Governor Gretchen Whitmer has announced the creation of the Michigan Poverty Task Force. Housed within the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, or LEO, the task force will bring together representatives of 19 state agencies to
From the Associated Press — The Michigan appeals court has affirmed the conviction of a man in the disappearance and death of a gas station clerk in western Michigan. The court says some evidence found at Jeffrey
Coming to the Maud Preston Palenske Memorial Library in St. Joseph this winter will be an award winning lecture series put on by Calvin University. From January 8 through January 28, the library will be one of
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
From the Associated Press — The National Park Service and a northwestern Indiana town will install sand traps along the Lake Michigan shoreline to combat beach erosion at the Indiana Dunes National Park. The federal agency was
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
Zero. That’s the number of votes missed in 2019 by state Representatives Beth Griffin, Brad Paquette, Pauline Wendzel, and Mary Whiteford along with area state Senators Kim LaSata and Aric Nesbitt. The Mackinac Center for Public Policy’s
We’re less than a month away from the fifth annual St. Joe Winter Beer Fest. St. Joseph Today’s Danielle Crevier tells WSJM tickets will go on sale next Thursday, January 2 at 10 a.m. at their welcome
A home in Antwerp Township near Paw Paw is a total loss after a fire last evening. Firefighters from Paw Paw, Lawton, and Mattawan battled the flames in the 5000 block of 30th Street starting just before
From the Associated Press — Here’s a Christmas gift you’d never forget: a kidney. WOOD-TV reports that doctors in Detroit removed a kidney from Logan Bosselaar on Christmas Eve and transplanted it to his wife, Vanessa. They
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 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
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
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 lately, Bailey tells WSJM News one simple step could be taken
Samples taken from inside a dilapidated home near downtown St. Joseph are now being analyzed for asbestos ahead of the city seeking bids to demolish the home. The house at the corner of Hoyt and Niles has
The search for a missing five-year-old boy with autism in Montcalm County has come to a sad end. Michigan State Police Lieutenant David Cope says they found the body of Beau Belson under the ice in a
Sunny skies and unusually warm weather with a high temperature around 60 today means people are actually golfing in southwest Michigan on December 26. Pipestone Creek in Eau Claire is one of the courses that’s open, and
(Lansing, MI – AP) – Michigan’s attorney general says her communications director was “inadvertently misleading” when she said her office has suspended a nearly two-year-long criminal investigation into Michigan State University’s handling of complaints against serial sexual
Two teenagers are expected to face charges soon after being caught breaking into cars in Dowagiac this week. Police were called to a home in the 200 block of First Avenue around 1 a.m. on Christmas Eve
For the first time in 13 years, Michigan will not fund the television or radio spots meant to promote tourism in the state. The tax dollars were not included in last week’s budget deal between the governor
From the Associated Press — Overdose tracking systems are giving near real-time glimpses into the ravages of the opioid-fueled drug crisis. The Hudson Valley Interlink Analytic System in New York is among a number of surveillance systems
From the Associated Press — A University of Michigan library has acquired a trove of roughly 1,000 images of Native Americans from the 19th through the early 20th century from a longtime collector. They represent some 80
91 of the nation’s largest corporations didn’t pay any federal income taxes during 2018 — the first year of the Trump administration’s new tax law — according to a new report. The study by the Institute on
Michigan State Police have stepped up patrols to make the roads safer this holiday week. Operation Care will mean additional highway enforcement for the Christmas and New Year’s periods. The traffic initiative is a cooperative effort with
A Kalamazoo man is facing multiple charges following a 10 month investigation into criminal sexual conduct in Van Buren County. The Bangor Police Department says the 32-year-old suspect is alleged to have committed the sex assaults between
A 22-year-old Niles woman will serve 128 days, or about four more months, in jail for an attack in September at an apartment complex in the city. Sigourney Broyles was sentenced on Monday to 180 days in
From the Associated Press — Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer says an update is expected at the start of 2020 regarding a criminal investigation into the Flint water crisis that was one of the worst man-made environmental disasters
From the Associated Press — Attorney General Dana Nessel says lawmakers should revisit Michigan’s unique law that shields drugmakers from product liability lawsuits. She said Monday that the 1995 law has “absolutely” has affected her strategy to
The Van Buren Conservation District is offering southwest Michigan farmers a way to help ensure their produce is safer. It says Michigan On-Farm Produce Safety is working with fresh produce farms on a voluntary and confidential basis
Michigan State Fire Marshal Kevin Sehlmeyer is reminding everyone to be safe with their Christmas trees this holiday week. He told WSJM News there are fires caused by dry Christmas trees each year. Make sure your tree
