Local News Archives

The Allegan County Community Health Improvement Plan, or CHIP, has been released. It was developed by Ascension Borgess Allegan Hospital, Allegan County Health Department, United Way of Ottawa and Allegan Counties, OnPoint, Allegan County Food Pantry Collaborative, Allegan Area ESA, Gun Lake Tribe, and Allegan County Multi-Agency Collaborative Council. The goals of CHIP are behavioral health, housing, access to medical care, and food security. It’s objectives are for the four priority areas, as well as specific tactics on how to implement the identified strategies in the community. The CHIP is a long-term, systematic effort to address public health issues identified through a Community Health Needs Assessment survey. The next step is to put the identified strategies into action.... [Read Full Story]

The South Haven City Council has held a discussion on a proposed ordinance for food trucks. Assistant City Manager Griffin Graham laid out the proposal to four council members last night after they decided not to vote on the issue a few weeks ago. He said they wanted to break things into focus areas.... [Read Full Story]

Michigan State Police are trying to find a 16-year-old Allegan County girl who has been missing since October 21st. Troopers say Raven McBride was last seen around 8:30 p.m. that night when she told her family she was taking their dogs outside. McBride is five-foot-three, 175 pounds with bright red hair and brown eyes. Troopers believe she may be with someone she knows, but have no leads.... [Read Full Story]

South Haven will hold a workshop tonight to review and discuss a proposed ordinance for food trucks. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 5 pm at City Hall. The discussion came about after a city council meeting on October 17 when the council declined to vote on the ordinance and voted instead to discuss it more. The owner of the Dairy Queen on Phoenix Street wants to turn his parking lot into a food truck park with access to the restaurant for businesses, but that is not currently allowed. Other concerns are where people could locate a food truck and when they can be open.... [Read Full Story]

A 37-year-old man is hospitalized at Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo after rolling his 1994 GMC Yukon Thursday afternoon in Keeler Township. The Decatur-area man lost control when he was on 62nd Street near 79th Avenue and rolled the SUV several times. He was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected from the vehicle. Air Care flew him to the hospital for treatment, and he was the only one in the Yukon. No names have been released, and his condition is not known. Police say they don’t know if alcohol and speed were factors. The crash is still under investigation.... [Read Full Story]

Clearbrook Golf Course in Saugatuck is now owned by Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins and his wife, Julie. They write in a letter to the community they purchased the course from friends Jim and Candy Jeltema, who continue to own and operate The Grill Room restaurant and the clubhouse. In their letter, they call west Michigan a “special community” and say they have enjoyed living in the Saugatuck/Douglas area since building a home there in 2018. They agreed with Jim that the course was a community treasure and needs to remain a golf course as it has since 1926. The Cousins say they have no plans to change the course at this point, but say they will start burying power lines that are over the course and adding perimeter landscaping. Kirk Cousins grew up in Holland and played college football for Michigan State.... [Read Full Story]

Senator Aric Nesbitt has been elected the Minority Leader of the Michigan Senate for the term starting in January. The Lawton Republican won reelection this week for his second and final term in the Legislature. Democrat Winnie Brinks of Grand Rapids will be the Senate Majority Leader, and Representative Joe Brooks of Detroit will be the first Black Speaker of the House. Democrats won the majority in both chambers this week along with the governor’s office for the first time since the early 1980s.... [Read Full Story]

With all of the votes tallied, Van Buren County voters have spoken on a number of proposals.... [Read Full Story]

Voters in two southwest Michigan townships have gone in opposite directions when it comes to pot.... [Read Full Story]

Republican state Senator Aric Nesbitt has defeated Democratic challenger Kim Jorgensen Gane.... [Read Full Story]

The South Haven City Council is considering establishing a Social District from October 1 2023 until May 15 2024. They heard from City Manager Kate Hosier and Assistant City Manager Griffin Graham last night on the idea, with Hosier noting she has spoken with St. Joseph City Manager John Hodgson on their experience, and he has told her it has been positive. She says it wouldn’t be taxing for police to patrol.... [Read Full Story]

By Ryan Yuenger
ryany@wsjm.com... [Read Full Story]

An elderly woman has died in an apartment fire in Plainwell Saturday night. Fire crews were sent to the apartment on North Main Street around 11:15 p.m. and put out the fire in her apartment. Investigators believe it could be linked to cigarette smoking and an oxygen generator but have not finalized that as yet. Her name has not been released.... [Read Full Story]

The Michigan Flywheelers Museum will be taking delivery in the next few weeks of railroad track to complete its Black River Railroad in Geneva Township near South Haven. Museum member Mike Lagness of Bridgman saw an internet ad for 10,000 feet of railroad that were being sold by Swannee River Railroad in Lufkin, Texas. Owner Todd Swan has been making trains for parks since 2014 and his trains can be found in amusement parks, zoos, and private collections nationwide. Museum president Patrick Ingalls quickly contacted Swan about the track and he agreed to hold it until the museum membership approved the purchase. The railroad will offer rides on the scale model Hanson Express train engine and cars that were donated in 2021 by Russel and the late Merlin Hanson of St. Joseph. The engine and cars were engineered and built by the House of David for its Benton Harbor amusement park in the mid-1900s. Ingalls calls it “pure luck” that they have obtained the track.... [Read Full Story]

Van Buren County Sheriff’s deputies are investigating the death of a 33-year-old Kalamazoo man near South Haven. His body was found by a man who was trying to find good hunting property in the 68-thousand block of Baseline Road near 66th Street in Geneva Township. An autopsy will be done today, and his name has not been released.... [Read Full Story]

A preparedness seminar will be held Thursday at Allegan High School by the Allegan County Safe Schools Network. It will be from 8:30 a.m. until noon by invitation only. The network is a new collaboration intended to bring schools, public safety, and public health officials together to talk about serious threats to public, private, and parochial school districts. The targeted audience is superintendents, school board members, principals, teaching staff, facilities and operations directors, school liaison officers, school safety members/coordinators, maintenance supervisors, public health, public safety, and social workers.... [Read Full Story]

Hartford Public Schools will get over $1.5 million dollars from the Environmental Protection Agency to purchase four electric buses. The grants through the EPA’s Clean School Bus Program totaling $54 million in Michigan were announced by US Senators Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters. Cassopolis Public Schools will receive nearly $1.2 million to buy three electric buses. EPA’s Clean School Bus Program helps states accelerate the transition to zero emission vehicles, produce cleaner air in and around schools and communities, and save schools money. This program will also drive demand for American-made batteries and vehicles, boost domestic manufacturing, and create good-paying jobs.... [Read Full Story]

— The Allegan County Health Department says it has found a second rabid bat. They did not say where it was. The bat was found October 21st, while the first rabid bat was located August 14th. County officials are urging people to bat-proof their homes.... [Read Full Story]

The Nature Conservancy in Michigan is calling for the state to use a part of its budget surplus to shore up the Michigan State Park Endowment Fund to help ensure parks infrastructure is well maintained into the future. The Nature Conservancy’s Rich Bowman tells us a record number of people have used state parks since the pandemic started, and for a variety of reasons.... [Read Full Story]

As Van Buren County residents and businesses adjust to the closure of the Palisades nuclear power plant, another $100,000 is being made available to small businesses for technical and financial help. Ashley Breitner with the Economic Growth Institute at the University of Michigan tells us the institute has teamed up with Market Van Buren and the Southwest Michigan Planning Commission for this latest effort. Small businesses that sign up will have a team sent in from the Economic Growth Institute.... [Read Full Story]

SHOUT for South Haven has raised more than $21,000 in less than two weeks for an outdoor fireplace it’s planning at Dyckman Park. The group’s Tom Renner tells WSJM News they have to raise $40,000 to match the $40,000 challenge Public Spaces – Community Places Grant pledged by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation for the fireplace. He says the community has come out in support of the project.... [Read Full Story]

The Nature Conservancy in Michigan is hosting a guided hike at its Paw Paw Prairie Fen Preserve on Saturday. The hike is free and includes cider and donuts from 10 am until noon. The preserve is off Van Kal Avenue in Mattawan and people need to register before the event. The hike will be a mile and a half over wide, flat, and well-packed terrain. Those attending should bring a water bottle, wear waterproof boots and plan on layering since it may be chilly in the morning but get warmer as the day progresses. It’s best to check the weather before heading to the preserve, just to be safe.... [Read Full Story]

Seven people are facing possible charges after a drug bust by the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Unit. Detectives got a search warrant and raided the home in the city of Hartford Tuesday and found several of the suspects had meth and other narcotics on them. One woman had warrants for her arrest and was inside a bedroom with a man who had tried to prevent officers from entering by putting himself against the door. Officers had been investigating the home for meth sales over the past five months. The charges will be under review by the Van Buren County Prosecutor and could include maintaining a drug house, possession an delivery of meth, and resisting and obstructing.... [Read Full Story]

A 60-year-old Otsego man is the state’s newest millionaire. Mark Brooks claimed his Powerball prize from the Michigan Lottery after matching the five white balls and missing the Powerball on September 24. Brooks says he buys two Powerball tickets every Friday and when he checked the ticket on his way home from work, the scanner said to file a claim. The clerk got the same message, so he checked the numbers when he got home. Brooks says he was thinking it was wrong. He plans to pay his bills and save the rest of the money for retirement. The current Powerball jackpot is $508 million.... [Read Full Story]

The South Haven City Council has again postponed a vote on a package of ordinance amendments for the operating and licensing of food trucks. The council voted last night to hold a forum on November 14 after several members including Mayor Scott Smith said they didn’t want to approve or deny it yet.... [Read Full Story]

Dyckman Park in downtown South Haven will soon gain a year-round gathering space and fireplace through the anticipated success of a crowdfunding campaign. As of 2 p.m. Monday, assistant city manager Griffin Graham says they have raised $5,500 on Patronicity of the $40,000 needed by December 2.... [Read Full Story]

– Submitted by SMC... [Read Full Story]

The Van Buren Conservation District announced Wednesday it is preparing for the last Recycle Roundup event of the year at the Van Buren ISD Conference Center, 490 S. Paw Paw Street, Lawrence, on Saturday, Oct. 15.... [Read Full Story]

The 27-year manhunt is over.... [Read Full Story]

The South Haven Rotary Club announced Tuesday it has presented the Michigan Maritime Museum with a $10,000 check to be used toward the touch-screen learning center in the museum’s Golden Age of Greats Lake Passenger Steamships main floor exhibit.... [Read Full Story]