Elisabeth Waldon

The Ronald Township Board at a special meeting Monday night approved a trio of ordinances addressing commercial-scale wind and solar projects and data centers, even as township officials repeatedly acknowledged the measures do little to regulate such developments, as the township has no zoning. Ionia County’s Ronald Township is a rural community of around 1,800 people, bordering North Plains Township and Montcalm County’s Bloomer Township, which in turn borders Crystal Township. NextEra Energy, a global energy company, has been signing leases since last fall for “Ionia Wind Energy Center,” a project spanning all four townships, of which only Bloomer is zoned, although Crystal is actively considering implementing zoning.

Check out photos from Thursday's Rhythm on the River concert by Flashback in Greenville.

The Stanton City Commission on Tuesday made appointments to the Planning Commission and voted to issue city email addresses for planners to use for conducting city business. The City Commission voted unanimously to appoint Kelly Hardenburgh to the Planning Commission, filling a seat previously held by Commissioner Erich Rich who is now filling a Planning Commission seat vacated by the late Charles Miel. Mayor Bill Ferguson recommended appointing Hardenburgh, saying he is a neighbor who works for the Michigan Department of Corrections.

Questions over a proposed third chief position became a focal point at a listening session Wednesday night as local officials discussed a possible merger between the Stanton Community Fire Department and the Sheridan Fire Authority.  The Authority has been attempting to get Stanton Fire to merge with it since around 2023, when the Authority was created from the former Sheridan Community Fire Department under Michigan’s Emergency Services Municipalities Public Act 57.

“In the morning, you will all be taken from here. You will be shot.” Those were the last words Robert Martin heard in English before he and hundreds of Americans began a 200-mile freezing march into Nazi Germany, and captivity. Somewhere among them was Jim Baldwin. Two days earlier, Jim had turned 20 years old. A graduate of Sheridan Agricultural School, he was the youngest soldier in his outfit. Old enough to carry a rifle through France, but too young to buy a beer back home.

One student wrote about an FBI agent investigating a murder she actually committed. Another imagined a kidnapped teen trapped in unresolved terror. A third explored ghosts lingering at a women’s rights protest. Junior Jordan Smith, 17, wrote about a man who returned home from work and saw something on the news about a murder at a local park.

After battling a recent house fire together, Stanton and Sheridan firefighters are finding common ground, even as city officials remain divided over whether the departments should merge. Meanwhile, the Sheridan Fire Authority deputy chief has filed to run for a seat on the Stanton City Commission.

Montcalm County’s property values rose by about $400 million this year, marking the latest in a string of sharp increases driven by residential construction growth, agriculture and new solar development. The equalized value of all taxable property for the county’s 20 townships and three cities is $4.3 billion for real property and about $394 million for personal property for a total value of $4.7 billion.

Bloomer Township officials are pushing back against outside control, declining to adopt the Montcalm County prosecutor’s blight ordinance and also opposing state housing legislation that would limit local zoning authority. The township board voted unanimously on both items during Monday night’s meeting.

“Some people’s blight is some people’s riches,” a Montcalm County magistrate allowed even as he directed a Winfield Township farming couple to continue cleaning up a property at the center of an ongoing dispute. Greg and Dolores Johnson appeared before District Court Magistrate Dennis Magirl on Friday, as did Winfield Township Zoning Administrator Dave Kelsey.