News

Much ado about chickens

Much ado about chickens

Editorial Staff Apr 8, 2026 10 min read

By Scott SullivanWriter Chickens Sunshine, Sugar, Cinnamon, Butter, Butter, Piper and Isabella still have Douglas homes thanks to owner Kathy Sarkisian’s lawsuit, then settlement with agreement from the city.The Douglas chicken movement took wing May 18, 2017 when 18 petitioners…

Cheshire supervisor, trustee follow clerk resignation from board

Editorial Staff Apr 8, 2026 4 min read

By Gari Voss The leadership of Cheshire Township in Allegan County has been extremely stable for years, but during the past year, the replacement of Donna Hetzel, an experienced clerk, brought a new clerk, Jodi Pinnell, and the expected uphill…

South Haven Performance Series announces 2026 season

South Haven Performance Series announces 2026 season

Editorial Staff Apr 8, 2026 5 min read

By James Windell The South Haven Performance Series is genuinely excited about the strength of this year’s concert schedule and the expansion to a six-concert series. Th 2026 season, the 16th for the South Haven Performance Series, ranges from award-winning pianist Elliot Wuu to the…

Rain, rain and more rain: Saturday, April 4, brings rain, rain, and more rain

Rain, rain and more rain: Saturday, April 4, brings rain, rain, and more rain

Editorial Staff Apr 8, 2026 1 min read

Standing water is shown on Sunday, April 5, near LTW Ergonomic Solutions, Lawrence, located on South Paw Paw Street, following Saturday’s daylong rain. Nearby, a grassy area south of the Lawrence Post Office was underwater on Sunday as Saturday’s rainstorm…

Area students to display art

Area students to display art

Editorial Staff Apr 8, 2026 3 min read

SOUTH HAVEN – Perspective: Middle and High School Art Exhibition will celebrate with an opening reception at the South Haven Center for the Arts on Friday, April 10, from 5 to 7 p.m. Artists, teachers, family, friends, and community members all invited…

Centreville scout on track for Eagle Scout rank at just 14 years old

Centreville scout on track for Eagle Scout rank at just 14 years old

Robert Tomlinson Apr 6, 2026 7 min read

By Robert TomlinsonNews Director CENTREVILLE — At the age of 14, some kids may be playing video games, eating junk food, scrolling online all day, studying, hanging out with friends, or some combination thereof. However, for one local member of…

Wastewater overflow reported in Constantine, no discharge to river

Robert Tomlinson Apr 4, 2026 1 min read

By Robert TomlinsonNews Director CONSTANTINE — A wastewater overflow was reported at the Constantine Wastewater Treatment Plant Friday. According to the Village of Constantine, the overflow was first reported at 4 p.m. and was stopped approximately 20 minutes later, at…

Three Rivers Applebee’s manager hailed for protecting community members during tornado

Three Rivers Applebee’s manager hailed for protecting community members during tornado

Robert Tomlinson Apr 3, 2026 6 min read

By Robert TomlinsonNews Director THREE RIVERS — Aubrey McKenzie has been scared of storms ever since she was a child. However, for the Mendon native, a bar and service manager at the Applebee’s restaurant in Three Rivers, those fears were…

Survivors of last May’s porch shooting testify in court

Editorial Staff Apr 3, 2026 6 min read

By Elizabeth Ferszt Contributing Writer Dion Jamel Flowers Jr., 29, Montez White, 27, and Tyrek Rice, 26, co-defendants in the murder case of Anthony Owens Jr., were in 12th District Court for a preliminary exam March 31 in front of…

Pulaski’s Pottawatomi? What the bones say of past and future

Pulaski’s Pottawatomi? What the bones say of past and future

Editorial Staff Apr 3, 2026 7 min read

By KEN WYATT Contributing Writer As Jackson approaches its bicentennial in 2029, and the nation celebrates its 250th anniversary this year, there is a history too often ignored — our pre-history. We all know it: The tribal presence on the…

Gov. Whitmer appoints Judges Bates and Hughes to Jackson County courts

Gov. Whitmer appoints Judges Bates and Hughes to Jackson County courts

Editorial Staff Apr 3, 2026 2 min read

By KATHRYN PALON Contributing Writer Governor Gretchen Whitmer on Tuesday announced the appointments of Judge Allison Bates to the 4th Circuit Court in Jackson County and Nicole Hughes to the 12th District Court in Jackson County. “I am proud to…

Albion’s aging trees meet aging infrastructure: why dozens of trees are coming down across the city

Albion’s aging trees meet aging infrastructure: why dozens of trees are coming down across the city

Editorial Staff Apr 3, 2026 6 min read

By Maggie LaNoue, Contributing Writer Residents walking or driving through Albion neighborhoods in recent weeks have noticed large red X marks painted on dozens of mature street trees, and in some cases have returned to find them already gone. The…

Three Local Public Safety Agencies Team Up with New Life-Saving Equipment

Three Local Public Safety Agencies Team Up with New Life-Saving Equipment

Editorial Staff Apr 3, 2026 6 min read

By Maggie LaNoue, Contributing Writer A $5,000 grant from the Albion Community Foundation has equipped three Albion-area public safety agencies with life-saving technology — and strengthened a partnership that protects residents across a wide swath of Calhoun County. The Sheridan…

‘Can you hear us now?’ UAW workers rally in TR with union president amid negotiations with AAM

‘Can you hear us now?’ UAW workers rally in TR with union president amid negotiations with AAM

Editorial Staff Apr 3, 2026 9 min read

By Robert TomlinsonNews Director THREE RIVERS — Hundreds of United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 2093 members at American Axle and Manufacturing (AAM, also known as Dauch Corporation) in Three Rivers and their supporters rallied in solidarity Sunday amid what is…

Roundup of happenings in the Sturgis area

Editorial Staff Apr 3, 2026 5 min read

APRIL Through April 11Submission period for “Art Around Town,” Open Door Gallery.April 6Sturgis Township Board of Trustees meeting, 4 p.m., township hall.Burr Oak Township Board of Trustees meeting, 6 p.m., township hall. April 8“Kid Connection,” 4-5:30 p.m., Sturgis Methodist Church, for elementary…

Clare Train Derailment: New tracks underway

Clare Train Derailment: New tracks underway

Editorial Staff Apr 3, 2026 2 min read

By Christopher Johnson Fresh-cut timber, uniform and unweathered. Metal switches with a mint-condition shine. APC crew members in hi-vis yellow move quietly alongside the track near Clare’s Ann Arbor Trail crossing, driving ties not by hammer anymore but with much…

MUSICAL SHAMAN: Dixon’s violin enchants Clare audience

MUSICAL SHAMAN: Dixon’s violin enchants Clare audience

Editorial Staff Apr 3, 2026 6 min read

By Christopher Johnson The Ideal Theatre was packed Tuesday night.In recent years, Clare’s historic venue has been quietly expanding what a night out means in this town. Country artist Kari Lynch has frequented its stage. Folk musician Mike Fornes, a…

Josh Blue has turned personal experience into comedy success 

Josh Blue has turned personal experience into comedy success 

Dennis Volkert Apr 2, 2026 4 min read

“Josh Blue Live” is presented at 7:30 p.m. April 11 at Sturges-Young Center for the Arts. It is the final show of SYCA’s 2025-26 Performance Series.  Josh Blue is a stand-up comedian who happens to have cerebral palsy.  “Honestly, the…

Gov. Whitmer requests federal disaster declaration for March 6 tornados

Robert Tomlinson Apr 1, 2026 4 min read

By Robert TomlinsonNews Director LANSING — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced Wednesday she has requested a major disaster declaration from President Donald Trump in response to the tornados that came down in southwest Michigan, including Three Rivers, on March 6.…