Local News Archives

This week’s icy weather has prompted Lake Michigan Catholic High School to cancel the planned donkey basketball game for this week. The plan had been to stage a basketball game between LMC staff and students, all of

The Berrien County Health Department has announced the cancellation of two of its water filter pick-up dates for the city of Benton Harbor. It tells us because of high demand and the weather, it’s had to cancel

Indiana Michigan Power crews are making progress getting electric service restored following the overnight ice storm. The 2 p.m. update from the utility shows just over 3,000 in Michigan without power, down from around 6,000 this morning.

Weather kept Fred Upton and as many as 90 other members of Congress from attending the funeral in Dearborn for former Congressman John Dingell. Congressman Billy Long of Missouri tweeted shortly before noon that an impromptu service

Indiana Michigan Power crews are at work restoring service after freezing rain and sleet caused widespread issues in the area. As of 9:30 this morning, the utility was reporting over 6,000 customers without electricity in Michigan and

The Sexual Assault Response Team in Berrien County is in need of advocate volunteers. The team provides around-the-clock care to sexual assault survivors, and the advocate volunteers help to give them support. To be one of the

A donation of $200,000 is being made to a Michigan Department of Health and Human Services dental program this year by the Delta Dental Foundation. The foundation is the charitable arm of the non-profit insurer, Delta Dental.

Changes are coming for the lighthouse tours in St. Joseph that are put on by the Heritage Museum and Cultural Center. Community Engagement Coordinator Kate Ulrey tells us they’re adding Wednesday evening tours from 7 pm to

State Representative Beth Griffin is hoping to get a hearing soon on legislation that would allow some Michigan prison inmates to be moved to medical facilities when they are deemed medically frail. The Mattawan Republican tells WSJM

Could local control be returning to Benton Harbor Area Schools? It’s possible. State School Reform Officer Bill Pearson tells us lame duck legislation approved by state lawmakers eliminated language related to the School Reform Office. If it’s

02-11-19 WSJM Afternoon News

Coming up this weekend will be free fishing all across Michigan. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources tells us this coming Saturday and Sunday will be a chance for anyone to go fishing without a license. Also,

From the Associated Press — A public visitation will be held in Michigan to honor John Dingell, the longest-serving member of Congress in history, who died last week at age 92. The visitation will be Monday at Ford

Expect smaller beaches this year once again in the Great Lakes. According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Detroit, water levels on the lakes will be higher than normal once again. Lake Michigan will be

Governor Whitmer will lay out her legislative agenda Tuesday night with her first State of the State speech. Freshman state Representative Brad Paquette of Berrien Springs wants details on how she plans to follow through with the

Local jurisdictions are waiting in line to prosecute a couple from Van Buren County wanted for using a Facebook Marketplace scam to steal two vehicles last week, including a Buick Enclave taken from the wife of a

A suspected propane explosion is blamed for leveling a home in Casco Township. South Haven Area Emergency Services says the home in the 6000 block of 104th avenue near 60th Street blew up around 12:30 Sunday afternoon.

Fernwood Botanical Garden near Buchanan is one of 21 botanical gardens to be selected for a new U.S. Botanic Garden exhibit. “Celebrating New American Gardens” will be on display through October 15, 2019 in Washington, DC. The

Coming soon to the gym at Lake Michigan Catholic High School will be live donkeys. LMC tells us Donkey Basketball is a sport in which the participants are donkeys as well as people. Lake Michigan Catholic Schools

Benton Harbor City Commissioners are now talking about how to spend the money being generated with the city’s new income tax. At a meeting this past week, the commission heard from Abonmarche President Chris Cook, who gave

Talons Out Honor Flight has announced it’s going to start taking Vietnam veterans to visit their war memorial in Washington, D.C. The organization for years has taken veterans of World War II and the Korean War to

Police around Michigan made more than 200 drunk driving arrests during an end-of-the-year crackdown. Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning spokesperson Kari Arend tells WSJM News the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign took place December

He’s been the face and the voice of the Cook nuclear power plant for 24 years, and now Bill Schalk has retired. As Cook spokesperson, Schalk tells us it was his job to keep the public informed

The Cass County Sheriff’s Department is investigating a fatal crash that occurred on Friday night in Porter Township. It was reported just before 10:30 at Sunset Boulevard near South Beechwood Street. Sheriff’s deputies tell us 39-year-old Travis Lee Schlabach

Water filters are being made available for all residents of Benton Harbor starting this past week. The Berrien County Health Department’s Nicki Britten tells us the filters are certified to reduce the risk of lead exposure in

Michigan State Police are advising everyone about an e-mail scam that’s been making the rounds. MSP says it’s been hearing about an increase in e-mails containing malicious links or attachments sent to businesses and individuals. They’ve had

The federal government is proposing to gut rules that protect consumers from short-term payday loan companies. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau already put the Obama-era Payday Lending Rule on hold, but on Wednesday, the agency said it

The Southwestern Michigan Association of Realtors is notifying organizations throughout the region that it’s offering grants to community and neighborhood projects. The Placemaking Challenge Grants are intended for smaller projects intended to improve a community in an

A Benton Harbor man is facing charges following a heroin and meth bust this week. The Southwest Enforcement Team tells us police conducted a sting on Tuesday following a nine month investigation into the 36-year-old suspect for