The most popular dog name in Van Buren County last year was Bella. So says the Van Buren County Treasurer’s office, which runs the county’s dog licensing program. With Bella being the most popular name for dogs,
More than $14 million in water and sewer work will be done in Benton Harbor in the coming years following action Monday night by the Benton Harbor City Commission. The body approved securing a low-interest state loan
Employees of United Federal Credit Union have been able to donate more than $16,000 around their communities in the past year thanks to the organization’s Pay it Forward program. With Pay it Forward, UFCU gives each employee
Drivers in Van Buren County are being advised to watch out for intermittent lane and shoulder closures along I-94 for the next few years. Michigan Department of Transportation spokesperson Nick Schirripa tells WSJM News crews will be
Students at 57 Michigan high schools will take part in the state’s Strive for a Safer Drive program this year. Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning spokesperson Kari Arend tells WSJM News the program is a partnership
The Van Buren County Sheriff’s Department says one of its K9s was able to track a domestic violence suspect over the weekend. Deputies were called out to a home in the village of Lawrence shortly after midnight
There’s a common message from law enforcement all over southwest Michigan to people: lock the doors of your vehicle. The latest comes from Bloomingdale, as the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Department says five vehicles were broken into
An official with Michigan State University Federal Credit Union says 2,300 cards were charged with false transactions to an international televangelist network. Officials with the Lansing-area credit union say it’s unclear who was behind the fraudulent charges
There’s a critical need for blood donors of all types in Michigan now. American Red Cross spokesman Todd Kulman says there’s less than a three day supply of Type O blood. “Which of course is the universal
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
There is still no sign of a 16-year-old girl from Flushing who was swept off the pier at Holland State Park on New Year’s Day. Eliza Trainer is presumed drowned, and the search has been suspended due
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 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
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
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
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 the last few months, Bailey tells WSJM News one simple step
A program at Honor Credit Union has resulted in its employees giving out nearly $18,000 in the 24 communities where they work. Honor Credit Union Brand Specialist Kayla Smith tells WSJM News the Pay it Forward program
Andrews University in Berrien Springs will host an award winning filmmaker and a screening of his documentary this month in preparation for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It says Martin Doblmeier will be at the Howard Performing
The Oak Ridge Boys are coming back to the Berrien County Youth Fair this summer. The fair tells us the country group will perform on the grandstand Wednesday, August 19 as the headliner for the festivities. The
This Saturday brings the 2020 season kickoff event for FIRST Robotics at Lake Michigan College. Kickoff Program Planner Tim Dunaj tells WSJM News 23 FIRST Robotics teams from local high schools will be at the Grand Upton
The long-awaited connection of I-94 and US-31 is slated to get underway next year after decades of delays. The Michigan Department of Transportation says the work will involve building several new bridges, but one street won’t go
The reaction from Michigan’s congressional delegation to the killing by the U.S. of Iran’s top general is generally supportive, but also measured. Congressman Fred Upton’s response is that Qassem Soleimani “was the ringleader responsible for the deaths
Spectrum Health Lakeland’s new pavilion project has received another boost. Spectrum says Southwestern Medical Clinic providers have donated $75,000 to the atrium dining areas on the basement level of the pavilion. The contribution will help allow for
Mac Elliott remains the chair of the Berrien County Board of Commissioners after the body held a brief meeting Thursday to start out the new year. Elliott tells us not much has changed with the structure of
From the Associated Press — A mid-Michigan community has solved an olfactory mystery that could be dubbed “The Case of the Rancid Radishes.” Residents called officials in Delta Township last month, concerned about a smell they thought
Niles Police say the man who died in a kayak accident on the St. Joseph River on New Year’s Day was 40-year-old Jean Claude Mutabazi of South Bend. The three surviving kayakers have been identified as 37-year-old
Lake Michigan has claimed a Muskegon County home. Erosion from high waves, the high water level, and several storms churning up the lake in recent months ate away enough of the bluff under the cottage in White
The U.S. Coast Guard and the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department are trying to find 16-year-old Eliza Trainer’s body in Lake Michigan. The Flint-area girl was washed off the pier at Holland State Park by a large wave
From the Associated Press — The leaders of 18 environmental and civic groups want U.S. Steel to face tougher penalties over a spill of hazardous substances from a northwestern Indiana plant into Lake Michigan. The groups submitted
A kayaker has died after being part of a group that had trouble on the St. Joseph River in Niles on New Year’s Day. Firefighters rescued two of the kayakers, and a third got himself out of
