The United Way of Southwest Michigan is planning for the next Whirlpool Rock the Boat cardboard boat races this week. Spokesperson Jennifer Tomshack tells WSJM News the event set for Thursday features teams racing boats made of cardboard in the St. Joseph River at The Inn at Harbor Shores.. ...Read Full Story
Grants to help roll out high-speed internet to underserved areas of Michigan are now available through the Connecting Michigan Communities program. The office of Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued word this week applications are being taken for the program by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management, and Budget. Governor Whitmer says “Connecting all Michigan communities with broadband service is about leveling the playing field for every child and small business in the state.” While most parts of Michigan do have broadband access, there are still many rural areas where options are limited. The state is offering $20 million in grants to internet service providers that are willing to expand access in underserved locations. Providers can apply for up to $5 million per grant and can apply for multiple projects. The deadline is August 30. You can find out more right here.. ...Read Full Story
The Southwest Michigan Planning Commission has launched a new website to draw attention to the issue of contamination in creeks throughout the southern half of Berrien County. Senior planner Marcy Hamilton tells WSJM News BetterBeachesSWMI.org is intended to raise awareness of how residents pollute creeks that go into Lake Michigan. Hamilton says a study of creeks from Stevensville to the state line found problems.. ...Read Full Story
All six candidates in the race for mayor of Benton Harbor will be in the studios of News/Talk 94.9 WSJM on Monday for a town hall forum. We will broadcast it live from 7 to 8 a.m., and will also be simulcasting it with a Facebook Live video along with posting the event as a podcast. Scheduled to take part will be Mayor Marcus Muhammad, city commissioners Juanita Henry, CF Jones, and Ron Singleton along with newcomers Jamie Davis and Marjorie Carter.. ...Read Full Story
The Avenue Family Network in Benton Harbor is raising money to purchase the building that houses its Harbor House Adult Day Services program. Avenue’s Joseph Goepfrich tells WSJM News Harbor House is a place for individuals who can’t stay home along during the daytime. They include those with dementia.. ...Read Full Story
The United Way of Southwest Michigan is taking nominations for its annual volunteer awards. Volunteer United Manager Julee Laurent tells WSJM News the organization gives out three volunteer awards each fall.. ...Read Full Story
A 13-year-old Ann Arbor boy is dead after drowning in Lake Michigan off South Haven on Saturday. The South Haven Police Department says its officers and South Haven Area Emergency Services were dispatched to South Beach just before 12:30 p.m. after several 911 calls about people struggling in the water. Responders arrived to learn a paddleboater had rescued one adult, but a child was still in the water. About 20 minutes later, the child was found on the shore about 100 yards south of the South Pier. CPR was performed on the boy as he was taken to Brandon Hospital South Haven, but the rescue effort was not successful and the boy was pronounced dead. The victim and his family had been visiting the area from Ann Arbor. Witnesses told police the family had been swimming, drifted away from the shore, and became exhausted. The National Weather Service forecast for the day began with a green flag advisory for all South Haven beaches, and it was updated to yellow around 11:10 a.m. as the wind changed.. ...Read Full Story
With recent protests about conditions at detention centers holding migrant families along the southern U.S. border, Congressman Fred Upton tells WSJM News he personally has not been to one of the centers to see for himself. We spoke to him this month, and he did say that could change.. ...Read Full Story
The Southwest Michigan Planning Commission is highlighting the growing popularity of the Paw Paw River Water Trail. Senior planner Marcy Hamilton tells WSJM News the trail goes from Paw Paw to Benton Harbor for about 60 miles for canoers and kayakers. 17 municipal, civic, and tribal organizations contribute to its maintenance.. ...Read Full Story
Taking place this weekend is the 58th annual Krasl Art Fair along the bluff in St. Joseph. Krasl Art Center Marketing Manager Matthew Bizoe tells WSJM News everything started Friday with the block party. Saturday brings the start of the art fair at 10 a.m. Bizoe says around 200 artists from across the continent will be on hand selling all kinds of arts and crafts.. ...Read Full Story
The Van Buren Youth Fair in Hartford gets underway on Monday with Armed Forces Day, which means free admission for veterans and active duty military until 6 p.m. Fair Board member Paul Garrod told WSJM News about some opening day details.. ...Read Full Story
Berrien County Drain Commissioner Christopher Quattrin is hoping to help reduce a flooding problem in Coloma Township by extending an existing drain in the area. He addressed the Coloma Township Board this week, saying he would like to bolster the Kelly Drain, a creek near Rosemary Drive and Pine Court where the issue has been growing. Quattrin told WSJM News more.. ...Read Full Story
The United Way of Southwest Michigan has announced the recipients of its Live United Scholarships for 2019. The United Way picks one student from Berrien County and one student from Cass County for the honors, which are given to students who demonstrate a commitment to volunteerism. Berrien County’s winner is Carleigh Dahn, a home-schooled senior who will be attending Northern Michigan University. The United Way says she has raised $15,000 for the Coloma Amicus Dog Park, organized food drives, made cancer clinic blankets, and helped with United Way’s School Supply Spectacular. The Cass County winner is Bailey Anson, a senior from Edwardsburg High School who will be attending Cornerstone University. She has organized backpacks of food for children, set up awareness events for Students Against Destructive Decisions, and cleaned up trash along highways. The two scholarship recipients each get $1,000.. ...Read Full Story
The History Center at Courthouse Square in Berrien Springs will welcome a guest speaker on Thursday for a presentation on World War II POWs who were brought to Michigan to do agriculture work. Dr. Gregory Sumner is a history professor at the University of Detroit-Mercy. He tells WSJM News around 400,000 POWs were sent to the U.S. during the war.. ...Read Full Story
The Berrien Community Foundation has announced 92 student scholarships for 2019, amounting to more than $168,000. The scholarships are going to Berrien County students from all walks of life. The recipients were picked based on their academic performance, community service, talents in the arts, or particular career plans. The Berrien Community Foundation’s Lisa Cripps Downey says there were two new scholarships this year. They are the F.A. Mason Penwell Nursing Scholarship, and the Stoub Family Scholarship for Working Students. Downey urges all 92 recipients to stay connected and continue to work with the Berrien Community Foundation. BCF volunteer committees reviewed more than 230 applications to select the 92 scholarship recipients. Applications for next year will be available at high school counseling offices and on the BCF’s web site in December.. ...Read Full Story
The city of Dowagiac is gearing up for its annual Summer in the City celebration this month. Set for July 19 and 20, there will be a total of 50 hours of activities next weekend. They include rides, lawn tractor races, music, dances, and sporting events. Summer in the City will also feature the Taste of Dowagiac and a craft beer tasting. This is the 34th year for Summer in the City. You can find the full schedule right here.. ...Read Full Story
Parkinson’s disease patients in southwest Michigan and northern Indiana will benefit from a grant to Andrews University to expand a therapy program focused on speech and swallowing functions. The grant will also make the therapy free for patients, who had to pay for it previously. Andrews University speech language pathologist Jenica Joseph explained to WSBT-TV that 70% of Parkinson’s deaths come from a patient choking because they’ve swallowed something incorrectly. Joseph says the therapy is designed to help retrain the brains of those with the disease.. ...Read Full Story
Congressman Fred Upton is responding to the resignation of U.S. Labor Secretary Alex Acosta, who stepped down under pressure on Friday. Acosta handled the prosecution while a U.S. Attorney of Jeffrey Epstein and allowed for a plea deal in Florida in 2008 for Jeffrey Epstein on charges of sexually assaulting children. Epstein is facing new charges of sex trafficking of minors in New York state. In a statement, Upton says Epstein has committed “unspeakable and horrific crimes,” and goes on to compare Acosta’s handling of the case over a decade ago to Michigan State University turning a blind eye to pedophile athletic trainer Dr. Larry Nassar’s crimes for decades. The St. Joseph Republican concludes that it was the right move “for the country that Mr. Acosta announced his resignation.”. ...Read Full Story
(Lansing, MI – AP) – The Michigan Supreme Court has ordered new trials for two men after finding that Allegan County juries were likely swayed by experts whose testimony went too far. In a unanimous decision, the court said experts can’t tell a jury that children usually don’t lie when reporting sexual abuse. The court also said a doctor can’t give an opinion about whether an assault occurred if the conclusion simply is an opinion about the alleged victim’s truthfulness. Justice Brian Zahra noted there was a dearth of evidence in the two cases, which made the experts’ testimony crucial for prosecutors. Joshua Thorpe has been in prison for more than three years. Brandon Harbison was sent to prison in 2015.. ...Read Full Story
From the Associated Press — Health officials in Michigan’s northern Lower Peninsula are urging people to watch for measles symptoms after a young woman who recently traveled to Ukraine was confirmed to have the highly contagious disease. The Grand Traverse County Health Department says the unvaccinated woman returned to northern Michigan with measles and officials wouldn’t be surprised if additional cases are found. She may have exposed people at a store, government office and health facilities in Traverse City from June 30 to July 4. The department says there was no exposure at the National Cherry Festival, which ended last weekend and draws big crowds each summer to Traverse City. The case is the 45th in Michigan this year. Most have been in Detroit’s
suburbs. The number is the highest since 65 in 1991.. ...Read Full Story
The fundraising is underway for a new home for the Hartford Public Library. Director Stephanie Daniels tells WSJM News the goal is to break ground in September on a new facility located on East Street, the site of the former Red Arrow Elementary School. They need to raise $300,000 after the acquisition of grants and support from Bonna VanDerlyn.. ...Read Full Story
From the Associated Press — Officials say skeletal remains of two children and three adults unearthed in southwestern Michigan may be those of early settlers of an area community. The recently unearthed remains in Sturgis have been collected are being evaluated by forensic anthropologists at Western Michigan University. Geoff Smith, the director of public safety for Sturgis, says research is ongoing to determine whether there’s a connection to an old burial site. Local historians want to know whether the remains may be those of a Revolutionary War veteran who later settled in the area just north of the Indiana state line and died in the 1830s. The remains were found along with what appeared to be hardware from a coffin during a retention pond excavation. They were found about 6 feet underground.. ...Read Full Story
Two women are recovering after their kayak capsized in Lake Michigan near South Haven on Thursday. South Haven Area Emergency Services says the women, ages 18 and 19 and from out of state, had entered the lake near South Haven’s South Beach. A shoreline homeowner called 911 when she saw the women in distress about 200 yards offshore around 3:45 p.m. The kayakers were found about a half mile south with waves pushing them against rocks. One of the women suffered scrapes, but didn’t need medical attention. Neither was wearing a life jacket, and SHAES says yellow warning flags were flying at the South beach with waves building to three-four feet.. ...Read Full Story
The Berrien County Health Department is reminding everyone of the warning signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke now that summer is here and we’ve had some days in the 90s. Spokesperson Gillian Conrad tells WSJM News it begins to set in when your body temperature rises too quickly.. ...Read Full Story
Teachers can save some money on their back-to-school purchases to stock their classrooms at any Meijer store in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and Wisconsin. The Grand Rapids-based retailer is giving teachers a 15% discount on what they need for the upcoming school year.. ...Read Full Story
Volunteers will hit Michigan roads all over the state this weekend with the latest Adopt a Highway cleanup. Michigan Department of Transportation spokesperson Dan Weingarten told WSJM News earlier this year Adopt a Highway is a way for any community group, non-profit, or business to help pick up litter along state roads.. ...Read Full Story
A reminder for those traveling south on I-196 this evening and early tomorrow morning that the highway is closing for a few hours. Michigan Department of Transportation spokesman Nick Schirripa says it’s part of the Hagar Shore Road bridge replacement work and the closure starts at 7 p.m.. ...Read Full Story
The body of a South Bend teen who went missing in the water at a Michigan City, Indiana beach on July 6 has been found in Chikaming Township. The Chikaming Township Police Department says the body of 17-year-old Rahem L. Mason was identified by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Thursday afternoon after it was found near Victor Avenue. Mason had been missing since July 6 when witnesses at the Michigan City beach saw him go under and not resurface. An autopsy will be performed on Friday at Western Michigan University. Assisting Chikaming Township police were the Chikaming Township Fire Department, the Berrien County Sheriff’s Department, and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. ...Read Full Story
All six candidates in the race for mayor of Benton Harbor will be in the studios of News/Talk 94.9 WSJM on Monday for a town hall forum. We will broadcast it live from 7 to 8 a.m., and will also be simulcasting it with a Facebook Live video. Scheduled to take part will be Mayor Marcus Muhammad, city commissioners Juanita Henry, CJ Jones, and Ron Singleton along with newcomers Jamie Davis and Marjorie Carter. The primary election will be August 6, and the top two will face each other in the general election on Tuesday, November 5.. ...Read Full Story
Four finalists will be in St. Joseph next week to be interviewed for the superintendent job for St. Joseph Public Schools. The position is opening up with the departure this summer of Ann Cardon to be the superintendent of Traverse City Area Schools. The district says 20 applied for the job, with most from Michigan but interest also came from school officials in California, Colorado, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Wyoming. The board will interview two candidates on Tuesday and two on Wednesday.. ...Read Full Story
