News

The latest business outlook report from the Upjohn Institute for Employment Research is out, and it’s anticipating flat hiring in Berrien County for the third quarter. Regional analyst Brian Pittelko tells WSJM News the main indicators for the third quarter were mixed.... ...Read Full Story

Michigan Secretary of State Ruth Johnson has kicked off the 26th annual Harvest Gathering food drive. She tells WSJM News the drive began Thursday, collecting non-perishables for the needy at all 131 branch offices. Johnson says Michiganders are pretty generous.... ...Read Full Story

The Berrien County Health Department is working to get the word out this month to new parents about the importance of putting their babies to bed safely. Spokesperson Gillian Conrad tells WSJM NEws you should put the baby in a crib with nothing else that could smother it.... ...Read Full Story

A Niles area man is facing charges after a fire in his home this week led police to discover marijuana growing there. The Berrien County Sheriff’s Department tells our newsroom the fire was reported in the 1100 block of Stateline Road around 4 p.m. on Tuesday. Firefighters from Niles Township were able to put the blaze out, although about a third of the home was destroyed. Also, 34-year-old Luther Borders suffered minor injuries. When sheriff’s deputies arrived, they found evidence marijuana was growing there, and a search confirmed it. They also learned the fire had partly been caused by equipment used to grow the marijuana. Borders was arrested for a probation violation and taken to the Berrien County Jail. Child Protective Services has also been called because children lived in the home.... ...Read Full Story

A grant of more than $694,000 is being awarded to Van Buren County for its specialty courts. The money will be used to run the county’s drug treatment court, family treatment court, Swift and Sure Sanctions Program, and adult and youth recovery courts. The county has also been awarded a grant to set up a sobriety court for second and third-time drunk driving offenders. Court officials say the specialty courts are designed to address the problems faced by specific offenders who could be rehabilitated. The idea is to keep them from re-offending and winding back up in the system. Since their inception, Van Buren County’s specialty courts have been run with state and federal grants.... ...Read Full Story

This coming Monday marks the first of three presidential debates between Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and GOP candidate Donald Trump. Aaron Kall, Director of Debate at the University of Michigan, says that both Clinton and Trump are above average debaters with different styles.... ...Read Full Story

Local non-profit organizations will benefit far into the future from a new endowment announced for the Berrien Community Foundation this week. Foundation President Lisa Cripps-Downey tells WSJM News $1.2 million from Steve E. Upton will be used to give out a $50,000 grant to a different group each year.... ...Read Full Story

Renovations are set to begin at the Berrien County Jail. WSJM’s Ray Gustafson has more.... ...Read Full Story

Tesla has sued Governor Rick Snyder and other state officials, challenging a 2014 law that ensures automakers can only sell through franchised dealerships. The federal lawsuit filed Thursday seeks a declaratory judgment that the “anti-Tesla” law is unconstitutional and an injunction to prevent its enforcement. Michigan last week denied Tesla’s application for a license to sell directly to consumers in Michigan, citing the law that’s backed by big auto companies and their dealerships. Tesla Motors Inc. says it prefers that new legislation be enacted but was told recently by lawmakers that no hearing will be held. Tesla says it will “fight for the rights of Michigan consumers to be able to choose how they buy cars in
Michigan.” A spokesman says Snyder doesn’t comment on pending lawsuits.... ...Read Full Story

Michigan’s new Amber Alert-like system to quickly warn people of mass shootings, terrorist attacks and other nearby threats is operational. Michigan State Police spokeswoman Lori Dougavito explains that it can be used to interrupt radio and TV broadcasts through the Emergency Alert System. It also sends out text messages. “It appears on mobile devices, similar to a 90-character text message,” she tells WSJM News.... ...Read Full Story

Bravery awards for two members of the Michigan State Police for their actions on November 18 last year in Benton Township. Sergeant Brian Keely and Trooper Carlos Fossati were given the awards yesterday in Lansing. They stormed a hotel room in Benton Township on Napier at I-94 after hearing a scream and gunshots. 44-year-old Marcus Meridy of Benton Harbor was killed by troopers at the American Inn after he abducted his estranged wife from her job at The Willows assisted living facility early in the morning. She was shot in the arm, but survived. Keely was shot by Meridy, but also survived due to his flack jacket.... ...Read Full Story

A new online tool is allowing the residents of some communities around the country to track crime information in their areas. CrimeMapping.com offers maps of communities with icons indicating what kind of crimes have been reported recently and where. Kalamazoo County Sheriff Rick Fuller says he’s signed on.... ...Read Full Story

The top plow drivers in Van Buren County have been honored after getting a chance to compete for glory. The county road commission says its drivers and DPW employees from South Haven and Paw Paw competed in the third annual Van Buren County Snow Plow Road-eo recently. First place honors in individual competition went to the road commission’s Dave Stafinski, Dave Arndt, and Mike Harris. Honors in the city, village, and non-professional category went to Juan Vasquezm, of Paw Paw and Rachael Whise, of the Van Buren County Road Commission. Drivers competed for points based on skills on an obstacle course, as well as a pre-trip inspection.... ...Read Full Story

Set for this weekend is the fourth annual Berrien RESA Festival of Families. RESA Superintendent Kevin Ivers tells WSJM News the gathering at the Berrien County Youth Fairgrounds features information on all kinds of programs offered by schools around the county.... ...Read Full Story

One ticket has been issued for a crash in St. Joseph on Tuesday that resulted in an SUV hitting the steps of a church. The department of public safety tells our newsroom the crash happened around 2 p.m. at Broad and Church Streets. It says a sedan ran a stop sign on Church Street, leading to a crash with an SUV. The SUV then lost control and wound up on the church property. There were no injuries, but the driver of the car that ran the stop sign was ticketed. The church was not damaged.... ...Read Full Story

The South Haven branch of Honor Credit Union is moving. The credit union has bought some property on County Road 388 in town where it says it can add more amenities for customers. They’ll include drive-thru lanes, a drive-up ATM, and a night drop, as well as Saturday drive thru service. The goal is to have the new building finished next year. The spot is right across from the Sherman Dairy Barn and next to Hannapel Home Center. Honor Credit Union’s current branch on Phillips will stay open until the new location is ready.... ...Read Full Story

Set for this upcoming weekend is the annual St. Joseph Fall Festival. St. Joe Today’s Whitney Behnke tells WSJM News the event will kick off with Friday’s Rotary and Slumberland Great Bed Race, when a bunch of people race down Lake Boulevard. Saturday will bring a variety of activities for the kids.... ...Read Full Story

Governor Rick Snyder has signed into law new marijuana regulations that he says clarify Michigan’s 8-year-old voter-approved initiative that legalized the drug for medical use. The Republican governor says the legislation signed Wednesday will implement a “solid framework” giving patients a safe way to buy marijuana. The laws impose a new tax on dispensary shops and establish a state licensing system to grow, process, sell, transport or test marijuana. Non-smokable forms of the drug such as lotions and tinctures will become legal. A monitoring system will track marijuana from “seed to sale.” Snyder says municipalities can regulate the location and number of marijuana businesses in their communities.
The laws will take effect in 90 days. People wanting state operating licenses can begin applying in late 2017.... ...Read Full Story

Police documents show the suspect in the disappearance of Jessica Heeringa from a Norton Shores gas station where she worked had visited the store several times. Credit card records released Wednesday also show Jeffrey Willis was at the store on the night of April 26, 2013, the night before Heeringa went missing. Willis is charged with murder in the Heeringa case, and his cousin, Kevin Bluhm, is charged with being an accessory after the fact. Police revealed Wednesday that Bluhm had previously told investigators he helped to bury Heeringa’s body, but later took the story back. In addition to the Heeringa case, Willis is charged with murder and attempted kidnapping in separate cases.... ...Read Full Story

The Michigan House has approved an early literacy bill that requires that third-graders be held back if they lag in reading, unless they qualify for an exemption. The Senate is expected to pass the legislation later in the afternoon and send it to Governor Rick Snyder for his expected signature. Starting in the 2019-20 school year, third-graders wouldn’t advance unless their state reading score is less than a grade level behind, they show proficiency through an alternative assessment or they demonstrate mastery through work samples. Parents could seek a “good cause” exemption letting kids still be promoted to fourth grade. The bill, which requires schools to intervene early when students are having reading problems, passed on a 60-47 party-line vote in the Republican-controlled House, with Democrats in opposition.... ...Read Full Story

The second property tax foreclosure auction of the year by the Berrien County Treasurer’s Office is being deemed a success. Treasurer Bret Witkowski tells our newsroom they sold about two-thirds of the properties available yesterday. He says a lot of properties were sold in the area between Colfax and Britain in Benton Harbor.... ...Read Full Story

Four children between the ages of four and 19 are dead in suburban Detroit, and their mother has been critically injured. Dearborn Heights Police Captain Michael Petri says a suspect has been arrested and it appears the killings are “from a domestic violence-type situation.” Authorities have not released the age of the woman who was hurt, but note she is hospitalized in critical condition. Police at the Dearborn Heights station says no one was immediately available to offer updated information. State police are on the scene assisting local investigators. Mayor Dan Paletko called the killings “a tragedy in every sense of the word.” The children were 4, 6, 17, and 19.... ...Read Full Story

(Lansing, MI – AP) – Michigan lawmakers have given preliminary approval to compromise legislation designed to improve third-graders’ reading but that has been caught up in a dispute over making students repeat a grade if they lag too far behind. A Republican-led conference committee approved the bill on a 5-1 vote Tuesday, with one Democrat opposed. The bill was pending with the panel since March after the House and Senate passed different versions.... ...Read Full Story

(South Bend, IN – AP) – The U.S. Postal Service plans to issue a stamp honoring the late Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, who served 35 years as president of the University of Notre Dame until retiring in 1987. The Postal Service announced Tuesday it will issue the stamp on May 25, 2017, which would have been his 100th birthday. The stamp will feature an image of Hesburgh standing on the Notre Dame campus, with the Golden Dome of the Main Building visible behind him.... ...Read Full Story

Americans waste more than $2 billion per year on premium gasoline, says a new report from AAA. The auto club’s Gary Bubar tells WSJM News they studied different vehicles and the effect premium fuel had on their gas mileage, horsepower, and emissions, finding it didn’t improve anything. You should only get premium blend if your vehicle specifically requires it... ...Read Full Story

Halloween isn’t far off, and up and running for the season is the Niles Scream Park. It just had its opening weekend for the year, and manager Matt Herm tells WSJM News the theme is 1930s monsters. Visitors can take in different scenes from several classics.... ...Read Full Story

The Berrien Springs Oronoko Township Police Department is offering senior citizens a chance to get their cars checked for safety next week. The department’s Rick Smiedendorf tells WSJM News Car Fit inspections will be held Wednesday at the Berrien Springs Public Schools Virtual Academy. They’ll make sure everything is situated properly.... ...Read Full Story

A lane closure is in effect on I-196 this week in Van Buren County. The Michigan Department of Transportation says one lane is shut down between mile markers 15 and 11 on the southbound side of the highway due to patching work. The affected area is in Covert Township. The lane closure will be in place through next Monday. Anyone who wants to stay on top of MDOT construction projects can do so with its app, MIDrive, which is available for both iPhone and Android.... ...Read Full Story