Unemployment rates for April are down in Kalamazoo and Battle Creek, compared to a year ago. Petitions can be circulated beginning Friday for Kalamazoo City Commission and Mayor. WMU hopes to avoid elimination after falling to rival CMU in the MAC baseball tournament.
Seasonally unadjusted jobless rates have dropped over the last year in the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek labor markets. The State Department of Technology, Management and Budget says unemployment has dropped in all 17 major regions in the state since a year ago. (Department of Technology, Management and Budget)
Petitions can be circulated beginning Friday for Kalamazoo City Commission and Mayor. Under changes to the city charter approved by voters in 2014, commissioners will now run for four year terms. The mayor is elected separately. (Kalamazoo Gazette)
Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Deputies are investigating how a small improvised explosive device ended up near a lake in Climax Township. No one was injured by the discovery of the IED. (Kalamazoo Gazette)
Western Michigan will try to avoid elimination from the Mid-American Conference Baseball Tournament on Friday. The Broncos lost to Central Michigan on Thursday 16-5. Western faces Eastern Michigan Friday afternoon in the double-elimination tournament in Avon, Ohio. (WMU Athletics)