All Reports by Topic

Updated, corrected and developing reports

Reports whose story has changed since they ran, or that are still being updated. Each is also listed under its topic.

• Oct. 23, 2026Correction Oct. 25: An earlier version of this report said the administrator expected commissioners to discuss his evaluation…Administrator Will Miss Nov. 3 Meeting, Says Performance Evaluation Is Planned for Nov. 17In his Oct. 20 report the administrator said his contract calls for an evaluation “usually in November.” He said the board could do the performance review Nov. 17, after a meeting he will not attend.
• Oct. 21, 2026Update Oct. 23: No request for comment on this report was sent to Administrator DolehantyGratiot County Administrator’s Record: Resignations After Board Concerns, Contract Delays, and a Current Refusal to Answer QuestionsPublic records from the three counties where Administrator Timothy Dolehanty held the same job show resignations or contract questions that followed board concerns. In Gratiot, he has said in writing he will not answer questions from anonymous persons.
• Oct. 20, 2026Update Oct. 21: The October 20 meeting took place as scheduled, and the county posted a recording of it to its YouTube…October 20 Board of Commissioners Meeting Was Not LivestreamedThe meeting that began at 4:30 p.m. was not streamed on the county’s YouTube channel, though its Virtual Meetings page says meetings will be live-streamed. The Open Meetings Act does not require it. The report includes a section labeled as our opinion.
• Oct. 1, 2026Update Oct. 3: the fiscal 2027 budget has been adoptedGratiot Moved Its Medical Examiner Work From Genesee County to a Cadillac FirmThe county now pays an estimated $98,863 a year to Mid-Michigan Medical Examiner Group. The switch took effect April 8, three weeks after the vote, at Genesee County’s request.
• Sept. 30, 2026Update Oct. 3: we have now asked the Herald and the Michigan Press Association for commentGratiot’s Legal Notices Are Missing From the Statewide Archive State Law Calls ForA 2022 law says a newspaper that prints legal notices must also place them in a statewide online repository. Searches for the Gratiot County Herald there return nothing.
• Sept. 30, 2026Update Oct. 3: the number of local questions was wrongThree in Ten Voters Decided 12 Tax Questions in August. All 12 Passed.Official results show 29.3 percent turnout countywide, from 36.7 percent in one Alma precinct to 20.8 percent in another. Three more local questions are on the Nov. 3 ballot.
• Sept. 23, 2026Update Oct. 3: bids closed Sept. 25County Seeks Bids to Rebuild the Commission on Aging Parking Lot; Bids Due FridayProject 10-26 calls for pulverizing and repaving about 43,000 square feet of asphalt. Sealed bids are due at 11 a.m. Sept. 25; the board is scheduled to award Oct. 6.
• Sept. 23, 2026Update Oct. 3: the Oct. 1 bid deadline has passedSt. Louis Takes Bids to Demolish a House on S. East Street; Contractors Told to Assume AsbestosThe city says the building at 117 S. East St. is too deteriorated to survey safely. Bids are due 3 p.m. Oct. 1; a separate Oct. 6 hearing concerns a tax exemption at 137 N. Mill St.
• Sept. 23, 2026Update Oct. 3: the number of local questions was wrongAlma Voters to Decide a 1-Mill Levy for the Public Library Building on Nov. 3The ballot calls it a renewal. It would raise an estimated $235,000 in its first year for library repairs and maintenance, 2027 through 2032.
• Sept. 22, 2026Update Oct. 3: two additions to the Oct. 2 note belowVoters to Decide County-Wide Transit Millage in November; Board Split 4-1 to Put It on the BallotThe 0.5-mill, four-year proposal would fund public transit and is tied to a state grant that requires a local funding match. Commissioner Steve Sopocy cast the lone vote against sending it to voters.
• Sept. 19, 2026ClosedAnimal Control Inquiry Routed to County Administration After Publication Seeks CommentCounty administrator cites FOIA requirements and declines anonymous questions; publication seeks clarification on how county departments handle media inquiries.
• Updated Sept. 19, 2026Update Sept. 19What Is Publicly Known About Human Remains Found Near U.S. 127Road Commission workers made the discovery April 7 near Michigan Avenue. Public reports reviewed for this update did not identify the person or establish a cause or manner of death.
• Sept. 18, 2026Update Oct. 3: the council adopted both resolutionsSt. Louis Packet Proposes $1,000 Fees for Two Bulk Data ExportsA proposed policy would set prices for complete assessment and cemetery-data exports while leaving ordinary individual-record requests under existing public-record laws.

County government

The Board of Commissioners, county budget, contracts and departments.

• Oct. 25, 2026Opioid Settlement Money: What Gratiot Has Received, Who Decides, and What’s NextA follow-up to our Sept. 18 report on the county’s request for proposals. Round-one grants run through Dec. 31; the posted records do not list who received them.
• Oct. 23, 2026Board Funds Conservation District at Up to $90,000 on a 3–2 Vote After the $134,187 Version Did Not PassThe district asked for $134,187.04 for a watershed position, a part-time outreach job and matching funds. The board tabled it Oct. 6, rejected it 2–3 on Oct. 20, then approved a version of up to $90,000, 3–2.
• Oct. 23, 2026Correction Oct. 25: An earlier version of this report said the administrator expected commissioners to discuss his evaluation…Administrator Will Miss Nov. 3 Meeting, Says Performance Evaluation Is Planned for Nov. 17In his Oct. 20 report the administrator said his contract calls for an evaluation “usually in November.” He said the board could do the performance review Nov. 17, after a meeting he will not attend.
• Oct. 23, 2026County Packet: Courts Say Monthly Reports Mean More Work, Four Labor Units Are in Talks, Benefits Move to MESSA in JanuaryDocuments posted for the Oct. 20 meeting show the courts saying monthly reports would take “a large amount of additional work,” four bargaining units in negotiations, a code enforcement position being planned and $35.6 million across county funds.
• Oct. 21, 2026Update Oct. 23: No request for comment on this report was sent to Administrator DolehantyGratiot County Administrator’s Record: Resignations After Board Concerns, Contract Delays, and a Current Refusal to Answer QuestionsPublic records from the three counties where Administrator Timothy Dolehanty held the same job show resignations or contract questions that followed board concerns. In Gratiot, he has said in writing he will not answer questions from anonymous persons.
• Oct. 2, 2026Tuesday, Oct. 6: Two Public Meetings, and Your Chance to Be HeardThe county board meets at 4:30 p.m. and the St. Louis City Council at 6:00 p.m. Both agendas are posted and both set aside time for public comment. One closed-session item is on the county agenda; the rest of that meeting is open.
• Oct. 2, 2026County Apportionment Report Puts $16.9 Million in County Taxes on 2026 BillsCommissioners are scheduled to approve the annual report Tuesday. It lists every millage the county’s townships, cities, schools and authorities will levy this year.
• Oct. 2, 2026County to Lend $203,683 to the Drain No. 050 District at 4.25% Over 15 YearsThe Oct. 6 agenda carries a loan agreement between the county and a drainage district. Its exhibit leaves three funding lines blank, and its payment estimate differs from a standard loan calculation.
• Oct. 2, 2026County Board Agenda Leaves Dollar Amounts Blank on Two Service AgreementsAmong seven new-business items for Oct. 6, a $176,202 extension contract is complete. Resolutions for the Conservation District and for court clinical services are not.
• Oct. 1, 2026County Paid $28,000 for an Internal-Controls Audit. The Written Report Is Not in Any Board Packet.Commissioners hired an accounting firm in February after finding the county “lacked detailed, written internal control procedures.” Three checks later, the findings have not been placed in the public record.
• Sept. 30, 2026From Gratiot County’s Shelter to Research Labs: The Stories of Koda and QueenieTwo dogs tied to Gratiot County gave their names to bills in Lansing. County records show the contract behind the practice, a 2012 vote to limit it, and what is still not known.
• Sept. 28, 2026Airport Jet Fuel Sales Down 28% This Year as Taxilanes Are RepavedThe Airport Authority’s Sept. 15 packet logs a month of paving and crack sealing, a pre-bid meeting on the terminal, and fuel sales well behind last year.
• Sept. 23, 2026Update Oct. 3: bids closed Sept. 25County Seeks Bids to Rebuild the Commission on Aging Parking Lot; Bids Due FridayProject 10-26 calls for pulverizing and repaving about 43,000 square feet of asphalt. Sealed bids are due at 11 a.m. Sept. 25; the board is scheduled to award Oct. 6.
• Sept. 22, 2026County Reviews Workplace Complaints at the Sheriff’s Office, Adopts a New Harassment Policy — Then Publicly Rebuts a Former SergeantEight people raised workplace concerns at a June meeting. A county review followed, along with a new policy. A later public statement from the administrator responded to a TV interview by a fired corrections sergeant.
• Sept. 22, 2026Commissioners Discuss a Possible Bond for a New Gratiot Integrated Health FacilityThe county's mental-health agency's current building has ADA, sewer, and heating problems, commissioners were told June 2. No vote, dollar figure or timeline has appeared in the public record since. Here is what we could independently verify about the agency itself.
• Sept. 22, 2026Update Oct. 3: two additions to the Oct. 2 note belowVoters to Decide County-Wide Transit Millage in November; Board Split 4-1 to Put It on the BallotThe 0.5-mill, four-year proposal would fund public transit and is tied to a state grant that requires a local funding match. Commissioner Steve Sopocy cast the lone vote against sending it to voters.
• Sept. 22, 2026County Tells Solar Developer Its Own Zoning Rules Don’t Meet the State’s MinimumA special meeting Aug. 11 drew residents on both sides of a proposed solar farm. The board's own comparison shows where its ordinance is stricter than state law requires — a finding that can let the project skip local approval.
• Sept. 22, 2026County Buys the Animal Shelter Building It Already Operates — for $138,703, From the City of IthacaThe shelter has been run by the county for years. Until this June 16 vote, the land and building under it belonged to the city.
• Sept. 21, 2026County Board Tables $2.4 Million Tax-Capture Plan for 19 Homes at Lakeside EstatesA resident handed commissioners 20 written questions about the plan at a Sept. 15 public hearing. The board voted 5-0 to wait for answers.
• Sept. 21, 2026County Adopts 2027 Budget and 8.3922-Mill Levy; Sets Elected Officials’ PayCommissioners also approved an October start for a new assistant prosecutor and a $1-a-year lease for a county splash pad in Alma.
• Sept. 18, 2026Animal Control Pay Request Draws Public Reaction, Raises Questions About County OversightA record-based look at the meeting, the county job description and the questions still before the Board of Commissioners.
• Sept. 18, 2026County Opens Bidding for Opioid Remediation ServicesProject 12-26 is open for responses through 11 a.m. Oct. 16. The notice starts a competitive process; it does not identify a selected provider or contract price.

City and village government

Councils, commissions and city services in St. Louis, Ithaca, Alma and Breckenridge.

• Oct. 2, 2026What Federal Records Show About the St. Louis Hydro Plant’s OutputFederal data list the dam’s yearly hydro generation from 2002 to 2024. A 2001 license order gave an engineering estimate, and two recent documents describe the current status.
• Oct. 2, 2026St. Louis Cemetery Design Fee Rises to $26,000 After Survey Differs From 1999 PlanA survey found the unbuilt cemetery land does not match the 1999 layout. On Tuesday the council is asked to raise two engineering fees and to petition the county to abandon part of an old drain.
• Oct. 2, 2026St. Louis Asks Council for $32,570 to Seek a USDA Loan for a North Sewer Lift StationTuesday’s council packet pairs a small planning fee with engineer estimates of $3.75 million for a new lift station and $3.275 million for rebuilding North Union Street.
• Sept. 23, 2026Update Oct. 3: the Oct. 1 bid deadline has passedSt. Louis Takes Bids to Demolish a House on S. East Street; Contractors Told to Assume AsbestosThe city says the building at 117 S. East St. is too deteriorated to survey safely. Bids are due 3 p.m. Oct. 1; a separate Oct. 6 hearing concerns a tax exemption at 137 N. Mill St.

Elections and ballot questions

Candidates, millages, bonds and results.

• Oct. 25, 2026Early Voting Is Open in Ithaca Through Nov. 1: Hours, Location and What to BringEvery registered voter in Gratiot County can vote early at the Commission on Aging in Ithaca, whatever city or township they live in. Weekday and weekend hours differ.
• Oct. 25, 2026What’s on Gratiot County Ballots Nov. 3: The Local Questions and RacesA guide to the local millages, bonds and contested races on the county clerk’s unofficial list, with links to our reports on each.
• Oct. 25, 2026Four Write-In Candidates File for Open Alma Commission Seat; Commission Votes Tuesday on $136,975 Software PurchaseFour seats are on the ballot and three candidates filed petitions. The city manager’s newsletter lists four write-in candidates. The Oct. 27 agenda includes a software purchase and $2.5 million in investments.
• Sept. 30, 2026Update Oct. 3: the number of local questions was wrongThree in Ten Voters Decided 12 Tax Questions in August. All 12 Passed.Official results show 29.3 percent turnout countywide, from 36.7 percent in one Alma precinct to 20.8 percent in another. Three more local questions are on the Nov. 3 ballot.
• Sept. 23, 2026Breckenridge Schools Ask Voters for a $12.4 Million Bond With No Change in the Tax RateThe Nov. 3 question would add elementary classrooms and replace 1966-era plumbing. The ballot says 2027 debt millage would stay at its current level, with an average of 2.22 mills over 15 years.
• Sept. 23, 2026Update Oct. 3: the number of local questions was wrongAlma Voters to Decide a 1-Mill Levy for the Public Library Building on Nov. 3The ballot calls it a renewal. It would raise an estimated $235,000 in its first year for library repairs and maintenance, 2027 through 2032.
• Sept. 22, 2026Update Oct. 3: two additions to the Oct. 2 note belowVoters to Decide County-Wide Transit Millage in November; Board Split 4-1 to Put It on the BallotThe 0.5-mill, four-year proposal would fund public transit and is tied to a state grant that requires a local funding match. Commissioner Steve Sopocy cast the lone vote against sending it to voters.
• Sept. 18, 2026Three Filed Candidates Seek Four Alma Commission SeatsAlma voters are scheduled to fill four City Commission seats Nov. 3, but the city's election page lists only three candidates who filed nominating petitions.

Public records and transparency

Records requests, public notices and how offices answer questions.

• Sept. 30, 2026From Gratiot County’s Shelter to Research Labs: The Stories of Koda and QueenieTwo dogs tied to Gratiot County gave their names to bills in Lansing. County records show the contract behind the practice, a 2012 vote to limit it, and what is still not known.
• Sept. 30, 2026Update Oct. 3: we have now asked the Herald and the Michigan Press Association for commentGratiot’s Legal Notices Are Missing From the Statewide Archive State Law Calls ForA 2022 law says a newspaper that prints legal notices must also place them in a statewide online repository. Searches for the Gratiot County Herald there return nothing.
• Sept. 22, 2026What We Know So Far: “Simmons vs Gratiot County”One sentence in the county's own minutes is the entire public record we could find. Here is exactly what it says, and what an extensive search did not turn up.
• Sept. 22, 2026County Board Denies Records Requester’s Appeal Over GIS Data FeeA requester sought digital parcel, zoning and address data and argued the county used the wrong fee formula. Commissioners disagreed, 5-0, citing a different state law that governs bulk mapping data.
• Sept. 18, 2026Animal Control Pay Request Draws Public Reaction, Raises Questions About County OversightA record-based look at the meeting, the county job description and the questions still before the Board of Commissioners.
• Sept. 18, 2026Update Oct. 3: the council adopted both resolutionsSt. Louis Packet Proposes $1,000 Fees for Two Bulk Data ExportsA proposed policy would set prices for complete assessment and cemetery-data exports while leaving ordinary individual-record requests under existing public-record laws.

Roads and public projects

Roads, bridges, water, sewer, parks and other public works.

• Oct. 23, 2026Airport Authority: Runway Lighting Work Runs Toward January, Fuel Gallons Down but Sales Above BudgetThe airport manager said jet fuel sales were about 6,600 gallons below last year and runway lighting materials are 12 to 14 weeks out. The financial report shows fuel sales of $190,838.58 against a $175,000 budget.
• Oct. 2, 2026What Federal Records Show About the St. Louis Hydro Plant’s OutputFederal data list the dam’s yearly hydro generation from 2002 to 2024. A 2001 license order gave an engineering estimate, and two recent documents describe the current status.
• Oct. 2, 2026St. Louis Asks Council for $32,570 to Seek a USDA Loan for a North Sewer Lift StationTuesday’s council packet pairs a small planning fee with engineer estimates of $3.75 million for a new lift station and $3.275 million for rebuilding North Union Street.
• Oct. 2, 2026Ithaca’s Union Street Low Bid Came In 24% Under the Engineer’s EstimateSix contractors bid on the street reconstruction. The low bid was $3,596,606 against an estimate of $4,727,895, and the recommended award depends on two conditions.
• Oct. 1, 2026Airport Lighting Upgrade of Up to $436,650, and a Farm Lease at $41 an AcreFour commissioners approved three airport contracts in one March sitting. In April the county leased 153 acres of airport land to a single bidder for five years.
• Sept. 30, 2026$3.7 Million M-46 Resurfacing Runs Through Mid-October, With a Detour at the Breckenridge Rail CrossingThe state is repaving about 12.5 miles from Croswell Road to Merrill. MDOT lists Oct. 16 as the end date.
• Sept. 28, 2026Airport Jet Fuel Sales Down 28% This Year as Taxilanes Are RepavedThe Airport Authority’s Sept. 15 packet logs a month of paving and crack sealing, a pre-bid meeting on the terminal, and fuel sales well behind last year.
• Sept. 23, 2026Lumberjack Road Bridge Bid Came In $857,000 Under the Engineer’s EstimateThe Pine River crossing is closed through Oct. 30 while it is replaced. State letting records show nine bidders and a low bid of $1.95 million.
• Sept. 23, 2026Update Oct. 3: the Oct. 1 bid deadline has passedSt. Louis Takes Bids to Demolish a House on S. East Street; Contractors Told to Assume AsbestosThe city says the building at 117 S. East St. is too deteriorated to survey safely. Bids are due 3 p.m. Oct. 1; a separate Oct. 6 hearing concerns a tax exemption at 137 N. Mill St.
• Sept. 19, 2026Alma's $40 Million Wastewater Plant Request Is Fully Funded. Most of It Is a Loan.A city notice says the state has committed the full amount Alma sought to rebuild its wastewater treatment plant. The same notice shows that $34.8 million of the package must be repaid, and it says the funding will affect what sewer customers are charged.
• Sept. 18, 2026Ithaca Narrows Union Street Financing to One $4 Million BondA change in Ithaca's financing plan could lower the cost of issuing debt for the Union Street project, according to the city manager's written report. The public record available Friday morning did not yet show the result of a special council vote.
• Sept. 18, 2026Draft Fitness-Court Plan Calls for $174,050 in Local FundingA draft resolution pairs a $50,000 National Fitness Campaign grant with a proposed $174,050 local commitment for an outdoor court intended to be free to the public.

Schools and colleges

School districts and Alma College.

• Sept. 23, 2026Breckenridge Schools Ask Voters for a $12.4 Million Bond With No Change in the Tax RateThe Nov. 3 question would add elementary classrooms and replace 1966-era plumbing. The ballot says 2027 debt millage would stay at its current level, with an average of 2.22 mills over 15 years.
• Sept. 19, 2026Alma College Adds Chemistry Transfer Route From Montcalm Community CollegeStudents who finish an associate degree at Montcalm Community College now have a mapped two-year path to a chemistry bachelor's degree in Alma, the college says.
• Sept. 19, 2026Five Alumni to Be Honored at Homecoming; Retired Choir Director Will Lead ParadeAlma College has named its 2026 Tartan Award recipients and chosen Will Nichols, who conducted the college choirs for more than four decades, as parade grand marshal.
• Sept. 18, 2026Alma College Graduate Jake Kelley Wins MasterChef Season 16The self-taught cook and 2024 neuroscience graduate won the national competition after advancing through a season built around global cuisines and cultural heritage.
• Sept. 18, 2026Alma College Reports Fall Enrollment of 1,229Alma College says total fall enrollment is five students higher than last year, while its full-time and transfer counts show larger gains.
• Sept. 18, 2026Baltierra Wins Division Race at Spartan InvitationalAlma's Ezekiel Baltierra took first in the boys Bronze Division race Sept. 11, according to MileSplit Michigan's published meet recap.

Public safety

Police, fire, EMS and the Sheriff's Office.

• Oct. 23, 2026Animal Control Resolution Was Added From the Floor; the Administrator Cited Insurance Cost, the Dog Law and Chain of CommandThe agenda posted on BoardBook listed one new-business item. At the start of the Oct. 20 meeting a resolution for animal control was added. The recording shows what the administrator said before the 5–0 vote.
• Oct. 21, 2026Board Rescinds Animal Control Firearms Authorization Less Than 20 Months After Placing Department Under SheriffResolution 26-468 passed on a unanimous roll-call vote Oct. 20. It moves Animal Control from the sheriff’s office to the county administrator and ends officers’ authorization to carry firearms and to respond to law enforcement calls.
• Oct. 1, 2026Update Oct. 3: the fiscal 2027 budget has been adoptedGratiot Moved Its Medical Examiner Work From Genesee County to a Cadillac FirmThe county now pays an estimated $98,863 a year to Mid-Michigan Medical Examiner Group. The switch took effect April 8, three weeks after the vote, at Genesee County’s request.
• Sept. 22, 2026Scanner: “Possible Stolen Ambulance” Call in Alma Was a Sideswipe, Dispatch Later SaidAn evening radio call about an ambulance at a North Alger Road credit union was corrected on the air within minutes. No agency has released a report.
• Sept. 22, 2026County Reviews Workplace Complaints at the Sheriff’s Office, Adopts a New Harassment Policy — Then Publicly Rebuts a Former SergeantEight people raised workplace concerns at a June meeting. A county review followed, along with a new policy. A later public statement from the administrator responded to a TV interview by a fired corrections sergeant.
• Updated Sept. 19, 2026Update Sept. 19What Is Publicly Known About Human Remains Found Near U.S. 127Road Commission workers made the discovery April 7 near Michigan Avenue. Public reports reviewed for this update did not identify the person or establish a cause or manner of death.

People and community

Achievements, sports and community life.

• Oct. 20, 2026Update Oct. 21: The October 20 meeting took place as scheduled, and the county posted a recording of it to its YouTube…October 20 Board of Commissioners Meeting Was Not LivestreamedThe meeting that began at 4:30 p.m. was not streamed on the county’s YouTube channel, though its Virtual Meetings page says meetings will be live-streamed. The Open Meetings Act does not require it. The report includes a section labeled as our opinion.
• Oct. 3, 2026Why We Started, What We Have Tried, and What We Found Is WorkingA publisher’s account and explainer: how we got here, what happened when we asked county offices questions, what we found when we searched for a rule about who may speak to the press, and what we are changing.
• Sept. 19, 2026ClosedAnimal Control Inquiry Routed to County Administration After Publication Seeks CommentCounty administrator cites FOIA requirements and declines anonymous questions; publication seeks clarification on how county departments handle media inquiries.
• Sept. 19, 2026Five Alumni to Be Honored at Homecoming; Retired Choir Director Will Lead ParadeAlma College has named its 2026 Tartan Award recipients and chosen Will Nichols, who conducted the college choirs for more than four decades, as parade grand marshal.
• Sept. 18, 2026Alma College Graduate Jake Kelley Wins MasterChef Season 16The self-taught cook and 2024 neuroscience graduate won the national competition after advancing through a season built around global cuisines and cultural heritage.
• Sept. 18, 2026Baltierra Wins Division Race at Spartan InvitationalAlma's Ezekiel Baltierra took first in the boys Bronze Division race Sept. 11, according to MileSplit Michigan's published meet recap.

By town

All 58 reports, newest first

• Oct. 25, 2026Early Voting Is Open in Ithaca Through Nov. 1: Hours, Location and What to BringEvery registered voter in Gratiot County can vote early at the Commission on Aging in Ithaca, whatever city or township they live in. Weekday and weekend hours differ.
• Oct. 25, 2026What’s on Gratiot County Ballots Nov. 3: The Local Questions and RacesA guide to the local millages, bonds and contested races on the county clerk’s unofficial list, with links to our reports on each.
• Oct. 25, 2026Four Write-In Candidates File for Open Alma Commission Seat; Commission Votes Tuesday on $136,975 Software PurchaseFour seats are on the ballot and three candidates filed petitions. The city manager’s newsletter lists four write-in candidates. The Oct. 27 agenda includes a software purchase and $2.5 million in investments.
• Oct. 25, 2026Opioid Settlement Money: What Gratiot Has Received, Who Decides, and What’s NextA follow-up to our Sept. 18 report on the county’s request for proposals. Round-one grants run through Dec. 31; the posted records do not list who received them.
• Oct. 23, 2026Animal Control Resolution Was Added From the Floor; the Administrator Cited Insurance Cost, the Dog Law and Chain of CommandThe agenda posted on BoardBook listed one new-business item. At the start of the Oct. 20 meeting a resolution for animal control was added. The recording shows what the administrator said before the 5–0 vote.
• Oct. 23, 2026Board Funds Conservation District at Up to $90,000 on a 3–2 Vote After the $134,187 Version Did Not PassThe district asked for $134,187.04 for a watershed position, a part-time outreach job and matching funds. The board tabled it Oct. 6, rejected it 2–3 on Oct. 20, then approved a version of up to $90,000, 3–2.
• Oct. 23, 2026Correction Oct. 25: An earlier version of this report said the administrator expected commissioners to discuss his evaluation…Administrator Will Miss Nov. 3 Meeting, Says Performance Evaluation Is Planned for Nov. 17In his Oct. 20 report the administrator said his contract calls for an evaluation “usually in November.” He said the board could do the performance review Nov. 17, after a meeting he will not attend.
• Oct. 23, 2026County Packet: Courts Say Monthly Reports Mean More Work, Four Labor Units Are in Talks, Benefits Move to MESSA in JanuaryDocuments posted for the Oct. 20 meeting show the courts saying monthly reports would take “a large amount of additional work,” four bargaining units in negotiations, a code enforcement position being planned and $35.6 million across county funds.
• Oct. 23, 2026Airport Authority: Runway Lighting Work Runs Toward January, Fuel Gallons Down but Sales Above BudgetThe airport manager said jet fuel sales were about 6,600 gallons below last year and runway lighting materials are 12 to 14 weeks out. The financial report shows fuel sales of $190,838.58 against a $175,000 budget.
• Oct. 21, 2026Update Oct. 23: No request for comment on this report was sent to Administrator DolehantyGratiot County Administrator’s Record: Resignations After Board Concerns, Contract Delays, and a Current Refusal to Answer QuestionsPublic records from the three counties where Administrator Timothy Dolehanty held the same job show resignations or contract questions that followed board concerns. In Gratiot, he has said in writing he will not answer questions from anonymous persons.
• Oct. 21, 2026Board Rescinds Animal Control Firearms Authorization Less Than 20 Months After Placing Department Under SheriffResolution 26-468 passed on a unanimous roll-call vote Oct. 20. It moves Animal Control from the sheriff’s office to the county administrator and ends officers’ authorization to carry firearms and to respond to law enforcement calls.
• Oct. 20, 2026Update Oct. 21: The October 20 meeting took place as scheduled, and the county posted a recording of it to its YouTube…October 20 Board of Commissioners Meeting Was Not LivestreamedThe meeting that began at 4:30 p.m. was not streamed on the county’s YouTube channel, though its Virtual Meetings page says meetings will be live-streamed. The Open Meetings Act does not require it. The report includes a section labeled as our opinion.
• Oct. 3, 2026Why We Started, What We Have Tried, and What We Found Is WorkingA publisher’s account and explainer: how we got here, what happened when we asked county offices questions, what we found when we searched for a rule about who may speak to the press, and what we are changing.
• Oct. 2, 2026Tuesday, Oct. 6: Two Public Meetings, and Your Chance to Be HeardThe county board meets at 4:30 p.m. and the St. Louis City Council at 6:00 p.m. Both agendas are posted and both set aside time for public comment. One closed-session item is on the county agenda; the rest of that meeting is open.
• Oct. 2, 2026What Federal Records Show About the St. Louis Hydro Plant’s OutputFederal data list the dam’s yearly hydro generation from 2002 to 2024. A 2001 license order gave an engineering estimate, and two recent documents describe the current status.
• Oct. 2, 2026St. Louis Cemetery Design Fee Rises to $26,000 After Survey Differs From 1999 PlanA survey found the unbuilt cemetery land does not match the 1999 layout. On Tuesday the council is asked to raise two engineering fees and to petition the county to abandon part of an old drain.
• Oct. 2, 2026St. Louis Asks Council for $32,570 to Seek a USDA Loan for a North Sewer Lift StationTuesday’s council packet pairs a small planning fee with engineer estimates of $3.75 million for a new lift station and $3.275 million for rebuilding North Union Street.
• Oct. 2, 2026Ithaca’s Union Street Low Bid Came In 24% Under the Engineer’s EstimateSix contractors bid on the street reconstruction. The low bid was $3,596,606 against an estimate of $4,727,895, and the recommended award depends on two conditions.
• Oct. 2, 2026County Apportionment Report Puts $16.9 Million in County Taxes on 2026 BillsCommissioners are scheduled to approve the annual report Tuesday. It lists every millage the county’s townships, cities, schools and authorities will levy this year.
• Oct. 2, 2026County to Lend $203,683 to the Drain No. 050 District at 4.25% Over 15 YearsThe Oct. 6 agenda carries a loan agreement between the county and a drainage district. Its exhibit leaves three funding lines blank, and its payment estimate differs from a standard loan calculation.
• Oct. 2, 2026County Board Agenda Leaves Dollar Amounts Blank on Two Service AgreementsAmong seven new-business items for Oct. 6, a $176,202 extension contract is complete. Resolutions for the Conservation District and for court clinical services are not.
• Oct. 1, 2026County Paid $28,000 for an Internal-Controls Audit. The Written Report Is Not in Any Board Packet.Commissioners hired an accounting firm in February after finding the county “lacked detailed, written internal control procedures.” Three checks later, the findings have not been placed in the public record.
• Oct. 1, 2026Update Oct. 3: the fiscal 2027 budget has been adoptedGratiot Moved Its Medical Examiner Work From Genesee County to a Cadillac FirmThe county now pays an estimated $98,863 a year to Mid-Michigan Medical Examiner Group. The switch took effect April 8, three weeks after the vote, at Genesee County’s request.
• Oct. 1, 2026Airport Lighting Upgrade of Up to $436,650, and a Farm Lease at $41 an AcreFour commissioners approved three airport contracts in one March sitting. In April the county leased 153 acres of airport land to a single bidder for five years.
• Sept. 30, 2026From Gratiot County’s Shelter to Research Labs: The Stories of Koda and QueenieTwo dogs tied to Gratiot County gave their names to bills in Lansing. County records show the contract behind the practice, a 2012 vote to limit it, and what is still not known.
• Sept. 30, 2026Update Oct. 3: we have now asked the Herald and the Michigan Press Association for commentGratiot’s Legal Notices Are Missing From the Statewide Archive State Law Calls ForA 2022 law says a newspaper that prints legal notices must also place them in a statewide online repository. Searches for the Gratiot County Herald there return nothing.
• Sept. 30, 2026Update Oct. 3: the number of local questions was wrongThree in Ten Voters Decided 12 Tax Questions in August. All 12 Passed.Official results show 29.3 percent turnout countywide, from 36.7 percent in one Alma precinct to 20.8 percent in another. Three more local questions are on the Nov. 3 ballot.
• Sept. 30, 2026$3.7 Million M-46 Resurfacing Runs Through Mid-October, With a Detour at the Breckenridge Rail CrossingThe state is repaving about 12.5 miles from Croswell Road to Merrill. MDOT lists Oct. 16 as the end date.
• Sept. 28, 2026Airport Jet Fuel Sales Down 28% This Year as Taxilanes Are RepavedThe Airport Authority’s Sept. 15 packet logs a month of paving and crack sealing, a pre-bid meeting on the terminal, and fuel sales well behind last year.
• Sept. 23, 2026Breckenridge Schools Ask Voters for a $12.4 Million Bond With No Change in the Tax RateThe Nov. 3 question would add elementary classrooms and replace 1966-era plumbing. The ballot says 2027 debt millage would stay at its current level, with an average of 2.22 mills over 15 years.
• Sept. 23, 2026Lumberjack Road Bridge Bid Came In $857,000 Under the Engineer’s EstimateThe Pine River crossing is closed through Oct. 30 while it is replaced. State letting records show nine bidders and a low bid of $1.95 million.
• Sept. 23, 2026Update Oct. 3: bids closed Sept. 25County Seeks Bids to Rebuild the Commission on Aging Parking Lot; Bids Due FridayProject 10-26 calls for pulverizing and repaving about 43,000 square feet of asphalt. Sealed bids are due at 11 a.m. Sept. 25; the board is scheduled to award Oct. 6.
• Sept. 23, 2026Update Oct. 3: the Oct. 1 bid deadline has passedSt. Louis Takes Bids to Demolish a House on S. East Street; Contractors Told to Assume AsbestosThe city says the building at 117 S. East St. is too deteriorated to survey safely. Bids are due 3 p.m. Oct. 1; a separate Oct. 6 hearing concerns a tax exemption at 137 N. Mill St.
• Sept. 23, 2026Update Oct. 3: the number of local questions was wrongAlma Voters to Decide a 1-Mill Levy for the Public Library Building on Nov. 3The ballot calls it a renewal. It would raise an estimated $235,000 in its first year for library repairs and maintenance, 2027 through 2032.
• Sept. 22, 2026Scanner: “Possible Stolen Ambulance” Call in Alma Was a Sideswipe, Dispatch Later SaidAn evening radio call about an ambulance at a North Alger Road credit union was corrected on the air within minutes. No agency has released a report.
• Sept. 22, 2026County Reviews Workplace Complaints at the Sheriff’s Office, Adopts a New Harassment Policy — Then Publicly Rebuts a Former SergeantEight people raised workplace concerns at a June meeting. A county review followed, along with a new policy. A later public statement from the administrator responded to a TV interview by a fired corrections sergeant.
• Sept. 22, 2026What We Know So Far: “Simmons vs Gratiot County”One sentence in the county's own minutes is the entire public record we could find. Here is exactly what it says, and what an extensive search did not turn up.
• Sept. 22, 2026Commissioners Discuss a Possible Bond for a New Gratiot Integrated Health FacilityThe county's mental-health agency's current building has ADA, sewer, and heating problems, commissioners were told June 2. No vote, dollar figure or timeline has appeared in the public record since. Here is what we could independently verify about the agency itself.
• Sept. 22, 2026Update Oct. 3: two additions to the Oct. 2 note belowVoters to Decide County-Wide Transit Millage in November; Board Split 4-1 to Put It on the BallotThe 0.5-mill, four-year proposal would fund public transit and is tied to a state grant that requires a local funding match. Commissioner Steve Sopocy cast the lone vote against sending it to voters.
• Sept. 22, 2026County Board Denies Records Requester’s Appeal Over GIS Data FeeA requester sought digital parcel, zoning and address data and argued the county used the wrong fee formula. Commissioners disagreed, 5-0, citing a different state law that governs bulk mapping data.
• Sept. 22, 2026County Tells Solar Developer Its Own Zoning Rules Don’t Meet the State’s MinimumA special meeting Aug. 11 drew residents on both sides of a proposed solar farm. The board's own comparison shows where its ordinance is stricter than state law requires — a finding that can let the project skip local approval.
• Sept. 22, 2026County Buys the Animal Shelter Building It Already Operates — for $138,703, From the City of IthacaThe shelter has been run by the county for years. Until this June 16 vote, the land and building under it belonged to the city.
• Sept. 21, 2026County Board Tables $2.4 Million Tax-Capture Plan for 19 Homes at Lakeside EstatesA resident handed commissioners 20 written questions about the plan at a Sept. 15 public hearing. The board voted 5-0 to wait for answers.
• Sept. 21, 2026County Adopts 2027 Budget and 8.3922-Mill Levy; Sets Elected Officials’ PayCommissioners also approved an October start for a new assistant prosecutor and a $1-a-year lease for a county splash pad in Alma.
• Sept. 19, 2026ClosedAnimal Control Inquiry Routed to County Administration After Publication Seeks CommentCounty administrator cites FOIA requirements and declines anonymous questions; publication seeks clarification on how county departments handle media inquiries.
• Updated Sept. 19, 2026Update Sept. 19What Is Publicly Known About Human Remains Found Near U.S. 127Road Commission workers made the discovery April 7 near Michigan Avenue. Public reports reviewed for this update did not identify the person or establish a cause or manner of death.
• Sept. 19, 2026Alma College Adds Chemistry Transfer Route From Montcalm Community CollegeStudents who finish an associate degree at Montcalm Community College now have a mapped two-year path to a chemistry bachelor's degree in Alma, the college says.
• Sept. 19, 2026Five Alumni to Be Honored at Homecoming; Retired Choir Director Will Lead ParadeAlma College has named its 2026 Tartan Award recipients and chosen Will Nichols, who conducted the college choirs for more than four decades, as parade grand marshal.
• Sept. 19, 2026Alma's $40 Million Wastewater Plant Request Is Fully Funded. Most of It Is a Loan.A city notice says the state has committed the full amount Alma sought to rebuild its wastewater treatment plant. The same notice shows that $34.8 million of the package must be repaid, and it says the funding will affect what sewer customers are charged.
• Sept. 18, 2026Animal Control Pay Request Draws Public Reaction, Raises Questions About County OversightA record-based look at the meeting, the county job description and the questions still before the Board of Commissioners.
• Sept. 18, 2026Alma College Graduate Jake Kelley Wins MasterChef Season 16The self-taught cook and 2024 neuroscience graduate won the national competition after advancing through a season built around global cuisines and cultural heritage.
• Sept. 18, 2026Alma College Reports Fall Enrollment of 1,229Alma College says total fall enrollment is five students higher than last year, while its full-time and transfer counts show larger gains.
• Sept. 18, 2026Baltierra Wins Division Race at Spartan InvitationalAlma's Ezekiel Baltierra took first in the boys Bronze Division race Sept. 11, according to MileSplit Michigan's published meet recap.
• Sept. 18, 2026Ithaca Narrows Union Street Financing to One $4 Million BondA change in Ithaca's financing plan could lower the cost of issuing debt for the Union Street project, according to the city manager's written report. The public record available Friday morning did not yet show the result of a special council vote.
• Sept. 18, 2026Update Oct. 3: the council adopted both resolutionsSt. Louis Packet Proposes $1,000 Fees for Two Bulk Data ExportsA proposed policy would set prices for complete assessment and cemetery-data exports while leaving ordinary individual-record requests under existing public-record laws.
• Sept. 18, 2026County Opens Bidding for Opioid Remediation ServicesProject 12-26 is open for responses through 11 a.m. Oct. 16. The notice starts a competitive process; it does not identify a selected provider or contract price.
• Sept. 18, 2026Draft Fitness-Court Plan Calls for $174,050 in Local FundingA draft resolution pairs a $50,000 National Fitness Campaign grant with a proposed $174,050 local commitment for an outdoor court intended to be free to the public.
• Sept. 18, 2026Three Filed Candidates Seek Four Alma Commission SeatsAlma voters are scheduled to fill four City Commission seats Nov. 3, but the city's election page lists only three candidates who filed nominating petitions.