Saugatuck/Douglas Commercial Record

Blue Star

Blue Star

Editorial StaffSep 3, 20254 min read

By Scott SullivanEditorIn the NavyPolice seek a suspect who smashed a car with a baseball bat last week near the Wyandotte Big Boy. The restaurant sculpture was too busy hoisting a burger to give a positive ID on him.FOX 2…

Wild ride ahead

Wild ride ahead

Editorial StaffSep 3, 20251 min read

She’s shopping in downtown Douglas. 106 miles from Chicago She’s got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes. It’s bright and she’s wearing sunglasses. Hit it! (Photo by Scott Sullivan)

Schools Art a Loan opener set. Sept. 10 at SCA

Editorial StaffSep 3, 20252 min read

The Saugatuck Public Schools’ Art à Loan program will open Wednesday, Sept. 10, in the Saugatuck Center for the Arts from 6:30 to 8 p.m.Gallery doors will open at 6:45 with leasing beginning promptly thereafter. The Art à Loan pieces, comprised of work by students grades kindergarten through 12th…

Life as Performance Art

Life as Performance Art

Editorial StaffSep 3, 20256 min read

    For the most part, I don’t give President Trump and his executive orders much attention.   For one thing, these epistles are often challenged in court and sometimes overturned.  The exception is when it touches on something important to me.…

Mike’s Musings: Michigan’s School Funding Stalemate Is a Disservice to Every Student

Mike’s Musings: Michigan’s School Funding Stalemate Is a Disservice to Every Student

Editorial StaffSep 3, 20254 min read

Here we go again. Another budget cycle, another bitter fight in Lansing over how to fund our schools. This year’s stalemate feels particularly sharp, with both sides dug in and unwilling to budge. Meanwhile, the people who bear the brunt…

Fennville puts downtown land up for bid

Editorial StaffAug 27, 20253 min read

BY SCOTT SULLIVAN EDITOR The City of Fennville and Fennville Downtown Development Authority are seeking qualified proposals to buy and develop two downtown properties: • 0.8 acres straddling space between Main and Fennville streets. Owned by the DDA alongside an…

Labor Day Bridge Walk returns Sept. 1

Editorial StaffAug 27, 20251 min read

BY SCOTT SULLIVAN EDITOR The Labor Day Blue Star Bridge Walk will be back Monday, Sept. 1 — with a longer route this year. What would have been last year’s 26th annual crossing was canceled “due to challenges in gathering…

Laketown to quiz manager hopeful again

Editorial StaffAug 27, 20252 min read

The Laketown Township Board will interview manager candidate Stephanie Fox for a third time Tuesday, Sept. 2 at 6 p.m. in the township hall, 4338 Beeline Road. Members voted 4-1 July 21to begin contract negotiations with Fox pending a review…

Seven seniors lead the way for Saugatuck volleyball

Editorial StaffAug 27, 20252 min read

By Jason WesseldykSports EditorAs she enters her first year as head coach at the varsity level for Saugatuck, Christina Lewis likes the mix of players on her team.“This season is shaping up to be an exciting one,” said Lewis, who…

Blue Star

Blue Star

Editorial StaffAug 27, 20254 min read

By Scott SullivanEditorPsychoGreat news on the crazy front. A new website aims to share knowledge and lead discussions about psychopathy, a disorder characterized by fearlessness, difficulty inhibiting behaviors plus severe lack of empathy and remorse.We all know psychopaths. Charles Manson,…

Picking peaches

Picking peaches

Editorial StaffAug 27, 20251 min read

By Scott SullivanEditorIt’s prime time for pictures of people picking peaches. Bella Vista Farm west of Fennville is bursting with Allstar, Sweetstar, Loring and Blushing Star brands plus plums, raspberries, nectarines and early Sweet Maya apples.Mary and John Renaldi bought…

Township dedicates ‘Canary’ sculpture

Township dedicates ‘Canary’ sculpture

Editorial StaffAug 27, 20253 min read

By Scott SullivanEditorYou can’t miss Saugatuck Township’s first public art piece “Canary in a Coal Mine.”The 11-foot-tall yellow steel sculpture went up this May as centerpiece in the year-old Blue Star Highway/Old Allegan Road roundabout.At a dedication ceremony Wednesday, Aug.…

Life as Performance Art

Life as Performance Art

Editorial StaffAug 27, 20258 min read

    Over the past few years, we have heard the phrases “sanctuary city” and “sanctuary state”many times.  In the US, it has become politically divisive because sanctuary cities and states have traditionally been labeled liberal or “blue states” where the…

Mike’s Musings: Is Cracker Barrel’s new strategy, doomed?

Mike’s Musings: Is Cracker Barrel’s new strategy, doomed?

Editorial StaffAug 27, 20253 min read

With Congress on vacation for the entire month of August (how dare they) and very little else happening, the Cracker Barrel rebranding hit center stage in last week’s news cycle. The CEO and Marketing Manager rolled out a new contemporary…

Douglas explores housing on ex- Miro site

Douglas explores housing on ex- Miro site

Editorial StaffAug 20, 20252 min read

By Scott SullivanEditorDouglas City Council Monday approved a nonbinding 6-month memorandum of understanding with Mosaic Development to create attainable housing on 17 acres at 6825 Wiley Road once home of the Miro Golf Course.The parcel is zoned R-5 Multi-Family Residential…

Saugatuck football hopes for another strong season

Editorial StaffAug 20, 20253 min read

By Jason WesseldykSports EditorThe 2024 season saw Saugatuck qualify for the playoffs—and win a playoff game—for the second straight season.If the Trailblazers are to make it three postseason berths in a row, then they’ll need to get some solid production…

Blue Star

Blue Star

Editorial StaffAug 20, 20253 min read

By Scott SullivanEditorFinding JesusLast time we checked on Florida Man, he was had moved on from building Alligator Alcatraz and trying to cross the Atlantic in a hamster wheel.Recent headlines:

Council sets sale restrictions on city hall

Editorial StaffAug 20, 20252 min read

By Scott SullivanEditorThe historic Douglas City Hall at 86 W. Center St. is back on the market with new restrictive covenant stipulations after an investment group backed down from its sales agreement July 21.City council, concerned about the 1875-built former…

Life as Performance Art

Life as Performance Art

Editorial StaffAug 20, 20256 min read

Life as Performance Art: Joan AndersonG C Stoppel     Joan Anderson died on the 14th of July this year at the age of 101.  I suspect her name is hardly familiar anymore, but she was perhaps the greatest social influencer in…

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.