Saugatuck/Douglas Commercial Record

Life as Performance Art

Life as Performance Art

Editorial Staff Jun 25, 2025 5 min read

The most popular male vocal duet in 1930s England was Flanagan and Allen. Their songs were light, filled with a bit of syncopation, close harmony and left audiences smiling with a renewed sense of hope.Among their big hits was “Underneath…

Mike’s Musings: Okay with bunker busters if they don’t lead us to war

Mike’s Musings: Okay with bunker busters if they don’t lead us to war

Editorial Staff Jun 25, 2025 3 min read

Dropping bunker buster bombs in Iran last week will go down in history as one of the best military operations ever. Our planes went to and left undetected after dropping the world’s biggest bombs in an effort to destroy Iran’s…

MHSAA officials registration underway for ‘25-26

Editorial Staff Jun 18, 2025 3 min read

The Michigan High School Athletic Association is accepting registrations online or by mail for game officials for the 2025-26 school year.The MHSAA registered 8,891 officials for the 2024-25 school year, another of a recent series of increases as registrations continue…

Blue Star

Blue Star

Editorial Staff Jun 18, 2025 4 min read

By Scott SullivanEditorAge of AnxietyMy wife’s pit bull wears three collars. “WTF?” I asked her.“You bought him the pink one with cartoon bones on it,” she said. “The black is a thunder collar to calm him down during storms. The…

Court sides with city on floating homes dispute

Editorial Staff Jun 18, 2025 2 min read

By Scott SullivanEditorThe Michigan Court of Appeals June 12 upheld the City of Saugatuck’s right to regulate — and possibly remove — four floating homes placed three years ago next to the west Chain Ferry landing.In an 18-page opinion issued…

Life as Performance Art

Life as Performance Art

Editorial Staff Jun 18, 2025 7 min read

   Earlier this month a longtime friend sent me one of his favorite quotes from Ecclesiastes: “Whoever increases knowledge increases sorrow.”  He added a modern refrain: “And spikes our anxiety.”  I thought about it the next morning when I went…

Mike’s Musings: Moving woes, why do I keep doing it?

Mike’s Musings: Moving woes, why do I keep doing it?

Editorial Staff Jun 18, 2025 3 min read

For some reason I feel the need to move from one house to another, or one office to another, every few years. This time my fiancé and I, decided to move from our condo to a house on an acre…

Saugatuck golf places 8th at state

Editorial Staff Jun 11, 2025 1 min read

By Jason WesseldykSports EditorBIG RAPIDS—It was another top-10 finish for the Saugatuck boys golf team at the Division 4 State Finals Friday and Saturday, June 6 and 7.Competing at Katke Golf Course on the campus of Ferris State University, the…

Blue Star

Blue Star

Editorial Staff Jun 11, 2025 3 min read

By Scott SullivanEditorWe’re No. 119Great news! The latest clickbait poll — this by Careerminds — ranks Saugatuck No. 119 among U.S. spots to micro-retire, i.e. take timeout before you burnout.Tell the boss to shove it, grab your foam rubber fingers…

Pride reigns

Pride reigns

Editorial Staff Jun 11, 2025 2 min read

Days of the Rainbow lit up the lakeshore June 1-7 as Community Pride MI rang in Pride Month celebrating theLGBTQ+ community with activities and events including:• A Tea Dance at the Dunes Resort in Douglas, Sunday, June 1;• A Rainbow…

Life as Performance Art

Life as Performance Art

Editorial Staff Jun 11, 2025 6 min read

    Over the past three decades and a sprinkling of years I have been fortunate to know a now-retired professor of mathematics at a small university here in Michigan.  Someone once said, “Math is just numbers,” but the subject is…

Mike’s Musings: My Father My Hero

Mike’s Musings: My Father My Hero

Editorial Staff Jun 11, 2025 3 min read

(I wrote this a few years ago but wanted share it again. Heck I might share this column over and over for years to come. The man meant so much to me)This week I give pause to reflect on my…

Saugatuck golf claims first regional championship since 2006

Editorial Staff Jun 4, 2025 2 min read

By Jason WesseldykSports EditorAfter finishing second at regionals each of the past two years, members of the Saugatuck boys golf team set a goal of winning a regional championship this year.Mission accomplished.Competing on their home turf at Clearbrook Golf Course,…

Blue Star

Blue Star

Editorial Staff Jun 4, 2025 4 min read

By Scott SullivanEditorSplashFlorida man Timothy Schulz kicked off Memorial Day taking a dip in a lake full of alligators, got bit, emerged bleeding, grabbed garden shears, tried breaking into a car with a brick, failed, ran at police with the…

Lundvig named new Saugatuck principal

Lundvig named new Saugatuck principal

Editorial Staff Jun 4, 2025 2 min read

By Scott SullivanEditorThe Saugatuck Public Schools Board of Education has named Brad Lundvick (shown at left) new principal of Saugatuck-Middle/High School.Lundvick, most recently principal of CA Frost Environmental Science Middle High School and Zoo School in Grand Rapids, will start…

Saugatuck Wilds Nature Preserve opens

Saugatuck Wilds Nature Preserve opens

Editorial Staff Jun 4, 2025 1 min read

The 170-acre Saugatuck Wilds Nature Preserve, formerly known as the old airport property, opened to the public Thursday, May 29, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.Thanks to $160,000 donation from the children and grandchildren of Saugatuck resident George Supp, the following were…

Life as Performance Art

Life as Performance Art

Editorial Staff Jun 4, 2025 6 min read

   Growing up, we had the usual generational divides in our home.  When my parents were born, they were included as part of the Silent Generation who lived through the Spanish Flu, Roaring Twenties, Great Depression, World War Two.  Right…

Mike’s Musings: Emphasis on education in 2026 election

Mike’s Musings: Emphasis on education in 2026 election

Editorial Staff Jun 4, 2025 5 min read

Rick Snyder’s Vision for Education: A Bold Step for the 2026 ElectionChampioning the Future of LearningIn the rapidly shifting landscapes of politics and policy, it is rare to encounter a leader who prioritizes the foundational pillars of society—education being chief…

Learn/share ideas to improve Maple Street June 3

Editorial Staff May 28, 2025 1 min read

BY SCOTT SULLIVAN EDITOR Guests can preview plans to improve Maple Street during open houses Tuesday, May 3, in Saugatuck City Hall, 102 Butler St., from 3 to 5:30 p.m. and 7 to 8:30 p.m. The north-south road has for…

Canary rises in roundabout

Editorial Staff May 28, 2025 3 min read

A yellow, 11-foot sculpture installed May 22 at the Blue Star Highway roundabout is Saugatuck Township’s first piece of public art. The “Canary in a Coal Mine” welded painted steel work by Ohio artist Shawn Morin was funded in part…

By Mike Wilcox
Owner/Publisher

Every year, as the Christmas season draws near, I’m reminded just how generous our communities can be. For nearly two decades, Wilcox Newspapers has hosted what’s become one of my favorite traditions: our Annual Christmas Wish Program.

It started simply enough. We asked readers who were struggling to write in and tell us what would make their Christmas a little brighter. The idea was to connect local families in need with local people who wanted to help. Over the years, it’s grown into something truly special—and this year, we’re doing it again.