Business

Indiana Michigan Power broke ground today (October 26, 2015) on its second solar generation facility and also launched IM Solar, a program that enables Indiana customers to use local solar power without the expense of installing their own system. The Twin Branch Solar Facility, northeast of Mishawaka in a commercial/industrial area, will have nearly 29,000 solar panels and a generation …

Too many hungry deer are being blamed for the end of a 30-year Christmas tradition in southwestern Michigan. Mott’s Christmas Barn in Vicksburg in Kalamazoo County is closing. The deer population can’t be controlled, and the animals have been munching on trees. Customers have traveled to the farm each year to cut down a Christmas tree. Owner Mardee Mott tells …

The St. Joseph County Transportation Authority saw a ridership increase during its 2014-15 fiscal year compared to a year earlier. Steve Yorks, executive director of the Three Rivers-based agency, said 97,506 rides were given during the 12-month period that ended Sept. 30. That figure tops the 95,942 rides given the previous fiscal year. Yorks said the CTA has maintained a …

Rural portions of Edwardsburg and Schoolcraft, along with other parts of southwest Michigan, recently joined the big cities of Atlanta, Charlotte and Kansas City in having gigabit speed internet service available. Midwest Connections, teaming up with Midwest Energy Cooperative, launched a fiber-to-the-premise internet service in 2014, offering the first true broadband experience to homes and businesses in rural southwest Michigan. …

Picture-perfect weather created a great backdrop for the inaugural Midwest Propane Fueling the Fight Family Movie Night last Thursday. Hundreds of guests joined us under the stars at the Cass County Council on Aging for a variety of activities to raise money for the West Michigan Cancer Center. Many guests gathered around a giant outdoor movie screen on blankets and …

The new Kalamazoo East, MI Menards Mega Store located at 5300 Gull Road (Just West of N. Sprinkle Road on Gull Road) will open for business on Tuesday, September 1, 2015. With the opening of this new store, the Kalamazoo and surrounding area can further enjoy all of the great services, low prices and shopping convenience that Menards has to …

Nearly two dozen local officials, including State Rep. Aaron Miller and State Sen. John Proos, took part Tuesday in a tour of the St. Joseph County Transportation Authority headquarters as well as a ride-along. Officials from the CTA said the first-of-its-kind event was staged to help promote the services it offers countywide. The group, which featured representation from Sturgis police, …

Midwest Propane invites the community to a family movie night this Thursday, Aug. 27. The feature film is the Disney/Pixar family favorite UP, and the event will be held under the stars on the lawn of the Cass County Council on Aging, 60525 Decatur Road, Cassopolis. The venue opens at 6 p.m. and the movie begins at 7. The event …

Michigan’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dipped last month to match the national average. The Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget released state and regional employment figures Wednesday. July’s statewide jobless rate was 5.3 percent, down two-tenths of a percentage point from June. It was 7 percent in July 2014. The state says the number of unemployed in Michigan dropped …

Craig “Curly” Spink swirls a hand-made jig above a water-filled 15-gallon galvanized steel tub in his Kalamazoo back yard, tugging and relaxing the line attached to a wooded fish decoy he carved and painted. He’s trying to make it swim as realistically as possible. “This is how I test them,” Spink told the Kalamazoo Gazette. “See, how I can make …