If you’re looking for some good gifts for friends or loved ones this month, maybe you should consider the gift of preparedness. That’s a suggestion from the Michigan State Police Emergency Management division. 2nd Lieutenant Gabriel Covey tells WSJM News a great gift for someone is an emergency kit.. ...Read Full Story
Cyber retailers have started out the week with some big gains. Monday is Green Monday, a term coined by EBay in 2007 to describe its best sales day in December, traditionally the second Monday of the month. About $2 billion were were expected to be spent online Monday, compared to nearly $3.5 billion for Cyber Monday. Dr. Patricia Huddleston, a retail professor at Michigan State University, says mobile sales will only add to online purchases in the coming years.. ...Read Full Story
A crash on Sunday has resulted in the closure of one lane of the westbound in I-94 bridge over Red Arrow Highway in Stevensville. Michigan State Police say a car and a semi crashed into each other, resulting in damage to the bridge wall. Although no one was injured in the crash, the bridge had to be shut down for several hours while it was inspected. Although the bridge itself has been deemed safe for vehicles, the wall needs to be repaired. The left lane of the bridge will be closed until that happens.. ...Read Full Story
The Benton Harbor Department of Public Safety is offering a $1,000 reward to anyone who can offer information leading to the arrest of the suspect who shot and killed a Benton Harbor man over the weekend. Police say the body of 28-year-old Joshua Deairest Hutchinson was found in the snow in the 800 block of Superior Street on Sunday. He’d been shot multiple times. Benton Harbor Public Safety is being helped in its investigation by Michigan State Police and the Berrien County Homicide Task Force. You can reach public safety at 927-0293.. ...Read Full Story
Police say a man whose body was found in the snow in Benton Harbor over the weekend had been shot several times. According to the Benton Harbor Department of Public Safety, the victim is 28-year-old Joshua Deairest Hutchinson. He was found in the 800 block of Superior Street Sunday. The investigation into Hutchinson’s death is underway, and police are offering a $1,000 reward to anyone who comes forward with information leading to the arrest of whoever’s responsible. You can reach Benton Harbor Public Safety at 927-0293.. ...Read Full Story
Colder air will be moving in, on the heals of the area’s latest heavy snow. WNDU Meteorologist David Harker says we’ll see a steady decline in temperatures the rest of the week.. ...Read Full Story
A 24-year employee of the South Haven Police Department is now the new Chief of Police. Natalie Thompson was selected from a field of thirty-three other candidates who applied for the Police Chief position. The recommendation comes from a ten-person selection committee, made up of representatives from the faith-based community, South Haven Public Schools, South Haven Charter Township, South Haven City Council, South Haven Area Emergency Services, Michigan State Police and South Haven Police Department. During her tenure, Thompson has worked as a patrol officer and undercover detective in the Michigan State Police’s Southwest Enforcement Team. She was promoted to Sergeant in 2008 and then to Deputy Chief in 2013. Since February of this year, Thompson has served the City of South Haven as the Police Department’s Acting Chief.. ...Read Full Story
Avoiding alcohol and distractions behind the wheel aren’t the only things you should be doing to help keep the roads safe. AAA has released a new report finding drowsy driving is a huge threat to driver safety, with just one or two hours of missed sleep doubling your crash risk. That’s according to spokesperson Susan Hiltz.. ...Read Full Story
More families and children than ever will have a happier holiday thanks to the Berrien County Sheriff’s Office Reserve Division by providing assistance to the community through the “Shop with a Cop” program. The event was held Saturday by the Berrien County Sheriff’s Office Reserve Division who partnered up with the Berrien County Sheriff’s Office Chaplain’s, the Berrien Springs-Oronoko Township Police Department, the Fraternal Order of Police Explorers Program, the Berrien County Sheriff’s Office Sworn Deputies, and the Saint Joseph City Department of Public Safety. The Berrien County Sheriff’s Office Reserve Division along with the partner agencies and organizations assisted 11 families and 40 children by allowing the children to shop for Christmas gifts for themselves, their family members, and their friends. The families and children were from the Watervliet, Niles, Berrien Springs, and Eau Claire area. Following the “shopping”, the children and their families were taken to Michiana Christian Embassy in Niles for lunch and gift wrapping with Mrs. Claus and members of Michiana Christian Embassy. The Berrien County Sheriff’s Office Reserve Division also provided food baskets to all 11 families, thus allowing them to have a wonderful holiday dinner and food for the holiday season.. ...Read Full Story
State Representative Aric Nesbitt has sent a letter to Consumers Energy, Entergy Corporation, and the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, imploring them not to shutter the Palisades nuclear power plant in Covert Township. Nesbitt tells us Entergy and Consumers Energy abandoning their electric contract is a raw deal.. ...Read Full Story
Benton Harbor police are investigating after a body was found in the snow on Sunday morning. The department of public safety says the young man was discovered in the 800 block of Superior Street, and describe the death as suspicious in nature. The victim’s name has not been released pending notification of family. Anyone with information is asked to call the Benton Harbor Department of Public Safety at 927-0293.. ...Read Full Story
The search for a new president at Lake Michigan College is entering the home stretch. LMC Board of Trustees Chair Mary Jo Tomasini tells WSJM News the board has narrowed down the applicants to 4 semifinalists. She’s been happy with the response to the search.. ...Read Full Story
Kinexus is being awarded a state grant of $180,000 to help provide training to manufacturing workers throughout Berrien, Cass, and Van Buren Counties. The money comes from the state’s Skilled Trades Training Fund, and Kinexus Business Director Alex Grumbine tells WSJM News the agency will work with nine companies.. ...Read Full Story
With this week’s announcement that the Palisades nuclear power plant is shutting down, we wondered if this means anything for the Cook plant near Bridgman. Cook spokesperson Bill Schalk tells WSJM News shifting market trends have hurt smaller, single unit nuclear plants, but the two-unit Cook plant remains a big asset for its owner, Indiana Michigan Power. He points out I&M is investing big in Cook.. ...Read Full Story
400 turkeys will be given out to people in Benton Harbor for this Christmas. That’s because the city is teaming up with Whirlpool, the PGA, and the Southwest Michigan Community Action Agency for a December 22 giveaway. They did it last year, and Mayor Marcus Muhammad tells WSJM News people really appreciated the help.. ...Read Full Story
The Berrien County Sheriff’s Department is investigating an armed home invasion. It happened Saturday morning on Alma Drive in Sodus Township. A 58-year-old man told deputies a male suspect who had been knocking on his door forced his way into the place when the homeowner responded. Another suspect then also came running in. They forced the victim at gunpoint to hand over cash. The suspects then took off in a light-colored or silver minivan. Anyone with information on the crime is asked to contact the Berrien County Sheriff’s Department.. ...Read Full Story
The longtime director of the Saugatuck-Douglas Visitors Bureau is stepping down. Felicia Fairchild has been with the organization for 27 years, and her contract will end January 7. During Fairchild’s time, the tourism industry in the Saugatuck-Douglas area has grown, meaning $255 million each year to the communities. The visitor’s bureau says Fairchild departs on a high note following a record year for local business owners. She says she’s grateful to have served. Now that she’s stepping down, Fairchild tells the Holland Sentinel she plans to pursue a doctorate abroad, possibly in London.. ...Read Full Story
Consumers Energy customers in Van Buren County may see their bills go down with the closure of the Palisades nuclear power plant. At least, that’s according to Consumers Energy, which says its deal to buy electricity from Palisades was too costly, compared to other sources. Spokesperson Brian Wheeler.. ...Read Full Story
A native of Benton Harbor who joined the U.S. Navy in 2009 is now in Norfolk, Virginia, helping to pre-commission one of the nation’s newest and most high-tech aircraft carriers. Petty Officer 2nd Class Angel Rice tells WSJM News she grew up playing sports, but decided on a military career when that didn’t pan out. She’s been all over the world since then, and tells us a life in the Navy will open your eyes.. ...Read Full Story
Coming up this Saturday is the Humane Society of Southwestern Michigan’s annual Holiday Open House. Humane Society Executive Director Jill Svoboda tells us it’s when everyone’s welcome to come to the shelter in Benton Township to meet the critters and maybe donate something for them.. ...Read Full Story
Companies can now test self-driving cars on Michigan public roads without a driver or steering wheel under new laws that could push the
state to the forefront of autonomous vehicle development. The package of bills signed into law Friday comes with few specific state regulations and leaves many decisions up to automakers and companies like Google and Uber. But state officials say there are enough safeguards to keep the public out of danger. The bills also allow automakers and tech companies to run autonomous taxi services and permits test parades of self-driving tractor-trailers as long as humans are in each truck. And they allow the sale of self-driving vehicles to the public once they are tested and certified, according to the state.. ...Read Full Story
An officer with the St. Joseph Department of Public Safety is being credited with saving the life of a 78-year-old woman. The department says officers were called to a home in the 900 block of Wolcott Wednesday to find the woman choking and losing consciousness. PSO Bryan Elliot used the Heimlich maneuver on the woman. That was enough to get her breathing again, and she’s doing fine.. ...Read Full Story
Van Buren County state Representative Aric Nesbitt is pledging to fight to keep the Palisades nuclear power plant open. The Covert Township facility that employs 600 is slated to close in 2018 after its owner, Entergy, ended a contract to sell power to Consumers Energy. That contract was supposed to run out in 2022. Nesbitt tells WSJM News the move to end it sooner leaves southwest Michigan in the cold.. ...Read Full Story
Millions of gallons of city water in Benton Harbor may have gone to waste due to a valve left open at the former Mercy Hospital building when the facility closed in 2011. Berrien County Treasurer Bret Witkowski tells WSJM News crews working on the building’s demolition pumped more than a million gallons out of the building’s basement.. ...Read Full Story
Just because the winter storm is over doesn’t mean there won’t be continuing snow. WNDU Meteorologist David Harker tells WSJM News we’ll see it snowing for several more days due to a series of systems moving into the region from the plains states.. ...Read Full Story
An Ann Arbor couple was among the three people killed in a 53 car pileup on I-96 near Fowlerville after a whiteout on Thursday. 69-year-old Homer Tew and 62-year-old Theresa Tew were killed. The third victim was a 28 year old man believed to be from Hollywood, Florida. Livingston County Sheriff’s Lieutenent Eric Sanborn says there were some injured, too.. ...Read Full Story
Governor Rick Snyder is asking Michigan residents, businesses, schools, local governments and other organizations to lower flags to half-staff to honor the memory of former astronaut and statesman John Glenn. Snyder said Friday that in accordance with President Barack Obama’s call,
flags should remain lowered until sunset on the day of Glenn’s burial. Glenn died Thursday at age 95. He was the first American to orbit the Earth in 1962 and the oldest man in space at age 77 in 1998. A U.S. Marine and combat pilot, he also served as a U.S. senator from Ohio for more than two decades. Glenn is to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C.. ...Read Full Story
Western Michigan University Athletic Director Kathy Beauregard says a current student-athlete has been suspended after being identified by Kalamazoo police as a person of interest in the fatal shooting of another student at an off-campus apartment. Beauregard issued a statement Friday saying the university and the athletic department were cooperating with police in their investigation into shooting Thursday night of the 20-year-old student. She didn’t identify the student or the sport the student participates in. Police have said they’re seeking two men who were seen fleeing after the shooting. Police didn’t immediately release the name of the shooting victim or details about the circumstances of the shooting. University President John Dunn issued a statement saying the university community “is stunned by the realization that a promising life has been lost.”. ...Read Full Story
Everyone’s fine, but a car is wrecked after it caught fire in Benton Township Friday morning. Firefighters tells WSJM News they were called out to the Five Below store along M-139 around 11:40 a.m. on a report of a car on fire in the parking lot. They got there to find it already badly damaged. The vehicle’s owner had tried to put it out with a fire extinguisher, but it ran out. He was inside the store when the fire started. Firefighters made short work of the blaze, and were back at the station in about a half hour. The car is a total loss. The cause of the fire isn’t known, but it appeared to have started in the engine compartment.. ...Read Full Story
A northern Michigan man convicted of second-degree murder in the disappearance of his 4-month-old daughter has been sentenced to 19 to 45 years in prison. Sean Phillips learned his punishment on Friday. A jury in October found him guilty of killing Katherine Phillips, known as “Baby Kate.” The girl disappeared five years ago in the Ludington area about 80 miles northwest of Grand Rapids, but her body has never been found.
Prosecutors said Phillips had a turbulent relationship with Kate’s mother and didn’t want the baby. Phillips did not testify during the trial. His lawyer has said that there isn’t proof beyond a reasonable doubt that Kate was killed The 27-year-old Phillips already was serving a 10-year prison sentence for unlawful imprisonment in the infant’s disappearance.. ...Read Full Story
The Medal of Honor is set to be awarded to a South Haven man who performed an act of heroism in 1969 while serving in Vietnam. Michigan’s senior U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow worked with Senator Gary Peters and Congressman Fred Upton on getting a change to the rules regarding the timing of when those can be awarded.. ...Read Full Story
The House has approved a wide-ranging bill to approve water projects across the country, including $170 million to address lead in Flint’s drinking water and $558 million to provide relief to drought-stricken California. The bill was approved Thursday on a vote of 360-61 even as some Democrats complained that the drought measure was a giveaway to California farmers and businesses. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican who brokered the water deal with Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, said the agreement solves a problem years in the making. He said the measure will increase water delivery to the San Joaquin Valley and southern California and streamline infrastructure projects to secure future water supplies. Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer of California has vowed to defeat the drought
measure in the Senate.. ...Read Full Story
With this week’s announcement that the Palisades nuclear power plant is shutting down, we wondered if this means anything for the Cook plant near Bridgman. Cook spokesperson Bill Schalk tells WSJM News shifting market trends have hurt smaller, single unit nuclear plants, but the two-unit Cook plant remains a big asset for its owner, Indiana Michigan Power. He points out I&M is investing big in Cook.. ...Read Full Story
Road crews are ready to get to work with the first winter storm of the season now bearing down on southwest Michigan. The Van Buren County Road Commission’s Larry Hummel says they’ve got around 30 drivers that’ll be all over the place Friday.. ...Read Full Story
Not everyone’s upset about the coming closure of the Palisades nuclear power plant. Beyond Nuclear’s Kevin Kamps tells WSJM News he believes the facility is too dangerous to continue operating.. ...Read Full Story
The search for a new president at Lake Michigan College is entering the home stretch. LMC Board of Trustees Chair Mary Jo Tomasini tells WSJM News the board has narrowed down the applicants to 4 semifinalists. She’s been happy with the response to the search.. ...Read Full Story
Debate continues over the future of the “Redskins” name by Paw Paw Public Schools. People for and against dropping it spoke out Wednesday night at a school board meeting, with one Native American woman, Kim Jones, pushing for a change.. ...Read Full Story
Palisades nuclear power plant owner Entergy says changes in the marketplace have led to its decision to close the Covert Township facility in 2018. Bill Mohl, President of Entergy Wholesale Commodities, tells WSJM News a purchase agreement it has with Consumers Energy has become less viable.. ...Read Full Story
The Berrien County Board of Commissioners is taking a step back from the new county animal control ordinance. The controversial law has been in the works for several months now, and it had been scheduled for a hearing next Thursday. However, the hearing has now been cancelled. Board of Commissioners Chair Jon Hinkelman tells our newsroom the response from the public to the animal control ordinance has made commissioners realize they “need more time to review and to provide explanation for areas of the ordinance.” A vote on the rule scheduled for December 22 has also been cancelled.. ...Read Full Story
Snow is coming down on southwest Michigan, and you can expect it to continue for several more days. WNDU Meteorologist David Harker tells WSJM News a series of systems is coming out of the northern plains even after the winter storm expected Friday. It’ll keep going.. ...Read Full Story
Michigan lawmakers may re-enact a wolf-hunting law declared unconstitutional by the state appeals court. The Republican-led Senate voted 27-10 along party lines Thursday to define wolves as a game species and to authorize the state to designate game. The bill goes to the House.
It’s the fourth time lawmakers have considered wolf-hunt laws in recent years. Wolf hunting isn’t allowed in Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota under a federal court decision. But Sen. Tom Casperson says he wants Michigan positioned if Congress removes wolves from endangered species status. In 2014, Michigan voters rejected laws allowing wolf hunts. But the votes were symbolic because legislators had approved a third measure. That law was nixed last month because a provision providing free hunting licenses to military members isn’t related to scientifically managing wildlife.. ...Read Full Story
Among the agencies that will be working to help the displaced workers of the Palisades nuclear power plant will be Kinexus. Zachary Morris, with the jobs training and economic development organization, says it will coordinate with Van Buren County as the shutdown approaches. He tells WSJM News many of the Palisades staff should be able to find work.. ...Read Full Story
The first Native American tribe in Indiana to have land returned to it from the federal government has announced plans to build a casino in South Bend that will open in early 2018. The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi tribe says the 175,000-square-foot casino will have 55,000 square feet of gambling space and 1,800 gambling devices. The size of the casino is smaller than documents previously submitted to the Bureau of Indian Affairs and doesn’t include an 18-story hotel included in those plans. Tribal Chairman John Warren says the tribe had to include how big the casino could eventually become when submitting those plans. He says the plans announced Wednesday are the first phase. The tribe says the project will include four restaurants, three bars and about 4,500 parking spaces.. ...Read Full Story
Blindsided is how Michigan House Energy Policy Committee Chairman Aric Nesbitt feels about this morning’s announcement by Entergy that the Palisades nuclear power plant will be closed on October 1, 2018.. ...Read Full Story
Entergy will close the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant in Covert Township in 2018. The company says the plant will be refueled as scheduled in the spring, and permanently shut down on October 1, 2018. Entergy says since purchasing the plant from Consumers Energy in 2007, “market conditions have changed substantially, and more economic alternatives are now available to provide reliable power to the region.” The company’s chairman and CEO Leo Denault says they will work to help the plant’s roughly 600 employees find other jobs. Shutting down Palisades will save Consumers’ Energy customers up to $172 million over four years.. ...Read Full Story
The Benton Township Board of Trustees has put the brakes on a gas station, car wash, and convenience store planned for the corner of M-63 and Enterprise Way. Pri Mar Petroleum was looking to get the parcel rezoned, and the township board this week was unanimous in denying that request. It did so following recommendations from the Benton Township Planning Commission and the Berrien County Planning Commission. Residents in the Rocky Gap area also expressed objections, complaining about noise and traffic. It’s the second time in less than ten years a gas station for that spot has been rejected.. ...Read Full Story
A new report from the Southern Poverty Law Center confirms student anxiety and incidents of harassment are increasing in Michigan and across the nation following the 2016 presidential election. Maureen Costello, report author, tells our newsroom children who are anxious have a harder time learning, but parents can help.. ...Read Full Story
The presidential election recount in Michigan has been stopped. A federal judge Wednesday evening dropped an order that the recount proceed. That’s after an appeals court found Green Party candidate Jill Stein doesn’t qualify as an aggrieved candidate because a recount still wouldn’t make her the winner. Stein had requested the recount. Following Wednesday’s decision, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette issued the following statement:. ...Read Full Story
Berrien County Sheriff Paul Bailey wants everyone to drive carefully in this week’s winter storm. He tells WSJM News there’s one main tip to keep in mind when it’s slick on the roads: slow down.. ...Read Full Story
State Senator John Proos is hailing a new plan to spur business investment in border areas of the state. The state already offers a variety of tax breaks and other help to businesses that create jobs, and Proos says the new legislation would remove a requirement that the person hired for a new job live in Michigan. He tells us that in places like Southwest Michigan, changing the rule that would help a lot of companies.. ...Read Full Story
Coming up Thursday, it’s a Christmas celebration in Bridgman. The city’s annual Holiday Village event is slated to take place downtown from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Calli Berg, with the chamber of commerce, tells WSJM News it all kicks off with the pet parade.. ...Read Full Story
After more than two years of work, Congressman Fred Upton has finally seen his 21st Century Cures legislation win approval in Congress. The U.S. Senate passed the package on a vote of 94 to 5 Wednesday. Upton tells WSJM News 21st Century Cures could mean a lot for millions of patients.. ...Read Full Story
Kinexus is being awarded a state grant of $180,000 to help provide training to manufacturing workers throughout Berrien, Cass, and Van Buren Counties. The money comes from the state’s Skilled Trades Training Fund, and Kinexus Business Director Alex Grumbine tells WSJM News the agency will work with nine companies.. ...Read Full Story
Michigan lawmakers have approved legislation to compensate innocent inmates. Under a bill passed 104-2 by the House Wednesday, the state would pay ex-inmates $50,000 for each year of their wrongful incarceration, along with attorney fees. Some wouldn’t qualify for the money if they served simultaneous sentences for other crimes. Others would be ineligible because they successfully sued for civil rights damages, which can be a difficult effort since police and prosecutors often have immunity. Michigan has released more innocent prisoners than all but four states. The Senate plans to soon send the bill to Governor Rick Snyder. The sponsor, Democratic Senator Steve Bieda of Warren, says the compensation is the least the state can do for people who were “just plucked out of their regular lives and lost their freedom.”. ...Read Full Story
Southwest Michigan’s first winter storm is just about here. The National Weather Service has issued a warning to the entire region, and WNDU Meteorologist Mike Hoffman tells WSJM News the snow to gradually come, slowly at first on Thursday, with more on Friday.. ...Read Full Story
The Michigan Supreme Court is hearing arguments in a lawsuit that links a man’s health problems to a disastrous oil spill that spoiled the Kalamazoo River in 2010. Chance Lowery says he suffered coughing, headaches and vomiting when he was exposed to fumes from the heavy crude near his home in Calhoun County. He says those problems led to a ruptured artery. The issue for the Supreme Court is whether Lowery needs to present expert testimony to sustain his lawsuit against Enbridge Energy. The case is on the docket Wednesday. Lowery’s lawyers say there should be no dispute that his problems were related to toxic fumes. Enbridge argues that expert testimony is needed. The company
says Lowery lived miles from the spill, and his health problems occurred weeks later.. ...Read Full Story
(Lansing, MI – AP) – A federal judge could decide whether to end Michigan’s presidential recount after the state’s second-highest court said the Green Party nominee was ineligible to seek a second look at millions of ballots. The federal judge who on Monday ordered the recount to begin will hold a hearing today on whether to stop it. The state elections board also is meeting today, a day after the Michigan appeals court ordered it to dismiss Jill Stein’s recount petition. The court noted that she got 1 percent of the vote and has no chance of catching Republican Donald Trump, who narrowly defeated Hillary Clinton in the state.. ...Read Full Story
Joique Bell is a Lion once again. The Detroit Lions announced Tuesday the Benton Harbor native has been added back to the roster. Bell, a running back, played for the Lions for four seasons, between 2012 and 2015. He most recently played for the Chicago Bears, beginning in October and lasting four games. Bell is one of two new additions to the Lions roster announced Tuesday. The other is Corner back Asa Jackson.. ...Read Full Story
Former Benton Harbor High School Principal Rodger Tripplett has been fired. At a Tuesday meeting, the board of education heard from district attorney Eric DeLaporte that Tripplett’s teaching and administrator certificates have been suspended by the Michigan Department of Education. He said they had no choice but to terminate him.. ...Read Full Story
Talons Out Honor Flight, which gives trips to the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. to veterans of that war, is holding a special contest. It’s giving young people a chance to win a ride along for the next honor flight. All a student has to do is submit an essay about a World War II or Korean War vet from Michigan.. ...Read Full Story
