Local News Archives

Minimum wage in Michigan is going up tomorrow. Currently $9.45 an hour, it will rise to $9.65 on January 1 and up to $9.87 on New Year’s Day 2021. For tipped employees, the wage will go from

AAA of Michigan reminds those who go out to celebrate this New Year’s Eve of a free towing program it offers. Spokesperson Adrienne Woodland tells us “Tow to Go” was brought to the state in 2017. You

The Berrien County Health Department is reminding everyone to avoid excessive alcohol consumption this New Year’s Eve. Spokesperson Gillian Conrad tells WSJM News planning is key. “To avoid having too much to drink, you really need to

More than 10,000 pounds of food was collected this year through the Michigan Secretary of State’s Harvest Gathering food drive. Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson says the long-running program is just one way Michigan residents come together

Berrien County residents are being invited to a Flood Map Information Open House in Benton Harbor on January 14 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. It will be held at the Benton Harbor Public Library and put on

Work is underway along the coast in St. Joseph to install limestone boulders to protect several homes between Lions Park Beach and Silver Beach County Park. As high waves crashed along the beach and eroded more sand

South Haven is closing out its sesquicentennial celebration on New Year’s Eve. The party will start with an early evening Youth Celebration at the South Haven Center for the Arts and will close out the city’s commemoration

Michigan State Police have stepped up patrols to make the roads safer this week and next week. Operation Care will mean additional highway enforcement through the end of the New Year’s period. The traffic initiative is a

Members of the Benton Harbor community are being invited to take a survey that has been put online by the Benton Harbor Area Schools Community Engagement and Advisory Committee. The Michigan Department of Treasury says the committee

The Berrien County Board of Commissioners has been asked for help in getting part of a road in Pipestone Township paved. A resident of the township addressed the board about Tabor Road between Evans and South Pipestone

Benton Harbor City Commissioners are slated to consider a tax break for a new development along Riverview Drive next month. The city commission will hold a public hearing on January 21 to talk about establishing a Commercial

Congressman Fred Upton is hoping legislation intended to ease the labor shortage faced by farmers each year could eventually lead to immigration reform. He tells WSJM News the House this month passed his Farm Workforce Modernization Act.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer has announced the creation of the Michigan Poverty Task Force. Housed within the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, or LEO, the task force will bring together representatives of 19 state agencies to

From the Associated Press — The Michigan appeals court has affirmed the conviction of a man in the disappearance and death of a gas station clerk in western Michigan. The court says some evidence found at Jeffrey

Coming to the Maud Preston Palenske Memorial Library in St. Joseph this winter will be an award winning lecture series put on by Calvin University. From January 8 through January 28, the library will be one of

Michigan’s OK2SAY tipline is now appearing on the big screen. The Michigan Attorney General’s office says OK2SAY advertisements are running in movie theaters throughout the state this season. Three different OK2SAY messages began airing on 372 screens

From the Associated Press — The National Park Service and a northwestern Indiana town will install sand traps along the Lake Michigan shoreline to combat beach erosion at the Indiana Dunes National Park. The federal agency was

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s investigation into abuse by clergy in the Catholic church will continue into the new year. AG spokesperson Kelly Rossman-McKinney tells us seven priests have been charged so far. That’s after millions of

We’re less than a month away from the fifth annual St. Joe Winter Beer Fest. St. Joseph Today’s Danielle Crevier tells WSJM tickets will go on sale next Thursday, January 2 at 10 a.m. at their welcome

A home in Antwerp Township near Paw Paw is a total loss after a fire last evening. Firefighters from Paw Paw, Lawton, and Mattawan battled the flames in the 5000 block of 30th Street starting just before

From the Associated Press — Here’s a Christmas gift you’d never forget: a kidney. WOOD-TV reports that doctors in Detroit removed a kidney from Logan Bosselaar on Christmas Eve and transplanted it to his wife, Vanessa. They

The city of Bridgman is taking public input on its next five year parks master plan. A draft is now online and will be available for public viewing through January 20. The five year plan outlines the

The Better Business Bureau of West Michigan and Consumers Energy are warning business owners of the latest phone scam. Consumers spokesperson Roger Morgenstern tells WSJM News with this one, someone calls a business claiming to represent the

The Michigan Department of Treasury is inviting everyone to contribute to the Fostering Futures Scholarship Trust Fund. The fund provides college scholarships to young adults who have experienced foster care and are enrolled at a Michigan college

Berrien County Sheriff Paul Bailey is appealing to all residents to make sure they lock their cars. With a rash of vehicle break-ins around the area lately, Bailey tells WSJM News one simple step could be taken

Samples taken from inside a dilapidated home near downtown St. Joseph are now being analyzed for asbestos ahead of the city seeking bids to demolish the home. The house at the corner of Hoyt and Niles has

The search for a missing five-year-old boy with autism in Montcalm County has come to a sad end. Michigan State Police Lieutenant David Cope says they found the body of Beau Belson under the ice in a