By Terry Katz - U.S. Rep. Fred Upton made his first visit to Sturgis Molded Products on Monday. Upton, R-St. Joseph, was accompanied by his wife, Amey, and community leaders including Sturgis City Manager Michael Hughes and Mayor Kenneth Rhodes. Mark Weishaar, Sturgis Molded Products president, welcomed the guests and led them on a tour. Visitors said they were impressed by the variety of products produced at SMP. The company produces millions of plastic dose cups for cough medicine, baby scoops... Read more

By Ted Yoakum Staff Reporter Yet another milestone has been reached on the way to the opening of Western Michigan University’s School of Medicine, as the school announced this morning that it had reached preliminary accreditation status. The announcement was made during the groundbreaking ceremony for the upcoming renovation project to the former MPI Research facility in downtown Kalamazoo, which was donated to the school last year. Over 100 members of the community attended the event, including... Read more

By Rick Cordes - An upturn in the auto industry economy and the success of American Axle and Manufacturing to stay at the forefront of the automotive supply sector has enabled the Three Rivers American Axle plant to make a sizeable donation to the City of Three Rivers and the Three Rivers Community Schools. In a ceremony this morning, AAM officials, represented by Bill Smith, executive director of governmental affairs and community relations, will present Three Rivers Mayor Tom Lowry with a chec... Read more

Congressman Fred Upton this week praised legislation that he says will help promote research into rare diseases in children. The bills that were approved by the House on Wednesday will allow the National Institutes of Health to fund a consortium formed from cooperating institutions to promote more research into genetic illnesses in kids: Upton says that there are diseases may affect such a small number of children that better coordinating researchers could help speed up finding treatments. The l... Read more

A local Korean War veteran was presented on Thursday with several medals for his military service in the 1950s. U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, presented the medals to Roger Jay Williams during a ceremony at the congressman's Kalamazoo District Office. Williams, a native of Kalamazoo, served in the Navy from 1952 to 1956, enlisting at age 17, according to a news release from Upton's office. He served as a sheet metal worker, including aboard the U.S.S. Wasp, a recommissioned attack carrier. ... Read more

By Ralph Lindeman Republican leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee Aug. 20 cited “growing concern” about delays at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in providing guidance to states about implementation of the health care reform law. In a sharply worded letter to acting CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner, the GOPlawmakers said “regulatory uncertainty has crippled states and health providers in their ability to plan for future Medicaid expansions or state insurance exchange... Read more

By John Hayward The Environmental Protection Agency suffered a major defeat in federal court on Tuesday, as its Cross State Air Pollution Rule was struck down. This little bundle of regulatory joy was going to cost the American energy industry (the stuff that works, not the “green energy” junk) a cool $2.7 billion to deliver. ... House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) was also pleased: “Today’s decision striking down EPA’s costly and unworkable Cross-State Air Pollution R... Read more

By Ben Geman A House GOP report capping a probe of the Obama administration's backing for Solyndra calls the solar firm's collapse a “cautionary tale” of political pressures and misguided policy leading to the loss of about a half-billion taxpayer dollars. House Energy and Commerce Committee Republicans on Thursday released a report on their investigation of Solyndra, the solar panel-maker that struggled after receiving a $535 million Energy Department loan guarantee in 2009 and went belly-up la... Read more

By Kevin Allen - Capt. Gordon Oeming enlisted in the Air Force during the Vietnam War and went on to give decades of his life in service to his country. He also waited decades to be recognized for his military accomplishments. The waiting ended Saturday, when U.S. Rep. Fred Upton presented Oeming with overdue service medals. "I thank you for this," Oeming said humbly as the congressman pinned the medals to his uniform. "It's been a long time coming." Upton, R-St. Joseph, delivered the medals dur... Read more

By Katie Rohman - Every day is a reason to celebrate for Buchanan residents Sue and Chelsea Hipshear. On Saturday and Sunday, however, the Relay for Life of Niles-Buchanan offered them the opportunity to wear sparkly Mardi Gras costumes and raise money to fight the disease that plagued Chelsea for more than two years. Chelsea learned she was cancer-free on her 18th birthday Feb. 20. She was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in November 2010. Sue, team captain of Circle of Friends, started participat... Read more