Two Trojans compete at state swim/dive finals

Editorial Staff Mar 23, 2026 1 min read

HOLLAND — Two Sturgis swimmers who qualified for the Division 3 state swim and dive meet at the Holland Aquatic Center did not advance to the finals back on March 13 and 14.Seth Larimer, who competed in the 200 Individual…

Howardsville quartet named to All-Conference teams

Editorial Staff Mar 23, 2026 1 min read

HOWARDSVILLE — Howardsville Christian School’s boys’ basketball team had four of its players named to the BCS Conference’s All-Conference teams recently.Sophomores Caden Grant and Drew McDonald were voted as First-Team All-Conference. Grant averaged a double-double on the season, with just…

Out and About: Tornado, kudos, and sugar

Out and About: Tornado, kudos, and sugar

Editorial Staff Mar 23, 2026 2 min read

“If wrinkles must be written on our brow, let them not be written upon the heart. The spirit should never grow old.” -James A. GarfieldThe cities of Three Rivers and Union City made National News a week or so ago.…

City’s tornado response recapped at wild city meeting Tempers flare around siren timing

City’s tornado response recapped at wild city meeting Tempers flare around siren timing

Editorial Staff Mar 23, 2026 11 min read

By Robert TomlinsonNews Director THREE RIVERS — In the first city commission meeting since an EF-2 tornado ripped through the city, Three Rivers city leaders Tuesday addressed the overall response to the tornado in a lengthy presentation that was mostly…

School board approves purchase of buses, bus camera system

Editorial Staff Mar 23, 2026 1 min read

Sturgis Public Schools Board of Education approved several measures at its March 16 meeting.Bus recommendation. The board approved the purchase of two 77-passenger buses from Hoekstra Transportation, at a total cost of $329,080. Two other companies had submitted bids: Holland…

Civic Players set for ‘Anne of Green Gables’

Civic Players set for ‘Anne of Green Gables’

Editorial Staff Mar 23, 2026 4 min read

By Dennis Volkert Sturgis Civic Players presents “Anne of Green Gables,” this weekend at Sturges-Young Center for the Arts.Show times are 7 p.m. March 20-21 and 2 p.m. March 22.“Anne of Green Gables” follows Anne Shirley’s journey from a mischievous…

Jackson man sentenced for role in vehicle theft ring

Jackson man sentenced for role in vehicle theft ring

Editorial Staff Mar 23, 2026 3 min read

By KATHRYN PALON Contributing Writer A Jackson man was sentenced to prison this month for his role in a criminal organization responsible for stealing vehicles across Michigan. Josiah Capetillo, 24, was sentenced March 13 by Judge Sarah Lincoln in 37th…

Concord wins basketball D4 title

Concord wins basketball D4 title

Editorial Staff Mar 23, 2026 2 min read

An emotional Marcus Gill Sr. stepped to the microphone following Concord’s 60-47 win over Detroit Douglass in the Division 4 state final at Breslin Center. Concord had just won its first boys basketball title in school history with the victory…

Irish Dancers from the Jackson School of the Arts perform at Albion District Library

Irish Dancers from the Jackson School of the Arts perform at Albion District Library

Editorial Staff Mar 23, 2026 5 min read

By Sylvia Benavidez Swirling skirts, lively music, green shamrocks everywhere, and expressive dance performances filled the activity room of the Albion District Library on St. Patrick’s Day. The Irish Dancers from the Jackson School of the Arts began their late…

Austin School Lofts PILOT approved after divided council vote

Austin School Lofts PILOT approved after divided council vote

Editorial Staff Mar 23, 2026 4 min read

By Maggie LaNoue, Contributing Writer A proposal to redevelop Albion’s long-vacant former Austin School into mixed-income housing moved forward Monday night after Albion City Council approved the first reading of Ordinance 2026-04 in a split vote, establishing a tax structure…

Spring Winds, New Leadership, and Long Debate Mark Albion Council Meeting

Spring Winds, New Leadership, and Long Debate Mark Albion Council Meeting

Editorial Staff Mar 23, 2026 5 min read

By Maggie LaNoue Under near-whiteout weather and icy conditions Monday evening, Albion City Council worked through a long agenda that stretched from infrastructure planning and redevelopment to ordinance updates and the first official day of returning City Manager Sheryl Theriot.…

Saugatuck planners turn eyes on selves

Editorial Staff Mar 18, 2026 5 min read

By Scott Sullivan Editor Page 82 of this Thursday’s Saugatuck Planning Commission agenda packet lists learning that PC member C.J. Bagierek has likely operated a short-term rental on his 610 Lake St. properly illegally as a “Learning and Improvement Opportunity.” …

Douglas chicken flap precedes law change

Editorial Staff Mar 18, 2026 3 min read

By Scott Sullivan Editor Debbi Larsen, 3071 May St., wrote the City of Douglas March 9 about her neighbor’s chickens. “These issues,” she said, “began over 2 years ago when Cassandra (not her real name) came to my door asking…

Streets need work, Douglas manager says

Editorial Staff Mar 18, 2026 2 min read

By Scott Sullivan Editor Will Douglas settle for letting more and more roads crumble? city manager Lisa Nocerini posed it not quite that way. New PASER (Pavement Surface Evaluation Rating) figures more than one-third of the city’s 16 road miles…

Laketown pauses dead-end pave, for not

Editorial Staff Mar 18, 2026 4 min read

By Jim Hayden Correspondent The Laketown Township Board at a special meeting March 12 paused paving a dead-end road for financial concerns. They the week before had green-lit paving 61st Street north of 138th Avenue for about $441,000. The decision,…

Who gets Laketown Beach access? When?

Editorial Staff Mar 18, 2026 4 min read

By Jim Hayden Corresondent New stairs at Laketown Township Beach might be built this year following a township board decision March 12. Laketown applying for a state grant for other work at the beach as well. The board unanimously voted…

History Center hosts Tribute Rosie Saturday

Editorial Staff Mar 18, 2026 1 min read

The Saugatuck-Douglas History Center, 130 Center St., downtown Douglas, will celebrate Women’s History Month on Rosie the Riveter Day this Saturday, March 21 hosting former Tribute Rosie Debra Wake.  Doors will open at 2 for her 3 p.m. presentation. All…

Township rethinks $7.2 million BUILD ask

Editorial Staff Mar 18, 2026 3 min read

By Scott Sullivan Editor Saugatuck Township wants to replace “a right-of-way in the air” with a grounded north-south connecting road inland from where Lakeshore Drive washed out nearly 40 years. But so far the estimated $9+-million project has met, and…

Erin go bark!

Erin go bark!

Editorial Staff Mar 18, 2026 1 min read

Pups and their people prevailed at downtown Douglas’s annual pre-St. Patricks Day Erin Go Bark pet parade last Saturday. Lakeshore Pet Boutique once again organized the bash. (Photos by Scott Sullivan)

Blue Star

Blue Star

Editorial Staff Mar 18, 2026 5 min read

By Scott SullivanEditorDouble ThreatThok-thok-thok. One blow after another is good in pickleball for the players. Less so for editors who assume — i.e. make an ASS of U and ME — Saugatuck City Council March 9 would rubber-stamp its Parks…