
Latest News
Saugatuck UMC to close doors after 160 years
Saugatuck United Methodist Church will suspend operations at the end of this month after a final post-Easter service. The downtown Saugatuck church at 250 Mason St. has hosted served the community for 160 years. “I notified the district last November…
Blaze totals rural storage building
By Scott Sullivan Editor Saugatuck Township Fire District crews joined mutual aid partners from Ganges, Graafschap, Fennville and Hamilton knocking down this storage building and vehicle fire in the 2500 block of 63rd Street early Friday morning. Firefighters responding to…
Old home may soon sell shaved ice
By Scott Sullivan Editor Part of an 1873-built home at 453 W. Center St. across Ferry Street from the Old Root Beer Barrel may soon sell Italian shaved ice if its owner’s plans are realized. Douglas City Council Monday approved…
Douglas to sell 1870s church to Ox-Bow
By Scott Sullivan Editor Douglas City Council agreed Monday to sell the 1870s-built wood-frame former church at 137 W. Center St. to the Ox-Bow School of Art for $430,000. Nonprofit Ox-Bow in 2022 began leasing the space, which had previously…
Sparks receives Otsego Outstanding Alumnus Award
By Jason WesseldykSports Editor Each year, Otsego Public Schools honors a past graduate with the Outstanding Alumnus Award during the Otsego High School Honors Night.This year’s honoree was Brian Spark.Described as a “lifelong bulldog” in a release from OPS, Sparks—a…
Sports
Saugatuck soccer upends Constantine
By Jason WesseldykSports EditorIt was quite a day for Saugatuck senior Kennedy Gustafson when the Trailblazers hosted SAC rival Constantine on Wednesday, April 16.Not only did Gustafson play half the game in goal and stop two shots, but she also…
Allegan tennis beats Schoolcraft
By Jason WesseldykSports Editor SCHOOLCRAFT—After hosting the Tiger Invitational on Saturday, April 19, the Allegan girls tennis team returned to SAC/Lakeland action on Monday, April 21, with a road match in Schoolcraft.And the Tigers came away with the 7-1 win,…
Otsego baseball falls to K-Central
By Jason WesseldykSports Editor KALAMAZOO—The Otsego baseball team squared off with Kalamazoo Central in a non-conference twin bill on Monday, April 21, and came up short in both contests.The Bulldogs dropped the opener 11-1 before suffering the 13-2 defeat in…
Paw Paw softball sweeps Three Rivers
By John RaffelCorrespondent PAW PAW — Paw Paw is 8-1 in girls softball after sweeping Three Rivers 13-9 and 11-9 on April 18.Paw Paw had 18 hits in the first game. Elizabeth Vanderburg had a home run. Bella Clemons was…
Three Rivers softball 2-1 at Mary Jo Tavernier tournament; split with Mattawan
THREE RIVERS — Three Rivers’ softball team started their 2025 campaign with a 3-2 record, splitting a doubleheader with Mattawan on Friday, April 11 and going 2-1 at the Merry Jo Tavernier Memorial Tournament at the Armstrong Park Sports Complex…
Columns
Blue Star
By Scott SullivanEditorSearchLily Tomlin won a Tony Award 40 years ago for Best Actress in the one-woman play “The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in Universe.”Now NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has provided a sign, but only that, on…
Life as Performance art
On the whole, as things go, this past week’s surprise natural gas outage, wasn’t really all that bad. It could have been worse; a lot worse. Fortunately, the disruption came when the weather was moderate, so we did not…
Mike’s Musings: Quicksand drama turns in to romantic relationship
I was flipping channels the other night when a question was asked. What did you fear most as a kid? There were a variety of answers but one of the answers was quicksand.I immediately concurred. Quicksand was fear of mine…
“Out and About” Hugs, a baby shower, and health tips
I’ll never understand why employers will spend thousands of dollars on hiring new employees that will quit in a week, but won’t promote loyal employees with a raise they deserve.Here’s a marriage tip that I’m sharing free of charge. There’s…
May I Walk with You? GRACE PERFECTS NATURE
“Grace does not destroy nature but perfects it.” “Grace does not remove nature but fulfills it.” (St. Thomas Aquinas, 13th Century) The words ‘perfects’ and ‘fulfills’ refer to the notions of progress and growth. We often hear people say that…