Tim McAllister

Mid Michigan Big Brothers Big Sisters has broken away from its parent organization and is forging its own independent path as Mentors in the Mitten. Primarily through its popular School Buddies mentorship program pairing elementary and high school youths together, the organization has been active in Clare, Gladwin, Roscommon, Montcalm and Gratiot counties since 1975.

he Ionia City Council on had their first reading of new street parking rules related to trailers and recreational vehicles during their Aug. 5 meeting. “This was prompted by some recent complaints that we've received regarding trailers being parked,” explained City Manager Precia Garland. “There have been a number of instances where those are being parked on city streets for long periods of time, and that really is not the intent of our city streets. The intent of our city streets, of course, is first and foremost to provide egress by property owners to their properties. Parking trailers on a very short-term basis is acceptable, but not on a regular basis.”

The Grattan Township Board voted to place an 8-month moratorium on the construction of any new data centers in their township at Monday’s meeting. Supervisor Frank Force informed trustees that the township's legal counsel, Bloom Sluggett in Grand Rapids, recommended the moratorium, which will expire on April 30, 2027.

During public comment on Tuesday, the Ionia County Board of Commissioners discussed a recent closed-door meeting of the M-66 Corridor Committee that took place at the Road Department, with one board member calling it a “circus.” Commissioner Phillip Hesche held up the front page of the Aug. 4 Daily News and said to his colleagues, “I don't know if anybody's seen this circus that went on at the Road Department?” Once his fellow board members indicated that they were aware of the situation, Hesche informed them that he had received 63 phone calls or personal visits from constituents with concerns about the project.

Township trustees are seeking bids for a new “welcome” sign to remind those speeding past on M-44/Belding Road of the community's existence. Trustees took no action at their board meeting on Monday on a $28,837.49 proposal from Fritz Signs in Spring Arbor for an 8-foot-wide, 10-feet-tall Grattan Township welcome sign. The new sign would be made of synthetic stucco foam with raised lettering and dangling planks advertising local businesses. The quote also includes removal and disposal of the old sign.

Two allegedly blighted properties were the main topic of discussion at the Ionia Township board meeting on Wednesday.

The city of Ionia Planning Commission on Wednesday approved a final site plan related to the conversion of a former Rite Aid into a coffee shop, convenience store, gas station and car wash. Bazco Holdings LLC of New Haven is “ready to go” with its project at the busy intersection of Dexter/M-66 and Lincoln/M-21. Plans call for converting the 11,146-square-foot building at 421/431 W. Lincoln into a 22-pump Chillbox gas station with a Tim Horton coffee shop attached.

This fall, many Montcalm Community College students residing in Ionia County will be eligible for a scholarship to pay the difference between in-district and out-of-district tuition after all other sources of financial aid are applied, making their tuition completely free.

The Belding City Council chugged through their agenda quickly and efficiently during a 30-minute meeting Tuesday night, including new vehicle purchases for the police and public works departments.

Area residents questioned representatives from the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and offered a few suggestions about a proposed $31.7 million M-66 reconstruction project during a public forum in the Watt Auditorium at Ionia Middle School on Wednesday evening. Large placards displaying various aspects of the reconstruction plan were arranged in the auditorium's foyer, giving many residents their first glimpse of the nitty-gritty details of MDOT's plan to completely overhaul M-66 between Wells and Tuttle next year.