Community Matters Calhoun County

Battle Creek Salvation Army Captains Mika and Grace Roinila return to Community Matters to look back at a record-breaking year of giving in 2024 - along with the plans to help local folks in need in 2025. That begins with a holiday and Red Kettle Campaign kickoff on November 7, 2025. Episode Resources Battle Creek Salvation Army  ABOUT COMMUNITY MATTERS Former WBCK Morning Show host Richard Piet (...

Inspired by similar events in other counties, Calhoun County educators have planned a day-long professional development day for November 4, 2025. Community Matters spoke with Calhoun Intermediate School District Assistant Superintendent Carrie Johnson and Harper Creek Schools Assistant Superintendent Laura Williams about the impact of the event for local educators. Episode Resources Calhoun Interm...

Community Matters debuts a new monthly events update presented by the Downtown Battle Creek Zine (DBCZ)! In this update, Nick Buckley shares ideas for local events happening in October and November, 2025. Episode Resources Follow DBCZ on Facebook ABOUT COMMUNITY MATTERS Former WBCK Morning Show host Richard Piet (2014-2017) returns to host Community Matters, an interview program focused on communi...

Michigan lawmakers went down to the wire in approving a new budget. In the end, a middle-of-the-night, two-hour shutdown happened - but did not last. Still, a stopgap spending extension kept the government running before the new, $81 billion plan was passed in the early hours on October 3, 2025. Senator Sean McCann, a Democrat from Kalamazoo, joins Community Matters for a postgame discussion from...

In his last periodic legislative update on Community Matters, weeks before the threshold of the Michigan budget deadline (the one that would definitively shut the government down), Rep. Steve Frisbie - Republican from Battle Creek - expressed confidence there would be a compromise before the deadline. He was generally correct, though the House, Senate and Governor Gretchen Whitmer did step slightl...

In September 2025, several organizations, residents and interested parties gathered for a summit on the state of housing in Battle Creek. It's all prompted by the view that there is not enough housing in the area. Lee Talmidge joins Community Matters to discuss the issue from the view of the organization he oversees: The Battle Creek Housing Commission. The Commission particularly helps those...

A longstanding effort to bring resources under one roof for veterans and those experiencing homelessness is returning in 2025 for its 20th year. The 2025 Project Connect Health fair and VA Stand Down will happen on October 17, 2025 at Full Blast Recreation Center in downtown Battle Creek. The event, a partnership between the City of Battle Creek, Calhoun County Homeless Coalition and the Veteran&a...

Michigan's "busy season" at collision centers across the state is fall and winter, for certain. More deer are on the move, followed by slippery road conditions at times.  Brian Eberhard, who oversees operations at Lakeview Ford Collision Center - located at Lakeview Ford Lincoln, Dickman Road and Washington Street in downtown Battle Creek - has some advice and insight for motorists...

Right along with pumpkin spice and fall colors comes Medicare Open Enrollment. For many, the time when they have to lock in the coming year's health coverage plan can be stressful and confusing. Experts Matt "Ernie" Ernstes with Ernstes Insurance Solutions in Marshall and Stephanie James of American Senior Benefits join Community Matters to talk about the three things you should kno...

Attention veterans wanting to become entrepreneurs: Grand Valley State University's Innovation Hub in Battle Creek will join statewide locations hosting the Michigan Veteran Entrepreneur Lab. Amy Hilton manages entrepreneurship initiatives at GVSU in Battle Creek and joins Commiunity Matters for details on the coursework - called a "cohort" - which is meant to help veterans make the...

In September 2025, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced an infusion of additional funds - $800 million - for upgrades to VA Medical Centers around the country. Battle Creek VA Medical Center spokesperson Brian Pegouske returns to Community Matters to discuss how the VA's Non-Recurring Maintenance program will help locally. Episode Resources Battle Creek VA Medical Center ABOUT COMMUNI...

Our last Wiggly Tail update from the Humane Society of South Central Michigan featured Scout, a terrier mix who is a mostly take-it-easy dog. In this episode, we get an update on Scout - and talk about his sister Salah, another chill terrier ready for her new home. Episode Resources Humane Society of South Central Michigan website Salah on Petfinder More Wiggly Tail episodes ABOUT COMMUNITY MATTER...

Battle Creek's Lakeview Ford Lincoln is among dealerships nationwide participating in an effort to collect non-perishable food donations to support their local food banks. Lakeview Ford aims to collect 400 pounds of non-perishables by the end of September 2025 - enough to fill the bed of a F-150 pickup. Lakeview Sales Manager Josh Anzell joins Community Matters to talk about the final push to...

The ongoing legal saga surrounding the zoning of the site where Ford's Blue Oval Battery Park Michigan in Marshall seemed quiet for some time. The Michigan Supreme Court was asked to hear the case in September, 2024. Since then, it has been a long year of waiting for both sides.  Until September, 2025, that is, when the high court issued an opinion telling a lower court to reissue its prior d...

Calhoun County's opioid settlement funds - received from drugmakers in a settlement with many Michigan counties - are funding another round of grants to local non-profits. Calhoun County is slated to receive approximately $11 million in opioid settlement funds over the next two decades. Among the recipients: Life Recovery Programs at Battle Creek's The Haven of Rest, where just weeks bef...

The Battle Creek Alano Club intends to use opioid settlement grant funds to create a safer space for those Calhoun County residents in recovery. The 2025 grants total nearly $600,000 the county is receiving in a settlement with drugmakers. The grants go to local organizations "...working to prevent, treat, and reduce the impacts of opioid use," according to the office of the Calhoun Coun...

April Gordon has a cool title: Success Coach. The concept is to help employees with everyday challenges - which can have an impact on their job performance. Doing so, April says, improves retention and work performance. The service is part of the national Employer Resource Network (ERN) and is administered through the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research in Kalamazoo and Michigan Works! A...

EncourageBC! - a charitable support arm of the Battle Creek Community Foundation - has helped fund more than 60 local projects in a wide range of areas. That's the word from Director Angela Myers, who tells Community Matters that number is high compared to similar efforts in other counties. In this episode, Angela tells us how they do it - and how it's made a difference in the Battle Cre...

The Battle Creek Public Schools Education Foundation is readying for another Bearcat Tailgate event, which has raised more than $86,000 for educational support. BCPSEF President Carrie Briggs - who also serves as the district's Bearcat Advantage Program coordinator - discusses how the event helps, as well as the free fun, food and resources for attendees. Episode Resources BCPS Education Foun...

In a process not uncommon after a longtime leader departs and organization and a new one takes over, the Battle Creek Community Foundation has announced a "bold new chapter" initiative of strategic planning and visionary messaging. CEO Mary Muliett - who succeeded longtime predecessor Brenda Hunt in 2024 - returns to Community Matters to talk about how the effort seeks to plug into commu...

Have an idea for a local TV program? AccessVision - Battle Creek's local community access media center is ready to help. Community Matters stopped by the AccessVision tent during the Battle Creek Community Foundation Annual Meeting and Block Party and chatted with Executive Director Jason Augenstein, discussing how residents can take advantage of the resources they offer. Episode Resources Ac...

The Downtown Battle Creek Zine - founded by former Battle Creek Enquirer reporters Nick Buckley and Annie Kelley - marks a year in existence by announcing new backing from EncourageBC!. Encourage BC! is a unit of the Battle Creek Community Foundation which energizes and facilitates "positive charitable ideas" in the community. Buckley and Kelley return to Community Matters to talk about...

The Marshal Historical Society's annual Historic Home Tour has been happening for 60 years.  The chair of the 2025 event, Debbi Benedict, talks about what makes a Marshall home historic, some of the events planned for the 60th year and her own Marshall love story - which goes back for decades. Episode Resources Marshall Historic Home Tour Marshall Historical Society ABOUT COMMUNITY MATTERS Fo...

If you go by the new cooperative Uproot Market and Eatery on Michigan Avenue in downtown Battle Creek, you are likely to hear the sounds of progress. The bustling of the final touches on a long-vacant downtown building, that is. The Cereal City's next downtown grocery was nearly ready to open when Community Matters caught up with Uproot's Prepared Foods Manager Jeremiah Shelton during th...

This week, Republican-led Michigan House of Representatives passed a state budget. Just ahead of that, Rep. Steve Frisbie, (R-Pennfield) joined Community Matters, expressing optimism that budget negotiations would begin in earnest soon. Frisbie called the law mandating a state budget by July 1 ineffective, since "there's no teeth to it, no consequences," allowing the deadline to com...