News in 2025 was often dominated by the second Trump administration. For WMUK that meant reporting on issues like immigration. We reported on truckers encountering immigration agents at Indiana weigh stations along the I-94 corridor and farmworkers avoiding events because of fears of being caught in immigration enforcement operations.
Cuts at the Veterans Affairs administration hit home in Battle Creek. Veteran Jammie Mosser, who was fired from his job at the VA Medical Center. Mosser said he felt cast aside like trash.
The Trump administration’s policies also drew protests, such as the “No Kings” events in Kalamazoo, Battle Creek and other cities. One group tried to find common ground at an event called “Meet Me in the Middle” in Dowagiac. WMUK’s Michael Symonds covered the event, but didn’t hear from any right-leaning voters. If they did attend, they didn’t make themselves known.
Issues like housing continued to be significant throughout the region and the nation. WMUK and NowKalamazoo investigated the conditions at Fox Ridge Apartments in Kalamazoo. The three-part series showed that despite passing inspections, residents lived with health hazards such as mouse infestations and sewer backups.
Some stories bridge the calendar years. Tornadoes that came through the area in 2024 left severe destruction that lingered into 2025. WMUK’s Michael Symonds went to the Pavilion Estates mobile home park and found residents still living in damaged homes, while others had yet to move back in.
Kalamazoo College announced layoffs over the summer. 11 K-College employees, about 2% of the workforce, were let go. WMUK’s Elliot Russell reported on how the layoffs were criticized by Kalamazoo College employees, although the administration said they were necessary to deal with a budget deficit.
Other stories focused on fixtures of college campuses. WMUK’s Ingrid Gardner reported on the bell tower at Kalamazoo College, and the tradition of ringing it once a year for the “Day of Gracious Living” when classes are cancelled and students go to the beach.
WMUK’s Annabella Tetner reported on a large globe in Western Michigan University’s Knauss Hall. It came to campus in the early 1970s, but its future became uncertain when Knauss Hall was shuttered.
High school sports were the focus of a story from WMUK’s Marshall Nesbitt about the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s struggle to recruit officials for athletic events around the state.
In June, American University professor and author Sherri Williams, who grew up in Kalamazoo, returned to her hometown to discuss her book Black Social Television. It chronicles how Black Twitter changed representation on TV.. WMUK’s Michael Symonds interviewed Williams before the event.
In its 10th year on the air, WMUK's "Why's That?" continued to answer your questions about all kinds of things in Southwest Michigan. WMUK's Michael Symonds reported on a large, strange object in a Kalamazoo yard, the spire at WMU's engineering campus, and the namesake of Eddie's Lane. WMUK's Leona Larson reported on a runway sign that's not on a runway. WMUK's Anna Spidel explored several questions a listener sent in on cable median barriers.
2025 was a year of endings as well. The Timid Rabbit, housed in a distinctive bright orange building on West Main Street in Kalamazoo, announced its closing after 35 years. It provided costumes, props, magic items and more. WMUK’s Anna Spidel visited the shop just ahead of Halloween.
The Michigan News Agency, a longtime fixture in downtown Kalamazoo, closed after its owner Dean Hauck died February 8th. WMUK’s Sehvilla Mann was there for an open house in May, when people had one last chance to walk through the store.
WMUK’s staff and our listeners had our own tough goodbye in 2025. Andy Robins, a familiar voice on the station, died December 3rd at the age of 69. Andy reported for WMUK for more than 35 years, and was news director from 1998 until his retirement in 2021. WMUK’s current news director Sehvilla Mann, along with content director Gordon Evans and host Cara Lieurance shared their thoughts on Andy’s contributions to WMUK. We miss him, and our thoughts are with the Robins family during the holiday season.
