Michael Symonds
WMUK reporterReport for America national service program corps member Michael Symonds joined WMUK’s staff in 2023. He covers the “rural meets metro” beat, reporting stories that link seemingly disparate parts of Southwest Michigan. He started his journalistic career at Western Michigan University’s student newspaper, the Western Herald. He was also a news intern at WMUK and hosted the talk show “Stupid Questions” on WIDR-FM, where he interviewed guests from political experts to student leaders. Michael is a graduate of WMU with a B.A. in Journalism and Digital Media.
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Carsie Blanton is a New Jersey-based singer-songwriter and activist. She will kick off a North American tour in Saugatuck Tuesday with a benefit concert to help people affected by President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. -
Appliance manufacturer Whirlpool saw shares drop by about 20% on Wednesday. The drop came after the Benton Harbor-based company released its first-quarter results of the year. -
Beyond a number of tax proposals for local school districts on the ballot Tuesday is a millage renewal for KRESA, which serves nine local districts. -
The war in Iran has made prices climb in recent months, but an outage at an Indiana BP oil refinery Sunday also contributed to a jump this week in regional prices. -
The over 70-unit converted hotel aims to offer flexible transitional housing, in addition to a number of services. -
Battle Creek, Springfield, Albion and Sheridan Township are the latest communities to join a financial assistance program for new mothers and mothers-to-be. -
Verizon cell phone service began to cut in and out across Kalamazoo, starting around 10 a.m. on Thursday morning. The company has confirmed service problems and said it’s working to fix them. -
Residents of the small city of Albion in Calhoun County were advised to shelter-in-place Thursday morning. That was after an armed individual was spotted heading in the direction of Albion College, according to law enforcement officials. -
The comments were aimed at Battle Creek high schoolers who planned to protest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. -
A 29-year-old man was killed in the shooting at Davis Street Park.
