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.
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.”
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.
Over the years, Satellite Records has continued to grow in size, inventory, popularity, and customer base, a success owner Michael Evans largely attributes to the Kalamazoo community. The store has been operating in Kalamazoo for more than 15 years, and Evans remains grateful for the consistent support from residents and customers.
The free event, which includes dinner and discussion, will be suitable for teens and adults, and feature Western Michigan University School of Communication Professor Sue Ellen Christian, who will share tools, tips, and tactics on how to spot misinformation and manipulated images, and what to look for to identify quality news sources. Participants will need a charged smartphone to participate fully in the workshop.
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.
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, 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.
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.
Commissioners will be asked to consider an initial-term investment of $27,626 in CivicPlus Municipal Websites Central related services to replace the city’s website and improve its ability to “provide accessible, secure, and user-friendly information to residents, businesses, and visitors,” according to the agenda packet. The packet does not state when the new website would launch or whether the existing site would experience downtime during the transition. The program would also allow amended sections of the municipal code to link back to the meeting where legislation was adopted, giving staff and residents “instant access to the agenda, minutes, audio, video, and vote tallies,” when applicable. The city has not publicly provided an update on its plans to explore livestreaming options, and the website change does not itself indicate that meetings will be livestreamed. Commissioners directed City Manager Joe Bippus to explore city-run meeting livestreams during their June 16 meeting but have received no public update from Bippus since.
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