Local News Archives

The Van Buren County Sheriff’s Department says it will not enforce the governor’s latest order regarding masks. The sheriff’s department has released the following statement: In response to the Michigan Governor’s 147th executive order of 2020, the

Governor Whitmer has ordered all health workers in Michigan to receive implicit bias training. The governor’s order is aimed at addressing the coronavirus pandemic’s disproportionate impact on people of color. Michigan Chief Medical Executive Joneigh Khaldun says

Live Music is coming back to the Mendel Center at Lake Michigan College. The center is planning a drive-in concert series to be held in the Grand Upton Hall parking lot starting on August 9. There will

Spectrum Health Lakeland has announced a new summer jobs program for African American and Latinx students. Spectrum Health Lakeland clinical educator Ashley Offord tells WSJM News as part of the organization’s ongoing effort to promote racial equity,

State Senator Aric Nesbitt is questioning a Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency claim about how it’s been handing a backlog of filings during the CODID-19 pandemic. He tells WSJM News the UIA said this week it met its

Michigan State Police are looking for new troopers. Trooper Kellie Shaffer from the district headquarters in Paw Paw tells WSJM News the agency is always looking for recruits to fill out its ranks as retirements take place.

Some relief is in store for mid Michigan counties hit by flooding in May as President Donald Trump has declared Midland, Gladwin, and Iosco counties a major disaster area and the federal government will provide more than

A Black Lives Matter street mural is being planned in Benton Harbor. Benton Harbor citizen activist Trenton Bowens tells WSJM News it’s a grassroots effort that matches what we have seen in many cities around the country

The water park at the state’s largest amusement park will be welcoming visitors back next week. Laure Bollenbach is the spokesperson for the WildWater Adventure water park, part of Michigan’s Adventure near Muskegon. She told Michigan News

Michigan is reporting 612 additional cases of COVID-19 for Friday. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services says the state has had 68,295 cases of the illness since the start of the pandemic. It reported 15

The pandemic pushed the tax deadline from April 15 to July 15. CPA James Jenkins of Jenkins and Company says you’re running out of time if you haven’t filed yet. “Nothing even shadows doing your taxes, and

Governor Gretchen Whitmer has issued an executive order regarding the use of masks to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. This new order requires businesses to refuse service to someone who refuses to wear a mask, with

Governor Gretchen Whitmer has issued an executive directive for the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs to begin developing requirements for implicit bias training for those seeking licenses as medical professionals in Michigan. Speaking at a Thursday

The next COVID-19 relief bill is coming together in Washington. Congressman Fred Upton tells WSJM News there will likely be liability protections in the package. “It’s very hard to prove where someone might have contacted COVID, and

A report from the Michigan League for Public Policy finds vaccination rates among toddlers in the state have been declining for two years straight. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, rates have dipped even

The COVID-19 trend in Michigan has been heading in the wrong direction, but it’s not too late to get the curve back down. So says Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, Michigan’s chief medical executive. Speaking at a Thursday conference,

The new splash pad in South Haven is finished and open. The city held a ribbon cutting for the more than $600,000 attraction Thursday. The splash pad is similar to the Whirlpool Compass Fountain in St. Joseph,

The Berrien County Health Department is seeing COVID-19 cases increasing locally. Just a few weeks ago, the department noted only a dozen cases in one week, and now the county is counting around a dozen cases in

Brother, can you spare a dime? The coronavirus pandemic has caused a nationwide coin shortage, according to the Federal Reserve, and business owners are feeling it. Jerry Millen is the owner of a marijuana dispensary in Michigan.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer wants everyone to take the mask rule more seriously, and is also suggesting it could be strengthened. Speaking Thursday, she said with COVID cases going up in the state, it becomes all the more

Most of Michigan has been seeing temperatures in the 90s this week, but it’s not just you and your family that you should be worried about. Your pets are also a concern in this heat. The 90-plus

Michigan is reporting 446 additional cases of COVID-19 for Thursday. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services says the state has had 67,683 cases of the illness since the start of the pandemic. It reported nine

The state of Michigan this week joined a lawsuit against Education Secretary and Michigan native Betsy DeVos over the allocation of federal CARES Act money. The lawsuit filed in California alleges DeVos intentionally misrepresented the language in

Governor Gretchen Whitmer has issued an order intended to help improve racial equity in Michigan’s healthcare system. The governor’s office has released the following statement: Governor Whitmer today signed Executive Directive 2020-7 which directs the Department of

Ferris State University will offer students a single room for a double room rate this fall. It’s part of the university’s response to the COVID-19 crisis. Bryan Marquardt is the director of Housing and Residence Life at

From the Associated Press — Gretchen Whitmer has vetoed bills that would have allowed for delayed tax payments. She cites the harm to local budgets across Michigan and says one measure related to property taxes is “blatantly”

Congressman Fred Upton is pushing a bill to increase broadband access as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. He tells WSJM News the Rural Broadband Acceleration Act would speed up the distribution of the FCC’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund,

U.S. Senator Gary Peters is pushing for a bill to streamline national manufacturing programs to support the state’s industries. He’s introduced a bill to establish a National Institute of Manufacturing. “[It would] put together a comprehensive strategy