Local News Archives

A wanted fugitive with an identifying face tattoo is in custody after running from police.. ...Read Full Story

The Berrien County Parks Department is looking to replace a popular pavilion at Madeline Bertrand County Park. Speaking to county commissioners Thursday, Parks Director Jill Adams said the pavilion is around 30 years old and starting to show it.. ...Read Full Story

Voters in Buchanan Community Schools are being asked to support a $34.8 million bond proposal that would improve improve Moccasin Elementary School and Buchanan High School.. ...Read Full Story

Two deputies with the Berrien County Sheriff’s Department have received Lifesaving Awards for their efforts to revive a man in medical distress at the Niles police complex this month. Berrien County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Robert Boyce told county commissioners Thursday Deputies Elizabeth Turner and Perry Godush were working at the complex on March 10 when a man in the holding cell turned blue.. ...Read Full Story

Earlier this month, a 22-year-old Benton Harbor parolee was arrested on multiple felony drug charges by the Southwest Enforcement Team and Michigan State Police troopers following a traffic stop on Pipestone Road in Benton Township.. ...Read Full Story

There are new developments in the Oxford High School shooting case. The Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled that there is enough evidence for the parents of Ethan Crumbly to stand trial on manslaughter charges. Attorneys for James and Jennifer Crumbley had appealed a decision from an Oakand County District Judge who said there was enough evidence for the Crumbleys to send the case to trial. In the ruling issued Thursday morning, the appeals courts judges say the Crumbleys were aware their son had been repeatedly experiencing significant episodes of hallucinations and extreme paranoia, but they purchased a handgun for him. Ethan Crumbley pleaded guilty to murdering four classmates last year. He’s scheduled to be sentenced in June.. ...Read Full Story

A Coloma man is facing charges after making a bomb threat at the Fifth Third Bank in Coloma Township on Thursday. The Coloma Township Police Department says a call came around 9:20 a.m. that a man had gone into the bank and told employees he had a bomb and that everyone needed to get out. Arriving officers found the man standing outside the bank. When he saw them, he laid down on the ground with his hands behind his back. The suspect has been identified as John Richard LaPlante, Junior. He told officers he might have a bomb on him or there may be a bomb inside the bank. Coloma Township officers, along with Michigan State Police troopers and Berrien County Sherriff’s deputies, closed down the area and evacuated all the nearby businesses. The county bomb squad was brought in with a K9 and no bomb was found. LaPlante was taken into custody and lodged at the Berrien County Jail on a charge of making a false bomb threat. Police say there is no threat to the community.. ...Read Full Story

Following a controversial tweet from the Michigan Republican Party’s Facebook and Twitter accounts Wednesday comparing potential gun reform legislation to the Holocaust, party chairwoman Kristina Karamo held a press conference to address the ensuing outrage from both sides of the political aisle. Karamo, however, chose to double down on the message that was sent.. ...Read Full Story

Republicans are nearly four months into being in the minority in the Michigan Senate for the first time in about 40 years, and Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt of Van Buren County does not like how the year has started.. ...Read Full Story

A new bike path will be under construction in South Haven along the south side of Aylworth Avenue. The work will start on Monday and is expected to take about four weeks. City officials say there will be some minor traffic delays as a result of the project. Prein & Newhof, the city’s engineering firm for the project, will have an inspector on site and can help with answering questions and facilitating jobsite construction issues with the construction contractor.. ...Read Full Story

Members of the public are invited to get their glass over to the Benton Harbor Arts District next week for an opportunity to drink beer out of a a fresh-forged glass and support a nonprofit helping at-risk youth find direction through art.. ...Read Full Story

As low unemployment rates and the war for skilled workers continues, local leaders are increasing their long-term focus on how to tackle the problem – and it involves thinking about the supply of available workers as early as kindergarten. . ...Read Full Story

Around 150 eighth grade students from South Haven’s Baseline Middle School will go on a tour of local manufacturing facilities next week. South Haven Area Chamber of Commerce Assistant Director Olivia Thompson tells us the chamber and the school organized the field trip to show the students there are a wide variety of careers to pursue right in their hometown.. ...Read Full Story

From BBQ and Italian to coffee and pastries, Buchanan area restaurants are ready to serve some goodness to residents and visitors alike.. ...Read Full Story

A collection of buildings, campuses, and manufacturing grounds in Buchanan has been designated on the National Register of Historic Places. The Michigan State Historic Preservation Office has voted to designate the Clark Equipment Complex on the National Register, and it was officially listed on the register last week. Historic preservation consultant Kurt West Garner helped Buchanan as it sought the historic designation for the site. He says the site has housed dozens of buildings over the years as Clark became an international company throughout the last century. Why seek the historic designation?. ...Read Full Story

Since opening in the Benton Harbor Arts District in Oct. 2021, Ben’s Soft Pretzels has been a welcome addition to the community.. ...Read Full Story

As gun safety legislation heads toward approval in Lansing, Governor Gretchen Whitmer says Democrats are doing what they said they would do. Speaking to MSNBC’s Jen Psaki, Whitmer said with mass shootings happening just about every day, “the time for only thoughts and prayers is over.” She was asked why there’s no assault weapons ban in the package.. ...Read Full Story

Environmental Group Beyond Nuclear is among 185 organizations to have signed a letter to U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm asking that Holtec International not receive a more than $1 billion loan to restart the Palisades plant. Beyond Nuclear’s Kevin Kamps tells us not only is restarting an old, already shut down reactor a bad idea, but Holtec wants to build some new small modular reactors at the site.. ...Read Full Story

Michigan State Police troopers don’t want you to get ripped off. Be on the lookout for a call from the Michigan State Police informing you of an investigation. The con artists will say if you want to stay out of jail, you’ll need to send them money. The trick is that the phone number looks like it’s coming from an official source. The scammer is actually using the spoofing technique.. ...Read Full Story

Can summer be far off? The horses are starting to return to Mackinac Island after most of them spent the winter in Pickford in the Upper Peninsula. Mackinac Island Tourism’s Steph Castelein says the season kicks off in May and it’s the year of anniversaries.. ...Read Full Story

Market Van Buren has welcomed over 50 business leaders from Cass and Van Buren counties for their 3rd Annual Municipal Summit in Lawrence on Tuesday. The event was held at the Van Buren ISD Conference Center and discussed state and local grant opportunities along with helping leaders better educate themselves on how to apply and successfully receive the grants to improve their communities. At both the state and federal levels, there are what Market Van Buren calls “unprecedented amounts of money” available in the form of grants and strategic allocations. In Michigan alone, there are several billion dollars of unallocated money, some of which will be available to local communities in the form of grant dollars.. ...Read Full Story

A South Haven woman has celebrated her 108th birthday. Helen Sharp has been a resident of the city all 108 years and has been at South Haven Nursing and Rehab for the past three years. Family and friends held a party for her yesterday, with relative Glenn Crow saying her will to live is amazing. Sharp has said she wants to live to 110.. ...Read Full Story

Last October, plans for a Planned Unit Development at the Nye’s Apple Barn property were put on hold by the St. Joseph Township Planning Commission due to issues with the application.. ...Read Full Story

The Michigan State Legislature is moving toward passing a slew of new gun bills aimed at reducing gun-related crimes. Area Republicans say it’s too much and directed at the wrong people. This week the Michigan House is expected to approve legislation that includes universal background checks, gun storage requirements, and so-called red flag laws – where people with potentially violent behavior could have their guns temporarily removed by law enforcement. House Republican Brad Paquette who represents the area from Three Oaks to Dowagiac, opposes the bill and says the Red Flag law.. ...Read Full Story

Teen expert and motivational speaker Gabe Salazar is coming to Paw Paw High School to deliver a message to the community about making positive choices this month. The school district says he’ll give three presentations, to high school students, to middle school students, and then to the community at large. Paw Paw Public Schools Superintendent Rick Reo says with all the tough decisions teens have to make, Salazar’s “message of hope and making smart choices” will resonate with students. A grant from the Hispanic Leadership Institute makes the visit possible. According to his website, Salazar overcame obstacles of homelessness, hopelessness, and gang influence to become the first in his family to go to college. Now, he travels the world speaking to young people. The presentations will be March 23 at the high school with the engagement at 6 p.m. open to the public. It will be free and a $200 Walmart gift card will be given away.. ...Read Full Story

(WASHINGTON) — Prosecutors in the special counsel’s office have presented compelling preliminary evidence that former President Donald Trump knowingly and deliberately misled his own attorneys about his retention of classified materials after leaving office, a former top federal judge wrote Friday in a sealed filing, according to sources who described its contents to ABC News.. ...Read Full Story

There are big plans to clean up and revitalize Ox Creek in Benton Harbor, and city commissioners heard about them this week. At a Monday meeting, the University of Michigan’s Craig Borum told commissioners the Ox Creek Partnership consists of himself, residents, commissioners, the EPA, and the Southwest Michigan Planning Commission. They’re developing a plan not only for the creek but also for Hall Park, which is next to the creek.. ...Read Full Story

Excursion (noun): (1.) a short journey or trip, especially one engaged in as a leisure activity. (2.) a deviation from a regular pattern, path, or level of operation. (3.) A sudden, very rapid rise in the power level of a nuclear reactor caused by supercriticality, or an increase in the level of operation of the reactor.. ...Read Full Story

Covert Township is the recipient of three grants to train new paramedics. With paramedics in short supply statewide, the funds through the EMS Workforce scholarship program of the Michigan Center for Rural Health will result in three students receiving $24,600 each for their education. The three students have been identified and are all with the Covert Township Fire Department. Miguel Llerena, Jazmin Cortez, and Jacquelin Zurwalski are expected to begin classes in September of this year. The Covert Township Fire Department is staffed by career firefighter/paramedics who are supplemented by part-time and paid-on-call firefighters. Covert Township also has several police officers cross-trained as firefighters who respond to fire and EMS calls while on patrol. The department takes around 700 calls per year.. ...Read Full Story

Michigan’s county road agencies manage 75% of all roads in the state. This week, they’re meeting in Lansing to outline priorities and problems for the next year. Denise Donahue, CEO of the County Roads Association, said road funding, including new options for using federal aid, will help them reach their goals.. ...Read Full Story

Four Winds New Buffalo is adding to their alternative rock lineup this summer.. ...Read Full Story

The case of Efran Paredes is headed back for a resentencing.. ...Read Full Story

An Elkhart, Indiana man is dead following a crash in Cass County on Tuesday. The Cass County Sheriff’s Department says it happened on US-12 near Kensington Road around 5:30 a.m. 58-year-old Timothy Waudby of Elkhart was westbound on US-12 when his vehicle crossed the centerline and into oncoming traffic. It struck two other vehicles and Waudby was killed. The other drivers have been identified as 56-year-old Wayne Owdresky of Niles and 45-year-old Joshua Kronewitter of Niles. Both suffered minor injuries. Owdresky was treated at the scene while Kronewitter was taken by ambulance to South Bend Memorial Hospital. Drugs and alcohol are not believed to have been factors in the crash, which remains under investigation.. ...Read Full Story

Benton Harbor City Commissioners have approved some more honorary name changes. At a Monday meeting, they voted to rename the Benton Harbor Police Department building in honor of Andrew Rodez, the city’s first Black police chief. He served from 1973 to 1979. Commissioner Ron Singleton remembered him from his own days as a police officer.. ...Read Full Story

Credits of $700 will be applied to the water bills of all households in Benton Harbor. At a Monday meeting, city commissioners authorized using $2.1 million in federal ARPA funds for the relief. Commissioner Edward Isom said this will help those who have been struggling and can’t get caught up.. ...Read Full Story

Food trucks have been approved by the South Haven City Council for 2023. The vote Monday followed several months of debate on the issue. They will be allowed to operate year-round. Assistant City Manager Griffin Graham says the Planning Commission made no changes to the plan up for a vote.. ...Read Full Story

The Lions and Lioness Clubs of Southwest Michigan are now signing up counselors for Camp Leo, an overnight summer camp experience for children ages 10 through 17 with developmental disabilities who live in Berrien, Cass, and Van Buren counties. The clubs have been running Camp Leo for decades with support from volunteers. Camp Leo Director Beth Helm tells us it offers the classic summer camp experience to kids who otherwise might never be able to have it.. ...Read Full Story

Van Buren County has joined several township boards in opposing a proposed Consumers Energy project that would build 20 miles of new power lines north of I-94 between Mattawan and Lawrence.. ...Read Full Story

Work to repave I-94 between Benton Harbor and Stevensville has been delayed. Michigan Department of Transportation spokesperson Nick Schirripa tells us the agency was planning to start the project this year.. ...Read Full Story

Voters in Buchanan Community Schools are being asked to support a $34.8 million bond proposal in the May election. Superintendent Patricia Robinson tells us the district is seeking to improve Moccasin Elementary School and Buchanan High School. For the elementary, she says improvements would include upgraded classrooms, ADA compliant restrooms, and improved security. The project would also include an addition.. ...Read Full Story

Congressmen Bill Huizenga and Tim Walberg have sent a joint letter to the EPA regarding an agency decision on air pollution in southwest Michigan. They say the decision on nonattainment areas affecting Allegan, Berrien, and Muskegon counties could lead to increased regulation and damage to the region’s economy. The congressmen the EPA’s measurement of air pollution isn’t accurate because there are “strong indications that the actual source of the pollution is not in Allegan, Berrien, or Muskegon Counties, but industry heavy cities on the other side of Lake Michigan.” The two say the EPA must recognize that given these counties’ locations, weather factors likely brought the pollutants into the region from more major industrial areas like Chicago, Gary, and Milwaukee. The EPA decision means manufacturers in southwest Michigan could be penalized. Supporting Walberg and Huizenga is Cornerstone Alliance with President Rob Cleveland saying “Berrien County residents will suffer the consequences of actions from companies that are more than 100 miles away, and in completely different states.”. ...Read Full Story

Holtec International, the owner of the Palisades nuclear power plant, has been meeting with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission as it prepares to submit an application to restart the facility. Holtec’s Patrick O’Brien tells us while the company seeks a more than $1 billion loan from the U.S. Department of Energy to restart the plant, it also has to get NRC approval.. ...Read Full Story

With 22 million albums sold worldwide, alternative rock band +LIVE+ is bringing its summer tour to Four Winds New Buffalo’s Silver Creek Event Center July 21, the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi announced Monday.. ...Read Full Story

Ground has been broken in downtown Allegan on a major project to reconstruct the city’s core. City Manager Joel Dye says the project began in 2018 with the planning of the work, saying the city will be more welcoming and more accessible for people with mobility issues.. ...Read Full Story

Michigan Women Forward announced a million dollar partnership with a local bank to help women and entrepreneurs of color start their businesses. Those qualified will have the chance to enter a $10-million micro-loan program in partnership with Huntington National Bank. Organizers say the program provides opportunities for those who are economically disadvantaged because of a lack of access to capital and credit.. ...Read Full Story

If you’re a parent do you think you have realistic views on your kids’ exposure to vaping? A new national poll by the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health at the University of Michigan Health shows a gap. Sarah Clark is co-director of the poll and says four in five parents think their child understands the health risks of vaping.. ...Read Full Story

A 57-year-old man is in the Berrien County Jail where he is awaiting arraignment on an open murder charge. Benton Township police say he allegedly shot and killed a 40-year-old man Sunday afternoon at a home in the 27-hundred block of Townline Road. The victim was pronounced dead when authorities arrived, and the suspect was arrested on the scene. No names have been released.. ...Read Full Story

Red Coach Donuts in Stevensville is changing owners. This April, after five years of working for Joy Bancroft, Executive Chef Stephanie Harrah will become the new owner, continuing to provide the exceptional Red Coach Donuts experience people have come to love and savor.. ...Read Full Story

Benton Harbor-based engineering firm Wightman has received an award for its work to remove an old dam in the Dowagiac River in Niles. Wightman received the Engineering Merit Award for its work on the Pucker Street Dam Removal and Dowagiac River Restoration project from the American Council of Engineering Companies of Michigan this month. Wightman civil engineer Suzannah Deneau told us this week the concrete dam was built in 1928 on top of a wooden dam built in 1894. The city of Niles used it to generate electricity before deciding to take it out in the 90s.. ...Read Full Story

The Lincoln Township Planning Commission is considering a local ordinance to cover marijuana businesses, just in case such an ordinance is needed. The commission’s Marc Florian told the Lincoln Township Board of Trustees this past week although the township has opted out of allowing such businesses altogether, planners are thinking about what happens if they’re no longer allowed to do so.. ...Read Full Story

Repairs to the Maids of the Mist fountain in St. Joseph have been delayed again. At a Monday meeting of the St. Joseph City Commission, Public Works Director Greg Grothous told commissioners the cost of the restoration has gone up due to the discovery of lead paint in the fountain’s interior and because the central support column needs to be reinforced. He told us the fountain is at McKay Lodge Conservation Laboratory in Ohio waiting for the work.. ...Read Full Story

All six representatives of Allegan County in the Michigan House have given their support to an effort by an internet service provider to get a grant for expanded broadband access in the area.. ...Read Full Story