Sears and Whirlpool are ending a 100 year long partnership. Paw Paw could seek tests to determine if heavy rains earlier this month brought toxic material into Maple Lake. A campaign finance complaint against Kid Rock could go forward even without a Senate campaign.
Sears is breaking ties with Whirlpool ending a partnership that lasted 100 years. Bloomberg reports that the department store chain and the Benton Harbor-based appliance maker could not agree on pricing terms. Sears will not sell Whirlpool brands such as Maytag, Kitchen-Aid and Jenn-Air. Whirlpool plans to divert its inventory to other customers.
Paw Paw is still coping with the effects of a big rain storm earlier this month. The Kalamazoo Gazette says village officials may ask for tests to see if toxic material got into Maple Lake. That’s after a 113-year-old dam broke October 15th. But Paw Paw’s village manager says the top priority is repairing the dam. Officials say there’s no indication that the problem is a threat to public health.
Entertainer Kid Rock isn’t running for Senate, but that won’t necessarily end a campaign finance complaint against him. The musician, whose real name is Robert Ritchie, said during an interview on the Howard Stern show (explicit language) Tuesday that he played along with the idea of a Senate run as a publicity stunt. But theDetroit Free Press reports that a campaign finance complaint is going forward. Officials with Common Cause say that when t-shirts were printed that said “Kid Rock for Senate”, he was a candidate, and had an obligation to file campaign paperwork with the Federal Election Commission. Gongwer News ServiceEditor Zach Gorchow writes about what Kid Rock's absence from the race and Congressman Fred Upton's pending decision mean for next year's U.S. Senate race.
A controversial development near Lake Michigan in Saugatuck has cleared another hurdle. The Holland Sentinel reports that the Saugatuck Township Planning Commission approved the North Shores of Saugatuck development during their meeting Monday night. The development on 300 acres between the Saugatuck Dunes State Park and the Kalamazoo River includes seven homes along Lake Michigan and eight along the river. The houses would be built around a 15-hundred foot boat basin. Members of the Saugatuck Coastal Dunes Alliance have opposed the development because of its impact on the dunes, water and the buried former lumber town of Singapore. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality is expected to make a decision on permits for the development by November 5th.
Western Michigan quarterback John Wassink will miss the rest of the regular season with a broken collarbone. The sophomore suffered the injury in Saturday’s overtime win over at Eastern Michigan. The Kalamazoo Gazette reports that head coach Tim Lester expects Wassink to be out for six to eight weeks, which makes a return for a bowl game possible. Freshman Reece Goddard played the rest of the game Saturday against Eastern, and will be the Broncos’ starting quarterback going forward. Western’s next game is November 1st when they host Central Michigan.