Pure Michigan has some exciting things planned for their Fall campaign. Vice President Dave Lorenz says they’ll continue to feature fall color tours and opportunities to enjoy the heritage around the state. As for what else is being planned, Lorenz is being coy. “We’re working with McDonalds and Coca-Cola on a ‘Share a Coke’ program,” he says. “You’re going to hear about that in just a couple of weeks. I can’t go into too much detail.”... [Read Full Story]
Ford Motor Company will have a fully self-driving car available in the next five years. CEO Mark Fields says the vehicle will be completely automated and part of a ride-hailing service.... [Read Full Story]
Homework isn’t the only thing some Michigan kids dread as they head back to school, as a new nationwide analysis ranks Michigan worst for bullying. According to the online-survey site WalletHub, the state is also third for the percentage of high-school kids bullied on school property.... [Read Full Story]
A 23-year-old Bloomingdale man is in the Van Buren County Jail after a break-in last night in Columbia Township. He was found naked in a nearby outbuilding by sheriff’s department deputies. The homewoner called 911 just before 9 p.m. to report someone was breaking in. The suspect is facing four charges, including home invasion and indecent exposure. No names have been released.... [Read Full Story]
The completion of Lake Michigan College’s new Hanson Technology Center will be celebrated next week with a grand opening and open house. The $12 million facility has been built to house some of LMC’s career and technical programs, including those for energy production, engineering, machine tool, skilled trades, and welding. It’s replacing the old M-TEC center. Students will start to attend classes at the Hanson Center this fall, and LMC says everyone’s welcome to come check the place out next Tuesday. The open house will run from 2 to 6 p.m.... [Read Full Story]
One person is dead and another is hurt following a Watervliet-area industrial accident Tuesday. The Berrien County Sheriff’s Department says it was called to 8901 Industrial Park Drive shortly before 6:45 p.m. on a report that some scaffolding and ladders had collapsed. Two people fell. The sheriff’s department says Carl Lee Stone, of Hartford, was pronounced dead at the scene, while Joshua Stone was injured. He was taken to Lakeland Hospital for treatment. The cause of the collapse is under investigation.... [Read Full Story]
Red Cross volunteers from across west Michigan are now in Louisiana helping out with flood recovery. Michigan-based disaster program manager Armando Falcon says most of the volunteers are in Baton Rouge. The majority will stay there about two weeks.... [Read Full Story]
In Michigan, the minimum wage is more than a dollar above the national rate, at $8.50 an hour. However, advocates for working families say it’s still not enough. New research says in states with a lower minimum wage, the percentage of adults in jail or prison is higher than in states where workers make more money. Rebecca Vallas, with the Center for American Progress, says if people make enough to make ends meet, they’re less likely to take desperate measures that land them in jail.... [Read Full Story]
The fun continues at the Berrien County Youth Fair. The event runs through Saturday, and more than 120,000 people are expected to come out. Fair Director Karen Klug says, in addition to the rides, there’s a whole lot going on.... [Read Full Story]
A lawsuit filed on behalf of a St. Joseph man against the owners of Celebration Cinema for failing to provide captioning services to the deaf seeks damages, as well as immediate installation of those services. Attorney Mary Vargas, with the firm representing Graham Forsey, says her client should be able to use simple technology that is widely available to be able to read captions.... [Read Full Story]
The Berrien Community Foundation has announced an effort to help the sheriff’s department raise money for new officer safety gear. The foundation’s Lisa Cripps-Downey says last month’s fatal shootings at the courthouse in St. Joseph left the whole community looking for ways to help local police.... [Read Full Story]
The Berrien County Trial Court next month will offer a way out for anyone facing a bench warrant. It says amnesty will be granted to anyone who turns himself in and pays whatever is owed to the court. The amnesty period is September 6 through September 16, and it only applies to those with a bench warrant for failing to appear or failing to comply with financial obligations on a criminal case. Anyone who wants to take advantage should just show up to one of the Berrien County Courthouses with the money to pay what they owe. The court will then recall the warrant and dismiss any future contempt charges. Anyone looking for more information can call the courthouse.... [Read Full Story]
A warning from Michigan State Police, Emergency Management and Homeland Security. Don’t drive through flooded roads. Ron Leix with the Michigan State Police says flash flooding can be dangerous.... [Read Full Story]
The Michigan Senate will hold a hearing on Governor Rick Snyder’s pick to lead the Department of Environmental Quality in the wake of
Flint’s water crisis. A spokeswoman for Senate Republicans said Tuesday that the Senate Natural Resources Committee will meet September 7 to consider the appointment of Heidi Grether. The selection of the former oil and gas lobbyist has drawn criticism from Democrats and environmentalists. But Grether, who began the job on August 1, is unlikely to be rejected by the GOP-led Senate. Senators last year let stand the Republican governor’s choice for the Michigan Public Service Commission despite the appointee’s past ties to a major utility that the panel regulates. Grether replaces Dan Wyant, who resigned in December because of the DEQ’s role in Flint’s lead contamination.... [Read Full Story]
St. Joseph is taking a stand against Alzheimer’s. Over 400 people joined the Walk to End Alzheimer’s last Saturday at the Silver Beach Carousel. Participants not only walked two miles, but learned about the disease and what they can do to help those struggling with it. Walk manager Kristin Burt says that, despite the rain, the walk drew a good crowd and was a success.... [Read Full Story]
It was all smiles and wags in Van Buren County after a missing military dog named Pongo was found Monday. The black lab disappeared on Sunday. He is a retired tactical explosion detection dog assigned to U.S. Army Specialist Caleb French.... [Read Full Story]
(Lansing, MI – AP) – The Michigan school reform office plans to put chronically low-performing schools on notice that they might be closed by next June. The office’s Director Natasha Baker tells the “Detroit Free Press” the number of schools affected isn’t known, but some have been performing at low levels for a decade. She says schools will learn by year’s end whether they could be closed.... [Read Full Story]
The murder trial of a Benton Harbor man is scheduled to begin today in Grand Rapids. Shaquille Bunting is charged with murder in the shooting death last year of Terence Hollis in the parking lot of the Chicken Coop restaurant on South Division Avenue. Bunting has turned down a plea deal from the Kent County Prosecutor’s Office to second degree murder. Grand Rapids police say he and Hollis got into a fight in the restaurant that spilled into the parking lot. If convicted, he faces life in prison.... [Read Full Story]
Consumers Energy has turned on its new solar farm in Kalamazoo. The 8.5 acre facility sits on property at the Western Michigan University Business, Technology and Research Park. Consumers Energy spokesperson Roger Morgenstern says WMU will use some of its power.... [Read Full Story]
A church in Benton Harbor is asking why it never had a chance to make a counteroffer in its bid to buy the building at 200 Paw Paw. The city-owned facility is for sale, and Freedom Life Church in May offered $185,000 for it. Pastor Jeremy Butler says they’d use it as a church and to start a business incubator.... [Read Full Story]
Celebration Cinema owner Loeks Theaters is being sued for not providing captioning for the hearing disabled at its location in Benton Harbor. The suit announced this week was filed on behalf of St. Joseph resident Graham Forsey, who is deaf, and the National Association of the Deaf. Their attorneys say the Americans with Disabilities Act requires movie theaters to ensure deaf individuals have full and equal access. Forsey says he loves the movies but can’t go in Benton Harbor because, there, he can’t understand them. Celebration Cinema tells WSJM News national standards for accommodating the deaf are expected to be rolled out in the next year, and it’s waiting for that to happen before it installs new technology. The suit’s plaintiffs say the technology to display captioning in theaters is “broadly available.”... [Read Full Story]
Some Democrats and Republicans are searching for options other than Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump for this presidential election, given both candidates’ low popularity ratings. Experts say while third-party and independent candidates have zero chance of winning the White House, their participation can affect the contest. John Clark, a professor of political science at Western Michigan University, says this is definitely one of those years.... [Read Full Story]
The Berrien County Youth Fair is making some changes this year to how the pig displays will be handled due to concerns about swine flu. Fair Director Karen Klug says the disease has shown up at several county fairs this year, so they’re limiting access to the swine barn. Only the exhibitors and two designated adults per family will be let in.... [Read Full Story]
Southwest Michigan is expected to get soaked by the time a storm system is done moving through the area. WNDU meteorologist Mike Hoffman says most places in the region will get about an inch of rain by the time all is said and done, while others could get up to four inches.... [Read Full Story]
Authorities in Michigan say searchers have found the body of a boater in Lake Michigan and are looking for a second boater who is missing. The U.S. Coast Guard station in Ludington says three people went out Sunday night to go fishing and two of them ended up in the water off of Oceana County near Little Sable Point. The Coast Guard says one person was found dead and the search is ongoing Monday for the second person. The third boater was OK. Coast Guard crews from Ludington and Muskegon are involved in the search along with other agencies, including sheriff’s departments in Oceana and Mason counties. In addition to boats on the water, a Coast Guard helicopter is involved in the search.... [Read Full Story]
The Michigan Department of Transportation is advising drivers about a maintenance project starting this week that will mean the closure of an I-94 exit in Berrien County. It says the ramp from westbound 94 to Grand Mere Road, or John Beers, at exit 22 in Stevensville will be closed for construction starting Wednesday. It’ll stay closed through Friday, September 9. Traffic will be detoured at the Bridgman exit. You could also get off at the Red Arrow Highway exit in Stevensville. To stay on top of all of MDOT’s projects this summer, just get its MIDrive app. It’s free for both iPhone and Android.... [Read Full Story]
Access to the swine barn at the Berrien County Youth Fair this year will be limited due to concerns about the swine flu. Three county fairs in Michigan this year have reported people getting influenza from pigs. Berrien County Youth Fair Director Karen Klug says they’re going to be proactive at the event in Berrien Springs.... [Read Full Story]
The Secretary of State branch office in Dowagiac is going to be closed next week for remodeling. The office will be closed August 22-26 and reopen on Monday August 29 at 9 a.m. New data lines are promised along with a customer-friendly new counter design and new furniture. Secretary of State Ruth Johnson notes a lot of business can be done online at ExpressSOS.com, but for those who have to go to a branch, the nearest three are in Niles, Paw Paw and Benton Harbor and will all be open next week.... [Read Full Story]
We’ve got some significant rain on the way over the next 24 hours, as the remnants of what has soaked Louisiana and caused heavy flooding there comes north. WNDU NewsCenter 16 meteorologist David Harker says we are under a flash flood watch starting this afternoon at 2 p.m.... [Read Full Story]
There are no reported human illnesses, but the Van Buren/Cass District Health Department says 20 pigs at the Cass County Fair last week were infected with the H3N2 strain of the swine flu. The health department is working with Cass County Michigan State University Extension 4H, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to monitor the situation. Human infection with swine flu is most likely to happen when people are in close proximity to the infected animals, such as in pig barns and livestock exhibits housing pigs at fairs. The H3N2 strain is considered relatively mild for people.... [Read Full Story]
