By Paul GarrodStaff Writernews4garrod@gmail.com LAWTON -The Lawton Village Council at the Feb. 25 village council meeting continued discussion on the Lawton Youth Softball Baseball program. During Citizen’s Comments, Pam Stermer, a resident of E. Third Street, addressed the Lawton Village…

By SYLVIA BENAVIDEZ Contributing Writer “Honoring the past and inspiring the future” was the theme on the flyer describing the third annual Black History Month Artist Showcase that took place in Albion Feb. 28 and March 1, at the Ismon…

by Jim Whitehouse “Lucy’s on my lap and Max is cuddled up next to me,” says my beloved wife Marsha, who is spending a few days in Florida with our daughter Jill’s family and menagerie. We’re talking on our phones,…

By KARA DECHALK Contributing Writer Monday’s city council meeting was held at the Ludington Center on Superior Street instead of in the council chambers on the second floor of city hall. The reason for the move was discussed at the…

Hanover-Horton has made a steady climb all season in Michigan High School Athletic Association competitive cheer. Last Friday the Comets climbed to the top of the mountain, winning the MHSAA Division 4 state title at Mount Pleasant. The Comets finished…

Last Thursday evening Albion Department of Public Safety was dispatched to the 1300 block of Hillside Road in Albion for a trouble complaint that quickly escalated to a shooting. When police arrived they found 27-year old-Rajae Flowers-Taylor of Lansing with…

Photo by Elizabeth Ferszt Brian Loftin and Joshua Jeffers are the developers that previously had a contract to purchase the Hayes Hotel from the City of Jackson. By ELIZABETH FERSZT Contributing Writer After the sale of the Hayes Hotel to…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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,…