Two candidates are currently tied in a race for village president in Hubbardston, while only a few votes separate candidates for a seat on the Village Council. Meanwhile, the longtime Howard City village president was re-elected, the village of Edmore has a new president who is also a familiar face and three people will need to be appointed in the village of Pierson due to a lack of candidates.
Lake Odessa
ELECTION PREVIEW: Township and village races in Ionia, Montcalm and Kent counties
FREEThe Daily News asked the following questions of township and village candidates who are running for contested seats only in the November general election in Ionia, Montcalm and portions of Kent counties. Here are the questions, followed by the candidates’ responses.
Gov. Whitmer appoints Lake Odessa man, Crystal woman to boards
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer recently announced two local appointments to the Hispanic Latino Commission and the Mackinac Straits Corridor Authority.
Lake Odessa woman’s murderer could be released within four years
William Edward Carr Jr. was 18 years old in 1987 when he murdered his stepmother. Found guilty, he was sentenced to life without parole and housed at the prison on Ionia. Last week, Carr, who is now 55 years old, was resentenced by Ionia County Probate Court Judge Robert Sykes Jr. to a 40 to 60 year term, a result of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in the Miller v. Alabama case that made mandatory life sentences without the possibility of parole for juvenile offenders unconstitutional.
MPSC invites public review of application for Ionia County dairy and food waste digester facility
The Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) has posted for public review all the applications the Commission has received in response to a request for proposals for funding through a renewable energy and electrification infrastructure enhancement and development grant program. The projects include the Meadowbrook Ag-Grid project, is a dairy and food waste digester facility that will produce biogas at Meadowbrook Dairy Farm in Ionia County’s Lake Odessa.
Sanitary sewer overflows near Lake Odessa
FREEThe Lakewood Wastewater Authority responded to a sanitary sewer overflow on Wednesday night just outside of the village of Ionia County’s Lake Odessa. According to Lakewood Wastewater Authority Superintendent Doug Suntken, the overflow occurred near some railroad tracks behind 2815 Huddle Road in Odessa Township.
Appeals Court reverses Lake Odessa man’s sex crime convictions
Court finds judge created a ‘coercive atmosphere'The Michigan Court of Appeals has reversed the sex crime convictions of a Lake Odessa man after finding that an Ionia County judge created “a coercive atmosphere” during jury deliberations at trial. As previously covered by the Daily News, Michael Oaks, who is now 38 years old, was convicted by an Ionia County jury after a two-day trial in May 2022 of four counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct (CSC), two counts of second-degree CSC and one count of capturing an image unclothed. Eight additional related charges were dismissed.
Senior housing project in the works for Lake Odessa
The Ionia County Economic Development Corp.’s Brownfield Redevelopment Authority discussed turning an old school property in Lake Odessa into housing for senior citizens at Tuesday’s meeting. In attendance were Dr. Lee Stuart and Ruth Ann Stuart, a married couple who were there to discuss their plan to transform a disused school property into “Lake Odessa Community Condos.”
3-gallon wastewater spill in Lake Odessa on Thursday
FREEAn estimated three gallons of “processed water from the industries” spilled onto the ground Thursday, according to Lakewood Wastewater Authority Plant Superintendent Doug Suntken. The Ionia County facility is located at 13751 Harwood Road.
Ionia Middle School principal leaves for Lake Odessa
Ionia Middle School is looking to hire a new principal after current leader Allison Aldrich submitted her resignation. Aldrich plans to take a position with the Lakewood school district in Lake Odessa. Her last day in Ionia will be June 30.