Otsego defends M-89 Challenge title
By Jason WesseldykSports Editor OTSEGO—In high school golf, it can be easy to overlook the fifth finisher on a team since the score is comprised of the top four finishers.But in the case of a tie, the fifth golfer becomes…
Life as Performance Art
Growing up, each year our family went to the “Great Minnesota Get Together,” better known as the State Fair. We toured the buildings, looked at the agriculture displays and livestock, and usually ate lunch at the Hamline United Methodist…
Mike’s Musings: Absent-minded journalist strikes again
Some people call me absent-minded, others call me addle-headed. Me, I just blame it on being left-handed.Last week, I left my briefcase in a rental car. Its contents were my valuable laptop, scads of paperwork and files and some cash.Let…
Law Day 2025 brings surprise resignation from Judge Baillargeon
By Gari Voss Allegan County’s celebration of Law Day 2025 on May 1st promoted the theme of “The Constitution’s Promise: Out of Many, One”. During the celebration, the 2025 Liberty Bell Award was given, and the Honorable William Baillargeon announced…
Christian song ban from Talent Show rescinded by superintendent
By Gari Voss News published on May 1, 2025, by several news outlets stated that the Allegan Public Schools would not permit students to sing songs from Christian artists Colton Dixon and Brandon Lake at the audition for their school…
OPS named National Showcase District again
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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…
