South Haven Board of Education selects new officers
By James Windell With the resignation of long-time School Board President Laura Bos, the South Haven Board of Education selected Shawn Olney as their new President.Other officers chosen by the Board were Claire Bodtke as Vice-President, Doug Ransom as Treasurer…
Lakefront Roofing to buy property from the City
By James Windell The South Haven City Council on January 6, 2025 approved Resolution 2025-04 authorizing a purchase development agreement with Lakefront Roofing, LLC.Lakefront Roofing company, now located in Covert, will buy three acres of land from the city in…
Sheriff’s Office investigates series of scams
By Paul GarrodStaff Writernews4garrod@gmail.com Van Buren County Sheriff Daniel Abbott reported that a series of scams are still being at-tempted and occurring in Van Buren County. On Friday, Jan. 10, a victim was contacted at approx-imately 1:48 p.m. by an…
Sheriff’s Office investigates series of scams
By Paul GarrodStaff Writernews4garrod@gmail.com Van Buren County Sheriff Daniel Abbott reported that a series of scams are still being at-tempted and occurring in Van Buren County. On Friday, Jan. 10, a victim was contacted at approximately 1:48 p.m. by an…
Senate Republican Leader Nesbitt launches campaign for governor
On Tuesday, Jan. 14, Republican Leader Aric Nesbitt of Porter Township announced he is running to become Michigan’s 50th governor, becoming the first announced Republican candidate in the 2026 gubernatorial election.Nesbitt grew up on a sixth-generation family farm and earned…
Sheriff’s Office investigates contractor fraud
An area builder is facing criminal charges following an investigation by the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office. Van Buren County Sheriff Daniel Abbott said Gordon Leighton, 58, of the Lawton area, faces one count of contractor – fraud, a felony,…
Paw Paw Public School receives MEC grants
Officials from Midwest Energy & Communications, (MEC) Cassopolis, visited Paw Paw Later Elementary and Paw Paw Middle School on Thursday, Jan. 9, to present surprise grant award checks to Paw Paw Middle School teacher Kaylah Laurian and Paw Paw Public…
PPPS notified of cybersecurity incident involving third party vendor
Paw Paw Public Schools issued a statement about a recent unauthorized ac-cess of information that occurred involving PowerSchool, the district’s third-party student information system.Paw Paw Public Schools Superintendent Jeremy Davison said, “We were recently informed that an incident took place…
Mike’s Musings: Congress should not ban TikTok
There has been a new push in Congress to out right ban or heavily regulate TikTok. I’m neither a user nor am I fan of social media in general. However, to ban or heavily regulate the most popular social media…
Life as Performance Art
What was once known as suicide has been renamed by some “Assisted dying.” Both terms make me uncomfortable.Western culture has long abhorred suicide. The ancient Romans considered it a serious offense against the person, their family and the empire. If…
Almena Twp house fire contained by multiple departments
On Dec. 30, shortly before noon, the Paw Paw Fire Department responded to a structure fire in Almena Township on County Road 653. Paw Paw Fire Chief Kyle Richardson said the fire began in the attached garage, then quickly began…
Mishap causes New Year’s ball drop to occur two hours early
By Tom Renner Figuratively speaking, the new year arrived two hours early in South Haven last Tuesday night.A South Haven tradition in recent years has been that at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve 1,000 beach balls that…
Area village and cities have experienced devastating fires only to rise again
By Paul GarrodStaff Writernews4garrod@gmail.com Several towns in The Courier-Leader coverage area have experienced downtown fires of one type or another during the past nearly 170 years. The fires destroyed or badly damaged businesses, but following the devastation, the communities rallied,…
City Council approves Overton Development
By James Windell The South Haven City Council approved a proposal for redevelopment of the Overton Property at 229 Elkenburg Street, South Haven.Although plans for developing the property have been mired in controversy because of contamination, the City Council on…
Family takes a frigid dip for Recovery Institute
By Tom Renner There’s nothing more refreshing than taking a dip in Lake Michigan.But in January? When the water temp is 41 degrees and the air 23?For Patrick Kaufmann and his three daughters it was well worth it as they…
Paw Paw wrestlers beat Berrien Springs
By John RaffelCorespondent PAW PAW — Paw Paw’s wrestling team defeated Berrien Springs 63-16 in the Comstock team tournament on Jan. 4.For Paw Paw:Mason Voloenski (106) won by forfeit; Paw Paw (113) forfeited to Berrien Springs; Daniel Hadley (120) pinned…
Mattawan wrestlers edge Wayland
By John RaffelCorrespondent MATTAWAN — Mattawan’s wrestling team edged Wayland in a thriller 37-36 in recent action.For Mattawan:Connor Taylor 165) pinned Jake Reeder in 3:13; Gage Love (175), decisioned Ryan Sipkema 7-2; Gil Santos (190) was decisioned 10-8 by Bryton…
Bakery that served South Haven for 86 years closes
After 86 years of serving Southwest Michigan, the Golden Brown Bakery turned off its ovens and served the last customers on Saturday, Dec. 28.It marked the end of an era that made the bakery a landmark staple in downtown South…
Volkers win $1500 as Sparkle Showdown best
By James Windell South Haven has had holiday lights competitions before, but not quite like this year. The South Haven Convention and Visitors Bureau partnered with Mayor Annie Brown and Kathy Rusin of Shooting Star to sponsor the Sparkle Showdown.“This…
