Ideal Theatre awarded nearly one million dollars for renovation
By Pat MaurerClare’s Ideal Theatre, closed since the beginning of the pandemic, is in the middle of a massive renovation to restore the historic landmark in Clare.Now the new owners, sisters who grew up right here in Clare, will have…
McBain drops lopsided contest to Beal City, 31-6
by Ben MurphySports Writer After a week one loss, the McBain football team had hoped for a bounce back win at Beal City on Friday. The Ramblers ran into a buzzsaw though, dropping the Highland Conference contest 31-6.“We had to…
Clare bounces back with lopsided win over Pinny, 76-6
by Ben MurphySports Writer If there was a bad taste lingering after their week one loss to Freeland, the Clare football team certainly got rid of it Thursday, Sept. 1 in Pinconning. The Pioneers took down the host Spartans 76-6,…
Postcard from the Pines: Fire!!
Fire is no stranger to Marion. It remade the look of our town a couple of times and has selectively changed every neighborhood at some time in our history. The fire whistle struck fear in the hearts of Marionites as…
Obituary: Bill Parkhurst
The following is the obituary that Bill Parkhurst wrote about himself before he died, quickly followed by the obituary his wife and kids wrote about him. Unorthodox and long, yes, but we have a lot to say about our sweet…
Obituary: LaVerne Rosena Barr
LaVerne Rosena Barr – Age 79 of Lake, Michigan passed away on Thursday, September 1, 2022. LaVerne was born to parents Clarence and Anna (Charter) Freed in Alma on November 18, 1942. Her first job was working for Wolverine World…
Pat’s Bits and Pieces: 911 Remembered
Sunday marks the twenty-first anniversary of the terrible tragedy of 9-11.Everyone over 70 remembers where they were, what they were doing and how they felt when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. It was truly the end of our age…
Faces in the Crowd: Clay Dougherty
For those who’ve happened to swing by Marion Schools over the last couple of weeks, there’s a good chance they’ve seen one of the newer faces at the school: Clay Dougherty.Clay, a 2011 Farwell graduate, was recently hired to be…
County mulls health insurance for commissioners
By John RaffelCorrespondent MARION – Osecola County commissioners were presented with a proposal this week at its meeting for the commisioners to be provided with health insurance.Commissioner Roger Elkins, of Evart, said no action was taken.Elkins said county administrator Tim…
Unemployment drops 0.3 percent in Osceola
By John RaffelCorrespondent Osceola County’s unemployment for July was at 4.7 percent according to data released recently by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget (DTMB).This ranks Osceola County in a tie for 24th place among the state’s 83…
Osceola agrees to contract with MMDC
By John RaffelCorrespondent MARION – The Osceola County Board of Commissioners voted at its meeting earlier this month to approve the board chair to sign the contract as presented by Middle Michigan Development Corporation with a start date of Sept.…
Reed takes over as principal at Otsego High School
Jason WesseldykSports Editor After spending the past five years as principal at Lawrence High School, Thomas Reed has taken the same position at Otsego High School.Reed replaced Herve Dardis, who retired after a 22-year tenure at OHS.According to Reed, Otsego…
Attorney General Nessel pays visit to Plainwell
Jason WesseldykSports Editor The City of Plainwell welcomed Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel to town on Tuesday, Aug. 30.Nessel—who was in the area to visit Martin Public Schools as part of her office’s school safety initiatives—took time to stop in…
Otsego prepares for Purple Week festivities
Jason WesseldykSports Editor No one fights alone.That’s the slogan for this year’s Purple Week at Otsego High School.Taking place from Monday, Sept. 26, to Friday, Sept. 30, Purple Week will raise awareness and money for the Van Andel Institute in…
Otsego girls upend state-ranked Jenison at Rustbuster
Jason WesseldykSports Editor GRAND JUNCTION—The Otsego girls cross country team faced a tough early season test at the Southwest Michigan Rustbuster on Wednesday, Aug. 31.It’s a test the Bulldogs passed with flying colors.Otsego, ranked fifth in Division 2, took home…
Allegan golfers compete in conference jamboree
Jason WesseldykSports Editor VICKSBURG—Playing in the SAC jamboree hosted by Schoolcraft at States Golf Course on Thursday, Sept. 1, Allegan placed seventh with a score of 231.Zoe Bronkema finished second in the individual standings with a 41, while Leah Snyder…
Obituary: Lois Mae Hammond, 73
Lois Mae Hammond of Allegan, Michigan, age 73, passed away suddenly on Tuesday, August 23, 2022. She was born to Harold and Una Cole on September 19, 1948, in Kalamazoo, Michigan.Lois was so many things. She was a wife, a…
Obituary: David Bennie Waanders, 90
David Bennie Waanders, 90, lifelong resident of Allegan, MI passed away peacefully Friday, September 2, 2022, at Allegan County Medical Care Community where he had resided for the past five and a half years. Born August 24, 1932, he was…
Life as Performance Art
King Charles I of England detested coffee, and especially coffee houses. If he had had his way, coffee would be forbidden in his realm, and coffee houses would slither into the recesses of history. It had nothing to do with the smell…
Mike’s Musings: Is this really you?
Believe it or not, one of the most requested additions readers seek in our newspapers is horoscopes. Unfortunately we just don’t have the space to publish a regular Horoscope column. However I came across this rather humorous (some would say…
