Local News Archives

A new program is about to get started at Watervliet Public Schools to have all 700 kindergarten through fifth grade students read the same book.. ...Read Full Story

Niles Community Schools Superintendent Daniel Applegate says there will be “counselors, members of our critical support team and safety personnel” on hand M0nday at Ballard Elementary School following a bomb threat that evacuated the building Friday.. ...Read Full Story

Progress on this year’s Farm Bill has been slow as division in Washington prevents action on most matters and lawmakers have shifted their attention to elections.. ...Read Full Story

Set for Wednesday is a statewide tornado drill as Governor Gretchen Whitmer has declared March 17 through March 23 Michigan Severe Weather Awareness Week.. ...Read Full Story

An effort to recall Buchanan City Commissioner Dan Vigansky has failed after backers were unable to collect enough petition signatures to force an election.. ...Read Full Story

The State of Michigan’s Health and Human Services office at 401 Eighth Street in Benton Harbor is currently closed to the public and employees – reportedly due to an issue of black mold.. ...Read Full Story

 “Michigan State Police recently received a call of a bomb threat directed at Ballard Elementary. All schools have been locked down out of an abundance of caution. All students were safely evacuated from Ballard. We will update you with information as it becomes available to us.”

SAGINAW, Mich. (AP) — Hurley Coleman Jr.’s parents were drawn to Michigan from the South by the promise of middle-class jobs in the booming automotive industry, an origin story shared by many African American families in Saginaw.. ...Read Full Story

In an effort to get people to move to and do business in Michigan, some state officials are attending the South by Southwest Conference in Austin, Texas.. ...Read Full Story

St. Patrick’s Day is Sunday, and the festivities falling on a weekend makes things extra complicated for police.. ...Read Full Story

People in Gen Z who have been vaping for years are finding it more difficult than ever to quit. Young people, hooked on vaping since high school, have now been doing it for six or seven years.. ...Read Full Story

Updating a story we first reported Thursday morning, the Van Buren County Sheriff’s office has recovered the portable sawmill that was stolen from a residence in Waverly township.. ...Read Full Story

The Michigan Department of Transportation is expanding its Paint the Plow program statewide.. ...Read Full Story

Starting Monday will be Buchanan Restaurant Week.. ...Read Full Story

A program that has placed 20 cameras along strategic roads around Berrien County will be continued for another five years following action Thursday by the Berrien County Board of Commissioners.. ...Read Full Story

AAA of Michigan is activating its Tow to Go program for this St. Patrick’s Day weekend.. ...Read Full Story

Part of Red Arrow Highway in New Buffalo Township will close on Monday for a Berrien County Road Department project.. ...Read Full Story

The Berrien County Board of Commissioners is looking at ways to ensure the St. Joseph River can be dredged when necessary as arrangements are made to do fast tracked, emergency dredging this year.. ...Read Full Story

St. Joe Today has named a new director. It says Paul Knapp of St. Joseph will take the reins next week.. ...Read Full Story

State Representative Joey Andrews will hold a meet and greet event Friday, March 14.. ...Read Full Story

Children in Michigan aren’t required to enroll in kindergarten, but a new bill would change that.. ...Read Full Story

Bottle and can returns are down in Michigan, and some lawmakers say it’s because of the stores.. ...Read Full Story

The state is cracking down on stores that sell nitrous oxide, huffed by people when they do whippets.. ...Read Full Story

The Van Buren County Sheriff’s department says be on the lookout for a stolen sawmill.. ...Read Full Story

DETROIT (AP) — Author and Detroit Free Press columnist Mitch Albom and nine others have been rescued by helicopter from Haiti after becoming stranded in the poverty-stricken and violence-torn Caribbean nation while visiting an orphanage.. ...Read Full Story

PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) — A prosecutor urged jurors to convict the father of a Michigan school shooter on Wednesday, saying he ignored the “easiest, most glaring opportunities” to prevent the killing of four students, especially when confronted with his son’s violent classroom drawing.. ...Read Full Story

A committee is being formed in Lincoln Township to study whether the structure of local government should be changed.. ...Read Full Story

Lakeshore Public Schools is seeking a renewal of its sinking fund millage in the May election.. ...Read Full Story

Legislation that could lead to a ban of TikTok has been approved by the U.S. House with broad support.. ...Read Full Story

A groundbreaking for the Marquette Greenway will be held next month.. ...Read Full Story

Now installed at the Berrien County Jail is a full body scanner, a machine that can detect if someone is hiding an object on their person, no matter where it is.. ...Read Full Story

Returning to southwest Michigan this summer will be the United Way’s Rock The Boat Cardboard Boat Races.. ...Read Full Story

The Benton Harbor Area Schools Board of Education has approved the purchase of new boilers for Benton Harbor High School and Fair Plain East Elementary at a cost of $4.3 million. The move this week comes after more than a year of discussion.. ...Read Full Story

As the Berrien County government continues working through an emergency request to help dredge a portion of the St. Joseph River near the Tackle Haven docks, one of the factors in play is what to do about the fish. There’s a narrow window between now and mid-May — the start of sturgeon spawning season. When that season begins, dredging is discouraged and you have to get a waiver for the work. Jay Wesley, the Michigan DNR’s Lake Michigan Basin Coordinator, said sturgeon have a local history.. ...Read Full Story

(NASHVILLE, Tenn.) — A University of Missouri student was caught on several surveillance videos before he vanished during a night out in Nashville.. ...Read Full Story

There’s an upswing in optimism among west Michigan businesses and manufacturers, according to a monthly survey by researchers at Grand Valley State University.. ...Read Full Story

Older adults across Michigan and around the country are applauding a boost in funding for community health centers thanks to Congress’ passage of a bipartisan spending package.. ...Read Full Story

DETROIT (AP) — Most electronic systems that take on some driving tasks for humans don’t adequately make sure drivers are paying attention, and they don’t issue strong enough warnings or take other actions to make drivers behave, according to an insurance industry study published Tuesday.. ...Read Full Story

Applying for Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) has been a headache for many students and parents this year, but there’s still time and help available.. ...Read Full Story

PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) — Prosecutors all but wrapped up their case Tuesday against the father of a Michigan school shooter by showing passages from the teen’s journal expressing despair over his mental health and a photo of a gun box, unlocked and empty, on his parents’ bed.. ...Read Full Story

The Lincoln Township Board of Trustees has approved grant applications to restore Lincoln Township Beach.. ...Read Full Story

The South Haven City Council is putting together its list of priorities for the coming year, and getting a lifeguard program back at city beaches could be on it.. ...Read Full Story

Coloma will mark St. Patrick’s Day this Saturday with a day of events.. ...Read Full Story

Whirlpool and Habitat for Humanity are marking the 25th anniversary of their partnership worldwide.. ...Read Full Story

The Lakeshore Public Schools Board of Education is looking to fill a vacancy now that Trustee Kevin Bushu is stepping down.. ...Read Full Story

St. Joseph Public Schools is preparing to begin renovations at the baseball fields in Dickinson Park.. ...Read Full Story

Berrien County Register of Deeds Lora Freehling is seeking reelection.. ...Read Full Story

If you’ve been thinking of adopting a new pet into your home, now’s a good time. The dog and cat populations at animal shelters across Michigan are at or near capacity. It’s an ongoing issue and locally, the same is true for the Humane Society of Southwestern Michigan.. ...Read Full Story

A Hartford man is dead following a chase with police and a crash that occurred in February.. ...Read Full Story

The presidential election is causing people a lot of stress. Jaime Clayton is president of Oakland Family Services in Pontiac and says many of us are getting anxiety about politics, but are ways we can avoid it. She says that starts with getting off social media.. ...Read Full Story

Michigan ranks near the bottom of the country when it comes to having enough school counselors, social workers, and school psychologists in schools.. ...Read Full Story

Michigan researchers are examining a possible link between high pollen counts or allergy days and worsening mental health and increased suicide risk.. ...Read Full Story

Governor Gretchen Whitmer has issued a proclamation recognizing March 11 through April 9 as the month of Ramadan in Michigan.. ...Read Full Story

Leaders at St. Joseph Public Schools are spreading the word about a $98.5 million bond proposal set to appear on the ballot in May.. ...Read Full Story