We’re just learning today about a series of break-ins of at least four business enterprises in a single morning last week as the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Department is seeking assistance from the public in tracking down the thief or thieves who struck those businesses.... ...Read Full Story
Calling it the start of another exciting milestone in the company’s 70-year history, Benton Harbor-based Wightman & Associates has launched renovation construction work on the building that will soon house the firm’s new Allegan office.... ...Read Full Story
If your travels take you to Southeast Michigan and you typically search for a familiar face for lunch or dinner, the party is over in Motown for the Papa Vino’s flag. Mishawaka-based Quality Dining has closed three Detroit area Papa Vino restaurants after their 20-year leases expired on all three last week.... ...Read Full Story
Any fear that the faithful followers of Timothy’s of Union Pier might lose their way, or that new adventurers might not discover the new place on Red Arrow Highway when Timothy Sizer relocated to his new digs have rapidly evaporated, almost as quickly as outstanding cuisine disappears from hungry diner’s plates.... ...Read Full Story
When you set a new record year in any endeavor, there’s always the worry about the ability to maintain momentum. Well, any fear of losing the local housing market momentum when 2017 arrived on the doorstep has fallen quickly by the boards. Essentially, the record pace has continued unabated into the New Year. That’s the quick assessment from the Southwestern Michigan Association of Realtors.... ...Read Full Story
With patient safety always paramount and a never-ending drive toward innovation in technology, Lakeland Health has recently implemented four new initiatives focused on improving obstetric patient care for pregnant women in the community when precious minutes count the most.... ...Read Full Story
Orchards Mall shoppers will have to wait a couple of weeks to see whether or not the Benton Harbor JCPenney Company store is on the list of some 140 stores facing the chopping block. The major retailer announced this morning they are implementing a plan to optimize national retail operations as part of a successful return to profitability.... ...Read Full Story
You may well have been basking in the unseasonably balmy weather the past couple of weeks, but Michigan’s maple syrup industry says this extreme weather is having a negative impact on their trade, and that’s not good, inasmuch as Michigan’s maple syrup industry is the fifth largest in the nation. It may very well hurt your breakfast table in the months and years ahead.... ...Read Full Story
A rather prolific serial bank robber who played fast and loose with other people’s money will spend more than a dozen years in federal prison following his sentencing today in Grand Rapids Federal Court for robberies including one last summer at the Four Flags Credit Union in Niles.... ...Read Full Story
You have to love it when a plan comes together, and works along the way. You also have to appreciate it even more when the plan not only works but also garners some recognition from the state capitol in the process. Such is the case this week in Lansing and Benton Harbor. State leaders came together to honor Michigan business leaders for their efforts to create jobs and develop fresh talent in their communities at the Michigan Works! Impact Awards yesterday. In the case of Michigan’s Great Southwest, local economic development and employment successes were among those celebrated, with both Kinexus and Chassix being recognized by lawmakers and statewide talent development officials.... ...Read Full Story
Sorely needed improvements to the City of New Buffalo like improved sidewalks, cafe seating options and more will finally get underway tomorrow following a ceremonial groundbreaking in the central business district on the beginning of a $5-million dollar makeover from both the city and the New Buffalo Downtown Development Authority.... ...Read Full Story
When Southwestern Michigan College announced last summer a massive expansion on the Nursing & Health Education Building, most of us would never have known it would be the largest undertaking ever for the Dowagiac institution. Nevertheless, that $9.6-million expansion to the 12,047-square-foot building, will more than double the facility to 29,086 square feet in time for fall 2018 classes.... ...Read Full Story
A prolific private real estate company based in Wisconsin has purchased sizable buildings and land in two states from Whirlpool Corporation with plans to renovate and place them back onto the open market going forward.... ...Read Full Story
A quarter century of placing people first has paid huge dividends not only for Judee and Jeff Hopwood, it has earned everything from a door-opening first job of one’s life to a lifetime career or avocation for hundreds, or even thousands of people in Michigan’s Great Southwest. The Hopwoods are owners and operators of Williamson Employment Services, and they will proudly celebrate their milestone 25th Anniversary of “Placing People First” on March 2, 2017.... ...Read Full Story
When Becky Kliss first launched efforts to encourage collaboration by local people to protect our environment through sustainability practices, this is what she envisioned, and she’s likely as happy as anyone in the fold at the Michigan’s Great Southwest Sustainable Business Forum which has now completed a merger with West Michigan Sustainable Business Forum to create the largest regional organization for sustainable business practitioners in the entire Midwest.... ...Read Full Story
We’ve seen the depleted ranks in many a workplace, and some schools have actually been forced to cancel classes due to widespread absences, all thanks to the flu. As in many parts of the United States, residents of Michigan’s Great Southwest are experiencing the not-so-great feeling brought on by an increase in the flu.... ...Read Full Story
Michigan State University Extension Fruit Educator Mark Longstroth continues to get an inordinate number of phone calls, e-mails, text messages and conversations regarding the ongoing unseasonably warm weather of late. With Meteorologist David Harker at WNDU Newscenter 16 telling us that one more day of 60-plus temperatures will establish a new February record of eight straight days, it’s understandable that not only fruit growers, winemakers and others are concerned, but even residents who have fruit trees on their own property.... ...Read Full Story
A tragic loss for a Berrien County family is being turned into a gift to the community in the form of the David A. Hicks Scholarship for the Arts at the Berrien Community Foundation.... ...Read Full Story
The City of Benton Harbor received a huge boost today when Gov. Rick Snyder announced a total of $5.1 million to be awarded to 11 municipalities through the Financially Distressed Cities, Villages and Townships (FDCVT) Grant Program, including the Benton Harbor water system.... ...Read Full Story
The man who spearheaded the Taco Bell “Think Outside the Bun” marketing campaign has joined the Whirlpool Corporate Board of Directors today, with his appointment taking place immediately. Greg Creed, Chief Executive Officer of Yum! Brands, Inc. drew the assignment at Whirlpool’s corporate board meeting today in Chicago.... ...Read Full Story
In an over-communicated world of texting, e-mailing, Facebooking and more, the art of the conversation is all too often found on the cutting room floor. In a small effort to reverse that trend and open the lines of communication between middle-school students and senior citizens of the community, an assisted living facility is taking the time to match up residents with a series of students in the community of Bridgman. Both sides are hopeful it will be the first of many.... ...Read Full Story
Despite the rapid growth in recent years in the manufacturing economy around Michigan, and notably in Michigan’s Great Southwest, thousands of jobs still need to be filled, and that is a major focus for Senator John Proos at every turn, but especially during February, Career & Technical Education Month in Michigan.... ...Read Full Story
Benton Harbor auto dealer Bill Crowder cares deeply about the young people of Michigan’s Great Southwest. The owner and operator of the Signature Automotive Group on E. Napier Avenue in Benton Harbor has been a member of the Bridgman Foundation for Educational Excellence for a number of years, has actively played a role in other fundraising efforts for schools throughout the area, and even opens his dealership showroom up to host the Mid-West Family Broadcasting Academic Challenge every week during the school year. Now, however, he’s taking his advocacy for teens to a whole new level.... ...Read Full Story
Joe Herman has never been one to shy away from evolving technology in order to stay on top of things at his award-winning winery in Coloma. Always cognizant of weather conditions, crop development and more, Herman’s enterprise, Karma Vista Winery, is now pressing into action the team from Great Lakes Drone Company to provide aerial data management and consultation for the 2017 growing season.... ...Read Full Story
Whenever you visit a gas station convenience store in Michigan’s Great Southwest, do you ever wonder where all those various products come from, and how they get distributed to your individual neighborhood in the first place? One very likely answer in many locations is a company in Grand Rapids that is now celebrating its 90th anniversary in business.... ...Read Full Story
When you are one of more than 20,000 architects nationwide, having one of your projects selected as the home page photo for one of the most prestigious directories of the entire profession is an honor beyond compare. Such is the case for St. Joseph Architect John Allegretti.... ...Read Full Story
Being term-limited out of the Michigan Legislature has just proven to be fairly decent jackpot for former State Representative Aric Nesbitt of Lawton. Gov. Rick Snyder has announced the appointment of Nesbitt as Michigan Lottery Commissioner…a move that will increase Nesbitt’s paycheck by some 75-percent.... ...Read Full Story
You largely know them as the guys who put MailMax into your mailbox or onto the restaurant rack each week. The team at Far Ahead Advertising, however, launched an entirely new enterprise last year that has grown to the point they’ve had to hire a new director to run the show.... ...Read Full Story
Maybe it’s the nicer weather of late, or maybe con artists are just getting bolder. At any rate, Indiana Michigan Power (I&M) is warning customers of scam artists posing as I&M personnel and threatening to disconnect service unless an immediate payment is made.... ...Read Full Story
No two budding entrepreneurs ever have exactly the same idea, that’s what makes them uniquely qualified to be entrepreneurs, however there are a lot of commonalities in the traits of a budding business star, and many times the same types of challenges arise on the way to the top. That’s why the professional change agents at Kinexus of Benton Harbor want to help smooth out the rough spots.... ...Read Full Story