Elisabeth Waldon

For the last six years, Larry Johnston has helped Crystal come together online. This weekend, the community will come together to honor him. The Crystal Area Chamber of Commerce has named Johnston as grand marshal of this year’s festivities. He will ride in the grand parade around Crystal Lake at 10 a.m. on Saturday.

The Ronald Township Board at a special meeting Monday night approved a trio of ordinances addressing commercial-scale wind and solar projects and data centers, even as township officials repeatedly acknowledged the measures do little to regulate such developments, as the township has no zoning. Ionia County’s Ronald Township is a rural community of around 1,800 people, bordering North Plains Township and Montcalm County’s Bloomer Township, which in turn borders Crystal Township. NextEra Energy, a global energy company, has been signing leases since last fall for “Ionia Wind Energy Center,” a project spanning all four townships, of which only Bloomer is zoned, although Crystal is actively considering implementing zoning.

A felony criminal sexual conduct case unraveled in Montcalm County District Court on Tuesday after a defense attorney argued investigators had charged the wrong person, and prosecutors agreed. Defense attorney Jeanne Reed appeared in court with her client, Alyssa Rhodes, but said police and prosecution charged the wrong Rhodes. “The probability of conviction is zero, your honor,” Reed told the judge. “The prosecutor literally charged the wrong person.”

Some people browse antique stores and flea markets hoping to find a Tiffany lamp glowing softly in a corner or a piece of vintage dishware with just the right patina. Sarah Johnson walks in looking for presidents.

From Meals on Wheels and transportation for senior citizens to 4-H clubs, gardening classes and forestry advice, a wide range of Montcalm County services depends on local millage support. County voters will decide two separate four-year millage proposals in the Aug. 4 primary election. The Commission on Aging is seeking its first tax increase since 2010, while Michigan State University Extension, 4-H and the Montcalm Conservation District are asking voters to renew their existing operating millage.

The city of Stanton is no longer pursuing multiple downtown cameras or license plate readers after receiving negative feedback from residents regarding the idea. Earlier this year, the Planning Commission began exploring a partnership with Intellistreets, a Farmington Hills company that proposed installing "smart poles" capable of enhanced lighting and audio, public Wi-Fi, emergency alerts, cameras and license plate readers. The project would rely on grant funding.

Central Montcalm athletes capped a remarkable spring by winning two league championships, claiming two adaptive state titles and breaking a school record that had stood for more than 60 years, topping off one of the Hornets' strongest all-around seasons in recent memory. During the June 15 school board meeting, Athletic Director Kris Kolbe and the Hornets' coaches recognized athletes from golf, softball, baseball and track and field for their league championships, state qualifications and postseason honors that included All-Conference, All-State and Academic All-State recognition.

Voters within the Tri County Area Schools district will be asked in the Aug. 4 primary election to consider renewing the district’s non-homestead operating millage. The ballot proposal seeks to replace the expiring millage and allow the district to continue to levy the statutory rate of not to exceed 18 mills ($18 per each $1,000 of taxable value) on non-homestead property only.

From road maintenance to police patrols and fire protection, voters in six Montcalm County townships will decide the future of several local millages in the Aug. 4 primary election. CRYSTAL TOWNSHIP Crystal Township voters will decide whether to renew a road millage and a police millage. The road millage is proposed to be renewed at 1.0849 mills (a […]

A dispute over a $1,050 mowing bill sparked a tense exchange Monday as an Edmore property owner accused the village of failing to properly notify him before workers cut more than 13 acres of overgrown grass, while village officials insisted he had ample time to mow the property himself. Austin Myers of Riverdale owns the former Montabella school baseball and football fields at the corner of First and Home streets just north of M-46. Myers said he last mowed the property in late May. He later went on vacation and when he came home, he was surprised to find the entire property had been mowed by someone else.