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With the cancellation of the second meeting in November, the Calhoun County Board of Commissioners will discuss the 2024 budget at a December meeting. As well, Calhoun County Board Vice-Chair Steve Frisbie (R-Battle Creek) – a seven-term incumbent on the panel – has announced his candidacy for the 44th District Michigan House of Representatives seat. …
Calhoun County Board of Commissioners Vice-Chair Steve Frisbie returns to Community Matters with updates on the October 2023. Frisbie elaborates on the annual property tax apportionment report approved by commissioners in October 2023, including an overall county tax increase related to the 9-1-1 millage. He also discusses the process by which local municipalities begin estimating …
Firefighter and fire safety educator Michael McLeieer visits with Community Matters to discuss fire and environmental concerns related to electric vehicle battery fires. McLeieer, who heads the organization ESCAPE (Education Showing Children and Adults Procedures for Evacuations), talks about how firefighters approach an EV fire, either in a vehicle or in a large manufacturing facility, …
Calhoun County (Michigan) Board of Commissioners Vice-Chair Steve Frisbie updates listeners on attempts to establish a transit authority – which met with success in September, 2023. But, not all municipalities in the county are on board. Frisbie also offered his view on the late-September announcement from Ford Motor Company that it would pause construction on …
Two-episode special Ford Motor Company’s plans for the Megasite in Marshall Township, Michigan back in February, 2023 were clear: Ford will build a lithium ion phosphate battery plant on the site and bring 2500 new jobs to the area. The site has been readying for construction in earnest, even while a grassroots lawsuit attempted to …
Glenn Kowalske, spokesperson for the organization opposing construction of the BlueOval Battery Park Michigan plant in Marshall, returns to Community Matters. This is Kowalske’s first conversation with Community Matters after a judge ruled against the Committee for Marshall-Not the Megasite’s lawsuit targeting the zoning process for the plant. At the time of the interview, the …
Fresh back from Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s business development mission to Japan, Battle Creek Unlimited’s Joe Sobieralski returns to Community Matters. He discusses the multimillion dollar reinvestment by DENSO Manufacturing Michigan to modernize its Battle Creek plant – and, he says, why more such investments would be a good thing – even though they are not …
Ford Motor Company’s plans for a lithium iron phosphate battery production facility in Marshall, Michigan seemingly remain on track. On September 15, 2023, Judge William Marietti sided with Ford in a decision over potential rezoning of the site. The case was brought by a citizens’ group, Committee for Marshall-Not the Megasite, a spokesman for which told Community …
