Grand Rapids Community College has canceled classes in its Ford Fieldhouse due to high temperatures. Leah Nixon, director of communications for the school, tells The Grand Rapids Press that when the indoor temperature at the Fieldhouse exceeds 100 degrees it’s closed because there’s no air conditioning in the building. Grand Rapids Community College lobbied state lawmakers unsuccessfully this year for $4.25 million to help address the lack of air conditioning, classroom space and other needs at the Ford Fieldhouse. The facility, built in 1976, houses courses including exercise science. Temperatures were in the high 80s in Grand Rapids on Friday and at similar levels elsewhere in the southern Lower Peninsula.
The Holland Sentinel reports that tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings have been issued for parts of western Michigan.... [Read Full Story]
In this week’s WSJM Week in Review, for August 12, 2016, a Benton Harbor man is sentenced to a maximum of 60 years in prison for his role in a shooting death last December, new details on the investigation of July’s courthouse shooter, Buchanan students receive financial aid for college a St. Joseph City Commissioner celebrates 30 years of service, and more.... [Read Full Story]
(Detroit, MI AP) – A federal appeals court appears to be moving quickly in a dispute over Michigan’s ban on straight-party voting. A judge in Detroit suspended the law, saying it violates the rights of black voters. Attorney General Bill Schuette filed an emergency appeal Wednesday to try to freeze that decision.... [Read Full Story]
AAA of Michigan says there has been an increase in traffic crashes caused by debris in the road. The auto club says national data shows a 40% jump since 2001, and between 2011 and 2014, the increase was especially big, with 200,000 such crashes reported. AAA’s Susan Hiltz says there are multiple reasons.... [Read Full Story]
Utility companies are reminding Michigan residents of the importance of calling Miss Dig when they’re working on a project that will require them to dig. Consumers Energy spokesperson Debra Dodd says the first thing to do is call 811. Miss Dig will then notify utilities in your area.... [Read Full Story]
As many as 50,000 people are expected to flock to South Haven this weekend for the 53rd annual Blueberry Festival. South Haven Chamber of Commerce Director Kathy Wagaman says there will be things going on all over town through Sunday. That’s not to mention all of the blueberries you can find.... [Read Full Story]
The Palisades nuclear power plant has a new leader. This week, plant owner Entergy announced Charles Arnone has been named the new site vice president. Arnone replaces Tony Vitale, who is leaving to head up a New York nuclear plant. Arnone has previously worked director of nuclear safety assurance at the Palisades plant, from 2007 to 2009 and again from 2011 to 2013. Entergy says he lives in Lawrence, and has more than 30 years experience in the industry.... [Read Full Story]
Who would kill a family of swans intentionally? That’s the question Washtenaw County Sheriff’s deputies are trying to answer. The department’s Derrick Jackson says the swans were not in the roadway, but off on the side.... [Read Full Story]
Coming up in South Haven will be a presentation on NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory from a local native who now works at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Thanks to the South Haven Public School Foundation, Jim Montgomery will be speaking on Thursday, August 18 at the Listiak Auditorium at South Haven High School. The school foundation says Montgomery got excited about science watching NASA missions, and he credits South Haven Public Schools with nurturing his interest. He went to the University of Michigan and the University of Southern California before winding up at the JPL. Its Mars Science Laboratory delivered the Curiosity rover to Mars in 2012. Montgomery’s presentation will be about the laboratory and Curiosity. Everyone’s invited. It will be free admission for all students, and adults are asked to make a $10 donation to the South Haven Public School Foundation to get in. The presentation starts at 6:30 p.m.... [Read Full Story]
A 48-year-old man has died following a two-story fall from the roof of a western Michigan college building. David Torrenga toppled Wednesday from Hope College’s DePree Art Center & Gallery in Holland. He later died at a hospital. The Holland Sentinel reports Thursday that police said Torrenga struck his head during the fall. Hope spokesman Greg Olgers said a crew from East Muskegon Roofing and Sheet Metal Co. was working on the building. Olgers said in a statement that the college is “saddened to learn” of Torrenga’s death.... [Read Full Story]
Governor Rick Snyder says his newly appointed environmental director will do a “fine job” and critics of her extensive time as an oil and gas lobbyist should give her a chance. The Republican governor last month appointed former BP lobbyist Heidi Grether to lead the Michigan Department of Environment, which has been reeling since being called primarily responsible for Flint’s lead-contaminated drinking water. Grether began the job last week. Snyder told reporters Thursday that Grether has a “strong background,” noting that early in her career she was a legislative aide focused on environmental issues. He says Grether has “built a career that she should be proud of.” Snyder says detractors should “get to know her, give her an opportunity and I think you’re going to see good results.”... [Read Full Story]
Steve Krieger says justice has been served, but he can never be satisfied. His brother, David Krieger, was shot and killed in December outside of Steve Krieger’s business, Michiana Supply, in Benton Township. Sentenced to at least 35 years in prison for second degree murder in the case is Roy Thompson, who learned his fate this week. The case may seem over, but Steve Krieger says he has not been pleased with some of the things that were said in the last eight months. In particular, what he says are false claims that Dave Krieger sprinted at Thompson during a confrontation.... [Read Full Story]
Police in Cass County say two people were injured when a tree fell into the road and on to their car Thursday. The sheriff’s department says it happened around 10 a.m. on Decatur Road near Marcellus Highway. 64-year-old Kathy Lull, of Decatur, suffered minor injuries and refused treatment. Her passenger, 91-year-old Oliver Scott, of Niles, was taken to Bronson Hospital in Kalamazoo for treatment of a non-life threatening head injury. The Cass County Road Commission was called in to remove the tree from the roadway.... [Read Full Story]
Records say an inmate who killed two bailiffs during an escape attempt from a southwestern Michigan courthouse was under investigation at the time for allegations that he’d been sexually involved with multiple teenagers.... [Read Full Story]
The state of Michigan is urging an appeals court to restore the state’s ban on straight-party voting in the fall election. A Detroit federal judge says the ban violates the rights of black voters. But in a court filing Wednesday, Attorney General Bill Schuette says the law is “rational” and “imposes a minimal burden” on voters. Schuette wants a federal appeals court to quickly suspend an injunction issued by Judge Gershwin Drain. Ballots must be printed soon. The fall election would be the first affected by a new law that ends straight-party voting, the ability to vote for candidates of one party with a single mark, from president to drain commissioner. Straight-party voting is popular in Michigan cities with large black
populations, which tend to vote for Democrats.... [Read Full Story]
Some police agencies in Michigan have received new technology to read fingerprints on the go. The Eaton County Sheriff’s Department is one of five departments to get the mobile scanners. Sheriff Thomas Reich says they have already been put to use.... [Read Full Story]
A 75-year-old Glendale man is dead in an apparent drowning in Van Buren County. Michigan State Police say troopers were called out to Three Legged Lake in Bloomingdale Township around 4 p.m. Wednesday when a boat was spotted anchored in the water with no occupants. Troopers at the scene found reason to believe the 12-foot boat had been occupied, so divers were called in and they began searching. They found the man’s body in about seven feet of water. The victim’s name has not yet been released, and police are investigating.... [Read Full Story]
State Senator John Proos is reminding Michigan taxpayers of one way they can support the Red Cross. He says a new law has allowed for a checkoff box on state income tax forms so residents can help out the organization.... [Read Full Story]
The blueberry crop in southwest Michigan is looking strong this year. Mark Longstroth, with MSU Extension, says that comes after a couple of low-yield years.... [Read Full Story]
Road commissions in southwest Michigan have a reminder for those who are posting campaign signs around their communities during this election season. They say it’s important to remember the signs should not block any views of the road, driveways, or intersections. The Van Buren County Road Commission’s Larry Hummel says that applies to any sign, in general.... [Read Full Story]
A new promise has been made to graduates of Buchanan Community Schools. The Buchanan Promise, a scholarship for all grads, was announced Wednesday. Made possible through a permanent endowment and managed by the Michigan Gateway Community Foundation, the program will award up to $2,500 per year, for a maximum of $10,000, to students to pay for college. Foundation President Robert Habicht says this creates a whole new range of possibilities for graduates.... [Read Full Story]
When Turnip the skunk visits schools, nursing homes and other places there will be no need to hold noses. As a sort of animal ambassador for Grand Rapids’ John Ball Zoo, she’s been de-scented ahead of her role to educate people about skunks. The Grand Rapids Press reports Wednesday that Turnip won’t be on exhibit at the zoo. Instead, she is being trained. She will take strolls with staff and meet zoo visitors.
Zookeeper Sarah Bontinen says skunks often are misunderstood. The zoo wants to see the year-old Turnip to show how interesting and useful the animals can be. Bontinen says “skunks only spray when they feel imminent danger” and “they don’t want to spray unless they feel like they have to.”... [Read Full Story]
The annual Walk to End Alzheimer’s is coming up Saturday in St. Joseph. Walk manager Kristin Burt says they will welcome anyone, and even their dogs, at the event. She says “anyone with a brain is at risk for this disease, and that’s why we want anyone and everyone to come to this walk and have more awareness about Alzheimer’s disease and help us raise funds that can help find a cure.”... [Read Full Story]
From fraudulent charges to frozen accounts, thousands of Michiganders dealt with the fallout from the massive data breach at Wendy’s restaurants. And so did their financial institutions, which is why the state’s credit unions say they’re fighting back.... [Read Full Story]
A Lawrence couple is hospitalized in Kalamazoo after hitting a deer on their motorcycle in Cass County. The sheriff’s department says 65-year-old Leonard and 63-year-old Terri Lee Strefling suffered minor injuries in the crash, which happened around 7:30 last night in Volinia Township. The deer ran out in front of their bike as they were headed north on Decatur Road. Police say both people were wearing helmets, and alcohol wasn’t a factor.... [Read Full Story]
If you like to check out garage sales, this is your weekend. Starting Friday, you can catch garage sales on the US 12 Heritage Trail in southern Michigan from New Buffalo to Detroit.... [Read Full Story]
Scientists are retrieving data from an underwater robot for the first time since it was deployed to gather information about the Lake Michigan fish food supply. The U.S. Geological Survey and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute launched the vehicle August 1. It is measuring volumes of algae and tiny animals called zooplankton, which form the base of aquatic food chains. Experts say the findings will help develop estimates of how many predator fish Lake Michigan can support. They say it’s been hard to develop accurate measures of algae and zooplankton using conventional technologies. The robot will ply the southern portion of the lake for 25 days, at depths ranging from 9 feet to 150 feet. It’s being removed temporarily Tuesday so scientists can download data and recharge the battery.... [Read Full Story]
According to a new analysis, if the federal minimum wage had grown at the same pace as increases in worker productivity, it would be nearly $19 an hour in 2016. Meanwhile, business groups argue that raising the wage could lead to job loss, especially in the midwest and south. David Cooper, with the Economic Policy Institute, says he doesn’t believe increasing the minimum wage would lead to job losses, as some business groups say.... [Read Full Story]
No one’s injured, but there were some tense moments at a Berrien Springs Senior Living Community Tuesday when a fire broke out in one of the units. The Oronoko Township Fire Department was dispatched to Timber Ridge Manor at US-31 around 6 p.m. when a stove top caught fire. The building filled with smoke, causing residents to be evacuated. Firefighters had the situation under control quickly, and used fans to clear the building while residents waited outside. The building did not suffer any fire damage, nor was there serious damage to the unit where it started. Everyone was let back in by 8 p.m... [Read Full Story]
