Author

Maxwell Knauer

Originally from Dayton, Ohio, Maxwell Knauer attended Ohio State University and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences in philosophy and political science.

He previously worked for Ohio State’s student newspaper, The Lantern, and interned with the Columbus lifestyle magazine CityScene before relocating to Kalamazoo.

Knauer, 23, enjoys watching movies, reading books, and playing basketball. Some of his favorites include RoboCop, My Dinner with Andre, and Ludwig Wittgenstein.

Maxwell's Latest Articles

Three Rivers commission to vote on livestream equipment and policies

By Maxwell Knauer

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Three Rivers

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September 1, 2026

This Tuesday, September 1, at 6 p.m. the Three Rivers City Commission will meet and consider the purchase of equipment for city-administered live-streaming. Commissioners will decide which video camera system to purchase with the Meeting Owl Pro 5 Camera and supplemental equipment being recommended by staff. The total cost would be $5,000 from the general fund. The agenda packet also includes a retention policy, which recommends the recording is kept on the city’s YouTube until one day after the minutes of that meeting are approved — typically two weeks after the livestream takes place.

Camp Eberhart’s ropes course goes out on top

By Maxwell Knauer

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Three Rivers

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August 27, 2026

In the early 1990s, YMCA Camp Eberhart began building a ropes course that would challenge campers for years to come. Tucked beneath a canopy of towering pine trees, the course rises from the woods on wooden poles, some made from trees cut from the site during its original construction. But after more than three decades of campers climbing through the trees, the course has seen its last summer. Eberhart retired the aging course at the end of this year’s summer camp season and is now preparing to replace it.

Sturgis commission advances utility, sidewalk projects

By Maxwell Knauer

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Sturgis

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August 27, 2026

The Sturgis City Commission approved a $300,000 biosolids removal contract, financing for a $452,128 new digger/bucket truck and a $660,088 bid from the second-lowest bidder for the Nottawa Street 69kV Transmission Line Project. The meeting moved quickly and wrapped up in just over an hour, with all but one agenda item approved unanimously.

Dowagaic Ward 1 Councilmember Tharan Suvarna resigns; Hyperscale provides update

By Maxwell Knauer

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Dowagiac

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August 26, 2026

Tharan Suvarna said he accepted a job on the other side of the state and will no longer be able to serve in the position, which he was elected to in November 2025. “I have accepted a job in another community by my parents, so this will be my last council meeting,” Suvarna said. “I wanna say thank you. It has been a pleasure serving on this council board.”

Local meeting primer: Sturgis City Commission

By Maxwell Knauer

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Sturgis

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August 25, 2026

The Sturgis City Commission will meet Wednesday, August 26, to consider a $300,000, four-year biosolids removal contract, a $660,088 bid for the Nottawa Street transmission line project, and a $452,128 installment purchase agreement for a new digger/derrick truck. Commissioners will also consider engineering services for the 2027 sidewalk program, additional work on the Sturges-Young entryway project, and a railroad crossing addendum.

Kalamazoo’s inaugural Black Pride festival takes place this weekend in Bates Alley

By Maxwell Knauer

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Kalamazoo

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August 25, 2026

“We're at a special time in history where it's important to reclaim and claim our joy and the beauty of our gathering together and basking in the creativity and ingenuity and community that we have created and that we can continue to create through an event like this,” Michelle S. Johnson, executive director and co-founder of the Institute of Public Scholarship, told Watershed Voice. Johnson organized the inaugural event alongside Michael Cleggs-Arnott of OutFront Kalamazoo.

Watershed Voice’s 2026 Artist Showcase is now live on YouTube

By Maxwell Knauer

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Culture

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August 19, 2026

The showcase featured performances from the *culture is not optional Family Band, Torrey Brown, Mitchie Moore, Eddie Leboeuf, Shy Winters, Gospel Mime Minister, Lucky Fultz, Alek Haak-Frost, Debbie Allen, Courtney Moore, Just Mikel, and Mister Aubs. Viewers can watch the showcase video in its entirety or jump directly to individual performances using the timestamps and links included in the video description.

Three Rivers approves new website as livestream plans remain in development

By Maxwell Knauer

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Three Rivers

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August 19, 2026

During public comment, resident Austin Kane urged commissioners to begin livestreaming their meetings again. This prompted Mayor Angel Johnston to ask City Manager Joe Bippus for an update on the commission's June 16 direction for Bippus to explore city-run livestreams. “We’re probably developing an RFP (request for proposal) that we’ll send out,” Bippus said, in part. Johnston then asked Bippus when the system would be ready, Bippus said he did not know.

Dad’s Place in Three Rivers suddenly closes

By Maxwell Knauer

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Three Rivers

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August 19, 2026

Dad’s Place, a longtime breakfast diner in Three Rivers, closed Tuesday, August 18, after announcing its closure on Facebook earlier that day. “Due to the rising costs, lack of help, and just being damn tired, we are sorry to inform you all that today is the last day our doors are going to be open for business,” the restaurant wrote in a Facebook post.

Kalamazoo City Commission passes one-year data center moratorium

By Maxwell Knauer

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Kalamazoo

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August 18, 2026

The moratorium comes amid growing data center development nationally and closer to home. The city’s agenda report cites an increase in proposed data centers and battery energy storage systems in Kalamazoo County and elsewhere in Southwest Michigan. Locally, debate has centered on Harbor Farmz, a Kalamazoo-based cannabis company that is selling its facility at 2839 Full Circle Drive and marketing the property for potential redevelopment as a data center. Company representatives at Monday’s meeting urged commissioners not to adopt the moratorium.