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Camp Eberhart’s ropes course goes out on top
In the early 1990s, YMCA Camp Eberhart began building a ropes course that would challenge campers for years to come. Tucked beneath a canopy of towering pine trees, the course rises from the woods on wooden poles, some made from trees cut from the site during its original construction.
But after more than three decades of campers climbing through the trees, the course has seen its last summer. Eberhart retired the aging course at the end of this year’s summer camp season and is now preparing to replace it.
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Sturgis commission advances utility, sidewalk projects
The Sturgis City Commission approved a $300,000 biosolids removal contract, financing for a $452,128 new digger/bucket truck and a $660,088 bid from the second-lowest bidder for the Nottawa Street 69kV Transmission Line Project.
The meeting moved quickly and wrapped up in just over an hour, with all but one agenda item approved unanimously.
Dowagaic Ward 1 Councilmember Tharan Suvarna resigns; Hyperscale provides update
Tharan Suvarna said he accepted a job on the other side of the state and will no longer be able to serve in the position, which he was elected to in November 2025.
“I have accepted a job in another community by my parents, so this will be my last council meeting,” Suvarna said. “I wanna say thank you. It has been a pleasure serving on this council board.”
A different kind of house music
This Saturday in Kalamazoo roughly a dozen performers and bands will play mini-concerts around the Vine neighborhood during a five-hour Vine Porch Crawl.
The plan is to start at 2 p.m. at the Vine Neighborhood Association (806 S. Westnedge Ave.) with a set by Persian Rugg to kick off the neighborhood tour. For the full lineup and locations, read this article.
Local meeting primer: Sturgis City Commission
The Sturgis City Commission will meet Wednesday, August 26, to consider a $300,000, four-year biosolids removal contract, a $660,088 bid for the Nottawa Street transmission line project, and a $452,128 installment purchase agreement for a new digger/derrick truck.
Commissioners will also consider engineering services for the 2027 sidewalk program, additional work on the Sturges-Young entryway project, and a railroad crossing addendum.
Kalamazoo’s inaugural Black Pride festival takes place this weekend in Bates Alley
“We’re at a special time in history where it’s important to reclaim and claim our joy and the beauty of our gathering together and basking in the creativity and ingenuity and community that we have created and that we can continue to create through an event like this,” Michelle S. Johnson, executive director and co-founder of the Institute of Public Scholarship, told Watershed Voice.
Johnson organized the inaugural event alongside Michael Cleggs-Arnott of OutFront Kalamazoo.
Local record store offers place to discover new music beyond digital platforms
Over the years, Satellite Records has continued to grow in size, inventory, popularity, and customer base, a success owner Michael Evans largely attributes to the Kalamazoo community. The store has been operating in Kalamazoo for more than 15 years, and Evans remains grateful for the consistent support from residents and customers.
