Local News
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A key to staying in child care
First Home, First Teacher launches in Battle Creek, offering rent-free housing for early childhood educators By Nick J. Buckley / For Black Squirrel News BATTLE CREEK — Soon after volunteers put the finishing touches on a duplex on Battle Creek’s…
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More than cereal: Festival blends tradition and discovery in Battle Creek
Annual event fills downtown Battle Creek with music, activities, vendors and visitors from across Michigan By Eston Tolf / For Black Squirrel News BATTLE CREEK — As music echoed throughout downtown Battle Creek and families shuffled between bounce houses, vendors…
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Two Dispatchers Turned a Joke Into a Romance Bookstore
The Midnight Chapter opens in downtown Albion. By Nick J. Buckley for Black Squirrel News ALBION — Rachel Goodhew and Alyssa Stanfield met at dispatch about a year ago. Now they own a bookstore together. “It all was kind of…
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‘A reading revolution’ at Willard Library
Downtown Battle Creek Zine spoke with Director Matt Willis about literacy and community. After more than two decades at Willard Library, Matt Willis became the library’s director in 2022. Downtown Battle Creek Zine sat down with Willis to discuss his path…
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When Calhoun County ‘Polar Bears’ invaded Russia
By Nick J. Buckley for Black Squirrel News While Europe celebrated the Armistice on Nov. 11, 1918, Floyd Allen ‘Pappy’ Wallace of Battle Creek was under fire on Russian soil, a world away from the war most Americans thought was…
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The business of baseball: Inside the Battle Jacks’ new era
By Jane Parikh for Black Squirrel News BATTLE CREEK — The purchase of the Battle Creek Battle Jacks in 2025 didn’t come out of left field for the Massachusetts businessman who bought the team. After a successful career focused on…
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Calhoun County centenarians through the lens of Eric Ebner
Calhoun County Storytellers: Eric Ebner By Lucy Hough / For Black Squirrel News MARSHALL — MARSHALL — Since 2021, Eric Ebner has taken portraits of Calhoun County centenarians. He says it’s a dream creative project because it’s not about selling…
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For Allie Garland and Awesome Sauce, there’s no such thing as a set list
By Nick J. Buckley for Black Squirrel News BATTLE CREEK — Allie Garland might pick up a saxophone, sit at a piano, grab a guitar or step behind the drums. With Awesome Sauce, even the band does not always know…
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Barefoot Blonde keeps Calhoun County dancing
By Nick J. Buckley for Black Squirrel News BATTLE CREEK — The first time Julie Lahr sang professionally, she kicked off her shoes. Nervous and tangled in microphone cords while performing in heels, Lahr decided she would feel more comfortable…
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Bombshell finds freedom in rock music
By Nick J. Buckley for Black Squirrel News PENNFIELD TWP. — As the opening riff of Kiss’ “Rock and Roll All Nite” echoed through a pole barn, the members of Bombshell rehearsed in a circle surrounded by amplifiers, cables and…