UPDATE 4/23/24 9:29 p.m. LUDINGTON — Sheriff Kim Cole tells 9&10 News a 40-year-old Pinconning man is in custody for two counts of felony assault and one count of brandishing a weapon. Sheriff Cole said the man was alone in a room at the Comfort Inn, and negotiators talked him into coming out of his room. There were no shots fired, and no injures reported.

MANTON — The Manton Public Library is another step closer to getting a new home. The library is currently stuffed inside a cramped building more than 100 years old. After years of setbacks, city commissioners recently voted to grant a special use permit for construction of the new library on city property. The new location will be where the VFW hall now sits. The library will be about 3,000 square feet with a children’s area, computer lab, genealogy research and much more. “I just want this to be a place where everyone in the community can come and bring their children. They can come in and research their family’s history. I want them to be able to come here and do the research that they need. I want students from the school, which is just across the street, to be able to come over here and do whatever projects that they are working on. I just want this to be used by the community,” said Linda Kimbel, president of Friends of the Manton Public Library.

Voters in Benzie County will decide if services from Northwestern Michigan College are right for their community. It’s an idea that’s been under consideration since summer 2023 – annexing Benzie County into NMC’s district. NMC trustees voted unanimously at their April 22 meeting to place the proposition before Benzie County voters on the Nov. 5 ballot. If the millage passes, tuition rates for Benzie County students will be cut from $261 a credit hour to $122. But the college says lower tuition won’t be the only benefit. “Not just educational classes, but College for Kids, extended education, their culinary institute...arts and culture. So collaborative opportunities. Maybe sharing different exhibits with Oliver Art Center in Benzie County,” said Laura Oblinger, board of trustees chair for NMC.

Attorneys at the Grand Traverse County Prosecutor’s Office are hoping to raise awareness about crime victims. They were looking to host a crime walk but that unfortunately got cancelled due to weather. The walk was supposed to start at Traverse City’s historic courthouse and ended at the open space. Instead, people were invited into the basement of the Governmental Building, but we will gather to Support Crime Victims in the basement of the Governmental Building at 400 Boardman to listen to speakers from law enforcement, local crime survivors, and the prosecutor’s office addressed the crowds.

Leisa Eckerle Hankins, the owner of Benjamin Twiggs has started a new organization, called the ‘Michigan Cherry Growers Alliance’. Her family has been growing cherries for five generations, since the 1800′s but some growers are facing some big challenges right now. Leisa Eckerle Hankins said the number one challenge cherry growers face is what they are being paid for their crops. “That’s the questions the growers don’t understand. I mean, that’s where we’re looking for transparency. We don’t understand because the grower gets 11 cents. You’re seeing things, I mean being sold $6, $7, $10, $12 a pound. What’s happening in between?” Hankins said.

Spring is defined by warmer temperatures, fresh foliage, and the overall rebound of nature. Many of the changes we see in the environment are thanks to the important pollinators, like honey bees. Jim Anglewicz has been a bee keeper in Alanson for over 20 years. Spring is an important time for honey bees. “There’s different varieties of bees, so depending on the variety of bee some may start building their population in February. My bees start doing that in April,” Anglewicz explains. For his bees, maple tree flowers are their trigger to build up the population. During the build up, bees are collecting as much pollen and nectar as they can in order to feed their baby bees. They build their populations up through June and spend most their resources growing their population and hive. In July, they begin the process of storing their excess. From July 1 to August 15, bees will put about five pounds of weight in the hive every day.

The legislation would increase the maximum sentence for a hate crime conviction from two to five years, with a possible sentence of up to ten years for aggravated offenses.

CHARLEVOIX COUNTY — The Michigan State Police Gaylord Post said Tuesday that 54-year-old Daniel Arthur Zarzycki of Petoskey has been arrested on multiple counts of first- and third-degree criminal sexual conduct. The alleged sexual assaults began as early as 2013, troopers said. The victim came forward after another case involving Zarzycki was being investigated, troopers reported. A report submitted to the Charlevoix County Prosecutor’s Office and an arrest warrant was authorized on April 10, 2024.

TRAVERSE CITY — After an incredibly successful inaugural fireworks competition last year, organizers of the International Fireworks Championship said there will be an additional night and more teams competing in this year’s event. The fireworks competition will take place Friday, Sept. 6, and Saturday, Sept. 7 at Turtle Creek Stadium in Traverse City. The show will feature pyrotechnic teams from Australia, the United Kingdom, India, the Philippines, Finland and the U.S. Tickets for both nights go on sale Tuesday, May 14 at 11 a.m. at www.TraverseCity.com. 1,000 seats will be designated as two-night show ticket packages. Prices per night are...

DETROIT (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department announced a $138.7 million settlement Tuesday with more than 100 people who accused the FBI of grossly mishandling allegations of sexual assault against Larry Nassar in 2015 and 2016, a critical time gap that allowed the sports doctor to continue to prey on victims before his arrest. When combined with other settlements, roughly $1 billion now has been set aside by various organizations to compensate hundreds of women who said Nassar assaulted them under the guise of treatment for sports injuries. Nassar worked at Michigan State University and also served as a team doctor at Indianapolis-based USA Gymnastics. He’s now serving decades in prison for assaulting female athletes, including medal-winning Olympic gymnasts. Acting Associate Attorney General Benjamin Mizer said Nassar betrayed the trust of those in his care for decades, and that the “allegations should have been take seriously from the outset.”

TRAVERSE CITY — The Bay Area Transportation Authority is rolling out its new electric vehicle fleet. BATA recently got four electric vans, and they’re looking forward to more equipped with mobility lifts later this year. BATA said the vans were purchased using state and federal grant funding, and they’re still being outfitted for service. When they’re ready to hit the road, they’ll use BATA’s On-Demand Link Service, which provides door-to-door transportation for getting to work, shopping and doctor’s appointments.

DETROIT (AP) — The NFL draft has taken the show on the road for a decade, giving cities around the country a chance to be in the spotlight. Detroit is on the clock. The Motor City, which was once one of the nation’s largest and most powerful cities, has bounced back from filing for bankruptcy in 2013. GM to move Detroit HQ to new downtown tower, redevelop iconic Renaissance Center, source says

LANSING – The owner of a twice-sunken Lake Michigan barge, Donald Lewis Balcom, 89, of Traverse City, pled guilty, announced Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel on Tuesday. Balcom pled guilty in the 13th Circuit Court in Leelanau County to one count of Water Resources Protection Violation for Discharge of Injurious Substances to Waters of the State, a two-year felony. The felony charge arises from the fact that, when the barge first sunk in November 2020, it released oil into Lake Michigan. Sentencing was deferred, allowing Balcom 12 months to relocate the barge to a permanent, legal location. If he does so, the conviction will convert to a misdemeanor offense. In either case, Nessel will ask that the sentence include an order that Balcom must reimburse the state for any funds expended in dealing with the barge.

A Traverse City venue is helping prop up businesses struggling as major road construction near the downtown area has kept people away. Flat Cap Ventures held its 1st ever ‘Community Impact Pop up Market’ Saturday and Monday at its building on US 31 near Chums Corner. In addition to the construction already happening on Grandview Parkway from South Garfield to Division Street. Road crews are working on a new round-about at Garfield and Potter Road. The intersection will be shut down until late June.

The Northwest Wexford Emergency Authority is now Advanced Life Support certified as of last Friday. Having ALS service means they have a paramedic and an EMT on call 24 hours a day, and they won’t have to rely on MMR or Blair Township anymore. NWEA said their goal is to change and update services to keep up with the needs of the community. “It’s always been, you know, that that need to keep increase in the service. So we went from a paid on call. People come from their homes, increased it to where we have staffing now and it was just the next step having staffing here to get that service service. So it was a good move, it’s exciting,” said Fire Chief Michael Guernsey.

FARWELL — On Monday, Farwell Schools celebrated Earth Day by having students plant oak trees. Elementary school students planted the trees with the help of the Clare Gladwin CTE agriscience class. Last fall, CTE students harvested the acorns that became more than 500 white oaks planted on Monday. The instructor for the agriscience program said the project is a great collaboration between students.

Central Michigan University has a new research submersible that will be on display at a STEM-Posium event, that’s being held Monday at the Parsons-Stulen Building at the Aero Park Campus of Northwestern Michigan College in Traverse City. The new research sub will be critical to regular inspections of the Enbridge Line 5 Oil Pipeline. The Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe named it the ‘Amik Doem’, an Ojibwe term for beaver clan, in honor of its future home on Beaver Island. Don Uzarski, Director of CMU’s Institute of Great Lakes Research, Don Uzarski said this has been a game changer.

"Today we’re taking action to ensure clean water flows to every community," Whitmer said.

NEWAYGO COUNTY — On Thursday, April 18, a multi-jurisdictional task force called MMIONHOST (Mecosta, Montcalm, Isabella, Osceola and Newaygo County Sheriff’s Offices, MSP and the FBI) conducted a Human Trafficking/Sextortion Operation hosted by the Newaygo County Sheriff`s Office. The operation targeted suspects seeking sex workers and/or taking advantage of human trafficking victims near the city of Newaygo. As a result of the operation, two people were arrested for solicitation and accosting a minor (less than 16 years of age). Two other suspects were arrested for solicitation/prostitution (persons 18 years of age and older). The Newaygo County Sheriff’s Office said all decoys used in the operation were adults. No minors were involved or harmed.

LANSING – The Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) board has approved loans for multiple affordable housing developments across the state in its April meeting. The approved projects include new construction developments in Ann Arbor and Garfield Township in Grand Traverse County, and rehabilitation projects in Detroit and Adrian.