Albion Recorder & Morning Star

Woman charged in overdose death of two people found dead at Jackson motel

Editorial Staff Jan 23, 2026 2 min read

By ELIZABETH FERSZT Contributing Writer Angela Marie Chapman, 41, of Jackson was arraigned by 12th District Court Magistrate, Christopher Dickerson on Jan. 20 on charges that include two counts of delivery of a controlled substance causing death, and two counts…

Family seeks answers in deadly hit and run

Family seeks answers in deadly hit and run

Editorial Staff Jan 23, 2026 2 min read

By ELIZABETH FERSZT Contributing Writer Norman Joseph Heim, age 76, was struck and killed while walking by a vehicle traveling on Lansing Avenue near South Oak Creek Drive in Rives Township at approximately 9:30 p.m. on Jan. 15. According to…

City reviews inspection requirements for city-owned housing

City reviews inspection requirements for city-owned housing

Editorial Staff Jan 23, 2026 5 min read

By Maggie LaNoue, Contributing Writer During the Jan. 5 Albion City Council meeting, council members discussed how the city’s rental certification and inspection requirements apply to city-owned housing, raising questions about potential overlap with existing federal inspections and the impact…

Jackson man arrested after alleged arson injures two roommates

Jackson man arrested after alleged arson injures two roommates

Editorial Staff Jan 23, 2026 3 min read

By Kathryn Palon Contributing Writer JACKSON, Mich. — A Jackson man was arrested after police say he admitted to setting fire to a residence at 324 Clinton St., injuring his two roommates. The incident occurred at approximately 10:07 p.m. on…

From sewer lines to city leadership, Albion finds unexpected answers

From sewer lines to city leadership, Albion finds unexpected answers

Editorial Staff Jan 23, 2026 5 min read

By Maggie LaNoue, Contributing Writer Albion officials used a lightly attended Jan. 20 meeting to advance several significant initiatives, moving forward on infrastructure planning, economic development and a pivotal leadership decision, while also pausing to recognize community contributions during a…

Al the Albion Squirrel’s creator Aiden Wade celebrates five years

Al the Albion Squirrel’s creator Aiden Wade celebrates five years

Editorial Staff Jan 23, 2026 6 min read

By SYLVIA BENAVIDEZ Contributing Writer The comic strip Al the Albion Squirrel made its debut twice a month in The Recorder five years ago and a hundred strips later, is still being read in both The Recorder and the Morning…

Mike’s Musings: The roadblocks to a cancer cure are frustrating

Mike’s Musings: The roadblocks to a cancer cure are frustrating

Editorial Staff Jan 21, 2026 4 min read

Every few years, the same frustrated question resurfaces: With all the money, technology and brainpower in the world, why haven’t we cured cancer yet? It’s a fair question. We’ve put men on the moon, decoded the human genome and carry…

13-year-old suspect held in the shooting death of a 16-year-old

Editorial Staff Jan 19, 2026 2 min read

By ELIZABETH FERSZT Contributing Writer A late breaking press release from the City of Jackson Police Department confirms the first murder of the year has occurred: on Jan. 15, at approximately 1 a.m., in the 500 block of Harris Street,…

Winter Storms Highlight Albion’s Public Works Challenges and Changes

Winter Storms Highlight Albion’s Public Works Challenges and Changes

Editorial Staff Jan 19, 2026 4 min read

By Maggie LaNoue The snowstorm that hit Albion around New Year’s brought more than icy roads and cold temperatures — it also put the city’s winter operations and aging snowplow fleet under a public spotlight. At the Jan. 5 Albion…

Montez White arraigned in Anthony Owens murder case

Montez White arraigned in Anthony Owens murder case

Editorial Staff Jan 19, 2026 4 min read

By ELIZABETH FERSZT Contributing Writer After being apprehended in Ohio, Montez Martees White was arraigned Jan. 14 by District Court Magistrate Jake Dickerson on charges of open murder, three counts of assault with intent to murder, and felony firearm. According…

Hayes Block Reopens, Linking Albion’s Past and Future

Hayes Block Reopens, Linking Albion’s Past and Future

Editorial Staff Jan 19, 2026 7 min read

On Monday, December 30, 2025, Albion residents were invited inside one of downtown’s most recognizable historic buildings during a public tour of the newly completed Hayes Block Apartments at 106–108 E. Erie Street. The open house offered a first look…

Spring Arbor Police and Fire Departments rescue dog from pond

Spring Arbor Police and Fire Departments rescue dog from pond

Editorial Staff Jan 19, 2026 1 min read

Quick thinking and inter-agency coordination between the Spring Arbor Township Police Department and Spring Arbor Township Fire Department led to the successful rescue of a dog that fell through ice on a private pond earlier this week. According to a…

Mike’s Musings: It’s 2026. Why Is the IRS Still Stuck in the Past?

Mike’s Musings: It’s 2026. Why Is the IRS Still Stuck in the Past?

Editorial Staff Jan 14, 2026 3 min read

Not long ago, I set aside part of my workday to ask the Internal Revenue Service a simple question. This wasn’t a complicated audit issue or a dispute over taxes owed. It was a basic inquiry that should have taken…

Albion Elks Lodge Donates $6,000 to Local Food Access

Editorial Staff Jan 9, 2026 4 min read

By Maggie LaNoue The Albion Elks Lodge #1798 recently presented a $6,000 donation to the Community Table of Albion, marking the largest single contribution the lodge has made to the local food assistance program and bringing its three-year total support…

Mike’s Musings: Airing the Grievances: The Worst of Washington’s Waste

Mike’s Musings: Airing the Grievances: The Worst of Washington’s Waste

Editorial Staff Jan 7, 2026 4 min read

Every December, Sen. Rand Paul releases his annual Festivus Report, a nod to the fictional holiday made famous by Seinfeld. The tradition includes an “airing of grievances,” and for taxpayers, there is no shortage of them.I just got the opportunity…

HISTORICAL NOTEBOOK: ALBION WATER WORKS AND CITY JAIL BUILDING

HISTORICAL NOTEBOOK: ALBION WATER WORKS AND CITY JAIL BUILDING

Editorial Staff Jan 2, 2026 4 min read

By Frank Passic             Happy New Year everyone. It was heartening to learn recently of the establishment of an Albion Arts Center in the old Water Works building at 107 E. Cass St. This historic building has been modernized and…

How a small-town Jackson County farm boy impacted the world

How a small-town Jackson County farm boy impacted the world

Editorial Staff Jan 2, 2026 8 min read

By Ken Wyatt Every small town knows about its forgotten generations. These are the young people small towns raise – but then lose to big cities with jobs and better opportunities. Walter C. “Chris” Heisler was one such small-town product.…

One 12-year-old responds to the work of Friends of Albion’s Animals this holiday season in a big way

One 12-year-old responds to the work of Friends of Albion’s Animals this holiday season in a big way

Editorial Staff Jan 2, 2026 5 min read

By Sylvia Benavidez During the Cookie Walk and Gift Wrapping for the Friends of Albion’s Animals at the Albion District Library, 12-year-old Taylor Weston, Clarence Township, brought $240.00 to the event and handed it over to one of the volunteers.…

Mike’s Musings: When Silence Walks Louder Than Shouting

Mike’s Musings: When Silence Walks Louder Than Shouting

Editorial Staff Dec 31, 2025 4 min read

In a world addicted to outrage, the most radical protest I’ve seen lately involved no slogans, no megaphones, and no demands shouted into the air. It was a line of Buddhist monks walking.I first noticed this on Facebook. The monks…

Mike’s Musings: We Need The Good News of Christmas

Mike’s Musings: We Need The Good News of Christmas

Editorial Staff Dec 17, 2025 3 min read

I was searching for words that would express an uplifting spirit this Christmas season. Too many of us, my self-included, consider the holiday season to be a distraction rather than a time to rejoice. Well my friend, Glenn Mollette happened…