Thursday, September 28, 2023
Since 1854 — News from Montcalm County and Ionia County, Michigan
A 10-year-old Chris Bean sits in his mom’s car, on the way home from a Chinese restaurant. This is the point when most kids would be buried in an iPad, focused on another world on the way home.
Not Bean, he was observing the world around him as it passed by — that’s when he saw a homeless person on the street corner. He asked his mom, Paula, what homeless folks do in the winter to stay warm.
Ionia highlights hosted regionals with 10 qualifying for state finals
The odds were stacked against Tristin Almanza from a young age.
As a middle schooler, Almanza was over 300 pounds and wasn’t even close to the athlete or person he is today. As a sophomore, Almanza took up wrestling and it changed his life.
Jake Nelson walked off the mat at Ford Field dejected, not a single word uttered.
He’d reached the pinnacle of wrestling — the state championship match. He came in confident — his Tri County coaches, his family, anyone who knows Jake Nelson would be confident, as well. Nelson exuded confidence throughout his run at the MHSAA individual state wrestling finals on Friday, leading him to a 3-0 record into the state championship match at the 171-pound weight class of Division 3.
Belding’s Jack Ward trotted off the mat at Ford Field in Detroit and found his head coach waiting to celebrate — more importantly, his father, Art Ward, was there to share a moment of pride.
The two Wards, who have their names littered all over the Belding wrestling record books, embraced one another in a moment of joy and excitement. Jack had just earned All-State recognition for the second year in a row after finishing sixth in the state last season.
A Tri County High School coach/teacher remains on leave from his job as law enforcement officials continue an investigation regarding allegations against him.
Caden Hoezee grew up wanting to be a college soccer player.
Hoezee was a three-sport athlete for Tri County and upon entering his freshman year, when he ran track, he switched his focus to running. While he excelled in soccer, by his senior year, he realized he’d made the right decision to pursue running over soccer.
A messy fourth inning of pitching for Tri County’s baseball team led to a loss in game one of Tuesday’s doubleheader against conference rival Central Montcalm.
Three pitchers in the fourth inning for Vikings all had issues with pitch location and the Green Hornets stayed patient, disciplined and strung together 10 runs in the inning en route to their 14-3 victory in five innings.
With the game firmly in hand heading to the final inning, Tri County softball was hoping for a quick 1-2-3 inning to get the victory of game one of Friday’s doubleheader against Fremont.
The Packers gave the Vikings everything they had in the seventh inning push with five hits in the final inning resulting in four runs but the Vikings were able to get the 10-6 victory to stay perfect in the CSAA-Gold conference after winning their first seven games.
Tri County Area Schools broke ground Thursday morning on a new K-5 elementary building, part of a $37 million bond, passed by voters a year and a half ago.
The new school will centralize the district, putting all students, kindergarten through 12th grade, on one campus, increasing efficiency while also improving safety and traffic flow, according to Superintendent Al Cumings.
