Kalamazoo Township gets a new police chief. Kalamazoo Central High School's football coach steps down. WMU men's basketball loses at home.
Kalamazoo Township is getting a new police chief.The Kalamazoo Gazette says Lieutenant Bryan Ergang will replace retiring chief Tim Bourgeois at the end of the year. Bourgeois has been the head of the township's police department for 14 years. Ergang started his law enforcement career there in 1995. He's now in charge of its patrol division and previously ran Kalamazoo Township's Community Policing Unit.
It looks like Battle Creek Public Schools has decided not to sell the Fremont Elementary School building after all. The Battle Creek Enquirer reports that the schools’ board took it off the market today. This past year Battle Creek schools had 130 more students enrolled than they expected. Interim Facilities Director Chad Osborn said he wanted to make sure the district has enough space for future students.
Last year more than 364,000 people stayed at an Airbnb in Michigan. In a press release, Airbnb said that’s a 90 percent increase over the same time last year. Since July, the company has started paying a six percent use tax to the state of Michigan. That generated more than a million dollars in revenue in the first three months.
Kalamazoo County had the second highestarrest rate for retail theft or fraud in the state last year. The Kalamazoo Gazette says that includes shoplifting, fraudulent returns or exchanges, switching price tags, and being part of an organized theft of retail goods.
Kalamazoo Central High School is looking for a new football coach. The Kalamazoo Gazette says Dana Chambers is stepping down after eight seasons. The Maroon Giants ended the 2017 season with a 2-7 record. Chambers will still keep his other job at the high school. He says it was time to move on and - in his words – “Kids need to hear a new voice." Before coming to Kalamazoo Central, Chambers was an assistant football coach at Western Michigan University.
In men’s basketball, Western Michigan lost to Idaho Monday night 82-52. The Broncos are now 6-5 this season with two non-conference games left to play, beginning Friday at Milwaukee. Western will host Chicago State on December 30th, and then Akron on January second in their first Mid-American Conference game.
Some Michigan apples sold last week are at risk for listeria. Jack Brown Produce is recalling apples under the “Apple Ridge” brand name. The recall includes some Honeycrip, Gala, and Fuji varieties.