Local News Archives

Former Vice President Joe Biden will kick off the 75th season of the Economic Club of Southwestern Michigan’s Speakers Series. Biden will address members at the Mendel Center on the Lake Michigan College campus in Benton Township

There’s a new principal at Bridgman High School. Superintendent Shane Peters tells us the board of education on Monday voted unanimously to hire Gerald Heath for the position. He replaces Sam Stine, who became the Bridgman Public

A new study from the University of Michigan has found the Jobs for Michigan’s Graduates program has a major effect on the students who participate. Youth Solutions Director Kristin Harrington tells WSJM News the 10-year-old program helps

St. Joseph Department of Public Safety Director Brian Uridge has resigned. He submitted his notice of resignation Friday, indicating to city officials he is returning to the public sector and a private life. Uridge told city staff

The South Haven City Council this week adopted Phase 1 of the new Short Term Rental Amendments. Assistant City Manager Kate Hosier has the specifics says the old one-time $20 fee is shooting way up to an

A Detroit woman is facing charges after being arrested for drunk driving early Saturday morning in Van Buren County. The Van Buren County Sheriff’s Department tells us a deputy was on his way to work around 5 a.m.

More than $117,000 in For Good Grants were announced this week by the Berrien Community Foundation. The foundation’s Susan Matheny tells WSJM News the For Good Grants come from interest off the organization’s endowments so the grants

There’s a new trustee in place at Lake Michigan College. At a meeting this week, the LMC Board of Trustees voted to appoint Joan Smith to a vacant seat. The position was formerly occupied by Judy Truesdell,

Benton Harbor City Commissioners have voted to put the community’s trash collector on notice. At a meeting this past week, they talked at length about how to correct problems reported with the service provided by We-Cycle Industrial

Michigan soybean growers are being hit by the Trump administration’s new tariffs on China. Michigan Farm Bureau Field Crops Specialist Kate Thiel tells WSJM News direct sales of soy to China are expected to drop by 23%.

The Van Buren County Road Commission is hoping to fill in the public next week about its need for new road funding. The last of three public information meetings on an August ballot proposal for a new

Future visitors to South Haven’s South Beach will most likely be enjoying a splash pad. The public has asked for it and the city’s parks and recreation department is now working on engineering studies. That’s according to

Berrien County Treasurer Bret Witkowski is thanking Honor Credit Union for making an effort to promote its new property tax savings accounts. Witkowski tells WSJM News he worked with some local banks to create the accounts taxpayers

Matt Wesaw has been elected as the Tribal Council Chairman of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi. Wesaw was picked for the post in the tribe’s general election on Saturday, July 14. This is Wesaw’s third election as

The Mendel Center at Lake Michigan College is saluting its Volunteers of the Year. Mainstage Director Grace Kelmer tells us they held their annual volunteer appreciation dinner this month, and named Larry and Linda Becker as the

There another movie being shot around southwest Michigan. Filmmaker John Hancock, the director of Prancer and 2015’s The Looking Glass, could be seen with his crew in downtown St. Joseph on Thursday shooting scenes for The Girls

In theory, more than 400 miles of shoreline in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Canada would be impacted by a potential oil spill from Enbridge Energy’s Line 5 pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac. The report was put together

A Decatur man is facing charges of assault with a dangerous weapon and possession of a firearm while under the influence following an incident early Friday in Sister Lakes. The Van Buren County Sheriff’s Department tells us

From the Associated Press — Democrats running for Michigan governor have held their second and final televised debate weeks before the Aug. 7 primary. Abdul El-Sayed, and Gretchen Whitmer sparred Thursday night over the influence of corporate money

More Michigan residents than ever before are part of the state’s Organ Donor Registry. It’s run by the Secretary of State’s office, and spokesman Fred Woodhams tells WSJM News the registry has gone over five-million people. “The

More than $117,000 in For Good Grants were announced this week by the Berrien Community Foundation. The foundation’s Susan Matheny tells WSJM News the For Good Grants come from interest off the organization’s endowments so the grants

From the Associated Press — Michigan officials want Congress to approve legislation that would boost funding for fish and wildlife conservation. Pending bills would allocate $1.3 billion a year to the Wildlife Conservation Restoration Program. The money would

The task of finding a new chief public defender for Berrien County is one the county commission hopes to complete soon. Berrien County Chief Public Defender Carl Macpherson will be stepping down July 31 after leading that

The dredging of the outer harbor in St. Joseph has started for the year. St. Joe City Manager John Hodgson tells WSJM News the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers started this week and should be finished by

Future visitors to South Haven’s South Beach will most likely be enjoying a splash pad. The public has asked for it and the city’s parks and recreation department is now working on engineering studies. That’s according to

From the Associated Press — Students, staff and faculty at Michigan State University will get free on-campus bus service for a year starting in late August. The East Lansing school says it’s amended its contract with the Capital

Deputies with the Cass County Sheriff’s Department are looking for a dark-colored SUV involved in a hit-and-run crash around 6 a.m. today. It happened in Marcellus, and witnesses tell police an Hispanic man crashed into a utility

The Southwest Enforcement Team says they’ve taken a drug dealer off the streets of Benton Harbor. 29-year-old Antonio Hall has been charged with delivery of heroin, resisting and obstructing police and being a a parole absconder. He

Congressman Fred Upton says the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is getting its full $300 million in an appropriations bill passed Thursday by the U.S. House. The Senate still needs to approve the legislation. The GLRI has been

Applications are now being accepted by Berrien County to fill the vacant Register of Deeds office. That elected office was left by the death this summer of Lori Jarvis, whose elected term ran through December 31, 2020.