Montcalm County Legislative Update noon to 1 p.m. at Montcalm Community College, Greenville Read more [...]
Explosion at Dicastal results in ‘serious injury’
An explosion felt from miles around, resulting in a “fairly serious injury” to one employee, had multiple fire departments working to extinguish a blaze at Dicastal North America on Friday night. At approximately 9:46 p.m., the Greenville Department of Public Safety was dispatched to “multiple reports” of an explosion/fireball at the large industrial manufacturer of aluminum alloy wheels, located at 1 Dicastal Drive in the city’s industrial park.
Saranac students get lessons on effects of alcohol and marijuana
Students at Saranac Junior/Senior High School were presented with some important information and experiences during a series of three special “#thunkndunk” assemblies on Friday morning. The assemblies included informative remarks and data about the deleterious effects of underage drinking and vaping from Ionia County Substance Abuse Initiative Director Debbie Thalison and Ionia County Sheriff’s Sgt. Jacob Sommer, as well as the screening of a couple short videos with testimony from other teenagers about their experiences with substance abuse.
The Daily News receives 37 awards from Michigan Press AssociationFree Access
The Daily News was honored with 37 awards for news, sports, design and advertising in the Michigan Press Association’s annual Better Newspaper Contest, the results of which were was announced on Thursday. The Daily News received 21 awards for advertising and 16 awards for editorial work from 2021 and 2022, including second place for Class D Newspaper of the Year (the Daily News took first place in this category for seven years prior) and second place statewide for Daily Newspaper Excellence in Advertising.
JUST IN: 1 injured in explosion, fire at Dicastal North America in Greenville
An explosion felt for miles around resulted in a “fairly serious injury” to one employee and saw multiple fire departments working to extinguish a blaze at Dicastal North America on Friday night.
‘Feel-good story’?
Three local municipalities and a Drug Court will each receive $50,000 of Montcalm County’s share of marijuana revenue from the state of Michigan. Last year, the county received $169,360 in marijuana revenue from the state and this year the county received another $311,047, for a total of $480,407.
Edmore man pleads to reduced charge in fatality
An Edmore man pleaded no contest on Thursday to a greatly reduced charge of driving under the influence of amphetamine and striking and killing a pedestrian more than a year ago. Randy Joel Dilday, 64, was originally charged with operating while intoxicated causing death, a possible 15-year prison felony. He wasn’t charged with a crime until more than a year after the incident occurred.
Overheated fireplace results in loss of Pierson Twp. home
A home at 22930 W. Waterwheel Road is a total loss after a major fire Thursday night. The call came in at 10:04 p.m., and first responders from the Howard City Fire Department arrived on the scene about 11 minutes later, according to Howard City Fire Department Assistant Chief Keith Grannis.
Pierson Township woman charged with machete murder attempt
A Pierson Township woman is charged with using a machete in attempting to murder a man, who survived but is severely injured. Destiny Linda Switkovitz, 29, was arraigned on Friday afternoon in Montcalm County District Court. She is charged with assault with intent to murder (a possible life in prison felony) and assault with intent to maim (a possible 10-year felony).
Zoning changes needed for Eureka Township development
If a proposal for a new housing development of more than 100 single-family homes is to come to fruition, township officials will have to accommodate it by amending its zoning laws. During Wednesday’s regular monthly meeting of the Eureka Township Planning Commission, commissioners continued to discuss a preliminary housing development proposal they received last month from Visser Brothers Inc. of Grand Rapids, which aims to transform the former 63-acre Rydahl Industries sand and gravel pit at 8116 Ride All Drive.
From Ireland to Ionia
The Ionia Area Chamber of Commerce recently hired Lisa Potter-Zylstra as its new part-time member and event coordinator. A native of Dublin, Ireland, Potter-Zylstra lived in several of the great cities of Europe before moving to a home on Washington Street in Ionia seven years ago and falling in love with the town.
Ionia County OKs agreement allowing city to demolish Main Street home
The Ionia County Board of Commissioners approved an agreement at its regular meeting on Tuesday that will allow for the demolition of the private residence in front of Ventra on Main Street. The document, an “agreement for transfer of enforcement functions and responsibilities between the County of Ionia and the City of Ionia” was approved 6-0 (Commissioner Scott Wirtz was absent).
A move toward order
So many residents showed up to Tuesday’s Otisco Township Board meeting that they ran out of chairs and many people had to stand through the entire two hour and 35-minute meeting. It was apparent that board members were trying to be on their best behavior, with relatively few outbursts from the audience or the dais, until things got somewhat contentious during the second public comment near the end of the meeting.
Montcalm County Board of Commissioners approves $50K for Greenville Senior Center project
The Montcalm County Board of Commissioners on Monday voted to approve a $50,000 grant from the county Commission on Aging to the Greenville Area Senior Center to help fund a parking lot/driveway project at the Greenville facility. In exchange, the Senior Center will allow the Commission on Aging to use the facility at 715 S. Baldwin St. in Greenville as needed for the next 10 years.
Belvidere Township budget includes extra funding for road work
The Belvidere Township Board approved a new fiscal year budget during their March 8 meeting, which includes a quarter million dollar increase for local road projects. The 2023-2024 budget lists total income and total revenue at $943,242 each and includes $20,000 in a contingency fund. State revenue sharing is estimated at $250,000 for the coming year, but that’s always a “toss-up,” noted Supervisor Armon Withey.
Keeping the trio together
Lily Bohen has been a staple in the back row for the Central Montcalm Green Hornets varsity volleyball team for the past two seasons. Bohen’s laser-like focus and determination are what have made her such a valuable player for the Green Hornets — so much so that just having her on the court is equivalent to having more than the allotted six players on the court.
AUSTIN CHASTAIN: Let’s call them the big shots, because they are
Daily News area bowlers have put together a solid season, it’s been great to see their progression throughout the winter season. What especially was great was to see how some of the bowlers across the area made their impressive run to the state finals. The area had two bowlers have an afternoon shot to compete for a championship around the state on March 4 for the individual finals. None of the teams around the area qualified for states, but nine bowlers qualified in all.
CC-C’s Oren Anderson signs to MCC trap shooting, 1st Eagle to sign from program
Hearing about firsts at a scholastic athletic program like Carson City-Crystal doesn’t happen often. Oren Anderson has been part of some legendary teams on the football field as an interior lineman on the offensive line and a defensive end, where he led the Eagles in sacks in 2022. He also has been part of the clay target shooting program at CC-C, which is still in its infancy in its six years.
STEVE MERREN: The big trio of spring
After all the hours well-spent in the wild this spring scoring up turkeys, fish and morels, it will finally be time to reap the rewards. Enjoying those spring successes is only complete when they hit the table and, whether they are served alone or paired with each other, all of the big spring trio make for an excellent meal. Everyone has their favorite recipes and I’d like share a few of mine that are meant for the open fire of a grill. Enjoy!
A burning passion for volleyball
Throughout her life, no hobby, no sport, no activity has come close to topping volleyball for Tiana Whitacre. The Central Montcalm senior has been obsessed with volleyball, by her own admission, ever since she could walk. She’s been a staple for the Green Hornets volleyball team at the setter position for the last two years on varsity but her time with the sport in the green and white jersey started long before that.
AUSTIN CHASTAIN: Time to dance! Let’s talk about brackets
March is always my favorite time of the year — this three-week stretch with the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament are the most insane, ludicrous, unhinged and exciting for basketball fans like myself. What makes this tournament so exciting every year are the upsets and the storylines that we can follow from the first games to when “One Shining Moment” is played following the national championship game.
Montabella boys hoops season ends with 34-point loss to No. 4 Calvin Christian in Kent City regional semifinals
The Montabella boys basketball team entered Monday night’s regional semifinal with just two blemishes on their record and plenty of confidence after earning the program’s first district title in 16 years on Friday. A 15-point loss on the road on opening night to Lansing Catholic and a 3-point overtime loss to Watervilet, the No. 2-ranked team in the state at the time — that’s it. A truly historic run that produced one of the area’s best boys basketball teams in half of a decade was hit with its third blemish on Monday night in a big way against Calvin Christian.
Running like a Centurion
Kevin Sweeney has some goals in his mind and heart, and he’s putting them to work. On top of his duties as the head coach of the Montcalm Community College cross country program, when he was hired on Sept. 7, Sweeney is working on a more-than-four-year goal: run in a marathon in each state across the country each month. To this point, he is 14 months into it and will be hitting his 15th run this week when he travels to Virginia Beach, Virginia.
District champs, check!
An epic basketball game for a district championship was sandwiched in between two local programs showing love and admiration for each other on Friday night. The game started with smiles and handshakes for both the Montabella and Carson City-Crystal boys basketball team Friday night at Ithaca — it ended the same way. But at the start, those handshakes and smiles were going to be fleeting — only one team would walk away happy with the hardware.
Ionia boys basketball falls in district final to GR Christian
March basketball, more often than not, equals heartbreak for someone. Emerging from the visitor’s locker room on Friday at Forest Hills Eastern High School, the Ionia boys basketball team didn’t appear to be distraught. The Bulldogs weren’t dejected, they were just simply soaking in the final moments of the 2022-2023 season.
Lowell clay target shooter to take aim for MCC
David Johnston is the first athlete to sign as a member of Montcalm Community College’s clay target shooting team. As a member of the varsity clay shooting team at Lowell High School, Johnston said he is looking forward to continuing with this sport at MCC.
‘Watch out for team 20’
The Tri County Vikings competitive cheer team ended what was their most successful postseason run to date on March 3, posting their highest finish in the state finals in school history. The Vikings placed sixth out of eight teams at the Division 3 state finals, held at Central Michigan University’s McGuirk Arena, with a team score of 757.28. In what was an incredibly close competition throughout, the Vikings were less than 20 points shy from the top spot, grabbed by Crosswell-Lexington with a score of 776.72.
