Local News Archives

Cornerstone Alliance is planning a busy 2017. CEO Rob Cleveland addressed Benton Harbor City Commissioners Tuesday, telling them the organization helped bring $50 million in investment to Berrien County in the last three years. Commissioners wanted to know what’s coming for Benton Harbor. Cleveland said plenty, noting all of the industrial property in the area. He told WSJM News  later, work just started Tuesday on the next batch of projects.... [Read Full Story]

A Kalamazoo woman has been sentenced in the 2014 death of her infant daughter. The Kalamazoo Gazette reports that 23-year-old Tekia Wright was sentenced Monday. Kalamazoo County Circuit Court Judge Pamela Lightvoet sentenced Wright
to 28 months to 15 years in the Michigan Department of Corrections. Her 11-month daughter, Gabrielle, died on June 13, 2014. Prosecutors allege Wright left her daughter alone for hours that night. Court documents say the child was dehydrated among other things. A pathologist couldn’t determine the infant’s cause of death. Wright pleaded guilty last month to involuntary manslaughter. In the plea deal, second-degree child abuse charges were dropped. Wright’s attorney, Becket Jones, asked the judge to consider a one-year sentence. He’s said Wright was possibly dealing with postpartum and mental issues at the time.... [Read Full Story]

A newly increased license fee and gas tax will mean about $460 million more for roads in Michigan this year. However, Berrien County Road Commission Managing Director Louis Csokasy tells our newsroom the road package approved in 2015 by the state legislature doesn’t fully take effect until 2021.... [Read Full Story]

Whirlpool has earned six new awards for its appliances. The Consumer Electronics Show’s 2017 Innovation Awards go to Whirlpool appliances for sustainability, among other things. The new Zera Food Recycler, the 2-in-1 Over the Range Microwave Convection Oven, the French Door-within-Door Refrigerator, and the Whirlpool Smart All-in-One Care Washer and Dryer Combo also took honors. Brett Dibkey, the vice president of integrated business units at Whirlpool, says the team was excited to show off the new appliances at CES this year, promising to deliver what he called “Whirlpool Corporation’s promise of purposeful innovation.”... [Read Full Story]

Ford President and CEO Mark Fields says the automaker will invest $700 million to expand its Flat Rock Assembly Plant, instead of spending $1.6 billion on a new plant in Mexico. Flat Rock Assembly will be equipped to build new electric vehicles, and will move forward with a wireless charging pilot program.... [Read Full Story]

Gretchen Whitmer, a former Democratic legislative leader and interim county prosecutor, is running for Michigan governor in 2018. Whitmer filed the paperwork Tuesday. She’s the first person to announce her candidacy for the open seat. Second-term Republican Governor Rick Snyder can’t run again due to term limits. In an email to supporters, Whitmer says she’s “no stranger to fights” and Michigan “can do better. We deserve better.” She says Michigan leaders for too long “have been content to manage our decline.” Whitmer, who lives in East Lansing and is 45 years old, was a lawmaker from 2001 through 2014. Most recently, she served as Ingham County’s interim prosecutor. Another potential Democratic candidate, Congressman Dan Kildee, of Flint Township, says he’ll decide whether to run in coming months.... [Read Full Story]

In another tweet targeting a U.S. company, President-elect Donald Trump is threatening to slap a tax on General Motors for importing compact cars to the U.S. from Mexico. But GM makes the vast majority of compact Chevrolet Cruzes in Lordstown, Ohio, near Cleveland. Trump tweeted early Tuesday that GM is sending Mexican-made Cruzes to the U.S. tax-free. He told GM to stop or pay a big border tax. GM saw the tweet and is formulating a response. Shares of GM fell 0.4 percent to $34.70 in premarket trading after the tweet. Last year Trump threatened to tax Ford, which plans to shift production of the compact Focus to Mexico. Jobs at the U.S. factory that makes Focuses would be preserved because the plant would get a new pickup and SUV.... [Read Full Story]

Governor Rick Snyder has tapped former state Representative Al Pscholka to be the next state budget director. Pscholka, who just left office after six years representing the 79th District in the state House, tells us he’s got a few priorities for the new job.... [Read Full Story]

Unit 2 of the Cook Nuclear Plant is back in service after an 89-day refueling and maintenance outage. The outage was longer than normal due to the replacement of the main turbine and the inspection and replacement of baffle bolts, which support internal components of the reactor vessel. Cook officials say the $250 million turbine replacement project has been in the works for over five years, and they were aware the work would make the outage last longer. The life cycle maintenance work done over the past three months includes 114 upgrade and replacement projects as part of the 20-year operating license extension granted to the facility by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 2005.... [Read Full Story]

The start of the year means more money for Michigan’s lowest paid workers. The minimum wage has gone from $8.50 to $8.90 an hour, effective January 1. The wage will go up again on January 1, 2018 to $9.25, with future increases tied to the rate of inflation.... [Read Full Story]

Environmental groups are hoping a New Year’s resolution for 2017 will be to keep the Great Lakes cleaner. A report by Rochester Institute of Technology estimates 22 million pounds of plastic ends up in the water every year. Lead author Matthew Hoffman says this study is the first picture of the true scale of plastic pollution in the Great Lakes.... [Read Full Story]

Auto sales have been up slightly in 2016. J.D. Power is now predicting the year will end with sales up by about 5,000 vehicles in the U.S. That’s a 0.03% increase. Bill Crowder, with Signature Automotive Group, tells WSJM News he, too, has seen sales up. However, for him, they’ve been up 15% in 2016. He’s also feeling good about 2017.... [Read Full Story]

The Benton Harbor Department of Public Safety is investigating the armed robbery of a Family Dollar store on Pipestone Street on Monday. It says a black male with his face covered walked into the store in the morning hours flashing a gun and demanding cash. He was able to get away with a small amount. The suspect is described as having a medium build, standing about 5’10. Anyone with information on the robbery is asked to call Benton Harbor Public Safety.... [Read Full Story]

Everyone is being reminded not to shine laser pointers at Coast Guard vessels. A man in Washington state just last week was fined $9,500 for doing just that. Coast Guard Petty Officer Matt Huber, with the St. Joseph station, tells WSJM News there’s a whole procedure for staff when a laser pointer is shined at them.... [Read Full Story]

The Benton Harbor Department of Public Safety is investigating a shooting reported in the early morning hours of Saturday. They say it happened in the parking lot of Smokes Lounger at 250 North Fair Street. The victim, a 31-year-old man, suffered a serious but non life-threatening injury, and he’s expected to recover. The shooting remains under investigation, and anyone with information is asked to call Benton Harbor Public Safety at 927-0293.... [Read Full Story]

The new year will mean more money for Michigan roads. Starting today, a license fee increase and increases in fuel taxes are in effect. County Road Association of Michigan Director Denise Donahue tells WSJM News that will mean $460 million more for roads this year, and $1.2 billion per year once all of the increases are fully implemented in five years. She says the state fell far behind in raising money for road maintenance a long time ago.... [Read Full Story]

Michigan State Police officials say they are changing the criteria for issuing Amber Alerts. Effective now, the emergency response system that disseminates information about missing children will only be used for child abductions. All Amber Alerts will receive a Wireless Emergency Alert, which pushes the notifications to mobile devices and interrupts broadcasts. Amber Alerts had been authorized for missing children with severe mental or physical disabilities who wandered away and could not care for themselves. Cases that don’t meet the new standards will be eligible for what’s called an Endangered Missing Advisory. Those notifications are sent to area broadcast and print media but not as wireless alerts. Officials say the changes help ensure that credible, useful information gets out to the public in the most critical cases.... [Read Full Story]

A state grant of $45,000 will help the city of South Haven do some renovations to the Kids Corner playground. The playground at Monroe Park was built in 1988 and is now in need of some safety improvements. City Manager Brian Dissette tells WSJM News a recent study recommended several changes.... [Read Full Story]

Everyone’s being reminded not to plow snow into the road this winter. Van Buren County Road Commission Engineer Manager Larry Hummel tells WSJM News some folks still think it’s OK to push their snow off their driveway and straight across the road, and that just messes things up when maintenance crews come by.... [Read Full Story]

Police say a body found at Glenlord Beach in Lincoln Township Sunday is that of a man reported missing Saturday. The St. Joseph Department of Public Safety tells WSJM News an SUV belonging to 38-year-old Dilbag Singh was found Saturday off the bluff in the 3000 block of Lakeshore Drive. Singh was not with the vehicle, and at that time police said he’d been reported missing. Then, around 2 p.m. Sunday, Singh’s body was found at the beach in Lincoln Township. Police are still investigating the circumstances of his death. An autopsy is planned for Monday or Tuesday.... [Read Full Story]

You, sir, (or ma’am): Focus, if you will, on a historic, on fleek listicle containing words nominated for bigly banishment. But don’t convene a town hall meeting or get your dandruff up in the echo chamber over them. Northern Michigan’s Lake Superior State University on Saturday released its 42nd annual List of Words Banished from the Queen’s English for Misuse, Overuse
and General Uselessness.The tongue-in-cheek, non-binding list comes from suggestions to the Sault Ste. Marie school. It includes “you, sir,” ”focus,” ”town hall meeting,” ”historic,” ”echo chamber,” “on fleek,” ”bigly,” ”listicle” and “get your
dandruff up,” seemingly a substitute for “dander,” its hair and skin kin. “Bigly” also made Merriam-Webster’s Top 10 for 2016. President-elect Donald Trump was fond this year of saying “big league” but making it sound like “bigly.”... [Read Full Story]

A group from Three Oaks is preparing to take the trip of their lives, as they’ve been invited to walk in the presidential inaugural parade next month. On January 20, President Donald Trump will watch as the Mid America Cowgirls Rodeo Drill Team proceeds past them for the celebration. Captain Debbie Dunphy tells us she applied for the inaugural parade in 2008, but the group was still too new back then to have enough on its resume. This time around, though, things were different. She says it’s still hard to believe they got selected.... [Read Full Story]

The state House career of Representative Al Pscholka is now over. The Stevensville Republican joined WSJM to discuss the past six years in Lansing, saying he’s proud of helping get the state on the right financial path.... [Read Full Story]

The search is on for a missing man 38-year-old man. St. Joseph Public Safety officers pulled the wrecked SUV belonging to Dilbag Singh from below the bluff in the 3000 block of Lakeshore Drive Saturday afternoon. Singh had been reported missing Friday night, and his vehicle was found around 11 a.m. the next day. He is 5’6″ with a medium build and a full beard and mustache. When he was last seen, Singh was wearing a white coat, blue jeans, and white shoes. Police told WSJM News on the scene after the SUV was pulled up that there was no one inside the vehicle. The U.S. Coast Guard also searched the immediate area along the shoreline and in Lake Michigan with a helicopter Saturday afternoon.... [Read Full Story]

With everyone so glad to see 2016 come to an end, some New Year’s Eve revelers might be tempted to fire off their guns as midnight strikes tonight. However, Berrien County Sheriff Paul Bailey tells WSJM News it’s illegal in most places.... [Read Full Story]

One bit of work that Michigan lawmakers managed to get done in 2016 was a reform of the state’s medical marijuana laws. Under the plan that has now been signed by the governor, medical marijuana dispensaries will get a legal framework to set up shop, and even edibles will become legal. State Representative Mike Callton was behind the plan. He says marijuana will become a billion dollar industry in Michigan.... [Read Full Story]

AAA of Michigan is hoping everyone makes it a safe New Year’s Eve by not drinking and driving. Spokesperson Susan Hiltz tells WSJM News they’re also hoping more folks will simply not drink at all. AAA has put out a guide on how to celebrate New Year’s without alcohol. It’s called the Great Pretenders Party Guide.... [Read Full Story]

2016 was a tough year for the law enforcement profession with the number of officers killed in the line of duty spiking at 135 nationwide. Craig Floyd, the CEO at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, says there were more ambush style attacks this year than in previous years.... [Read Full Story]