News

Jackson teen dies in wrong-way crash on US-127

Editorial Staff Feb 27, 2026 3 min read

By Elizabeth Ferszt And Kathryn Palon Contributing Writers A Jackson teenager was killed in a wrong-way crash on US-127 last Thursday. The teenager, identified as 16-year-old Rickie Pickens, was a passenger in the car traveling the wrong way. Pickens was…

Man pleads no-contest to murder of child

Man pleads no-contest to murder of child

Editorial Staff Feb 27, 2026 2 min read

By ELIZABETH FERSZT Contributing Writer A 43-year-old Jackson County man, Donald Flack, pled no contest to second degree murder charges in connection to the death of a 15-month-old Jackson County child in 2022. According to a press release from Prosecuting…

Jackson Collaborative Network presentation gives demographic data about Jackson County

Jackson Collaborative Network presentation gives demographic data about Jackson County

Editorial Staff Feb 27, 2026 5 min read

By ELIZABETH FERSZT Contributing Writer Sheri Butters, manager of the Jackson Collaborative Network, gave a presentation at the Feb. 24 Jackson City Council meeting that highlighted some sobering data about the demographics, health, and wealth of both the city and…

Albion Invites Public Input on Roads, Redevelopment, and City Planning

Albion Invites Public Input on Roads, Redevelopment, and City Planning

Editorial Staff Feb 27, 2026 4 min read

By Maggie LaNoue, Contributing Writer Albion residents will have several opportunities in the coming week to learn more about planned road work, infrastructure projects, and redevelopment proposals, and to share questions and input with city leadership. The first opportunity will…

Stronger Together: Black Work, Business, and Belonging in Albion

Stronger Together: Black Work, Business, and Belonging in Albion

Editorial Staff Feb 27, 2026 8 min read

By Maggie LaNoue, Contributing Writer Albion’s Black history is often told through landmark events and institutions, but it is also a story shaped by work — by the jobs people came north for, the industries that sustained families, and the…

Albion Art Center Current Multi-cultural Display runs to March 13; so much more than a labor of love

Albion Art Center Current Multi-cultural Display runs to March 13; so much more than a labor of love

Editorial Staff Feb 27, 2026 7 min read

by Sylvia Benavidez The Albion Art Center is rapidly becoming a place where Albion’s cultural influences and history are preserved, celebrated, taught, and displayed. Mary Slater, president of the Albion Arts Commission, shared in an interview how community teamwork is…

Age and Practice: On the craft of learning to grow old

Age and Practice: On the craft of learning to grow old

Editorial Staff Feb 27, 2026 6 min read

By Ken Wyatt “Acceptance of one’s life has nothing to do with resignation; it does not mean running away from the struggle. On the contrary, it means accepting it as it comes, with all the handicaps of heredity, of suffering,…

Benefit dinner to support Constantine grad with severe epilepsy, traumatic brain injury after alleged assault

Benefit dinner to support Constantine grad with severe epilepsy, traumatic brain injury after alleged assault

Editorial Staff Feb 27, 2026 5 min read

By Robert TomlinsonNews Director CONSTANTINE — As a senior, Gregg Reed was a key cog of the Constantine wrestling team that made the state semifinals back in the 2023-24 season, winning a match in the state semifinals at 190 lbs.…

Three Rivers planning preventative sewer maintenance in 2nd District

Editorial Staff Feb 27, 2026 1 min read

THREE RIVERS — The City of Three Rivers announced Wednesday there would be preventative maintenance being performed on sewer mains in the second district of the city.The maintenance is expected to begin Monday and be completed by Thursday, April 2…

Woman in stable condition after overdose

Editorial Staff Feb 27, 2026 2 min read

FLOWERFIELD TWP. — St. Joseph County sheriff’s deputies say a woman is in stable condition following a reported overdose late last week.According to the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were dispatched on Feb. 20 to the 15000 block of…

Sturgis Wind Symphony show features a personal touch

Sturgis Wind Symphony show features a personal touch

Editorial Staff Feb 27, 2026 4 min read

By Dennis Volkert Sturgis Wind Symphony presents “Play List” at 3 p.m. March 1 at Sturges-Young Center for the Arts. Admission is free. The theme focuses on musical numbers suggested by ensemble members, director Jim Whitehead said. “I asked the players to…

SNP launches new‘Neighbor2Neighbor’ program

Editorial Staff Feb 27, 2026 2 min read

Sturgis Neighborhood Program has announced the launch of its new Neighbor2Neighbor home improvement program, with help of a grant from Michigan State Housing Development Authority.The initiative is intended to provide crucial home repair and rehabilitation services to up to three…

Sturgis man killed in head-on vehicle crash

Editorial Staff Feb 27, 2026 1 min read

NOTTAWA TWP. — A 68-year-old Sturgis man was killed in a crash in Nottawa Township Wednesday night.According to the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to the area of M-86 and Findley Road for a reported crash.Deputies claim a…

County schools ahead of statewide cell phone ban

County schools ahead of statewide cell phone ban

Editorial Staff Feb 27, 2026 4 min read

By Genine Hopkins The new smartphone ban that was signed into law by Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer this month that will officially take effect in the 2026-2027 school year attempts to address distracted students in classrooms that can diminish the…

Deputies disarm man who threatened to kill himself

Deputies disarm man who threatened to kill himself

Editorial Staff Feb 27, 2026 2 min read

On February 23, 2026, the Clare County Central Dispatch received information from the Gladwin County Sheriff’s Office reporting that 25-year-old Gladwin man Lane Michael Last had made threats toward family members. It was reported Last was believed to be staying…

Sturgis City Commission OK’s street project adjustments, will proceed with EV charging station

Sturgis City Commission OK’s street project adjustments, will proceed with EV charging station

Dennis Volkert Feb 27, 2026 6 min read

Sturgis City Commission on Feb. 25 considered several measures and proposals.  The board approved a master services agreement amendment for Fleis and VandenBrink Engineering, for $121,300, pertaining to reconstruction of South Lakeview Avenue.  That project is scheduled as part of the city’s 2026-27…

Deputies find meth in vehicle, woman arrested

Deputies find meth in vehicle, woman arrested

Editorial Staff Feb 27, 2026 2 min read

Deputies from the Clare County Sheriff’s Office arrested a 25-year-old woman early Sunday morning after locating suspected methamphetamine during an investigation of a suspicious vehicle in Hayes Township.On February 22, 2026, at approximately 2:07 a.m., deputies were dispatched to a…

Preview: Sturgis Wind Symphony show features a personal touch

Preview: Sturgis Wind Symphony show features a personal touch

Dennis Volkert Feb 27, 2026 4 min read

Sturgis Wind Symphony presents “Play List” at 3 p.m. March 1 at Sturges-Young Center for the Arts. Admission is free.  The theme focuses on musical numbers suggested by ensemble members, director Jim Whitehead said.  “I asked the players to submit pieces they…

Fire Horse Fat Tuesday fun

Fire Horse Fat Tuesday fun

Editorial Staff Feb 25, 2026 2 min read

By Scott SullivanEditorSaugatuck celebrated Fat Tuesday and the start of the Lunar New Year (Year of the Fire Horse) in Mardi Gras fashion Feb. 17.Dry, near 50° weather greeted costumed participants in a Second Line Pub Crawl between five downtown…

New K-9 team brings safety, support to PCS

New K-9 team brings safety, support to PCS

Editorial Staff Feb 25, 2026 3 min read

By Jason WesseldykSports Editor A pair of new faces will soon be seen around Plainwell Community Schools.Ginny, a K-9 service dog, and her handler Jean Freeman will be at PCS beginning Monday, March 2.Ginny is trained for both therapy and…