The WGHN Newsroom

PARK TOWNSHIP, Mich. - A 23-year-old man from Holland suffered a head injury after his boat crashed onto the South Pier near Holland State Park Friday evening around 9:55 p.m. according to the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office. Deputies say they were alerted to the crash by Michigan DNR staff stationed at the park. When t...

(Lansing, MI) - Some school districts in Michigan are taking out loans to keep their doors open if state government shuts down October 1st. Laingsburg Community Schools outside of Lansing is one of them, and superintendent Matt Shastal says their board of education approved taking a nearly two-million-dollar loan in Ju...

(Grand Rapids, MI) - The gender of a recently born pygmy hippo at the John Ball Zoo is being announced. On Thursday, the zoo held a gender reveal party for the hippo who was born last week to parents Penelope and Jahiri. During the party, dad Jahiri cracked open a watermelon which was blue inside, revealing that the ba...

West Olive, MI - The Ottawa County Board of Commissioners has selected Patrick Waterman to serve as the next Administrator. Waterman currently serves as Deputy City Manager for the City of Wyoming, where he oversees multiple departments and supports operations for a city of more than 77,000 residents with a $181 millio...

Cooperville, MI (WGHN) - State Rep. Luke Meerman (R-Coopersville) welcomed Fire Chief Travis Kroll of the Coopersville Polkton Fire Department to the Michigan House of Representatives' annual 9-11 Memorial Ceremony in the House chamber on Thursday. The ceremony included the ringing of a fire bell in memory of every fir...

(Kalamazoo, MI) -- Western Michigan University political science professor John Clark says Americans are getting too used to political violence. Clark says that people regardless of their political beliefs are now treating people they disagree with as the enemy and not their opposition. He says the shooting death We...

(Holland Township, MI) - A 70-year-old Wyoming man is dead after a rollover crash in Holland Township. The Ottawa County Sheriff's Office says he was heading north on 104th Avenue hauling a utility trailer when he pulled into the path of a sedan that was going west on Quincy Street yesterday afternoon. The truck and th...

(Detroit, MI) - Michigan's lieutenant governor is safe after his home was targeted in a bomb threat yesterday. Garlin Gilchrist says the threat has been cleared, but says it was credible and was a scary time until police gave him, his wife, and their children word that they were okay. In a statement, he says political ...

Robinson Township, MI (WGHN) - A three-vehicle crash shut down M-231 near Buchanan Street for about two hours Thursday morning. Ottawa County Sheriff Deputies say a northbound pickup lost its trailer, which crossed the centerline and was hit by a southbound truck just after 7:30 a.m. That impact sent the trailer int...

OTTAWA COUNTY, MI - Tensions briefly flared Wednesday as Ottawa County commissioners interviewed a former county employee for the long-vacant county administrator's post. The exchange came near the end of an interview with Patrick Waterman, the county's former deputy administrator who resigned in July 2023 amid interna...

Muskegon, MI (WGHN) - The City of Muskegon was informed on, Wednesday, September 10, 2025, that Cole's Quality Foods would be ceasing production operations at its facility located at 1188 Lakeshore Drive effective today. We have since confirmed with the company's Human Resources department that production employees wer...

(Grand Rapids, MI) - Corewell Health is the latest healthcare system in the state to stop offering gender-affirming care for minors. They say in a statement they will no longer prescribe puberty blockers or hormone therapy for gender affirmation to minors "given the serious risk of legal and regulatory action.&quo...

(Lansing, MI) - Flags in Michigan are flying at half-staff until Sunday. Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued the order yesterday in accordance with an order from President Trump. The move follows the shooting death at Utah Valley University yesterday of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was shot when he was answerin...

Grand Haven, MI (WGHN) - Here is another update on the Fulton Avenue construction project from The City of Grand Haven. It has been another very productive week along Fulton Street as crews made significant progress on underground infrastructure work and began work at the final intersection at 5th Street. The latest pr...

LANSING, Mich. - Sen. Roger Victory on Tuesday co-sponsored a constitutional amendment that would withhold pay from lawmakers and the governor if the state budget is not completed by the statutory July 1 deadline. "Every worker in America must do their job to continue getting paid," said Victory, R-Hudsonvil...

(Mason, MI) - Ingham County Judge Kristen Simmons has dismissed charges against 15 Republicans accused by the Michigan Attorney General's Office of being fake electors in the 2020 presidential election. The group met in December 2020 to sign a document saying they were the state's electors and directed Michigan's elect...

(Lansing, MI) - State lawmakers are running out of days to get the state budget negotiated and approved for Fiscal Year 2026, which starts October 1. The House and Senate have each passed a budget, but they are several billion dollars apart and discussions to reconcile the differences have not yet begun. Senate Appropr...

West Olive, MI (WGHN) - The Ottawa County Sheriff's Office is sending a message to residents: Beware of financial scams and fraud. Detective Joe Monger, a key figure in the County's community outreach efforts, is leading the charge by educating the public through informational presentations. The goal is to arm Ottawa C...

West Olive, MI (WGHN) - The Ottawa County Board of Commissioners will meet Wednesday at 9:00 a.m. to interview candidates for the administrator position. For an in depth look at the candidates click here on Ottawa News Network. From a competitive pool of 58 applicants, five candidates will move forward to the next in...

WASHINGTON, DC - Two of U.S. Congresswoman Hillary Scholten's (MI-03) bipartisan bills passed out of the U.S. House of Representatives to bolster transportation supply chains and support airport operations. The Congresswoman, a Member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, co-led the Transitioning Re...

Grand Haven, MI - The Grand Haven Area Community Foundation (GHACF) has awarded nearly $650,000 in Community Impact Grants to five local organizations. The Outdoor Discovery Center (ODC) received the largest award, a $250,000 grant, to support development of the new Duneside Discovery Center at Mary A. White Elementary...

(Holland Township, MI) - A man is being found guilty of charges after his boat and trailer struck and killed a woman in Holland Township. The incident happened in July of 2024, when a boat and trailer broke free from a vehicle being driven by 44-year-old Alejandro Chavez on Quincy Street. The boat and trailer then stru...

(Grand Rapids, MI) - COVID cases are on the rise across West Michigan. Health officials say there has been an uptick in emergency room visits and hospital admissions in the recent weeks due to COVID. While most people are currently dealing with seasonal fall allergies, health officials say those allergies should not ca...

(Grand Rapids, MI) - The first concert to be held at the new Acrisure Amphitheater in downtown Grand Rapids is being announced. County artist Russell Dickerson is set to take the stage on May 30th of next year. The 12-thousand seat outdoor venue on Market Avenue is expected to bring a boost to the local economy once it...

(Lansing, MI) - The Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency says around 350-thousand people who filed for unemployment insurance benefits dating back to March 2020 need to return the money. Many of the affected claims totaling two-point-seven-billion-dollars were filed at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. UIA directo...

(Holland, MI) - Fifteen people were hospitalized Saturday after a chemical spill at LG Energy Solution in Holland. Holland Public Safety responded to the hazardous materials incident that afternoon but did not specify what chemical was spilled or how much. No life-threatening injuries were reported. WOOD TV 8 says the ...

(Grand Rapids, MI) - The scoreboard wasn't what Detroit Lions fans were hoping for on Sunday as they packed into O'Toole's in downtown Grand Rapids to watch the season opener, but they remain hopeful despite the loss to the Green Bay Packers. Domenic Parker is a life-long Lions fan that says he's not going to let one g...

(Dearborn, MI) - Gas prices in Michigan are down 13-cents a gallon from last week. Triple-A Michigan says the price is now three-dollars-18-cents, which is down ten-cents from last month and eight-cents less than last year. The state's most expensive gas is in Ann Arbor at three-27, and Traverse City has the most affor...

GRAND HAVEN, MI - U.S. Representative Hillary Scholten held a press conference at Central Park Place in Grand Haven on Friday to celebrate the awarding of a contract to dredge the Grand Haven Inner Harbor. After months of delays and relentless advocacy from Rep. Scholten, the dredging is now set to begin imminently, a...

(Undated) - Large waves and strong currents are expected today in Lake Michigan. This comes as the National Weather Service has issued a Gale Warning, as twelve-foot waves are possible along with 45-mile-per-hour winds. Most of West Michigan, including Allegan, Ottawa, Muskegon, and Van Buren counties are under a beach...