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State of Michigan

Michigan lawmaker explores changes to public notice rules, raising transparency concerns

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Three Rivers
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March 26, 2026

Municipalities pay newspapers to publish these notices, with costs varying based on the number and length of postings. According to recent Three Rivers City Commission agenda packets, the city paid $740 to the Three Rivers Commercial-News for fiscal year 2026 public notices. A separate payment of $290 for the same category was recorded February 13. If lawmakers pursue changes, they could alter where and how notices are published, potentially shifting some requirements away from newspapers. However, state Rep. Sarah Lightner (R-Springport) has said she is not seeking to eliminate public notice requirements altogether.

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Portage moves toward data center pause as concerns grow nationwide
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Kalamazoo
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March 25, 2026

The Portage City Council on March 24 unanimously voted to move forward with an ordinance that would establish a temporary moratorium on data centers and battery energy storage systems (BESS). The action does not immediately enact the moratorium. Instead, it directs city staff to prepare an amendment to the city code for future council consideration. According to the meeting agenda, the proposed change would amend Chapter 42 of the city code to establish a temporary moratorium on the developments.  If adopted at a future meeting, the moratorium would pause new development related to data centers and battery storage systems while the city considers how to regulate them.

Cass County rejects funding requests, likely nixing Lawless Park improvement project
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Dowagiac
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March 24, 2026

Commissioner Samuel Barrera, who also serves on the Parks Board, expressed frustration following the vote. “I just want the members of this board to understand what just happened,” he said. “We have $110K invested into this project — now what are we going to do? We’ve successfully killed this project, so that money is on our hands. I don’t know how we’re going to recover those funds. … I’m really not proud of us right now.”

Chaotic Three Rivers meeting includes emergency briefing, closed-door discussion of city manager
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Three Rivers
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March 18, 2026

The meeting, which lasted more than three hours Tuesday, included several tense exchanges among commissioners, a closed-door discussion about City Manager Joe Bippus, and an emergency management briefing featuring city officials, first responders, and representatives from the American Red Cross and Samaritan's Purse.

Community input reshapes path for Winchell-Howard school safety plan
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Kalamazoo
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March 17, 2026

Kalamazoo City Commissioner Chris Praedel said the process reflected strong community engagement. “It’s refreshing to see these outcomes when it happens this way. It does not always turn out this way, and I am grateful that it has — but it only happens this way when everybody is willing to lean in and try something a little bit different,” Praedel said. The project combines improvements along two corridors — Winchell Avenue and Howard Street — under a single MDOT contract, meaning the elements cannot easily be separated for approval.

Additional damage assessments scheduled in Cass County following tornado
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Dowagiac
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March 17, 2026

Three assessment teams will be deployed and will move between affected jurisdictions throughout the day Tuesday and Wednesday. Residents in impacted areas may see officials visiting neighborhoods to visually assess damage from public rights-of-way or, in some cases, briefly approaching properties to document storm impacts.

Three Rivers residents recount moments before and after Friday’s EF-2 tornado
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Three Rivers
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March 10, 2026

The storm was among the fiercest to strike Three Rivers in recent memory. Despite the destruction, residents across the city rushed to support one another before, during, and after.

Michigan mental health service shift blocked by Court of Claims
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News
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February 3, 2026

The dispute began last fall, when the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) issued a request that would have consolidated Michigan’s 10 Prepaid Inpatient Health Plans (PIHPs) regions—funded primarily through Medicaid behavioral health dollars—into three “super-regions.” Regional PIHPs later learned that they, as the current providers, were excluded from bidding because they are statutorily restricted to operating within their designated regions. The PIHPs filed a lawsuit, arguing the RFP violated Michigan law and threatened locally administered mental health care that has existed since the 1990s.

Q&A: Jonathan Current, Business Manager of IBEW Local 131
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News
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December 9, 2025

Jonathan Current, business manager of IBEW Local 131, recently shared his perspective on the state and future of blue collar jobs in Southwest Michigan with Watershed Voice. We spoke with Current about unions and their role in today’s economy, the different states of certain trades such as electrical versus construction, and legislative efforts impacting trade and skilled workers in Southwest Michigan.

From Texas to Michigan, Flock cameras are reshaping how police track vehicles
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Local
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November 20, 2025

To discuss Three Rivers’ future desires for the cameras, Watershed Voice reached out to a representative of the Three Rivers Police Department but was told all media requests are now to be directed to City Manager Joe Bippus. Multiple attempts to seek comment from Bippus were made but, as of the publication of this article, Bippus has yet to respond.

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