When I was younger five or six deacades ago, Christmas did not seem to come so early. We followed a stately procession of months, holidays and family celebrations.All came in an orderly fashion. Christmas did not begin right after Labor…

By John RaffelCorrespondent PAW PAW — It was Paw Paw 55, Sturgis 44 in boys basketball action.Paw Paw had quarter leads of 12-6, 27-25, and 40-25.For Paw Paw, Truman Brennan: 18 pts, 3 Reb, 7 Steals, 3 AssistsKaelin Tate: 14…

By James Windell You never know what someone of a certain age and a little bit of both time and money will think of next.Take Kirk Wiley for instance. He had a brainstorm. Which had to do with his jet…

By James Windell Sgt. Pat Carlotto, who had served as interim police chief for the South Haven Police Department in both 2024 and 2025, has sued the City of South Haven because he was not selected for the position of…

By James Windell Larry Brown, who created and ran the South Haven Jazz Festival for the past eight years, was honored by Mayor Annie Brown with a Proclamation.The proclamation was awarded to Brown at the South Haven City Council meeting…

By James Windell When four Indiana Avenue neighbors who are buddies get together, you never know what they will come up with.But Jeremy Buckingham, who goes by the nickname of Sparky – because, he thinks, he has a sparkling personality,…

At approximately 8:50 a.m., Thursday, Dec. 4, Mattawan Fire, Mattawan Rescue, and Van Buren Emergency Medical Services (EMS) were dispatched to a reported residential structure fire.Upon arrival, crews found a single-wide trailer that was approximately 50 percent involved with heavy…

Paw Paw will sparkle with holiday cheer this season as the community debuts its new Christmas in the Village celebration – two days of festivities, local spirit, and small-town magic.The event kicks off Friday, Dec. 12, with the Lighted Holiday…

The other day I ran into a longtime friend I haven’t seen for the better part of the year, even though we live less than a mile apart.We quickly caught up, exchanged news and realized we are both appalled by…

By John RaffelCorrespondent LAWRENCE — Noah Wiswary will be coaching a Lawrence boys basketball team which he is confident can have a lot of success this season.“Last year we did not win many games on paper. However we were able…

The debate over America’s border policies often gets tangled in national politics, angry cable-news segments, and social-media shouting. But beneath all that noise, the issue comes down to something our readers in Allegan, Clare, Van Buren, St. Joseph, Calhoun, Jackson…

By James Windell It couldn’t have been a more fitting holiday kickoff than the Holiday in the Park event on Friday, November 28, 2025.The event, organized by Visit South Haven, brought people to downtown South Haven where everybody was having…

By James Windell Is there a better source of information about what’s going on downtown in South Haven than realtor Ryan Servatius?If there is, please let me know.A conversation with Servatius, who is the Century 21 realtor at 253 Center…

The weekend snowstorm resulted in huge piles of snow that needed to be removed from downtown South Haven streets.Photo by Tom Renner.

State Rep. Pauline Wendzel took part in the 20th annual Trees for Troops event hosted by Wahmhoff Farms Nursery, Gobles. Nearly 650 trees were loaded Monday morning, Dec. 1, by approximately 100 volunteers (including Wahmhoff representatives) into FedEx trailers and…

Lawrence to welcome Santa Claus LAWRENCE – The 11th annual Lawrence Hometown Christmas Celebration will be held Saturday, Dec. 6, with a Light Up Parade at 6 p.m., beginning at Lawrence Public Schools, and will travel to the Lawrence Village…

PAW PAW – Paw Paw will sparkle with holiday cheer this season as the community debuts its new Christmas in the Village celebration – two days of festivities, local spirit, and small-town magic.The event kicks off Friday, Dec. 12, with…

Even those closest to me don’ know that I am a time traveler and world adventurer. I don’t talk much about it because some of them would never understand.It began the Saturday afternoon Mike Mulligan and his steam shovel Mary…

By John RaffelCorrespondent BLOOMINDALE — Bloomingdale girls basketball coach Tod Kubiszak said his staff has some work to do this season.“Looking towards the 2025-2026 season we have some big holes to fill from last year’s team,” he said. “We are…