Community Matters Calhoun County

Saffron is the sweetest Siamese cat you will ever meet. She is curious about who is coming to see her - and may very well flop over for a belly rub and some loves right away. So why, after being adopted not long ago, is she back at the Humane Society of South Central Michigan? In this Wiggly Tail update, HSSCM Executive Director Jessica Gilbert helps us understand how life's circumstances aff...

Some financial institutions in southwest Michigan are noting a wave of counterfeit bills circulating the area. Others have said they are not seeing as much. Could you tell if a bill you are holding is real or fake? We asked Lisa Sloughter, fraud and collections supervisor at Marshall Community Credit Union for advice. Episode Resources MCCU website US Treasury Department Advice ABOUT COMMUNITY MAT...

Marshall Public Schools asked voters in May 2024 to approve a $90 million bond question which would fund upgrades, improvements and even a whole new elementary building in Albion. Voters rejected it by almost 600 votes. But, why? Now, the district has been asking voters for input in order to understand the answer to that question. Superintendent Rebecca Jones and communications lead Ian Gilyard-Sc...

The Committee for Marshall-Not the Megasite has until early August 2024 to officially take its case to the Michigan Supreme Court. Technically, the committee has 42 days from the Michigan Court of Appeals decision that dealt another blow to the legal drama meant to put the Ford BlueOval plant development to a vote in Marshall. Committee attorney Robby Dube returns to Community Matters to offer per...

Calhoun County Commissioner Derek King joins Community Matters to discuss the ramifications of the May 2024 resignation of chair Kathy-Sue Vette. The development required a two-step solution: Appointing a replacement for the District 3 commissioner as well as a new chairperson. King also discusses the BCATS budget and a deal struck to provide a full-time sheriff's deputy at Starr Commonwealth...

Battle Creek Police will undertake another string of extra patrols in the city and Bedford Township between June 23-29, 2024. Why? Lt. Ryan Strunk tells Community Matters it is always a chance to make sure motorists are up to speed on the latest laws (like the no-holding-your-phone law that took effect in 2023). Still, some motorists caught breaking the law could end up with a ticket (potentially...

The June 18, 2024 Michigan Court of Appeals decision to affirm lower courts in the Marshall Megasite zoning case leaves the Committee for Marshall-Not the Megasite with a decision: Should their argument be taken to the Michigan Supreme Court? Attorney Richard Lindsey, a member of the legal team representing the Marshall Area Economic Development Alliance (MAEDA) and Ford Motor Company, has said re...

Scott Wolfersberger has been a Ward 1 member of the Marshall City Council for six years. Now, he wants to be mayor. With council members thrust into the spotlight after the Ford Motor Company EV battery plant announcement for the Marshall Megasite, community response - on one side or the other - has been swift. Wolfersberger tells Community Matters why he is choosing to run - and how he believes a...

A Consumers Energy solar and renewable natural gas site on farmland near Battle Creek is an example of others the utility intends to build on other sites. That's the word from David Hicks, Consumers Energy vice-president of clean energy development, who says the goal is 20 such facilities in order to attain the company's renewable energy goals. The utility expects the final project to ge...

A new, periodic Community Matters segment will focus on local veterans. The segment will feature local experts from entities like the Battle Creek VA Medical Center, the Calhoun County Veterans Affairs Office and Summit Pointe. In this inaugural discussion, representatives from all three organizations share perspectives and overall vision for future episodes. Episode Resources Battle Creek VA Medi...

Marshall Attorney Richard Lindsey returns to Community Matters to discuss his impressions of a June 6, 2024 hearing at the Michigan Court of Appeals. The hearing was a continuation of the ongoing suit targeting zoning at the Marshall Megasite where the Ford BlueOval Battery Park Michigan is being built. While the hearing had been expedited by the appeals court at the urging of the plaintiff, the C...

With population and business traffic increases expected in the area around Marshall, Michigan and its Marshall Area Jobs Opportunities and Recreation (MAJOR) campus, one can expect roadways will need to be upgraded. In June 2024, the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) presented some potential ideas for areas near the campus where Ford's Blue Oval Battery Park Michigan is expected to...

Lady is a 3-year-old Beagle/Boxer mix featured in this Wiggly Tail visit to the Humane Society of South Central Michigan . Lady is actually a mix of some other things that make a dog great, too: Playful energy and cuddly; curious and sweet. As we learned in this visit. Lady has some priorities: Get over her heartworm condition and find her forever home. Episode Resources HSSCM website Richard read...

Hear the story of a man whose vision to introduce kids to baseball in Battle Creek has turned into valuable lessons about teamwork and life. Evan Gray, Christa Dufraine and Britney Dowdy join Community Matters to talk about Gray's on Deck has hit a homer. Episode Resources Gray's on Deck website ABOUT COMMUNITY MATTERS Former WBCK Morning Show host Richard Piet (2014-2017) returns to hos...

A Battle Creek tradition returns to downtown in celebration of cereal: National Cereal Fest 2024. Kelly Walden of Kellogg Arena returns to Community Matters to talk about Cereal Fest attractions everyone knows and loves: The Friday parade and Saturday free breakfast. She also lets us in on a few new reasons to attend the festivities - one of which as a little to do with Taylor Swift (sort of). Epi...

Just a couple of weeks after starting her position as the new chief executive of the Battle Creek Community Foundation, Mary Muliett sits down with Community Matters. Muliett reflects on succeeding longtime BCCF CEO Brenda Hunt, the foundational philosophies at the foundation and what it feels like to finally work in the town she's called home for over 20 years. Episode Resources Battle Creek...

Calhoun County Board of Commissioners Chair Kathy-Sue Vette announced her resignation from the panel, about half a year before her term ended. Vette did not file to run again. The District 3 vacancy will be filled by a resident of the district who applies and is selected by commissioners on June 6. That commissioner will finish Vette's term, which ends in December 2024. Vice-Chair Steve Frisb...

The attorney for the Committee for Marshall-Not the Megasite group fighting for a vote on the Ford BlueOval Battery Park zoning expects a Michigan Court of Appeals decision to go their way. Robby Dube returns to Community Matters to talk about the expectations for the June 6, 2024 hearing which offers a chance to turn the tide for the group. Prior court decisions have been in favor of the Ford sid...

It has been a year for severe weather in 2024. A rare EF-1 tornado in Calhoun County struck in the middle of the night in February, causing damage to homes and other property. Another tornado, this one an EF-2, struck in Kalamazoo County in May, and is said to have destroyed more than 60 structures and damaged about 600. In either case, no deaths were caused by the storms. While it's hard to...

Jerry Seinfeld has apparently been rolling around the idea of a movie about the development of breakfast pastries for some time. "I have considered doing a Pop-Tart movie," Seinfeld told Howard Stern in a 2013 interview . "...about how they discovered the Pop-Tart...in Battle Creek, Michigan." Eleven years later, enter the star-studded Netflix comedy called "Unfrosted&quot...

Battle Creek's Cereal City Concert Band has been invited to perform at the 2025 Mid-Europe Wind Band Music Festival in Schladming, Austria. The annual event is set for July 2025. Cereal City Concert Band Conductor Stephen White tells Community Matters the festival brought 1800 foreign participants and more than 10,000 spectators in 2023. Click to listen to Conductor White talk about how the o...

Set for Thursday, May 23, 2024 at Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek, Calhoun County Senior Services Expo has more vendors than ever registered. That's the word from Senior Services' Rebecca de Finta, who talks about the types of vendors expected, parking and how to get a ride to and from the event. Click to listen. Episode Resources Senior Services website ABOUT COMMUNITY MATTERS Former WBCK...

SAFE Place CEO Ellen Lassiter Collier returns to Community Matters for an update on the organization's mission - and their fundraising event. The Restoring Hope Gala is a dinner and auction set for May 17, 2024 and gives a significant boost to the organization's efforts to "provide safety to, empower and advocate for victims of domestic violence and sex trafficking and their familie...

Women are often the caregivers for their families and loved ones. Lynette Robinson, Family Nurse Practitioner with Oaklawn Hospital in Marshall tells Community Matters that means women often overlook their own preventative health needs. Women's Health Week, May 13-17, 2024, is an excuse to ask Lynette about the top things women should do when keeping track of their health. But, really, anytim...

On the job since late 2023, Ford Motor Company BlueOval Battery Park Michigan CEO Scott Davis sat down with Community Matters for his first-ever local media interview. He outlined a wave of giving to various attractions in Calhoun County. Davis also discussed the progress of construction on the plant going up along Michigan Avenue in Marshall Township, expected to eventually employ about 1700 work...