Local News Archives

Michigan State Police from the Wayland Post will hold their annual “Stuff A Blue Goose” food and toy drive next Saturday, December 17 at the Plainwell Walmart. Troopers will take donations of non-perishable food along with toys for families in need over the holidays. State police say food banks see an increase every day during the season of people who need help, with the most-requested items being canned fruit and vegetables, canned meat like tuna and chicken, boxed potatoes, peanut butter, cereal, and cooking oil. All donations will be accepted and distributed soon. Donations will be delivered to Christian Neighbors Food Pantries in both Plainwell and Wayland and the toys will go to Community Action of Allegan County.... [Read Full Story]

The Allegan County Sheriff’s Office says a credit card skimmer has been found at a gas pump at the Admiral gas station on M-89 in Plainwell. The device collects card numbers and deputies say it is not known how long it had been there. Customers are being urged to check their statements for any suspicious activity.... [Read Full Story]

The South Haven City Council is considering banning golf carts from towing trailers, passenger carts or other items and will hold a public hearing on the changes on December 19. City Manager Kate Hosier says they are also proposing extending when golf carts can be driven.... [Read Full Story]

South Haven will have a social district in place next year after a 4-2 city council vote Monday night. Assistant City Manager Griffin Graham posed the question to the council about the area.... [Read Full Story]

– Submitted by Michigan Lottery News... [Read Full Story]

Residents in the tri-county area looking to adopt a pet this holiday season are in luck.... [Read Full Story]

The Michigan Maritime Museum in South Haven will welcome in folk singer and songwriter Lee Murdock for “The Christmas Ship Concert” on Wednesday, December 14. The show will be an hour and start at 6:30 p.m. Murdock will feature songs of Michigan history along with his original tune “The Christmas Ship,” as well as other maritime songs and holiday music. It is part of the museum’s Holiday at the Heritage Center on their newly rebuilt campus on the Black River. Murdock is acknowledged as “the premier interpreter of songs and stories about the Great Lakes.” His “The Christmas Ship” song tells the story of delivering Christmas trees to Chicago and the loss of the Christmas tree ship, Rouse Simmons, in 1912. Tickets are $10 for Michigan Maritime Museum members and $15 for non-members.... [Read Full Story]

The donations for building a wintertime gathering place at Dyckman Park in South Haven have met the fundraising challenge. Assistant City Manager Griffin Graham says as of the end of the business day Tuesday, they had raised $40,284, eclipsing the $40,000 goal. The project to build a fireplace and more will cost $105,000. The money raised will be matched with a $40,000 grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and a $25,000 donation from SHOUT. The president of SHOUT, Robert Copping, says the response by the community was “humbling” and says money came from South Haven along with Chicago, Denver, Florida, and Maryland. The goal of the project is to create a wintertime gathering place, visible from the street for residents and visitors to enjoy. It will also complement the nearby pavilion’s ice rink. The intent is to have the project completed in time for winter 2023-24. Donations are still being accepted to cover additional construction costs.... [Read Full Story]

Two holes at Lake Doster Golf Club in Plainwell have been badly damaged by a car. Head golf professional Matt Townsley says the greens at holes six and seven were destroyed with tire tracks and they may have to use temporary greens in 2023 as the damage is repaired. He is concerned they will have to completely resod both greens and are working to save what they can. No arrests have been made.... [Read Full Story]

Sheriff’s deputies from Ottawa County have found the body of Avel Martinez of Allegan County. Martinez was found near the shore of Lake Michigan in Park Township near Riley Street and Lakeshore Avenue on Monday, not far from where his car had been found last Tuesday. Police say no foul play is suspected in the 42-year-old’s death. He had been reported missing last Monday.... [Read Full Story]

The Insurance Service Office has upgraded the fire protection rating for the area served by South Haven Area Emergency Services as of March 1, 2023. SHAES executive director Brandon Hinz says by securing lower fire insurance premiums for communities with better public protection, the Public Protection Classification program “provides incentives and rewards for communities that choose to improve their firefighting services.” The ISO rating typically appears on a property owner’s insurance bill. Property owners are encouraged to contact their insurance carrier should this change not be reflected on a future bill. The ISO rating is a numerical grading system and is one of the primary elements used by the insurance industry to develop premium rates for residential and commercial businesses. It analyzes data using a Fire Suppression Rating Schedule and then assigns a Public Protection Classification from 1 being the best to 10. ISO has rated the area protected by SHAES a Class 3/5. The previous rating established in 2016 was 4/6. In 2004 it was 5/6. SHAES marked its 25th year in 2021. The department is comprised of 16 fulltime staff and 25 paid-on-call firefighters protecting 97 square miles of land and several miles of Lake Michigan shoreline from three stations. In 2021 the department responded to a record 2,592 fire, emergency and medical calls. The department is on pace this year to set a new response record.... [Read Full Story]

A fire at the Cornerstone Adult Foster Care facility in Bangor is under investigation. South Haven Area Emergency Services responded Saturday morning around 9 to the blaze in a room. A Bangor police officer put out the fire with a fire extinguisher and no one was hurt. Officials removed a mattress, box spring, bed frame and curtains from the room and are investigating how it started. The foster care facility is on M-43.... [Read Full Story]

A Saturday afternoon crash on M-40 in Allegan County has claimed the life of a Plainwell-area woman. County sheriff’s deputies say she was headed north when she went into the southbound lanes, then went off the road and hit a tree. She was dead by the time officers arrived. The woman’s name and age have not been released, and the cause of the crash is still being investigated. It happened near 110th Avenue in Trowbridge Township, and no other vehicles were involved. The investigation resulted in M-40 being closed for a time, but it reopened Saturday.... [Read Full Story]

A New Year’s Eve celebration in downtown South Haven has been approved by the City Council. South Haven Visitor’s Bureau executive director Jennifer Sistrunk explained what will be happening.... [Read Full Story]

The city of South Haven will apply for a Michigan Department of Natural Resources Spark grant for $276,000 to help fund the Kids Corner Park improvement project. Public works director Bill Hunter says its due to construction costs rising from what had been budgeted.... [Read Full Story]

Otsego’s Bittersweet Ski Resort is opening today. General manager Nick Ross says they began making snow several days ago and also received over a foot of snow from the 16th to the 20th. Cannonsburg Ski Area north of Grand Rapids plans to open as early in December as they can and they began making snow on Friday. Both resorts are still hiring for the season.... [Read Full Story]

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]