The November general election is 169-days away, but your Secretary of State promises that if you are a registered voter in Michigan, you will receive an application to vote by mail in both that election and in the August primaries as well.... ...Read Full Story
Chris and Amber Blaine have writing the incredible story of their lives in the business world for the past eight years, and now they’ve opened a new chapter and are welcoming you and me to stop by any time for our next great book.... ...Read Full Story
A young man, his grandmother, their bikes and a heart-warming story-line have led the way for Lakeland Health in St. Joseph to win a coveted media award even amid thousands of entries world wide. The crew at Lakeland is ecstatic over their Bronze trophy in the 37th Annual Telly Awards.... ...Read Full Story
Bulldozers and wrecking crews are making short order of the Burger King Restaurant in St. Joseph this afternoon, but don’t despair if you’re fearful of missing your Whopper fix. Quality Dining, Inc. CEO Dan Fitzpatrick tells me this afternoon that within about 10 weeks you should be walking into or driving up to a brand new, contemporary establishment ready to serve you once again.... ...Read Full Story
Gray skies and a few drizzles failed in any way to dampen the spirits of the team at JR Automation along Red Arrow Highway in Stevensville just ahead of the lunch hour today as they held ground breaking ceremonies on their long-planned expansion project which will invest nearly two million dollars into the Lincoln Charter Township facility and create 60 new high tech jobs over the next three years.... ...Read Full Story
The steady drumbeat of questions wondering aloud when The Chicken Coop Restaurant in Southtown St. Joseph will re-open for business has finally been answered. The fire which struck exactly three months ago tonight has kept the facility closed for repair and renovation work by owners Jason & Amy Variell.... ...Read Full Story
For most of his life Boby Testini of Stevensville has worked in businesses that took advantage of his ability to do great things with his hands. From his early role as a die cast machine operator for ICG Castings of Bridgman before they closed up shop, to his recent two year stint as a Technician with Ravitron of Benton Harbor, Boby has worked his magic, and now he’s taking on the role of business owner and operator as a new franchisee with Mr. Appliance.... ...Read Full Story
While there’s been a fair amount of discussion regarding Michigan as the “comeback state,” and many strides have been made in the state’s fiscal condition, there are still many in the private sector who remain concerned about the challenges that lie ahead and particularly those involving unfunded future liabilities. That’s why key members of that private sector represented by the Business Leaders for Michigan are hosting a Leadership Summit on Fiscal Stability next week.... ...Read Full Story
Just hours after the last of your Easter ham gets dispatched to the leftover bin and the jelly beans are put away for another day there’s a fair chance you’ll run into a few traffic slowdowns in Van Buren County next week. Crews at the Michigan Department of Transportation will have the traffic cones and Work Zone signs in place as work gets launched on a pair of projects costing nearly $2-million overall.... ...Read Full Story
This event is open to Berrien County residents only, and no business waste is allowed at this event.... ...Read Full Story
One of the inherent tendencies of human beings is to always seek the easy way out. We are ever in search of whatever pill will help us achieve our dreams without the traditional hard work and elbow grease to get the job done. Physicist Michio Kaku is the next speaker in the current series at The Economic Club of Southwestern Michigan and even he has wondered about the potential for a pill to make us smarter.... ...Read Full Story
The West Michigan Industrial Economy continued to grind out double digit growth in the month of April, and it isn’t get any easier finding the people necessary to sustain that growth for the companies who need help the most. That’s the essence of Dr. Brian Long’s latest snapshot of the local scene as compiled in his March report being shared in industry circles.... ...Read Full Story
There’s a familiar name atop the leader board at Detroit Home magazine’s annual awards edition. Familiar because he’s received recognition from that prestigious crew before…and familiar because he’s anchored right here in our own backyard along the shores of Lake Michigan. The name is Allegretti Architects of St. Joseph and he’s picked up two awards on that front this time — a First Place and a Third Place award.... ...Read Full Story
Michigan’s Great Southwest dodged a late attempt to keep winter alive when forecast snow failed to develop Thursday, but there’s another major sign of the end of winter that you will do well to pay attention to if you are behind in paying your cold weather natural gas bill. Failure to do so could lead to having your gas shut off.... ...Read Full Story
Despite the economic recovery of the past year or better, a new study shows that low-wage jobs continue to dominate the landscape of Michigan’s Great Southwest. Essentially, nearly two-thirds of the jobs are paying less than $20 per hour, and more than two-thirds pay less than $15 per hour.... ...Read Full Story
If pink was Denise Bohn’s favorite color, rest assured that green (typically Spartan green) clocked a close second, especially the Kelly green of the annual pub run that she and her “Lucky Charms” team assembled every year for the past half dozen. While Denise herself is, sadly, no longer physically with us, her spirit lives on eternally in the cast and crew that work each year to reconstitute that amazing run and they hope you’ll be a part of it this year.... ...Read Full Story
Here’s hoping that when dramatic renovations were made last year at Whirlpool Corporation’s world headquarters campus they saved an entire wing to house their Energy Star awards. Already proud owners of more such awards than any other appliance maker in the world, Whirlpool’s latest honor is their win as 2017 Energy Star Partner of the Year Award for Sustained Excellence from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Washington D.C.... ...Read Full Story
The award-winning change agents at Kinexus of Benton Harbor may well have just scored their most prestigious honor to date. The team ensconced along Main Street in downtown Benton Harbor has been named one of the 2017 Best Nonprofits To Work For in the entire nation. That’s rare company — with only 50 organizations on the entire list nationwide.... ...Read Full Story
When former Benton Harbor Emergency Manager Tony Saunders finished his assignment in Michigan’s Great Southwest three years ago he essentially jumped from the frying pan directly into the fire by taking on the Herculean task of a turnaround for Michigan’s largest county — Wayne County. Now after three years in that role, Saunders has announced plans to cook a few things up for himself in the private sector. He is leaving to launch a private sector firm that will specialize in what he has done in the public sector for the past seven or eight years — turnaround, private equity and municipal finance.... ...Read Full Story
It’s not often that major industries are targeted for break ins, but a couple of them in the Niles area have police scratching their heads in search of answers and they are looking to the public for help as well.... ...Read Full Story
He comes highly recommended as a strategic thinker and Bible teacher, but essentially “he has the heart of a shepherd.” That’s the characterization given to the man who begins to lead the flock at Woodland Shores Church of Bridgman at the beginning of next month.... ...Read Full Story
The steady drumbeat of retail closures continues to assault the buying public today as word comes that 20 Family Dollar Stores will be closing across the state of Michigan including the Family Dollar store located in the Benton Square Shopping Center on M-139 in Benton Charter Township.... ...Read Full Story
When word came last month that Payless ShoeSource was on the verge of filing for bankruptcy and potentially closing hundreds of stores in the near future, there was hope in Michigan’s Great Southwest that the Orchards Mall store would survive the cut, just as the Mall’s JCPenney store had done earlier in the month. We now know that there will be no such luck this time around. The Orchards Mall Payless store is on the list today of nearly four hundred underperforming stores that will be closing, the Niles store however, is not.... ...Read Full Story
With as much craft brewing talent as there is along The Makers Trail in Michigan’s Great Southwest, it should come as no surprise — and in fact should rack up as a feather in our cap — that the website Uproxx has today tabbed Berrien County as #5 on a list they have determined to be The Ten Best American Cities To Live In If You Love Beer.... ...Read Full Story
Even as the shock waves continue to reverberate through the Van Buren County region following the announcement three months ago that Entergy plans to permanently mothball the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant at Covert next year, there are opportunities for a deeper understanding of what it will all entail, what the timelines are like and more.... ...Read Full Story
On this observance of Equal Pay Day in America, women are being reminded everywhere that there is still no such thing, as the disparity continues at a rate that, if left unchecked, would not see women achieve pay equality until the year 2152. Highly unlikely that anyone alive today will be around to see that “achievement.”... ...Read Full Story
Not every craft beer brewer in West Michigan seeks a national stage, but when the opportunity arises, the impact of a powerhouse brand can certainly make for a “hoppy” day. Such was the case last week when employees and community officials gathered with Brett VanderKamp in Holland to celebrate the official launch of a partnership crafted last winter that puts VanderKamp’s New Holland Brewing Company on the fast track from coast to coast.... ...Read Full Story
The power of music is legendary. It provokes joy, excitement, stimulation and even and sadness. It takes you to exotic lands without leaving your easy chair, and it is a remarkable sparkplug for mental recall.... ...Read Full Story
The rumor mill has been working overtime in some circles regarding Round Barn and Tabor Hill Wineries in Michigan’s Great Southwest over the weekend and into the new week. Those sharing the story say that Round Barn Winery is buying Tabor Hill. Whatever you might have heard however, there is no done deal as yet, and the owners of both wineries are sharing the same statement on the issue with us tonight.... ...Read Full Story
When you’re busy twisting dough all day and into the night, the irony of an evil twist can either bring you to your knees or make you stand tall and accept the challenge to see it through to a whole new adventure. That’s what Todd and Jennifer Lentz elected to do when a bad twist nearly knocked them out of business.... ...Read Full Story