Kalamazoo, Michigan

Kalamazoo's City Commission approved a $450,000 grant to the Continuum of Care to support winter shelter services, marking the second year of this partnership with the United Way of South Central Michigan. The program, running November through March, offers day and overnight shelter for single adults at sites including Kalamazoo Gospel Mission, plus wraparound services like meals and case management. The total project budget is $979,398, with contributions from Kalamazoo County, Portage, and the Continuum of Care, along with unspent funds from last year. Officials say more beds will be available than last season. This is also the first winter for The Landing Place, a new family homeless shelter that opened in April.

The city of Kalamazoo, Michigan has resumed private "small group" meetings between the city manager and city commissioners, a practice the Commission had unanimously ended in 2021 over transparency concerns, replacing it with public Committee of the Whole sessions. The meetings restarted in November 2025 under interim City Manager Patsy Moore and continued under current City Manager Malcolm Hankins, reportedly kept below the four-member quorum required by Michigan's Open Meetings Act. Topics have included budget, utility rates, zoning and call-in public comment rules. Legal observers note the practice, while not clearly illegal, raises "round-the-horn" deliberation concerns. Commissioners are divided, with some defending the sessions as informational and others questioning their transparency and public trust implications.

Kalamazoo city commissioners voted unanimously to adopt a resolution opposing a ballot proposal from Community Action Michigan that would create a seven-member citizen-led health advisory board tasked with recommending ways to address healthcare costs and access in the city. Commissioners, including Jae Slaby and Mayor David Anderson, argue the city lacks authority to address healthcare directly and that the board would divert resources without binding power, producing only advisory reports. They are urging voters to carefully review the measure before the election, now two weeks away. Residents who already voted in favor but wish to change their decision can spoil their ballot by contacting the City Clerk's Office, though officials recommend doing so in person given the time constraints.

The Kalamazoo City Commission unanimously passed a resolution opposing a Nov. 3 ballot measure that would amend the city charter to create a seven-member Citizens' Advisory Healthcare Action Board. Officials argue the city has no authority over health policy and the board would produce reports without power to enact change, creating ongoing costs for residents. The measure, also on ballots in Portage, Battle Creek, Benton Harbor, Lansing and East Lansing, is backed by Community Action Michigan, which raised $1.4 million and has run ads targeting two Republican congressmen. A GOP consultant says the effort is really aimed at influencing a congressional race, which organizers dispute. Voters can still spoil submitted ballots this week.

Kalamazoo Public Schools voters will see four names on the November ballot for three open Board of Education seats, though one candidate, retired finance supervisor Karen Morton, is no longer seeking the position after missing the withdrawal deadline because she is moving out of the district.

The remaining active candidates are Mariah Bryant, a Voters Not Politicians programs director and Kalamazoo County Democratic Party chair; board president TiAnna Harrison, who has served since 2014; and Patti Sholler-Barber, a 20-year board veteran and former longtime board president. Board member Carol McGlinn is not seeking re-election, leaving her seat open.

Candidates outlined priorities including early childhood education and literacy (Bryant), continued academic rigor and mental-health support (Harrison), and sustained "safely achieved academic excellence" (Sholler-Barber). All emphasized school safety, parental engagement, and building on the district's recent record graduation rate. The election takes place Nov. 3.

The Benton Harbor, Michigan City Commission voted unanimously, 9-0, against adding fluoride to the city's municipal water supply during its regular meeting on September 8. The vote came after the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) asked the city to formally decide the issue, since fluoridation had lapsed due to equipment problems at the water treatment plant and city officials had approved it years earlier.

Mayor Marcus Muhammad and Mayor Pro Tem Shaquille Turner questioned why the state was pressing the city without providing medical or scientific experts to address the commission, and raised concerns about fluoride's health effects. Commissioners noted that fluoride decisions in Michigan rest with municipalities, not the state, and cited potential equipment costs and residents' ability to choose fluoridated hygiene products individually. City Manager Alex Little recommended denial. EGLE said it supports but does not mandate fluoridation, pointing to state guidance that no adverse health effects have been tied to fluoridation at recommended levels.

Federal emergency orders keeping the J.H. Campbell coal plant in west Michigan running have emerged as a campaign issue in the state's 4th District U.S. House race. Energy Secretary Chris Wright has repeatedly extended 90-day directives forcing the plant to stay open past its planned closure, citing electricity supply concerns, despite Consumers Energy's earlier deal with state officials to shut it down.

Democratic challenger Sean McCann is attacking GOP Rep. Bill Huizenga over the plant's continued operation, arguing it has raised Consumers Energy customers' bills by more than $200 million and pledging to push for its closure if elected. Huizenga counters that Michigan's clean-energy mandates, championed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Democrats including McCann, are driving up utility costs and threatening reliable power. Rep. Hillary Scholten joined McCann in criticizing the administration's intervention as an unprecedented move against a private utility's decision. The dispute reflects a broader national fight over fossil fuel plant closures versus renewable energy transitions, playing out in a district expected to be closely contested this November.

Backlash against Flock Safety license-plate cameras continues to grow nationwide. In Texas, Hood County Constable John Shirley shut down and covered the county's Flock cameras, citing "warrantless tracking" of residents; county commissioners had already let his contract with Flock lapse. Elsewhere in Ohio, Michigan and South Carolina, officials face similar pressure: Dayton schools are drafting a use policy, Kalamazoo now requires public votes on contract renewals, and Horry County, South Carolina, plans an October policy review after a Greenville County officer misused camera data to track a former partner.

In Ohio, state senator Al Cutrona is introducing a bill making personal misuse of Flock data a fourth-degree felony, requiring deletion after 10 days and barring third-party sharing — following reports that Cleveland's cameras logged nearly 2,000 immigration-related searches. The moves follow a Washington Post investigation finding dozens of officers nationally misused license-plate readers to stalk women. Flock CEO Garrett Langley has acknowledged the potential for misuse and announced new measures, including cutting default data retention from 30 to seven days and requiring a case code before each search. The ACLU called the changes "a step in the right direction" but said they fall short of legally binding protections like those Cutrona's bill would impose.