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Watershed Voice columnist Aundrea Sayrie’s new series “Good Grief.” explores how loss lives in everyday lives, and its impact on mental health. In The Mother Wound, Part Four, Sayrie writes, “Sometimes the body carries what the mind learned to minimize” but “healing begins when we realize that the nervous system can learn new experiences too.”

The Three Rivers City Commission approved pursuing a state historic preservation grant for two downtown rehabilitation projects and transferred a city-owned property on Middle Street for redevelopment during its meeting Tuesday. Commissioners also voiced support for members of United Auto Workers Local 2093, who are on strike at the American Axle plant, during commissioner comments at the end of the meeting.

Farrand Hall owners James Gray and Jacob Hagan have been ordered to repay a customer more than $2,100 after failing to appear for a small claims court hearing. According to St. Joseph County court records, a default judgment of $2,145.65 was ordered June 1 in favor of Michael G. Timmers. The judgment includes $2,043.65 sought by Timmers and additional court costs.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) notified the city May 5 that the drawdown must be completed by July 15. The action follows the agency’s latest evaluation of the dam’s left embankment, an area that has been monitored for several years through the city’s regular dam safety reporting process. City officials said the required drawdown is being implemented as an Interim Risk Reduction Measure while plans continue to move forward for long-term repairs and improvements to the embankment.

The restaurant opens in a location that has seen several businesses come and go in recent years, most recently the Farrand Hall Diner before the company announced its closure and sale. But Chef Ken Miller says he viewed the building’s restaurant-ready setup as an opportunity rather than a warning sign. At the heart of the restaurant, Miller said, is a focus on approachable food made with local ingredients from Southwest Michigan and the broader Great Lakes region. “Our goal is to create an experience that’s equal parts delicious, familiar, exciting and welcoming,” the restaurant states in its opening materials.

“With inflation, cost of living, you know, my members want a living wage, and my members want benefits that are affordable and that they have access to, and I think they have every right to have every one of those benefits,” UAW Local 2093 Vice President Joe Taylor told Watershed Voice. “They want job security, they want to retire with dignity, and they’re some of the hardest working people that I know.” Members of UAW Local 2093 work at American Axle & Manufacturing, also known locally as Dauch Corporation, which supplies axles for General Motors pickup trucks. The strike follows months of contract negotiations between union representatives and the company. Earlier in May, workers voted 98% in favor of authorizing a strike if an agreement could not be reached before the contract deadline.