The Argus-Press

10/12/2025

ST. JOHNS — The man alleged to have led police Tuesday on a multi-county chase with a 1-month-old child in his vehicle is facing multiple criminal charges.

Twenty-five-year-old Donovan F. Mandley, of Elsie, was arraigned at noon Friday, Oct. 10 in Clinton County District Court in St. Johns.

Mandley appeared via video from the Clinton County Jail. District Court Judge Andrew Stevens read the charges, which includes three felonies and five misdemeanors. The most serious count, kidnapping, is a felony that carries a maximum penalty of life in prison. He is also charged with: fourth-degree fleeing a police officer (two-year felony); assaulting/resisting/obstructing a police officer (two-year felony); fourth-degree child abuse (one-year misdemeanor); two counts of domestic violence (93-day misdemeanor); reckless driving (93-day misdemeanor); and abandoning/cruelty to animals (93-day misdemeanor).

Mandley is charged as a fourth-offense habitual offender due to three previous felony convictions, which enhances the potential incarceration time.

At about 7:51 a.m. Tuesday, police were dispatched to Mandley’s home on Main Street in Elsie, just west of the Shiawassee/Clinton county line. The first officer on scene was Robert Watson from the Ovid Police Department.

According to Ovid Police Chief Lisa Rousseau, Watson observed the suspect in his vehicle, and when he attempted to pull him over, the 2011 black Chevy Cruze took off. The suspect vehicle crossed into Shiawassee County, and the pursuit was joined by multiple departments, including the Shiawassee County Sheriff’s Office, Owosso Police Department and Michigan State Police. Shortly into the chase, it was learned the suspect had taken a 1-month-old baby from the Elsie residence and was in possession of a firearm.

The pursuit weaved through Shiawassee County, with the suspect leading police through Fairfield, Rush, New Haven, Owosso, Caledonia, Venice, Vernon, Shiawassee, Antrim, Perry and Bennington townships.

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ST. JOHNS — The man alleged to have led police Tuesday on a multi-county chase with a 1-month-old child in his vehicle is facing multiple criminal charges.

10/09/2025

CHESANING — Every Friday night under the lights, No. 17 still takes the field.

His jersey rests on the sideline. His helmet is there too. And every player wears his number, etched in a small sticker on their helmet.

It’s how the Chesaning varsity football team honors Keigan Atkinson — not just a former teammate, but a friend, and now their “12th man” on the field.

Atkinson died in a car crash on Dec. 23, 2024, at age 16 — a loss that shook the community, his family and the team he loved.

More than 500 people attended his funeral, exceeding the capacity of the gymnasium at Chesaning Union High School, where Atkinson would have been a senior this year. A GoFundMe page set up to help with memorial expenses also surpassed expectations, with more than $15,000 donated.

That outpouring of support — along with the continued backing of the football program — inspired Atkinson’s aunt, Alyssa Dunham, and his mother, Heather Atkinson, to give back.

“The entire football team attended his funeral, and when they walked into the gym, you could hear a pin drop,” Heather Atkinson said. “It was so touching to see. This is when I knew how many people Keigan had touched.”

To keep his legacy alive, the two launched a legacy fund, which will be introduced during Keigan’s Legacy Kickoff Game on Friday, Oct. 17, when Chesaning hosts Durand at 7 p.m.

“We wanted to carry his name forward and try to make this negative into a positive as best as we could,” Dunham said. “Creating this fund helps us keep his memory and name alive, along with helping students with sporting costs and giving others a scholarship. Even if the scholarship isn’t much, or we can’t help students as much as we want, just knowing we are doing what we can for Keigan’s legacy is enough for us.”

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CHESANING — Every Friday night under the lights, No. 17 still takes the field.

10/09/2025

Here are the top cross country times this year for The Argus-Press coverage area:

Boys

Noah Devereaux, Laingsburg, 16:19

Leonidas Erfourth, Owosso, 16:52

Brady Rappuhn, Owosso, 16:54

Payton Chandler, Corunna, 17:14

Kai Miller, Owosso, 17:23

Jaxon Hemgesberg, Chesaning, 17:25

Christian LeConte, Owosso, 17:25

Jesse Dodge, Corunna, 17:27

McKinley Springer, Corunna, 17:29

Connor Ford, Corunna, 17:36

Girls

Abby Crandell, Owosso, 19:44

Sydney Knieper, New Lothrop, 20:37

Delaney Richardson, Byron, 20:53

Ruby Gross, Chesaning, 20:59

Jaidyn Nickels, Corunna, 21:02

Kaleigh Slingerland, Owosso, 21:18

Clarissa Baese, Ovid-Elsie, 21:24

Leah Thiele, Chesaning, 21:27

Olivia Roseberry, Perry, 21:38

Kierra Rusz, Laingsburg, 21:56

10/07/2025

BURNS TWP. — The next phase of construction on a joint facility that will house the Byron Community District Library and Burns Township Hall will soon get underway.

A $610,000 construction bid from Durand-based Perrin Construction was approved by Burns Township trustees during a special meeting on Sept. 23, allowing workers to begin construction on the library within the next month, township Clerk Shirley Riley said.

The work is part of the second phase of construction of the facility, located on Lehring Road behind Dollar General in Byron. The building will house the library, municipal offices and a community room.

The current Burns Township Hall is a dual-purpose facility at 10355 Bath Road that also serves as the fire department garage. Riley said the building currently has one office shared by the clerk, treasurer and supervisor. The new facility will feature three offices, a small conference room, a warming kitchen and a community room.

The community room, which holds up to 96 people, will serve as the new location for township meetings and will also be available for community members to rent for events such as showers, retirement parties and social gatherings.

“It’s coming along very nicely, and we’re very excited to be moving forward with it,” Riley said. “I’m very anxious for it to be complete.”

The township hall portion of the building — Phase 1 of the project — had a price tag of around $1.2 million and is expected to open in November, Riley said.

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By ASHLEE BUHLER

10/03/2025

OWOSSO — The process of demolishing one of arguably Owosso’s most noteworthy structures could begin later this month.

The two-story building at 117 W. Exchange St., which sits in the city’s historic district, will be demolished following enforcement actions on the building dating nearly five years and a court order from Shiawassee County Circuit Court Judge Matthew J. Stewart, who ruled in February 2024 that the city could proceed with its demolition.

Shiawassee Economic Development Partnership (SEDP) Vice President Brent Jones told The Argus-Press that the Shiawassee County Land Bank Authority, which the SEDP collaborates with for development projects, approved the demolition of 117 W. Exchange St. and will utilize blight elimination funding it received from the Michigan State Land Bank Authority in 2023.

The county LBA, established by the Shiawassee County Board of Commissioners in 2021, allows the county to access funds through the state of Michigan’s Blight Elimination Program. Similar funding has been used for demolition projects in recent years, including the old Welcome Inn in Caledonia Township and the former Simplicity Terex factory in Durand.

Jones said that no contract has been awarded yet for the building’s demolition, and the county LBA would take up the issue at its October meeting. Jones told the Owosso Historical Commission in June that there was around $178,000 budgeted for the project.

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OWOSSO — The process of demolishing one of arguably Owosso’s most noteworthy structures could begin later this month.

10/03/2025

Here is a list of Argus-Press-area football statistic leaders after Week 5. Not all coaches responded to our request for stats, hopefully after Week 6 the list will include all local teams.

Passing yards

1. Karson Agnew, New Lothrop, 1,167 yards

2. Liam Patrick, Owosso 816 yards

3. Tyger Whitbeck, Perry, 745 yards

4. Griffin Long, Morrice, 565 yards

5. Julian Smith, Laingsburg, 443 yards

Rushing yards

1. Liam Patrick, Owosso, 510 yards

2. Brock Spitzley, Ovid-Elsie, 494 yards

3. Brandon Schmidtfranz, Morrice, 491 yards

4. Austin Gutting, Morrice, 460 yards

5. Evan Krawczyk, Owosso, 455 yards

Receiving yards

1. Alex Rockafellow, Perry, 516 yards

2. Aaron Wenzlick, New Lothrop, 502 yards

3. Jacob Adkins, Perry, 375 yards

4. Braden Reed, Owosso, 368 yards

5. Oliver Long, Morrice, 218 yards

Passing touchdowns:

1. Karson Agnew, New Lothrop, 13

2. Liam Patrick, Owosso, 9

3. Julian Smith, Laingsburg, 6

4. Griffin Long, Morrice, 5

5. Owen Long, Ovid-Elsie, 4

Rushing touchdowns:

1. Griffin Long, Morrice, 10

2. Austin Gutting, Morrice, 9

3. Karson Agnew, New Lothrop, 8

4. Liam Patrick, Owosso, 6

5. Brock Spitzley, Ovid-Elsie, 5

5. Chase Fabus, Ovid-Elsie, 5

Receiving touchdowns

1. Braden Reed, Owosso, 5

2. Wyatt Valentine, Morrice, 3

2. Jacob Adkins, Perry, 3

2. Alex Rockafellow, Perry, 3

2. Landon Freeman, Laingsburg, 3

* Coaches can submit stats each week to [email protected]. Deadline is Wednesday at noon.

10/02/2025

OWOSSO — Just a couple of months ago, Owosso senior Tucker Walker questioned whether he’d ever lace up his cleats again and take the field to play the game that has defined much of his life: Soccer.

Fast forward to Wednesday, and Walker — who has played in every Trojans game this season — took the field for his final home game.

It’s a feat that has amazed his doctors. Over the summer, Walker received a diagnosis that would change life as he knew it: limb-girdle muscular dystrophy, a genetic disorder that causes progressive weakness and degeneration of the muscles around the shoulders and hips, making activities like running increasingly difficult over time.

“The score no longer matters to us,” said Walker’s mother, Missy Walker. “We are just trying to take in these last few moments of watching our boy run — playing a game he’s always loved.”

Watching her son play, Missy Walker said she couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right. His stride seemed off, and the clicking in his hips often left him in pain. But it wasn’t until Owosso varsity soccer coach Mike Erfourth called her last summer that she began to dig deeper.

Erfourth said he noticed Walker was falling behind during conditioning drills.

“We noticed he was behind where we would expect, and he’s clearly frustrated, because he’s not improving even though he’s doing the same things that everybody else is doing,” Erfourth said. “So he should be experiencing improvement, but he’s not. And that leads you to go, ‘Well, if we have 40 kids there, why is one different?’”

What followed was a series of doctor visits and tests, which eventually led to a life-changing diagnosis for the 17-year-old. In June, Walker was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy. By July, genetic testing confirmed it was limb-girdle muscular dystrophy.

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OWOSSO — Just a couple of months ago, Owosso senior Tucker Walker questioned whether he’d ever lace up his cleats again and take the field to play the game that

09/25/2025

CHESANING — A local chef is one step closer to realizing a dream nearly 30 years in the making.

Tyler Frelitz, a 1998 graduate of Chesaning Union High School, has spent nearly three decades in the food industry — he started out washing dishes at local favorites the Brass Bell and the Heritage House — and has steadily worked his way up to executive chef. Most recently, he held that title at the Great Hall Banquet and Catering venue in Midland.

His goal of owning a restaurant began during his time at culinary school Le Cordon Bleu in Miramar, Fla., where he graduated with honors in 2010.

When Showboat Restaurant of Chesaning went up for sale in 2016, Frelitz was interested but knew the timing wasn’t right.

Now, nearly a decade later, that moment has finally arrived.

Frelitz said a close friend who works as an accountant in town alerted him that the Showboat was going up for sale.

“He was like, ‘You should jump on the Showboat,’” Frelitz said. “He knew a few years ago I wanted it and knew that I was still kind of interested in it. I felt like now was the time. I’m not getting any younger.”

Wanting to preserve jobs in Chesaning — which, in 2025 alone, has seen the closure of The Malt Shop after 69 years and the departure of one of its largest employers, Lippert Components Inc. — Frelitz, with the help of his girlfriend and now restaurant manager, Mersadeez Tottingham, decided to purchase the place. The sale was finalized July 30.

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CHESANING — A local chef is one step closer to realizing a dream nearly 30 years in the making.

09/25/2025

OWOSSO — The annual battle for bragging rights and Shiawassee County supremacy is on the horizon as Corunna Friday travels a couple of miles west to take on Owosso in a Flint Metro League Stars contest.

The Trojans (3-1) are coming off its first loss of the season to a surprising Clio team, which is now 4-0. Owosso turned the ball over four times last week, including three fumbles, which played a big part in the 26-21 defeat.

“It’s awful hard to turn the ball over four times and win a game,” Owosso coach Ron Tyner said. “That’s just a lot to overcome.

“But the good thing about it is … the fight from our kids was unbelievable. I mean, there’s not a lot of teams out there that are going to go into a game with two undefeated teams and turn the ball over four times, and it’s a real close game.”

Corunna, meanwhile, is still looking for its first win of the season (0-4) and is coming off a 44-19 loss to Ortonville Brandon.

“We talked at the beginning of the year that our record wasn’t going to be the measure of our success,” Corunna coach Jason Beldyga said. “And it’s really hard to put that in perspective. Obviously, we want to see that on field success. We’ve shown signs of it throughout the year, but haven’t just been able to put a complete game together yet.”

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OWOSSO — The annual battle for bragging rights and Shiawassee County supremacy is on the horizon as Corunna Friday travels a couple of miles west to take on Owosso in

09/24/2025

CORUNNA — On the surface, Clark and Evan Cody don’t have much in common.

Clark Cody, 17, is a senior at Corunna High School and the drum major for the marching band. He also runs cross-country, swims and is active in drama club, Rotary Club and National Honor Society.

His brother Evan, also 17, graduated in 2024. Adopted by Shawnna and Daniel Cody at birth, Evan carved out a different high school experience – playing football, basketball, golf and running track. He was also involved in Rotary and NHS, but says he leaned more into the social side of school, while Clark has always been more academically focused.

“We’re total opposites,” Evan said, playfully adding, “I’m the superior brother.”

Despite their differences, the brothers now share a rare title: Back-to-back homecoming kings at Corunna High School. Evan won in 2024 and recently crowned his brother during the Cavaliers’ Sept. 12 homecoming game.

“I was really shocked,” Clark Cody said. “I didn’t think I would get it. I was expecting my friends in the cohort to get it. When I saw Evan, he gave me a big hug, and it felt really good.”

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CORUNNA — On the surface, Clark and Evan Cody don’t have much in common.

09/23/2025

ST. CHARLES — A Chesaning native is lacing up her running shoes to raise awareness for childhood cancer.

Meg Browne, a 2007 Chesaning High School graduate, has set a goal of running 200 miles during the month of September for Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. The mission is fueled by a local girl, Avery Hilden, who died at age 7 after a six-month battle with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) — a rare and aggressive type of brain tumor that typically affects children. There is no cure.

“Avery was a huge part of the community,” Browne said. “She went to school (in St. Charles) with my two boys and was in day care with them. This little girl, at only 7 years old, made a huge impact on so many people.

“That’s where I got the inspiration — so people can learn more about the disease and help raise money for awareness and research. Hopefully, someday there will be a cure.”

Browne began her running journey last year. About a month and a half ago, while running a half marathon, she found herself getting upset over her speed. Thoughts of Hilden helped put everything into perspective.

“I got to thinking about Avery and how she was such an active girl, and she doesn’t get the chance to do these things anymore,” Browne said. “So I was getting all worked up about myself, and I started thinking, there are all these other children — and Avery — who can’t do this. I had to get out of that mindset. And I thought, you know what? I’m going to do this whole month just for Avery.”

Starting Sept. 1, Browne has been running every day in honor of Hilden, with the goal of reaching 200 miles by Sept. 30. As of Monday, she had just 50 miles to go.

ST. CHARLES — A Chesaning native is lacing up her running shoes to raise awareness for childhood cancer.

09/20/2025

BYRON — Construction is underway for a new addition to the village of Byron.

An underutilized space between the village’s municipal building at 174 S. Saginaw St. and the Dam Salon at 206 N. Saginaw St. is being transformed into a pocket park — a compact outdoor area for community members and visitors.

DDA Vice Chairperson Debra Baker-Murph said the project has been a long time in the making.

“It’s a surreal thing when you talk about it for several years, and now here we are,” Baker-Murph said. “It’s awe-inspiring.”

When the opportunity arose for the village to raise money — with donations matched by a $50,000 grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation’s Public Spaces Community Places program — the community sprang into action, raising more than $50,000 in 60 days. The village hit the $50,000 target amount by the Dec. 31 deadline with 10 days to spare.

In the end, factoring in the matching grant, $122,500 was raised for the pocket park.

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BYRON — Construction is underway for a new addition to the village of Byron.