Author

Alek Haak-Frost

Alek Haak-Frost is the executive editor, publisher, and founder of Watershed Voice, and a graduate of Central Michigan University. Prior to establishing WSV in 2020, he wrote for a number of publications including The Midland Daily News and The Morning Sun, and served as managing editor of the Three Rivers Commercial-News for the better part of three years.

In 2022, Haak-Frost won the Public Service Award and Outstanding Coverage Award at the LION Local Journalism Awards in Austin, Texas. He was a finalist for the LION Public Service Award again in 2023.

Alek's Latest Articles

Last call for Artist Showcase sponsors

By Alek Haak-Frost

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Culture

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June 25, 2026

The sixth annual Watershed Voice Artist Showcase is exactly one month away, which means we need to finalize our poster to get it printed and in a downtown storefront window near you. If you or your business/organization would like to sponsor our annual fundraising event, you can still do so by emailing office@watershedvoice.com or messaging us on social media by Monday, June 29. There are two sponsorship levels available and both are open to individuals as well as organizations at $250 and $500 respectively.

Keep Your Voice Down: Recording Live from Somewhere

By Alek Haak-Frost

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Keep Your Voice Down

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May 27, 2026

Alek and Doug provide a preview of the upcoming Watershed Voice Artist Showcase and unveil this year's lineup. The celebration of local talent and local journalism will take place Saturday, July 25 at 6 p.m. inside the Huss Project's Imaginarium (1008 8th St., Three Rivers). The duo's return to their respective mics comes two months after their last episode, as they attempted to secure a very special guest for Keep Your Voice Down's 100th episode. They explain who they hoped to land, and why it won't likely happen despite their best efforts.

Save the date: Watershed Voice Artist Showcase

By Alek Haak-Frost

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Culture

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April 8, 2026

The sixth annual Watershed Voice Artist Showcase, a celebration of local musicians, spoken word artists, and local journalism, will return to The Huss Project this summer in Three Rivers.

Celebrating our sixth birthday and Local News Day

By Alek Haak-Frost

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Opinion

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April 8, 2026

Watershed Voice officially launched six years ago on this day in 2020, providing a combined 3,400 stories, columns, podcasts, poems and the like to residents of St. Joseph, Kalamazoo, and Cass Counties over the last 2,191 days. Help us celebrate our birthday with a donation, and sign up for our free newsletter in observance of Local News Day on April 9.

Keep Your Voice Down: Let’s Talk About Cake

By Alek Haak-Frost

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Keep Your Voice Down

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March 19, 2026

Canadian journalist and baker Chantal Hortop, who serves as managing editor of The Gleaner in Quebec, stops by Keep Your Voice Down to talk cake and shop with hosts Doug Sears, Jr. and Alek Haak-Frost. The wide ranging conversation includes how Chantal and Alek met, the impact of the LION Independent News Sustainability Summit on both their organizations, what local journalism looks like in Canada, and Chantal's penchant for creating dazzlingly delicious baked goods.

‘We heard our neighbors needed help’: Local electricians union aids cleanup effort following Three Rivers tornado

By Alek Haak-Frost

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Three Rivers

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March 10, 2026

On Sunday, March 10, around 30 IBEW workers, including representatives of KEI electrical construction and Perkins Electric, gathered in Three Rivers to provide free, professional support to those in need. “We heard our neighbors needed help cleaning up after the storm, so I decided to ask my union brothers and sisters to come lend a hand,” IBEW 131 President Eddie Leboeuf said.

Keep Your Voice Down: The days after

By Alek Haak-Frost

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Keep Your Voice Down

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March 10, 2026

Keep Your Voice Down hosts Alek Haak-Frost and Doug Sears Jr. discuss Alek's experience during the tornado that touched down in Three Rivers last week and the days that followed. Alek describes how the community has come together, what he did and felt as the tornado went through his neighborhood, the humanity, empathy, and care on display as Three Rivers picks up the pieces, and how disheartening it was to witness the vulturous intent of some contractors in the immediate aftermath of the storm.

Keep Your Voice Down: To begin with, everything

By Alek Haak-Frost

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Keep Your Voice Down

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February 19, 2026

WMUK's Gordon Evans stopped by Keep Your Voice Down this week to discuss his career in public radio, the state of journalism, how it's changed, where it's headed, and what gives him hope about the industry he's dedicated his life to. Other topics include the quotability of Almost Famous, news anchors of yesteryear and the glaring absence of such figures in 2026, U.S. women's hockey, and whether Doug Sears Jr.'s dad actually skipped class to watch the Miracle on Ice in 1980.

Keep Your Voice Down: Will you buy me new tires?

By Alek Haak-Frost

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Keep Your Voice Down

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February 12, 2026

Keep Your Voice Down hosts Alek Haak-Frost and Doug Sears. Jr. are joined by Screen Tea Podcast hosts and friends Lisha and Jules McCurry to talk about love. The quartet discuss how they met their future spouses, when they decided to get married, what makes their respective marriages work, and the films about love they love.

Keep Your Voice Down: Beautiful distractions

By Alek Haak-Frost

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Podcasts

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January 28, 2026

Keep Your Voice Down hosts Alek Haak-Frost and Doug Sears Jr. are joined by frequent collaborator and friend Layne Deuel to talk about distractions that helped them endure the past year. The trio discuss the benefits of going to the movies alone, why Sinners was easily the best film they saw all year, books that made them laugh (shout out to Princess Donut and Dungeon Crawler Carl), and the video games Layne plays in the wee hours of the morning because parenting is a full-time job.