Township dedicates ‘Canary’ sculpture

Township dedicates ‘Canary’ sculpture

Editorial Staff Aug 27, 2025 3 min read

By Scott SullivanEditorYou can’t miss Saugatuck Township’s first public art piece “Canary in a Coal Mine.”The 11-foot-tall yellow steel sculpture went up this May as centerpiece in the year-old Blue Star Highway/Old Allegan Road roundabout.At a dedication ceremony Wednesday, Aug.…

Plainwell Schools share transportation information

Plainwell Schools share transportation information

Editorial Staff Aug 27, 2025 2 min read

By Jason WesseldykSports Editor The 2005-26 school year official began for Plainwell Community Schools on Monday, Aug. 25, with a half day of classes.And with the resumption of school, district officials wanted to share some reminders from the transportation department…

Gus Macker Tournament proves successful once again

Gus Macker Tournament proves successful once again

Editorial Staff Aug 27, 2025 4 min read

By Jason WesseldykSports Editor The Gus Macker 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament returned for its 10th appearance in the City of Otsego on Saturday, Aug. 23, and Friday, Aug. 24.And the event shows no signs of waning in popularity.To the contrary, the…

Otsego golf edges Plainwell

Editorial Staff Aug 27, 2025 1 min read

By Jason WesseldykSports Editor PAW PAW—The Wolverine Conference portion of the girls golf season began for Otsego and Plainwell on Monday, Aug. 25, as Paw Paw hosted the first league jamboree at Lake Cora Golf Course.And it was the Bulldogs…

Allegan tennis wins home tournament

Editorial Staff Aug 27, 2025 2 min read

By Jason WesseldykSports Editor Hosting the Tiger Duals on Saturday, Aug. 23, the Allegan boys tennis team won four flight championships to secure top honors.The Tigers, ranked eighth in Division 4, finished with 16 points, followed by Notre Dame Prep…

Life as Performance Art

Life as Performance Art

Editorial Staff Aug 27, 2025 8 min read

    Over the past few years, we have heard the phrases “sanctuary city” and “sanctuary state”many times.  In the US, it has become politically divisive because sanctuary cities and states have traditionally been labeled liberal or “blue states” where the…

Mike’s Musings: Is Cracker Barrel’s new strategy, doomed?

Mike’s Musings: Is Cracker Barrel’s new strategy, doomed?

Editorial Staff Aug 27, 2025 3 min read

With Congress on vacation for the entire month of August (how dare they) and very little else happening, the Cracker Barrel rebranding hit center stage in last week’s news cycle. The CEO and Marketing Manager rolled out a new contemporary…

Allegan Ladder Truck returns to firehouse

Allegan Ladder Truck returns to firehouse

Editorial Staff Aug 27, 2025 3 min read

By Gari Voss The buzz around the firehouse on Saturday, August 23, 2025, was not just about a wonderful pancake breakfast complete with eggs, hashbrowns, and sausage or the delicious spaghetti supper that followed, but about the 1951 Ladder Truck…

Council approves downtown apartments, water bill possible increase

Editorial Staff Aug 27, 2025 9 min read

By Gari Voss During their August 25, 2025, meeting, the Allegan City Council accepted a Block Grant from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority to create 10 new second story apartments in Downtown Allegan, approved a budget alignment to complete…

Paw Paw soccer team ties Kalamazoo HomeSchool

Editorial Staff Aug 27, 2025 1 min read

By John RaffelCorrespondent The Paw Paw boys soccer Red Wolves recently played the Kalamazoo Home School Cougars at home and played to a 0-0 tie on Monday, Aug. 25. Spencer Peruski had the shut out in goal. The back line…

Maryanne Ruby receives proclamation from the Governor

Maryanne Ruby receives proclamation from the Governor

Editorial Staff Aug 27, 2025 4 min read

By James Windell When Maryanne Ruby received a standing ovation from colleagues, family and students at the South Haven Area Recreational Authority (SHARA) meeting recently, it was in recognition of her more than 25 years as a swim coach.But the…

Chamber of Commerce hosts 49th annual All Crafts Fair Labor Day weekend

Chamber of Commerce hosts 49th annual All Crafts Fair Labor Day weekend

Editorial Staff Aug 27, 2025 2 min read

By James Windell More than 150 vendors and 13 food trucks will take up residence in Stanley Johnson Park August 30 and 31, 2025 for the 49th Annual All Crafts Fair.Organized by the South Haven Area Chamber of Commerce, the…

Deputies rescued jet skiers who spilled in Lake Michigan

Deputies rescued jet skiers who spilled in Lake Michigan

Editorial Staff Aug 27, 2025 1 min read

Deputies from the Marine Division of the Van Buren County Sheriff Department assigned to South Haven rescued jet ski boaters who were spilled in the high waves of Lake Michigan on Saturday afternoon. The incident occurred approximately two miles southwest of…

Lawrence Ox Roast & Homecoming festival set for Labor Day weekend

Editorial Staff Aug 27, 2025 4 min read

By Paul GarrodStaff Writernews4garrod@gmail.com LAWRENCE – The Lawrence Ox Roast & Homecoming festival on Labor Day weekend, Aug. 29 – Sept. 1, will see fireworks and more to celebrate a century-plus tradition, while marking the annual event.The event began on…

Mattawan Stadium ribbon cutting to be held September 5

Mattawan Stadium ribbon cutting to be held September 5

Editorial Staff Aug 27, 2025 1 min read

A ribbon cutting ceremony will be held on Friday, Sept. 5, celebrating the completion of Phase One of Mattawan Stadium, a new turf and track, at Mattawan Consolidated School. It will be held at 6:45 p.m., just prior to the…

Village of Paw Paw begins work on Briggs Dam

Village of Paw Paw begins work on Briggs Dam

Editorial Staff Aug 27, 2025 2 min read

PAW PAW – Following the partial failure and subsequent repair of Briggs Dam in 2017, the State of Michigan’s Dam Safety Division recommended the complete replacement of the spillway as a long-term solution.The Village of Paw Paw has been working…

Suspect in a thirty-one-year-old cold case charged with murder

Suspect in a thirty-one-year-old cold case charged with murder

Editorial Staff Aug 25, 2025 4 min read

By ELIZABETH FERSZT Contributing Writer Leonard Hugall, has been charged in 1984 disappearance and death of 13-year-old Kelly Harris, in Summit Township in the Jackson metro area. According to Sheriff Gary Schuette in an email statement, the homicide victim was…

Suspect in Mia Sims murder apprehended in California

Suspect in Mia Sims murder apprehended in California

Editorial Staff Aug 25, 2025 2 min read

By ELIZABETH FERSZT Contributing Writer Antonio Treyvonne Green, age 19, the only suspect wanted in the shooting death of Mia Sims in front of People’s United Community Church on July 27, has been located and apprehended in Fresno, California, Jackson…

Albion NAACP holds Back to School 2025 Grand Celebration

Albion NAACP holds Back to School 2025 Grand Celebration

Editorial Staff Aug 25, 2025 4 min read

By MAGGIE LANOUE Contributing Writer Nearly 400 people gathered Aug. 18 at Harrington Elementary School for the Albion NAACP Back to School 2025 Grand Celebration. The event brought the entire community together to prepare students for the year ahead. Families…

Albion City Council approves PILOT ordinance to support Washington Gardner redevelopment

Albion City Council approves PILOT ordinance to support Washington Gardner redevelopment

Editorial Staff Aug 25, 2025 9 min read

By MAGGIE LANOUE Contributing Writer Albion City Council’s regular meeting Aug. 18, took place in the Opportunity High School library. About 40 people attended, most of them there to hear and weigh in on a proposed Payment in Lieu of…

By Mike Wilcox
Owner/Publisher

Every year, as the Christmas season draws near, I’m reminded just how generous our communities can be. For nearly two decades, Wilcox Newspapers has hosted what’s become one of my favorite traditions: our Annual Christmas Wish Program.

It started simply enough. We asked readers who were struggling to write in and tell us what would make their Christmas a little brighter. The idea was to connect local families in need with local people who wanted to help. Over the years, it’s grown into something truly special—and this year, we’re doing it again.