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The first batch of local funding is being disbursed to cities and counties across Michigan as part of Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s Neighborhood Roads Fund (NRF), which aims to rebuild state and local roads and bridges.  Locally, residents in Three Rivers and Sturgis have complained to local officials about the condition of their roads, asking for plans to fix them. Those officials have said some of the most problematic roads are owned and maintained by the state, meaning responsibility for those repairs rests with the state. 

After two split votes, Mayor Patrick Bakeman voted for David Fair as the successor to former Councilmember Tharan Suvarna, who resigned during their last meeting after accepting a job near his parents outside of Dowagiac.  Fair will serve the remainder of Suvarna’s four-year term. Suvarna was elected in November 2025.

The Three Rivers City Commission will meet this Tuesday, September 15 at 6 p.m. in city hall. Commissioners will work through a long agenda containing four public hearings and seven new business items.  Commissioners will consider the next steps for a property transfer to Habitat for Humanity, the 2027 Parks and Recreation department plan — which includes a splash pad, a second attempt at the sale of 810 S. Constantine St., and an annual review of city commission and administration guidelines.

Former patients now have to travel farther to access hospital care. But residents and experts say the impact of such a closure goes beyond inconvenience. The loss of a rural hospital can exacerbate barriers to health care, even to the point of endangering lives. It can dent the economies of entire communities. Perhaps most devastatingly, a rural hospital closure leaves emotional scars for the residents and care workers who relied on it as a place of comfort, connectedness, and safety.

Commissioners held a public hearing and unanimously approved a resolution supporting an Industrial Facilities Exemption Certificate (IFEC) for Summit Polymers, a plastic injection molding company for the automotive industry. The certificate would reduce the tax liability on the company’s new addition by approximately 50%. The IFEC is expected to save Summit Polymers approximately $110,000 annually in taxes. The exemption was approved for 12 years. 

This guide is intended to help voters understand how to register, choose a voting method, and make a voting plan ahead of the November 3 election. Watershed Voice will publish additional election coverage closer to Election Day detailing the candidates, races, and ballot proposals voters will see locally and statewide. Since ballots differ depending on where a voter lives, readers can view their sample ballot through the Michigan Voter Information Center once it is available.