with the Michigan Department of the Environment, Great Lakes and Energy to investigate a greenish patch that was reported on the surface of Lake Michigan off St. Joseph this week. Berrien County Health Department spokesperson Gillian Conrad tells WSJM News while there were some concerns it could be an algae bloom, that’s not thought to be likely.. ...Read Full Story
The rising cost of prescription drug prices continues to make headlines, and Michiganders are encouraged to help find solutions. AARP Michigan is hosting two upcoming Prescription Drug Community Conversations next Monday. AARP Associate State Director for Communications Mark Hornbeck explains that the annual average cost of a brand-name drug has more than tripled over the past decade, outpacing inflation by roughly 400%.. ...Read Full Story
If you’ve ever wondered where the money you pay for a speeding ticket goes, Cass County Treasurer Hope Anderson has the answer. She says county treasurers distribute the money collected to public libraries. This year, her office has distributed nearly $200,000, up 32% from last year. Anderson says most of the money has gone to the Cass County Public Library. Penal fines going to libraries has been part of the Michigan Constitution since Michigan became a state in 1835.. ...Read Full Story
A Coloma priest is facing serious charges that would require him to be a registered sex offender if found guilty. Attorney General Dana Nessel is charging 57-year-old Father Brian Stanley with false imprisonment for allegedly holding a teenage boy against his will in the janitor’s room of St. Margaret’s Church in Otsego in 2013. The teen was wrapped in Saran wrap and masking tape, with the tape going over his eyes and mouth, and left alone in the room for more than an hour before the priest let him go. Nessel says the charge comes from information seized from all seven Michigan diocese last October, and says Archdiocese records indicate Stanley had a history of similar conduct for decades with binding materials. She says that conduct is a sexually motivated crime. Nessel says her team is going through millions of pages of documents seized last year, and expects to charge more clergy members.. ...Read Full Story
More than 800 backpacks filled with school supplies have been donated to schools around southwest Michigan and northern Indiana by the Pokagon Band of Pottawatomi. The Pokagons tell us employees at the Four Winds Casinos contributed to the giveaway with a voluntary payroll deduction, raising more than $6,000. The casinos then chipped in another $5,000. In total, they gave out 816 backpacks, each stuffed with pencils, markers, pens, crayons, notebooks, and scissors. Four Winds Casinos COO Frank Freedman says the employees have always risen to the occasion when it comes to helping the community.. ...Read Full Story
The Palisades nuclear power plant in Covert Township only has about three years remaining to be producing electricity for west Michigan before Entergy shuts it down for good. With the upcoming decommissioning of the plant, the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission sent several officials to Lake Michigan College’s Mendel Center Wednesday night to discuss the procedure and get feedback from area residents. The NRC’s Bruce Watson explained to WSJM News that decommissioning is a lengthy process.. ...Read Full Story
With Vice President Mike Pence in Michigan this week to address the Economic Club of Detroit, he urged the state’s congressional delegation to support the US-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement, intended to replace NAFTA. We asked Congressman Fred Upton what he thinks of the USMCA. He tells WSJM News he believes it’s a plus.. ...Read Full Story
The Van Buren Conservation District is planning the second annual Healthy Home Fair in Hartford for next month. The district’s Erin Fuller tells us last year’s event went well and they’re hoping to do even better this year. The fair will be held at Ely Park On September 12 from 3 to 6 p.m.. ...Read Full Story
A survey has been put online by the St. Joseph Library as it seeks to improve services. Maud Preston Palenske Memorial Library Director Stephanie Masin tells WSJM News they want to use the information obtained from the survey to better plan for the future as more varied services are offered.. ...Read Full Story
The Michigan Department of Transportation is planning to install new signs along I-94 in Van Buren County to warn drivers of conditions that should make them slow down. MDOT spokesperson Nick Schirripa tells WSJM News the current MDOT five year plan calls for those variable speed signs in 2023. The signs will warn drivers about poor weather conditions, for example.. ...Read Full Story
Drivers heading east on I-94 in Van Buren County had some terrifying moments Tuesday night when an SUV was headed west in their lanes for just over 20 miles. Paw Paw and Mattawan police began chasing 47-year-old Ida King shortly before 10 p.m. after dispatch received several 911 calls of a wrong-way driver going west on the highway, starting at the Mattawan exit. King’s vehicle finally came to a stop after Pokagon Tribal Police put out stop sticks near Hartford, and three of her tires blew out. No other vehicles were hit according to the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Department. King was found to be drunk and had several warrants for her arrest out of mid-Michigan, including one for child neglect in Eaton County. She is locked up in the Van Buren County Jail.. ...Read Full Story
There is a proposal in the works in the state Senate to do away with Michigan’s income tax. Senator Aric Nesbitt of Lawton is behind the idea to zero out the 4.25% income tax by reducing it by a tenth of a percent over the course of several decades. Nesbitt tells WSJM News the state functioned just fine without an income tax until it was enacted in the 1960s, and looks at other states such as Texas, Nevada and Florida where the state economies are growing and residents do not have an income tax.. ...Read Full Story
Another area educator is moving on to a new post. South Haven High School principal Jerry Sardina has been selected as the new superintendent of the Iron Mountain School District in the Upper Peninsula. Sardina was selected Monday night in a unanimous vote by the school board after two interviews. Contract negotiations are underway. South Haven Public Schools Superintendent Kevin Schooley tells WSJM News they wish Sardina well and says he will remain on site for about the next two or three weeks, but acknowledges the timing for the district is “not ideal.” Schooley says assistant principal Ryan Williamson will take over for the time being.. ...Read Full Story
A suburban Detroit family is safely back on land after their rented jetskis capsized in Lake Michigan off the coast of South Haven. A nearby sailboat helped pluck an adult male and a child from the water, and South Haven Area Emergency Services responders rescued another child and an adult woman. The family from Troy was several hundred yards from shore off South Beach when their rented vessels overturned. One child is being treated at Bronson-South Haven Hospital, while the other three had no injuries. The incident happened at 11:30 this morning.. ...Read Full Story
It’s pretty short notice, but the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold a forum tonight regarding the decommissioning of the Palisades nuclear power plant following it’s planned closure in 2022. The public meeting will start at 6 p.m. at the Mendel Center on the campus of Lake Michigan College in Benton Harbor. Decommissioning the plant involves finding permanent storage for spent nuclear fuel, the safe shutdown of the facility and the removal of major components like the reactor vessel, steam generators, pumps, valves, and large piping systems and will take several years.. ...Read Full Story
Southwestern Michigan College needs a new president, and it’s going to start by looking within. At a meeting this week of the SMC Board of Trustees, the vote was six to one to do an internal search for a new president. That’s as Dr. David Mathews plans to retire at the end of this year. Mathews has been SMC president since July of 2001. SMC Board of Trustees Chair Thomas Jerdon tells us he thinks they’ve already got some qualified candidates right there on campus, and the college knows them better than it could get to know anyone from a one hour interview. Also, he says SMC wants to be upwardly mobile. The board directed that the position of president be posted as soon as possible for internal candidates, with the application period closing in time for materials to be available to it by the September meeting. Jerdon also invited the public to come to the September 16 session to offer its input. Jerdon said hiring a firm to do a national search would be a good Plan B if the internal search doesn’t work out.. ...Read Full Story
A package of legislation intended to make Michigan water supplies safer has been introduced in the state Senate. One bill in the package would require periodic testing of water for lead at child care facilities, colleges and universities, hospitals, nursing homes, and adult care facilities. That bill is from state Senator Kim LaSata, who tells us it and the others in the package would “build upon the investment and action that have already been taken to improve and protect the quality of our water.” Other bills in the new plan would create the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention and Control Commission to study environmental threats of lead poisoning, establish a lead and copper analysis report at least one year prior to any change in a water source, reform the emergency manager law into a three-person financial management team, and require lead service line disclosure statements in all rental contracts. The bills are all in response to recent water issues Michigan has seen, from the Flint water crisis to PFAS showing up in Parchment. The bills, which have House companions, are now before various Senate committees.. ...Read Full Story
With the most recent mass shootings still on everyone’s mind, Congressman Fred Upton is expecting the U.S. House to talk about legislation to reduce gun violence when it gets back to work next month. He tells us he’s hoping to see the House Judiciary Committee take up the Jake Laird Act. It provides grants to states to encourage them to implement red flag laws, enabling police to take someone’s guns for a specified period when that person is thought to be a danger to themselves or others.. ...Read Full Story
A survey has been put online by Benton Harbor Area Schools asking the community for feedback regarding the state’s latest proposal to improve the district. This is following a presentation last week by the Michigan Department of Treasury to the Benton Harbor Area Schools Board of Education. Treasury proposed that a Community Engagement and Advisory Committee consisting of various local stakeholders and education leaders be established to assess the school district and then draft a list of recommendations. The committee will have six months to put together its report. The board of education was asked to approve a resolution in support of the idea, perhaps at a meeting in September. In the meantime, the school district has put its survey and an electronic copy of the state proposal up at BHAS.org. The survey asks people for feedback and suggestions for improvement. The district asks everyone to have their input in by August 28.. ...Read Full Story
Michigan State Police detective sergeant Kevin Conklin will soon be retiring from that agency after 24 years to take a new job. He’s been selected to be the next Van Buren County undersheriff by Sheriff Dan Abbott, who tells WSJM News Conklin will be a huge asset to the office.. ...Read Full Story
Benton Harbor City Commissioners have updated the rules that govern their meetings. At a Monday session, the body updated its rules on the recommendation of the legislative committee. Commissioner Sharon Henderson said the amendments have been in the works for several months. In fact, they were tabled by the commission a few months ago before being brought back Monday.. ...Read Full Story
A Buchanan man is facing four charges of second-degree murder for a crash this month that killed four people. Berrien County Prosecutor Mike Sepic says in addition to those, 54-year-old Dub Collins is also facing drunk driving charges and a charge of driving on a suspended license. Collins is accused of blowing through a stop sign at a high speed at the intersection of Miller Road and Main Street on Friday, August 2 and plowing into a 2000 Honda Accord driven by 66-year-old Robert Klint of Sawyer. Along with Klint, his three passengers were all pronounced dead at the scene. They were his 60-year-old wife, Melissa, their 22-year-old daughter, Landyn, and Melissa’s 52-year-old brother, Kent Williamson of Virginia.. ...Read Full Story
The I-196 Business Loop in South Haven, also known as Broadway and LaGrange avenues, has been the topic of a proposed road diet by city officials for about two years. The road is owned and maintained by the Michigan Department of Transportation, which means the city can’t do anything with it until getting the state’s approval. South Haven City Manager Brian Dissette says they’re about to get the green light.. ...Read Full Story
You may have seen billboards featuring the phrase “Going Pro” and wondered what it is. It’s the rebranding by the Whitmer administration of the job training program launched by the state under former Governor Rick Snyder seeking to help companies hire and train new workers. It’s worked very well under both administrations according to officials with Kinexus in Benton Harbor. Kinexus Group vice president of public relations and government affairs Al Pscholka says last year, almost four dozen companies in Berrien, Cass, and Van Buren counties received $2.1 million in awards from the program.. ...Read Full Story
Those living along Dunkley Avenue or who have to drive along it in South Haven will be getting some relief fairly soon. The City Council this week was given four options to deal with the flooding issue due to high water levels in Lake Michigan and the Black River, the most expensive costing more than $400,000. The City Council will go with a $20,000 remedy according to City Manager Brian Dissette.. ...Read Full Story
From the Associated Press — Justin Amash has left the Republican Party over his opposition to President Donald Trump, and Democrats are celebrating. The Michigan congressman’s departure means a three-way race in his politically shifting Grand Rapids-area district, giving Democrats fresh hope for picking up his a seat. Amash is also flirting with another way to wound Trump – by running for president as a Libertarian. More than 200,000 Michigan voters supported a third-party candidate in 2016, when Trump won the state by just over 10,000 votes Amash was the first Republican on Capitol Hill to say Congress should begin impeachment proceedings. Amash’s is another cautionary tale for GOP lawmakers who consider opposing Trump. Those who do quickly find it’s a lonely place to be, and may mean the end of a political career.. ...Read Full Story
The Benton Harbor City Commission has given final approval to nearly $1 million in street repairs for this year. At a Monday meeting, a bid of $990,000 was approved for Kalin Construction to do the 2019 street resurfacing project. The work is possible thanks to the city’s new income tax. Mayor Marcus Muhammad said this is why the voters approved the tax.. ...Read Full Story
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson is seeking some college students to serve on her office’s new Collegiate Student Advisory Task Force. The force is intended to make recommendations for improving voter engagement among college students. Benson tells WSJM News they want input before the 2020 elections.. ...Read Full Story
A woman who walked all the way around Lake Michigan and wrote a book about the experience will be making a presentation in Bridgman on Thursday. Loreen Niewenhuis took the trek in 2009, and has since toured around the region giving talks about what she learned. She introduces herself on her YouTube channel.. ...Read Full Story
A new campaign to educate the public about marijuana has been launched by the Berrien County Health Department. Spokesperson Gillian Conrad tells WSJM News The Dirt on Weed features a new website, billboards, radio ads, social media activity, and presentations regarding how marijuana affects different groups. She says the campaign is possible thanks to a $45,000 state grant that became available when marijuana was legalized for adults in Michigan.. ...Read Full Story
From the Associated Press — Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has appointed a former U.S. homeland security official to oversee the state’s efforts related to immigration. Fayrouz Saad worked at the Department of Homeland Security during Barack Obama’s presidency and later served as the city of Detroit’s first immigrant affairs director. Whitmer this past week named her as executive director of the Office of Global Michigan, which advises the governor on matters related to new Americans, immigration policy and immigration enforcement. Saad says she looks forward to “building a home of opportunity for everyone.” Saad unsuccessfully ran in the Democratic primary for Michigan’s 11th Congressional District in 2018. She has a bachelor’s degree from the University
of Michigan and a master’s in public administration from Harvard University.. ...Read Full Story
Thirteen months is all it took for the Humane Society of Southwestern Michigan to pay off its mortgage loan on the new Yeager Family Pet Shelter. The organization says on June 9, 2018, the debt was over $740,000, and it’s all been paid off due to extensive fundraising efforts and donors. The state-of-the-art, no-kill shelter opened on that date last summer after several years of work that started with the forming of a building committee in 2012 and the purchase of the land at 5400 Niles Road in June 2013. Pearson Construction was hired in December of that year, with ground being broken in June 2017.. ...Read Full Story
Gas prices are up over last week in just one state: Michigan. Triple-A says the statewide average rose 6¢ a gallon over the past week to $2.70, with Ann Arbor’s $2.79 being the highest and Traverse City’s $2.56 being the lowest. The Benton Harbor/St. Joseph average of $2.59 is the second-lowest in the state. GasBuddy’s Patrick DeHaan says prices nationwide have fallen for a “surprising” fifth straight week to $2.60 per gallon, the lowest level in almost five months. He noted as of Sunday afternoon, 49 of the 50 states had lower prices than a week before. According to GasBuddy, South Haven’s average price is $2.49, but that market isn’t included in Triple-A’s survey. There is also a gas price war ongoing in Kalamazoo today, with prices down to $2.17 a gallon.. ...Read Full Story
