Local News Archives

A popular restaurant in the Arts District of Benton Harbor is looking to expand. The Mason Jar Cafe is requesting a zoning change for vacant lots at the corner of Fifth and Park streets in Benton Harbor

The Pokagon Fund has announced the hiring of its new director. Dan Petersen started on Monday. The 38-year-old Petersen was previously the president of EightCAP, Incorporated, a community action agency in Ionia County. WSJM News asked him

Consumers Energy is now taking entries in its second annual Put Your Town on the Map competition. Spokesperson Brian Wheeler tells WSJM News the Consumers Energy Foundation is putting up $50,000 to be awarded to three small

Berrien County Register of Deeds Lora Freehling will spend part of this year going around the county speaking at senior centers. She says her talks will focus on the role of the Register of Deeds and the

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is planning several volunteer stewardship days at Warren Dunes State Park throughout February. It says you don’t need experience when it comes to helping remove invasive plants from the park. This

The search for a new superintendent at Berrien RESA has been narrowed down to two. The RESA Board of Education says it will interview the candidates this coming week. They are Berrien RESA Assistant Superintendent Eric Hoppstock

The Southwest Michigan Planning Commission has received some recognition for a couple of websites it created to educate the public on local resources and how they can be protected. The Association of Marketing and Communications Professionals has

Lake Michigan College will hold a FAFSA Assistance Night this month. LMC staff will be available to answer questions and help students apply for financial aid. Students of all ages who plan to attend college in the

The United Way of Southwest Michigan is once again offering tax preparation help now that tax season has arrived. Program manager Vera Sebree tells WSJM News you can get your taxes filed for free if you make

Set for today is one of the biggest events for lovers of the outdoors held in southwest Michigan each year. It’s the 23rd annual Dowagiac Conservation Club’s Hunter’s Rendezvous at the club grounds in Dowagiac. Club Vice

Filing tax returns can be tricky, and community organizations across the state are working to ensure Michigan taxpayers don’t lose out on the refunds they may be due. Ross Yednock with the Community Economic Development Association of

A plane crash into Lake Michigan nearly 70 years ago will be the subject of the Discovery Channel’s Expedition Unknown show this coming Wednesday. Northwest Airlines Flight 2501 disappeared somewhere over the lake on June 23, 1950.

Market Van Buren is looking at ways local officials can work together to help address some key needs of Van Buren County. Market Van Buren Director Zachary Morris tells WSJM News that’s why the group held its

Michigan transportation officials are working to explain why Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s issuing of $3.5 billion in bonds to pay for road projects is a sensible option. On the latest episode of the MDOT podcast, Talking Transportation, MDOT

With her proposed Fiscal Year 2021 budget now in the hands of state lawmakers, Governor Gretchen Whitmer spent some of her Friday in Detroit, speaking to the Detroit Economic Club at the TCF Center. The nearly $62

A major figure in the Michigan Republican Party has suggested that political donations will diminish unless GOP lawmakers do something to help property owners being impacted by Lake Michigan erosion. Former Ambassador Peter Secchia sent a letter

One of her top promises that helped get her elected was the pledge to reduce how long people had to wait at Secretary of State branch offices to get done what they needed to do. Secretary of

Ford Motor Company is shaking up its management after a poor fourth-quarter financial performance and the botched launch of the Explorer SUV. The company says automotive President Joe Hinrichs will retire. Jim Farley, president of new business

Bipartisan legislation to update the state’s commercial fishing laws and regulations is headed to the Michigan Senate. Representative Pauline Wendzel of Watervliet sponsored one of the bills in the package, and says this would be the first

With the impeachment of President Trump now over, Congressman Fred Upton is hoping to get to work on issues the public cares about. He tells WSJM News he continues his tour with Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Dingell talking

From the Associated Press — Investigators in western Michigan might have discovered the remains of a teenager who’s been missing since 1989. Aundria Bowman’s adoptive father was recently charged in an unrelated 1980 homicide in Virginia. Authorities

The high water level of Lake Michigan has wiped out Lincoln Township Beach. The township has had to close the park off completely, as the beach has been washed away along with a good chunk of the

Some of the funding cut from the popular Pure Michigan advertising campaign is being restored in Governor Whitmer’s proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2021. State Budget Director Chris Kolb made a brief mention of it at the

Van Buren County Sheriff Daniel Abbott is up for the award of 2019 National Sheriff of the Year. That honor will be handed out by the National Sheriff’s Association at its winter conference in Tampa, Florida this

Renovations are complete on the Hanson Theatre on the Lake Michigan College campus in Benton Harbor. LMC will host a rededication ceremony next weekend at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, February 16 to celebrate. The Hanson Family Foundation

Benton Harbor Area Schools is ending some of its service contracts with Berrien RESA. RESA has handled facilities and operations, accounts payable, and payroll for the district since 2014. At a Tuesday meeting, Benton Harbor Area Schools

Lake Michigan College will hold a FAFSA Assistance Night this month. LMC staff will be available to answer questions and help students apply for financial aid. Students of all ages who plan to attend college in the

Consumers Energy is now taking entries in its second annual Put Your Town on the Map competition. Spokesperson Brian Wheeler tells WSJM News the Consumers Energy Foundation is putting up $50,000 to be awarded to three small