BENTON TOWNSHIP — The Benton Township Water Plant is getting a precautionary update.
Wednesday, January 22, 2020
BENTON TOWNSHIP — Benton Township is in the process of filling out some of its board vacancies.
SOUTH HAVEN — Fewer homeowners within city limits are applying for business permits to operate their homes as short-term rentals.
BRIDGMAN — The Bridgman City Council approved its five-year parks and recreation plan Monday, following a brief public hearing. The plan incorporates input from a community survey and several focus meetings, a detailed inventory of existing facilities, plus a five-year action plan.
Saturday, January 18, 2020
STEVENSVILLE — Watermark Brewing Co. will once again host the Berrien County Polar Plunge for Special Olympics Michigan.
WATERVLIET — A divided city commission voted Thursday evening to block a church’s plan to transform a shuttered downtown building into a church.
Friday, January 17, 2020
SOUTH HAVEN — For more than a decade a piece of property in the heart of the city’s central business district sat vacant – the historic church that once dominated the site was condemned in 2007 and finally torn down.
BENTON HARBOR — Benton Harbor city commissioners will hear a report on the city’s 2018-19 fiscal year audit on Tuesday rather than Monday due to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
EAU CLAIRE — A woman and her grown son are homeless after fire ripped through their modular home at 6274 Pipestone Road late Monday and into Tuesday.
Thursday, January 16, 2020
BENTON TOWNSHIP — Dozens of residents crammed into Benton Township Hall on Wednesday seeking answers regarding the plan to connect I-94 and U.S. 31.
BERRIEN SPRINGS — Work on the extension of sewer lines to the northwest side of the M-139/U.S. 31 interchange in Oronoko Township should shift into high gear this year. The project was first proposed in late 2018 to facilitate the expansion of the Honor Credit Union headquarters on Edgewood Drive.
BERRIEN CENTER — Marijuana proponent Rick Anstiss didn’t get a very warm reception from the Berrien Township Board on Tuesday night for his push to get the township to allow recreational marijuana businesses and operations.
BENTON HARBOR — Celebration Cinema in Benton Harbor is offering the special price of $5 for people to see “Just Mercy” on Monday, which is Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Wednesday, January 15, 2020
BRIDGMAN — A man who narrowly escaped drowning last month after his vehicle landed upside down in a flooded ditch got a chance Tuesday to meet and thank his rescuers.
ST. JOSEPH — It’s estimated that about 63 percent of public water system infrastructure in St. Joseph “likely contains lead.”
BENTON HARBOR — Benton Harbor school board Secretary Patricia Rush announced Tuesday that she will resign from the school board effective March 1.
SOUTH HAVEN — Laine Ridley doesn’t mind getting dirty.
BARODA — Get ready for NIMBY Pond 2.
WATERVLIET — Watervliet High School junior Sophia Tavolacci was crowned Miss Watervliet on Sunday at the Watervliet High School Auditorium.
Tuesday, January 14, 2020
SOUTH HAVEN — High water levels on Lake Michigan and the Black River could end up costing the city of South Haven millions of dollars.
ST. JOSEPH — Alfred Butzbaugh, who spent nearly a decade as a Berrien County Trial Court judge and several decades as an attorney, died Saturday in Fitchburg, Wis.
The weather might not seem much like winter, but two area communities are moving forward with their ice festival plans. Niles will host its 16th annual Hunter Ice Festival Jan. 17-19, while Dowagiac is holding its 24th annual Ice Time Festival on Feb. 1.
ST. JOSEPH — Work will soon begin on constructing more barriers to prevent erosion along the Lake Michigan shoreline in St. Joseph.
ST. JOSEPH — “One second of hatred caused a lifetime of pain,” a grieving mother told a Berrien County judge Monday.
ST. JOSEPH — In an attempt to discourage false fire alarms, Royalton Township is making a change to its fire ordinance.
STEVENSVILLE — Lakeshore High School may add classes this fall to prepare students to enter the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) industry, Lakeshore Superintendent Phil Freeman said after Monday’s school board meeting.
Monday, January 13, 2020
As the new chief judge for Berrien County Trial Court, Mabel Johnson Mayfield said she wants to continue the work done by former Chief Judge Gary Bruce, who did not seek re-appointment to the position.
BENTON HARBOR — A longstanding high school rivalry turned ugly when fans from Battle Creek Central allegedly attacked Benton Harbor High School cheerleaders as they tried to get on their bus after last Tuesday’s boys basketball game in Battle Creek.
BENTON HARBOR — It’s time to move from talking about racial equity to doing something about it, the organizers of the 2020 Meeting of the Minds and Day of Action said during the Saturday event at Sinbads Imaginasium in Benton Township.
Saturday, January 11, 2020
BENTON HARBOR — Drivers traveling between St. Joseph and Benton Harbor via the Bicentennial Bridge are well aware of the flooding that happens on the Benton Harbor side during rainy, windy days.
SOUTH HAVEN — Riding around South Haven in a golf cart might get a little more complicated this summer.
ST. JOSEPH — Berrien County Prosecutor Michael Sepic will retire from his post at the end of the year when his term runs out.
NEW BUFFALO — Due to historically high waters levels on Lake Michigan, the city of New Buffalo has taken action to remove docks at its municipal marina to avoid them being damaged over the winter.
BENTON TOWNSHIP — Benton Township trustees recently adopted the sewer and water system capital improvement plans in an effort to determine improvement needs and introduce maintenance programs.
Friday, January 10, 2020
SOUTH HAVEN — When contractors erect the last steel beam for the new Bronson South Haven Hospital it will mark a special moment for doctors and staff.
SOUTH HAVEN — Two popular Southwest Michigan restaurants and their owner say they have reached a settlement with a federal agency that accused them of short-changing pay for some of their employees.
COLOMA — Lilly Trapp was crowned Miss Coloma on Saturday at the Coloma High School auditorium, while Ian Ishmael snagged the title of Mr. Coloma.
STEVENSVILLE — Visitors to Stevensville know they have arrived when they encounter the decorative street lights that line the village’s business areas.
Thursday, January 09, 2020
BENTON HARBOR — The future of the New Harbor Condominiums on Riverview Drive in Benton Harbor may one day be in the hands of the Benton Harbor Downtown Development Authority.
WATERVLIET — Before a standing-room-only audience Tuesday evening, city commissioners took up the legally complex and contentious issue of whether to grant a church permission to buy and renovate a shuttered property in the downtown business district.
BERRIEN SPRINGS — A Berrien Springs area congregation is scrambling to find a new place to meet after receiving a “stop use order” from Oronoko Township.
COLOMA — The North Berrien Fire Rescue Department will soon be prepared if a dune grass fire ever breaks out.
Wednesday, January 08, 2020
ST. JOSEPH — When Stephanie Kohler walked into Lory’s Place for the first time in 2004, she had lost a baby, Simon; her husband, Matthew; and her father, Leo, all within 18 months.
BENTON HARBOR — “It’s official like a whistle,” Benton Harbor school board President Joseph Taylor said Tuesday about Andrae Townsel being hired as the district’s new superintendent.
BENTON HARBOR — Several buildings owned by Benton Harbor Area Schools will be professionally evaluated in the next two weeks, with the Michigan Department of Treasury paying the bill.
DOWAGIAC — A new era is starting at Southwestern Michigan College and it has a distinct southern flavor. New college president and Louisiana native Joseph Odenwald has already set down roots in the area in the two years he’s been here, including frying catfish each fall at freshman orientation.
BRIDGMAN — During its annual year-in-review meeting Monday, the Bridgman City Council announced plans for a new upcoming event.
BERRIEN SPRINGS — A new marketing plan that could cost up to $32,500 a year and include a revamped website and greater social media presence was presented to Berrien Springs Village Council members this week.
EAU CLAIRE — There’s a change in leadership on the Eau Claire school board after action by board members Monday night.
BENTON HARBOR — Almost $15 million in water and sewer work should start in August now that Benton Harbor city commissioners gave final approval Monday for the project.
SOUTH HAVEN — The city has a new mayor pro-tem.