Scott Boling was officially named the Three Rivers Police Department’s chief of police following a 5-1 confirmation vote by the Three Rivers City Commission Tuesday.
Category Archive: News
A month ago U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, who represents the 6th District encompassing Kalamazoo and a large swath of Southwest Michigan, voted for the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. After that, a flood of phone calls rushed into Upton’s office — more than 1,000 in a matter of days. There were death threats and threats to Upton’s family and staff — a whirlwind of profanity-laced tirades rooted in a political environment more toxic than anything Upton said he’s seen in his 35 years in Congress.
The Three Rivers Community Schools Board of Education voted unanimously Monday to lift the district’s temporary Pride flag ban and return to business as usual following a pre-meeting protest, a lengthy public comment period, and an even longer closed session.
Members of the community have just two more dates before the holiday closure to take advantage of the COVID-19 testing and vaccination clinics at Glen Oaks Community College.
A protest against Three Rivers Community Schools’ recent Pride flag ban is scheduled for 4 p.m. today, Monday, December 6 in the south parking lot of Three Rivers High School. “100 Allies for Acceptance,” organized by Andrew George and Riley Mains, will take place during the two hours before Monday night’s Three Rivers school board meeting, which begins at 6 p.m.
City Manager Joe Bippus announced Friday that Ronald “Scott” Boling will be the next Three Rivers Police Chief, succeeding longtime Police Chief Tom Bringman who retired in November. Boling most recently served as police chief of the Schoolcraft Police Department where Bippus has previously been employed as a patrol officer in addition to his duties as city manager. It is unclear whether Bippus still serves in any capacity with the Schoolcraft PD.
Several firearms, including two that were previously reported stolen, were recovered after a search warrant was executed at a property in Constantine Township.
U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland has formally ordered the removal of the term “squaw” from federal geographic features, including 31 in Michigan alone, marking a step forward to reconcile place names that are now widely understood as offensive toward Indigenous people.
As of Tuesday, 628 pre-kindergarten-12 schools are reporting new or ongoing COVID-19 outbreaks in Michigan. Of those, 93 are new outbreaks reported Monday.
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Former Three Rivers Middle School teacher Russell Ball joins Keep Your Voice Down to talk about his recent resignation after Three Rivers Community Schools staff were asked to remove Pride flags from their classrooms due to an “external challenge.” Ball details the events leading up to his exit, what the flag represents to members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and why the flags should remain in classrooms not only in Three Rivers but around the world.
St. Joseph County is among the bottom 11 counties in Michigan for full vaccination rates at 43 percent. Leading the pack is Leelanau County in northern Michigan with 72.96 percent.
Downtown Three Rivers celebrated Christmas Around Town this weekend with a variety of festivities. Check out our photo gallery from the annual event.
The last two years have been trying for a number of reasons but the community of Three Rivers still has plenty to be thankful for, and shared those thoughts with Watershed Voice ahead of Turkey Day.
At the top of this week’s episode Alek and Doug address Monday’s troubling news that teachers within the Three Rivers Community Schools system were asked to remove Pride flags in their classrooms in response to an “external challenge” by an unidentified party.
The hosts of Keep Your Voice Down are also joined by Sarah Lee, Director of Marketing Communications at the Kalamazoo Community Foundation. The trio discusses Sarah’s role at KZCF, her upbringing in Malaysia and how she became deeply rooted in Kalamazoo, the importance of being “equity-minded” when addressing matters of social and racial injustice, the foundation’s efforts to support local journalism, and the story behind the formation of the Southwest Michigan Journalism Collaborative.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued an executive directive Monday ordering state agencies to ready plans to quickly replace lead pipes using an influx of federal dollars from the new Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
The hardworking staff of Watershed Voice will be spending the upcoming holiday with family, and will not be asked to publish content on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday of this week to give them ample time to do so.
“This surge is seemingly unending, and we’re told it might not peak until Christmas. If people are waiting for the system to break, I’d argue we’re probably there. We’re caring for so many people in the ER that people are leaving the waiting room before they get seen. People are going to three different hospitals to be seen.” — Dr. Rob Davidson, West Michigan emergency physician