Allegan County News & Union Enterprise

OPS named National Showcase District again

OPS named National Showcase District again

Editorial StaffApr 30, 20253 min read

By Jason WesseldykSports Editor Otsego Public Schools has once again been recognized for its commitment to cultivating a safe, supportive learning environment for its students.For the second straight year, OPS has been named a National Showcase District by the organization…

Island City Fest returns as one-day event for 2025

Island City Fest returns as one-day event for 2025

Editorial StaffApr 30, 20253 min read

By Jason WesseldykSports Editor The Island City Festival is returning to Plainwell this summer … albeit with some changes compared to last year’s event.Organizers announced on Sunday, April 27, that this year’s Island City Festival will be a single day…

Otsego baseball drops twin bill with Wyoming

Editorial StaffApr 30, 20252 min read

By Jason WesseldykSports Editor WYOMING—In the first game of a doubleheader against Wyoming on Thursday, April 24, the Otsego baseball team held a 7-3 edge in hits.That, however, wasn’t enough to produce a win, as the Bulldogs fell 4-1.Otsego also…

Allegan tennis beats Brandywine

Editorial StaffApr 30, 20252 min read

By Jason WesseldykSports Editor NILES—The girls tennis teams from Allegan and Brandywine met for a SAC/Lakeland match on Monday, April 28, and the battles and No. 1 and No. 2 doubles were fierce.And while the teams split those flights—Allegan’s No.…

Allegan ends consideration of contracting out police services

Allegan ends consideration of contracting out police services

Editorial StaffApr 30, 20253 min read

The City of Allegan has ended its consideration of contracting out police services. After community input sessions and a review of a potential agreement with the Allegan County Sheriff’s Office, the City decided to end further discussion of a budget option…

Baseline Road crash ends with truck in lake, one dead, several injured

JordanApr 30, 20252 min read

By Jordan WilcoxAssistant Publisher Around 7:30pm on Saturday, April 26th, Allegan County Sheriff’s deputies were called to the scene of a tragic vehicle crash on Baseline Road, near Hillside Drive and Baseline Lake, in-between Allegan and Gobles.According to the Sheriff’s…

Sheriff Department shuts down illegal marijuana grow

Sheriff Department shuts down illegal marijuana grow

Editorial StaffApr 30, 20253 min read

Blackman School By Gari Voss Trowbridge Township announced that the Allegan County Sheriff’s Department shut down illegal marijuana grow operations at the old Blackman School and in a pole barn behind it. Trowbridge established a marijuana ordinance, but there are…

Mike’s Musings: Number of college administrators alarming

Mike’s Musings: Number of college administrators alarming

Editorial StaffApr 30, 20253 min read

Many of you have read my rants concerning higher education. I believe the cost is outrageous and it certainly far outweighs the benefit most students receive.One of the reasons costs have risen extensively over the past decade is that universities…

Life as Performance Art

Life as Performance Art

Editorial StaffApr 30, 20256 min read

If there is anything good to be said about doing mindless work such as blowing leaves out of the ground cover, it is that I allow my brain to wander off and play. When it comes back and we reengage,…

Sparks receives Otsego Outstanding Alumnus Award

Editorial StaffApr 23, 20253 min read

By Jason WesseldykSports Editor Each year, Otsego Public Schools honors a past graduate with the Outstanding Alumnus Award during the Otsego High School Honors Night.This year’s honoree was Brian Spark.Described as a “lifelong bulldog” in a release from OPS, Sparks—a…

Summer children’s theater returns to Plainwell

Summer children’s theater returns to Plainwell

Editorial StaffApr 23, 20253 min read

By Jason WesseldykSports Editor Children’s theater is returning to Plainwell for the upcoming summer.The Plainwell Arts Council recently announced the Missoula Children’s Theater (MCT) will put on a production of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” featuring more than 60…

Allegan tennis beats Schoolcraft

Editorial StaffApr 23, 20252 min read

By Jason WesseldykSports Editor SCHOOLCRAFT—After hosting the Tiger Invitational on Saturday, April 19, the Allegan girls tennis team returned to SAC/Lakeland action on Monday, April 21, with a road match in Schoolcraft.And the Tigers came away with the 7-1 win,…

Otsego baseball falls to K-Central

Editorial StaffApr 23, 20252 min read

By Jason WesseldykSports Editor KALAMAZOO—The Otsego baseball team squared off with Kalamazoo Central in a non-conference twin bill on Monday, April 21, and came up short in both contests.The Bulldogs dropped the opener 11-1 before suffering the 13-2 defeat in…

Life as Performance art

Life as Performance art

Editorial StaffApr 23, 20257 min read

    On the whole, as things go, this past week’s surprise natural gas outage, wasn’t really all that bad.  It could have been worse; a lot worse.  Fortunately, the disruption came when the weather was moderate, so we did not…

Mike’s Musings: Quicksand drama turns in to romantic relationship

Mike’s Musings: Quicksand drama turns in to romantic relationship

Editorial StaffApr 23, 20253 min read

I was flipping channels the other night when a question was asked. What did you fear most as a kid? There were a variety of answers but one of the answers was quicksand.I immediately concurred. Quicksand was fear of mine…

Easter weekend brings crowds to Allegan

Easter weekend brings crowds to Allegan

Editorial StaffApr 23, 20255 min read

By Gari Voss The weekend of April 18-20, 2025, was again packed with possibilities for all ages. The events really began on Thursday, April 17th and did not slow down until the afternoon of Saturday, April 19th.The “weekend” really began…

Many hoops exist if council were toconsider police change

Editorial StaffApr 23, 20256 min read

By Gari Voss Conversations arose when the City of Allegan was informed by City Manager Joel Dye that the council needed to find ways to finance a laundry list of projects over the next 10 years. During that meeting, the…

Firefighters rescue woman from house fire in Otsego

Firefighters rescue woman from house fire in Otsego

Editorial StaffApr 16, 20253 min read

By Jason WesseldykSports Editor Shortly after midnight on Tuesday, April 8, the Otsego Fire Department and other local agencies responded to a fire at a home in the 200 block of S. Grant St. in Otsego.According to Otsego Director of…

Plainwell plans third annual Spring Soiree on April 26

Editorial StaffApr 16, 20252 min read

By Jason WesseldykSports Editor Spring is officially here.And in the City of Plainwell, that means it’s time once again for the Spring Soiree.Now in its third year, the Spring Soiree will take place in downtown Plainwell beginning at 10 a.m.…

Construction project begins on M-89 between Plainwell and Martin

Editorial StaffApr 16, 20251 min read

By Jason WesseldykSports Editor Motorists travelling on US-131 between Plainwell and Martin should plan for backups and delays for the next several weeks.On Monday, April 14, the Michigan Department of Transportation began a $1.4-million construction project on the four-mile stretch…