Local News Archives

Another year of the Academic Challenge has wrapped up with St. Joseph crowned the winners. In the finals Thursday night, St. Joe beat Coloma as the wiz kids showed off their trivia skills in math, history, and

Relief is coming to Michigan residents who owe money in the form of driver responsibility fees. The Michigan Secretary of State’s office tells us beginning on March 31, those who have entered into a payment plan on

There was testimony in Lansing Thursday from John Engler, the president of Michigan State University. Following the school’s failed handling of complaints about sexual assault from former spots doctor Larry Nassar, the Michigan Senate Subcommittee on Higher

Classes were cancelled for Thursday at the Countryside Academy in Benton Township due to a threat found in a men’s room on Wednesday. The Benton Township Police Department tells WSJM News officers were called out to the

The Benton Harbor Area Schools Board of Education has received an update on the academic progress of district students since the partnership agreement with the state went into effect. Acting Superintendent Patricia Robinson tells WSJM News there’s

Benton Harbor is going to get a pair of grants totaling nearly $800,000 from the Michigan Department of Treasury. The money will be used for a new fire engine and to replace water meters in the city.

Bottled water sales in the United States are skyrocketing, but a new report looks at what is actually being sold to those customers. In “Take Back the Tap,” Food and Water Watch researchers look at the booming

From the Associated Press — Michigan’s first veteran fund has been approved by lawmakers in the state House. They voted 107-1 Wednesday to create the County Veteran Service Fund, which would deploy veteran service officers to each county

You’re running out of time to go skating at the John and Dede Howard Ice Arena in St. Joseph this winter. The city of St. Joe tells us the arena will be closing for the season this

The Berrien County Sheriff’s Department will have its eye on drivers this weekend as southwest Michigan celebrates St. Patrick’s Day. Chief Deputy Robert Boyce tells WSJM News it’s “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” time. “In partnership

The Michigan Secretary of State’s office is praising the Michigan Legislature for approving the creation of a new 30-day grace period for drivers to affix their new license plate tabs when they renew their registration each year.

As students protested school violence across the country Wednesday, the U.S. House was voting to increase security in schools. Congressman Fred Upton tells WSJM News the STOP School Violence Act had its vote, passing 407 to 10.

Three people are now in custody following a couple of police chases on Wednesday in Van Buren County. Michigan State Police tell us troopers were involved in two separate chases with the same suspects, one of whom

The Michigan Senate this week approved a resolution co-sponsored by state Senator Tonya Schuitmaker to salute the women who hold elected office in the state. The resolution declares March 19, next Monday, as Women in Public Office

High school students at schools around southwest Michigan and the entire country have raised their voice to speak out against violence. At Lakeshore High School Wednesday morning, the kids walked out to chants of “enough is enough.”

South Haven City Manager Brian Dissette is tasking the city council with addressing a list of priorities he gave to them at a meeting last night. The council members also added to the document, and Dissette says

From the Associated Press — Legislation in Michigan that would help victims of imprisoned sports doctor Larry Nassar’s sexual abuse move forward with lawsuits is in limbo amid pushback from universities, the Catholic Church and others. The Republican-led

From the Associated Press — A Michigan woman has moved into a church in the southwest part of the state in an effort to avoid being deported to Pakistan. Saheeda Nadeem moved into First Congregational Church in Kalamazoo

A special summit is underway this week in metro Detroit highlighting how Michigan is a driving force in cyber security through the automotive and defense industries. Sarah Tennant is the Strategic Advisor for Cyber Initiatives at the

The head Michigan’s association of local governments says Uncle Sam needs to dig deeper to help fix our roads. Dan Gilmartin of the Michigan Municipal League told Michigan News Network this week at least an extra billion

AAA is reminding drivers to be extra wary of drowsiness following the time change this past weekend. Spokesperson Gary Bubar tells us the time change is enough to increase crashes caused by people being sleepy. “With the

A South Bend man is recovering after a crash on Tuesday in Berrien County that left him trapped in his vehicle. The Berrien County Sheriff’s Department tells us it happened around 3 p.m. on US-12 near Sage

Benton Harbor School leaders continue to think about improving security. At a Tuesday meeting, the board of education heard from Acting Superintendent Patricia Robinson the district’s metal detectors are almost repaired, with six door units now operational.

If you think planning a family budget is difficult and time consuming, imagine trying to budget for a city. That’s what South Haven City Manager and staff are working on right now. City Manager Brian Dissette spoke

Changes are coming to the World War I monument along the bluff in downtown St. Joseph. At a meeting this week, the city commission approved moving the plaque listing area World War I soldiers to a more

State Senator John Proos has some new ideas for prison food service. That’s after Governor Rick Snyder recently proposed moving away from having private companies provide it. Proos tells WSJM News he’s put together a Senate workgroup

There’s a Democrat running for the Michigan Senate in the 26th District. That’s the district currently represented by state Senator Tonya Schuitmaker, covering Van Buren and Allegan counties and part of Kent County. Garnet Lewis is a

Congressman Fred Upton has announced the 2018 Congressional Art Competition, open to high school artists throughout the Sixth Congressional District. The winner will have his or her piece hang in the U.S. Capitol for a year along

St. Joseph City Commissioners have approved a five year parks master plan for three parks in the community. Monday’s action was needed if the city is going to pursue grants to pay for improvements at Riverview Park,

A Chinese space station is falling back toward Earth and should be re-entering the atmosphere in early April. The trajectory of the space station, which is about the size of an RV, has it falling back to