You gotta feel for small businesses. Not only are their pricing and services under attack by big box stores and internet giants from here and China, they must weave through a ton of regulations placed on them by the government.The…

BY SCOTT SULLIVAN EDITOR Saugatuck City Council and staff met Jan. 24 at the Saugatuck Yacht Club to review progress made this 2024-25 fiscal year and where to focus resources for the next. “The city ended fiscal year 2023-24 with…

The Allegan County Road Commission Jan. 14 green-lit Saugatuck and Laketown Township major road improvements for the 2025 construction season. Roads deemed minor and private will be funded through the townships’ own millages. The commission is responsible for snow removal,…

BY SCOTT SULLIVAN EDITOR “Hurry up and wait,” remain keywords for Friends of the Blue Start Trail, who learned last week construction on its North Section (from the Kalamazoo River bridge to Holland Street in Saugatuck Township) has been put…

By Jason WesseldykSports EditorFENNVILLE—For the record, the Saugatuck girls basketball team bested archrival Fennville 56-33 on Saturday, Feb. 1.But for Trailblazers coach Kevin Tringali, the outcome of the game was secondary to the more important meaning of the night.The game…

By Scott SullivanEditorBird FluWhy is the bird flu big news? Birds have always flown. You mean avian influenza? OK, that’s different, but still What does that have to do with the price of eggs?Word’s gone viral since a second case…

The Saugatuck Public Schools Drama Club presentation of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” Friday through Sunday, Jan. 31 through Feb. 2, drew appreciative audiences and a large cast including (from left) Petra Johnson, Elizabeth Moorer, Annika Vanderbeek, Greta Stockburger, Joey…

By Jim HaydenCorrespondentDoes anyone want to be Laketown Township manager?Allegan County clerk and Saugatuck resident Bob Genetski last week withdrew his name from consideration for the position vacated Jan. 3 after 35-year manager Al Meshkin retired.In an email dated 1:34…

Patricia Dewey, 97 Patricia Dewey of Saugatuck passed away at 97 on Jan. 29, marking the end of an era. A native of Chicago, Pat began her lifelong artistic journey at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC)…

Nancy McKenna, 69 Nancy McKenna, 69, of Annapolis, Md., passed away on Jan. 26, 2025, after a four-year battle with ovarian cancer. Until the end, she valiantly maintained her sense of humor, with a ready smile for her medical team…

Our government, whether it is at the local, county, state or federal level, makes numerous decisions on how they spend taxpayers’ money. Some we can agree with, some we can’t. I would like to think with the advent of social…

Sixty years ago a classmate said something insulting and demeaning. It left me with a choice: I could either turn his nose to 12 or tattle to the teacher. I chose the latter and right after school he turned my…

By Jason WesseldykSports EditorGALESBURG—The results might not have been there, but the effort was.That was Saugatuck boys basketball coach Ty Rock’s takeaway from his team’s SAC showdown with Galesburg-Augusta on Friday, Jan. 24.The Trailblazers fell behind 13-7 in the opening…

Deborah Mary (Payne) Beaman passed away Jan. 20, 2025.  Deborah was born Feb. 15, 1949 in Grand Rapids to Lloyd and Arlene (Clum) Payne. She graduated from Grandville High School and Western Michigan University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts…

After 100 years living in our rapidly changing world, Joan Eddy Brigham (Kathryn Joan Eddy) left an indelible impression on the lives of many people. She passed peacefully on Jan. 12 in Zeeland after experiencing two strokes. In her long…

By Scott SullivanEditorStart Like FinnishLearning Finland is the World’s Happiest Country has plunged me into depression. By the time I pay for a 12-hour flight that will cheer me up, I’ll be too broke for a sauna, then to jump…

By Scott SullivanEditorThe fix is in for Ferry Street, closed to motorized traffic since Aug. 2 after a Warnock Drain sinkhole was found nearby.Douglas City Manager Lisa Nocerini said a Jan. 22 preconstruction meeting with involved parties had slated these…

If you’ve been watching the crisis at our southern border, you might wonder what has happened to the millions of illegal immigrants that crossed the border the last few years. Where do they go, and how are they supported you…

By now we have all seen bleak photos from the fire zones in southern California. Thousands of homes, busi-nesses, churches and schools have been reduced to rubble.Other places have been so badly damaged they may have to be pulled down.…

By Jim Hayden Correspondent The Laketown Township Board Jan. 15 to once more offer Allegan County Clerk Bob Genetski the township manager position. The 5-0 decision showed a board agreeing to put behind past disagreements. Members voted Nov. 13 to…