Stolen vehicle recovered, felon found in possession of firearms
By Paul GarrodStaff Writernews4garrod@gmail.com PAW PAW TWP. – A stolen vehicle was recovered, in addition to several guns and ammunition, while a felon was found to be in possession of firearms, following an incident that occurred Friday, March 14, in…
Groundbreaking held for bond initiative at Mattawan Consolidated Schools
MATTAWAN – Monday, March 10, marked a historic milestone for Mattawan Consolidated Schools as the district broke ground on the first phase of a comprehensive, multi-year school construction project. This initiative follows the approval of a $110 million dollar school…
BOC hopes to get $3 million grant for dispatch/emergency center
By Paul GarrodStaff Writernews4garrod@gmail.com PAW PAW – Van Buren County Commissioners on Tuesday, March 11, approved a re-quest, on an expedited basis, the submission of an application for Congressionally Di-rected Spending (CDS) for $3 million to construct a new 911…
Mendon girls bounced in regionals by Reading
By Steve Eldridge CONCORD —It was a tough finish to the season for the Mendon girls after winning a district championship last week. The Lady Hornets traveled to Concord Monday night, squaring off against the Reading Rangers in their regional…
Out and About: Clocks, family entertainment, and travel season
By now everyone should have their clocks set to the correct time. You’ll notice that you are probably getting up in the dark and watching the sunset around 7 PM. It would be nice if this could have been the…
TR DDA to apply for vibrancy grant for Historical Society project
By Robert TomlinsonNews Director THREE RIVERS — The Three Rivers Downtown Development Authority will be seeking funding from the state for a proposed project headed by the St. Joseph County Historical Society.At its meeting Thursday, March 6, the DDA unanimously…
City of Sturgis to assess options for curbside recycling program
By Dennis Volkert Sturgis City Commission on Wednesday had a preliminary discussion regarding curbside recycling.City manager Andrew Kuk provided an overview for the board.In 2008, the city first entered into a five-year contract for curbside recycling with Borden Waste-Away .Borden…
High attendance for ‘Dr. Seuss’ party at library
By Dennis Volkert “Dr. Seuss Birthday Party” was held March 7 at Sturgis District Library.The event, an annual feature at the library for about the past 20 years, featured a “Cat in the Hat” backpack giveaway and a free book…
‘Art Around Town’ auction, ‘Winter Wine Down’ featured March 21
By Dennis Volkert “Art Around Town” auction and “Winter Wine Down” takes place 5:30-9 p.m. March 21 in downtown Sturgis.It’s the second festival of the 2025 season, presented by Sturgis Downtown Development Authority.Seventeen works are part of the silent auction,…
May I Walk with You? BRIDE OF CHRIST
Ever notice that when Christians speak of the human soul that we always refer to it in the feminine gender? We use the pronoun she and not he, even when we speak of the soul of a male. All of…
Pat’s Bits and Pieces: ONE LAST BIT AND PIECE
I’m not sure I am going to do justice to a column that my mom so effortlessly and beautifully wrote every week for decades, but I felt one last column should be written none the less, so here goes.Our mom…
Pastor sentenced on aggravated assault charge
On March 5th, 2025 Judge Joshua Ferrell met back in the courtroom with Harold Norman Cole, Jr. for sentencing on a charge from November of 2024. Cole is a former pastor of Farwell Trinity Baptist Church.The original charge was second…
Irish Festival
By Rachael Humphrey The 50th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Festival is now underway, and with a new title! It was recently voted the Favorite Festival in the 989!So far, festival goers in Clare have listened to the Chelsea House Orchestra…
Farwell businessman found guilty of employment tax crimes
A federal jury convicted Dale Thrush for not paying employment taxes and not filing his own individual income tax returns this week. Earlier in December, Thrush was convicted of fraudulently obtaining a PPP loan.According to court documents and evidence presented…
Farwell powerlifters place at state
By John RaffelCorrespondent FARWELL — Farwell’s powerlifting team had several place finishers over the weekend at the state finals.Coach Owen Murphy said Ivy Frisch placed seventh, Lindsay Esterline was 10th along with Anna VanBuskirk, Chloe Miller was 13th, Allena Wunderlich…
Deadly duo leads Saugatuck past Fennville
By Jason WesseldykSports EditorBatman and Robin. Mario and Luigi. Snoopy and Charlie Brown. Those are some iconic duos.The Saugatuck girls basketball team has a terrific tandem of its own in junior guard Tali Laskowski and sophomore guard Mylah Simpson.The pair…
Blue Star
By Scott SullivanEditorPsychoGreat news on the crazy front. A new website aims to share knowledge and lead discussions about psychopathy, a disorder characterized by fearlessness, difficulty inhibiting behaviors plus severe lack of empathy and remorse.We all know psychopaths. Charles Manson,…
Birders flock to barnacle goose seen here
By Scott SullivanEditorBirders were abuzz about a barnacle goose seen and photographed in a Saugatuck Township field and along the Kalamazoo River last week..If it can be documented as a wild bird, likely having migrated here from Greenland or northeast…
Pier Cove Park improvements set
By Scott SullivanEditorWork to improve Pier Cove Park will start March 24 thanks to state grants and local matching funds.Ganges Township — with help from a $266,000 Michigan Department of Natural Resources Trust Fund grant, its own $65,500 match plus…
Douglas beefs up Beery Field charge
You’ll get twice the charge — but at a charge — from the Beery Field electric vehicle charging stations soon.The City of Douglas, which for five years has offered the service free east of the park’s restroom/storage building, will implement…
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