Farwell boys bowling coach reflects on season
By John RaffelCorrespondent FARWELL — Farwell’s girls bowling team was sixth among 10 schools in the Division 4 regional 29 tournament this season while the boys took 12th place.“It’s been a rough year for Eagle bowling with only six athletes,”Farwell…
May I Walk with You? WHY RULES?
There seems to be a notion now-a-days that rules were established to control people, dominate them, that without them there would be chaos, and to take away freedom. I have even heard it said that religion and religious laws were…
Irish Festival STARTS MARCH 11 EVENTS GALORE
By Rachael Humphrey It’s that time of year again! The banners are up, windows are painted or covered in chil-dren’s drawings and the countdown above the Doherty bar nears zero. The 50th Annual Clare Irish Festival commences this coming week!This…
Saugatuck beats Loy Norrix in regular-season finale
By Jason WesseldykSports EditorIt was a case of David vs. Goliath when Division 3 Saugatuck hosted Division 1 Loy Norrix in a girls basketball clash on Thursday, Feb. 27.And as happened in the original battle, David earned a convincing victory.Led…
Obituary: Yvonne Joyce Koppenaal
Yvonne Joyce Koppenaal, age 91, passed away surrounded by family on Feb. 21, 2025.Growing up, Yvonne entered the workforce at age 15, working as a “pinky” at Holland Hospital. She eventually began a long retail career in Saugatuck, where she…
Blue Star
By Scott SullivanEditorOfficialI can’t tell you how pleased I am that President Donald Trump has named English America’s official language. Now politicians may actually speak it. Trouble is, there’s a flip side.To start, so long to “Saugatuck” and “Michigan” whose…
Douglas outdoor dining will return
By Scott SullivanEditorDouglas City Council — urged by 51 letters or emails to expand outdoor dining in public rights-of-way — agreed to do so Monday.Members at their last meeting Feb. 18 tabled doing so “for additional clarification,” city planning and…
Saugatuck courts state grant to upgrade courts
By Scott SullivanEditorSaugatuck, which last year replaced children’s playground equipment in Village Square Park, is now seeking funds fund to improve its tennis and basketball courts.City council Feb. 24 approved paying engineer Fleis & VandenBrink $3,600 to prepare a Michigan…
Battle of the Books sets record for participation
By Jason WesseldykSports Editor It was a record-breaking year for the annual Battle of the Books competition.A total of 27 elementary school teams from four Allegan County school districts participated in the event at the Plainwell Performing Arts Center on…
Allegan girls beat Schoolcraft, fall to Hopkins
By Jason WesseldykSports Editor The Allegan girls basketball team hoped to end the regular season on a high note.Jayden VandenAkker and Maddie Antkoviak did their part to ensure that happened.VandenAkker scored a game-best 18 points and Antkoviak joined her in…
Plainwell wins SCC title, Otsego places runner-up
By Jason WesseldykSports Editor OTSEGO—During the regular season, the Plainwell boys swim & dive team used its superior depth to rack up a perfect 7-0 record in the Southwest and Central Michigan Swim Conference.That depth was on full display at…
“Justice for Otsego” founder succumbs to cancer
By Jason WesseldykSports Editor Mary Zack, founder of the advocacy group Justice for Otsego, passed away on Saturday, March 1. She was 43.An Otsego native, Zack was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 1997 at the age of 17.In the years…
Deer tries to crash through county medical care facility window
By John RaffelCorrespondent ALLEGAN — Former Allegan County commission chairman James Story reported last month Allegan County Medical Care Facility Director Kim Turcott was walking to her car at the end of the day when a deer rushed by her,…
Life as Performance Art
American psychiatrist William Glasser, mid-1960s founder of Reality Therapy and author of “Choice Theoryy,” died more than a decade ago. He was never well received by followers of Freud, Jung and others in his field. According to one story, Glasser…
Mike’s Musings: Send us those $5000 checks, DOGE
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has received a lot of attention in the news lately. Led by Elon Musk, his minions of young computer nerds have found billions of dollars of waste and fraud taking place in our vast…
Dyckman Bridge will be closed for repairs
By James Windell Travel to the Michigan Maritime Museum and other destinations north of the harbor in South Haven will be hampered starting at 8:00 am on Tuesday, March 4, 2025.That’s when repairs on the Dyckman Bridge will begin as…
South Haven Police Chief resigns after one month on job
By James Windell Since a press release from the City of South Haven announced the resignation of the chief of police on February 25, the rumor mills have been busy.The press release from the city only cites personal family business…
The 26th Annual Island Sit raises money for community
By James Windell For the 26th year, We Care’s Island Sit fundraiser in South Haven accepted donations from the public to help those in need.Executive Director of We Care I.N.C., Erika Morrison, was pleased with the response of both the…
SHAWSA gets wastewater system improvements update
By James Windell The South Haven Area Water & Sewer Authority received a progress report about the wastewater expansion feasibility study at its regular meeting on February 26, 2025.Presented by the firm of Fleis & Vanderbrink, a civil engineering firm…
Commissioners approve to borrow $7.5 million for DTRF
By Paul GarrodStaff Writernews4garrod@gmail.com PAW PAW – Van Buren County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday, Feb. 25, authorized the county treasurer to borrow up to $7.5 million for the Delinquent Tax Revolving Fund to ensure timely reimbursement to taxing authorities.The…
