The Argus-Press

07/19/2025

SHIAWASSEE TWP. — A new queen will soon be crowned at the 2025 Shiawassee County Fair Queen Pageant.

The contest is set for 5:30 p.m. Aug. 2 in the free show tent at the fairgrounds. The public is invited to attend as five candidates vie for the crown. Both a queen and attendant, or first runner-up, will be chosen.

According to the fair’s website, the queen and her attendant are chosen to represent the Shiawassee County Fair at events across Michigan, including parades, receptions, luncheons, and various other activities alongside fair officials.

The contestants will be evaluated on their poise, personality, speaking skills and responses to interview questions by a panel of judges from the Shiawassee County area.

The reigning Shiawassee County Fair Queen is Madeline Eustace, a 2023 New Lothrop High School graduate.

SHIAWASSEE TWP. — A new queen will soon be crowned at the 2025 Shiawassee County Fair Queen Pageant.

07/18/2025

CALEDONIA TWP. — The new purr-fect spot to relax with a cup of coffee is on its way to Caledonia Township.

The Catvalier Lounge, which could open its doors before summer ends, will be a new addition to Defying Gravity Bakery Café, 113 N. State Road.

A detached garage-turned-lounge, which sits near the south side of the bakery, Catvalier will give customers the option to spend time with adoptable kitty companions while enjoying food and drink purchased from the bakery.

https://www.argus-press.com/business/article_7209ef9c-222d-5683-aa59-cd19a8681450.html

07/18/2025

LAINGSBURG — The Laingsburg Sciota Woodhull Emergency Service Authority is celebrating a historic milestone as Assistant Fire Chief John McDougall marks 50 years of service.

McDougall, a 1976 graduate of Laingsburg High School, joined the department on his 18th birthday. Encouraged by a friend’s father who worked for the department at the time, McDougall stepped into a firefighter role as a senior in high school and never looked back.

“I’m not sure it was always the plan,” he said. “But I was always around town, and when the fire whistle blew, you’d go see where it was coming from.”

He clearly remembers his first call — a dryer caught fire in the basement of a home in downtown Laingsburg. As a novice firefighter, McDougall said the moment he was called to action for the first time was a bit intimidating, but he knew he was in good hands.

“The guys I was with on the truck at the time had been there for a while and showed me the ropes,” he said.

On Monday, McDougall not only celebrated his 68th birthday, but the day officially marked a half century of service with LSW, where he has served in nearly every role, including lieutenant, engineer, chief, deputy chief and now assistant chief.

LAINGSBURG — The Laingsburg Sciota Woodhull Emergency Service Authority is celebrating a historic milestone as Assistant Fire Chief John McDougall marks 50 years of service.

07/17/2025

CORUNNA — Starting Tuesday, the future of certain towing procedures involving the Shiawassee County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) will look markedly different.

For multiple administrations, if an individual didn’t have a towing preference, the SCSO operated based on a rotation of multiple companies in the county. After Wednesday’s Shiawassee County Board of Commissioners meeting, a sole company will rule the roost of non-preferrential tows handled by the department.

The county board approved a four-year, single-source towing contract between Owosso Township-based Allstar Towing & Repair LLC and the SCSO in a 5-2 vote at its Wednesday meeting. The vote followed negotiations between the SCSO, Shiawassee County Coordinator Dr. Brian Boggs, the county’s corporate counsel and Allstar Towing.

Sheriff Doug Chapman recommended the department award a contract to a single company to streamline the process of the county’s Central Dispatch in contacting towing companies. Chapman has previously said that underscoring this need is the fact that 47% of towing calls from the SCSO in 2024 went unanswered on the first contact attempt.

“What we’re trying to do is what’s best for the workers at the Shiawassee County Sheriff’s Office and what’s best for the citizens. The purpose of this is to eliminate unnecessary things — record inspections, security checks, equipment checks — but most importantly, it’s the dispatchers,” he said at the board’s May meeting.

The board, also in a 5-2 vote, approved his recommendation in May, allowing the negotiations to begin.

CORUNNA — Starting Tuesday, the future of certain towing procedures involving the Shiawassee County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) will look markedly different.

07/15/2025

ELSIE — A local mother is keeping her son’s memory alive through a scholarship fund for student-athletes in Shiawassee County who are headed to college or trade school.

Michelle Vincent lost her son, Carson Vincent, to su***de in September 2018, just a few months before his 18th birthday. He was a 2018 graduate of Ovid-Elsie High School, where he was a standout athlete for the Marauders.

Carson Vincent played football, basketball and ran track and field, but he especially excelled on the basketball court, his mother said. He was named The Argus-Press All-Area Boys Basketball Player of the Year in 2017 and 2018 — the only athlete to earn the honor twice. According to previous reporting in The Argus-Press, he helped lead the Marauders to their first league championship since 1984 and their first district title since 1994.

At the time of his death, Carson Vincent was attending Mid Michigan College in Mount Pleasant and was set to play basketball for the school that winter.

Looking for a way to honor her son and keep his memory alive, Michelle Vincent reached out to the Shiawassee Community Foundation to explore starting a scholarship fund. She wanted a way to support local students while keeping Carson’s name at the forefront.

“One of the biggest fears when you lose a child is that people will forget them,” she said. “So this is something that keeps his name being said out loud every year.”

The memorial fund became a reality thanks to members of the Ovid-Elsie community, who raised more than $17,000 through a GoFundMe campaign for the Vincent family. The money was ultimately not needed for funeral expenses since someone in the community quietly covered the costs.

To this day, Michelle Vincent said she still doesn’t know who paid for her son’s funeral, but it allowed her to use the monetary donations to launch the Carson James Vincent Memorial Fund.

“We were really blessed because some people in the community paid for his funeral,” Michelle Vincent said. “We went into the funeral home to pay for it, and it was already taken care of. Then someone in the community also started a GoFundMe page, but we didn’t end up needing the money because the funeral was covered.

“I thought, how can we give back to the community and have it be in his name? You can go to the Shiawassee Community Foundation and start a memorial fund with a minimum of $10,000. Basically, it gives off the interest every year for a scholarship. So in 20 years, when I’m no longer fundraising, it’s still going to be there — still in his name, still giving back. So we decided to take that money and do that.”

ELSIE — A local mother is keeping her son’s memory alive through a scholarship fund for student-athletes in Shiawassee County who are headed to college or trade school.

07/13/2025

NEW LOTHROP — Close to 100 people braved the wet and stormy weather Friday to meet and get an autograph from soon-to-be professional baseball pitcher Jacob Morrison at the New Lothrop High School varsity baseball field.

Morrison, whose mother grew up in New Lothrop, is a graduate of Flushing High School and pitched his college ball at Coastal Carolina, and has become a serious Major League Baseball draft prospect due in large part to his performance in the College World Series. He expects to hear his name called today or Monday.

“I’m excited,” Morrison said. “It’s hard because there is a chance I could never play at Coastal (Carolina) again and that place means so much to me and it’s said in that perspective. But on the other side, it’s another step to what the ultimate dream is and that’s playing in the big leagues for as long as possible.”

NEW LOTHROP — Close to 100 people braved the wet and stormy weather Friday to meet and get an autograph from soon-to-be professional baseball pitcher Jacob Morrison at the New

07/12/2025

The Argus-Press now employs an Emmy winner.

Staff writer Ashlee Buhler recently won an Emmy award for her work as a digital editorial producer for NBC’s coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympic games.

The Argus-Press now employs an Emmy winner.

07/11/2025

NEW LOTHROP — A soon-to-be Major League Baseball draftee will be in New Lothrop for a meet-and-greet and autograph signing today.

Jacob Morrison, a native of Flushing, will be at the New Lothrop varsity baseball field at 5 p.m. ahead of the MLB Draft — which begins Sunday — to sign autographs and take pictures. Fifty signed photos are available for free and are first come, first serve.

NEW LOTHROP — A soon-to-be Major League Baseball draftee will be in New Lothrop for a meet-and-greet and autograph signing today.

07/11/2025

MIDDLEBURY TWP. — NASCAR legend Kevin Harvick and his 13-year-old son, Keelan, Wednesday will be racing at Owosso Speedway as part of the Masters of the Pro’s 200 series.

According to a press release, the Masters of the Pro’s series is an annual event that brings together top-level drivers from across the country, and this year’s edition will be even more special with the Harvick family racing in tandem. Fans will get an opportunity to see the Harvicks share the track in a battle for supremacy, as father and son compete against some of the sport’s best.

This is the third time the series has come to Owosso Speedway.

Harvick is a former NASCAR Cup Series champion who raced from 2001-23. He currently works in broadcasting as an analyst for Fox Sports. Keelan has been racing competitively since he was a young child.

This will be the fifth time that Kevin and Keelan have raced together — all this year. Wednesday’s event is part of an eight-race series dubbed “the Harvick Cup,” where the Harvicks travel to venues to find out which Harvick is the faster driver.

So far, the 13-year-old prodigy is outperforming the 49-year-old veteran.

“The kid’s just absolutely amazing,” Owosso Speedway owner Rex Wheeler said. “And it’s funny in a driver lineup to see this little short kid in there, and they get in the car, and you would not know that he’s that young. But he’s good, and he’s extra talented, and it’s just really exciting to see and to have the father-son duo this early.”

MIDDLEBURY TWP. — NASCAR legend Kevin Harvick and his 13-year-old son, Keelan, Wednesday will be racing at Owosso Speedway as part of the Masters of the Pro’s 200 series.

07/08/2025

As Corunna High School’s Class of 2025 walked across the graduation stage in caps and gowns, 18-year-old Luke Dolehanty marked the milestone from a hospital bed.

It was a familiar setting for Dolehanty, who was born with a severe liver condition and underwent his first surgery at just 15 days old.

While most teens spend their youth focused on school and extracurricular activities, Dolehanty has spent his life in and out of hospitals, battling infections and undergoing surgeries. At 15, he received a long-awaited liver transplant — a moment his family hoped would mark a turning point toward healing. But in the years that followed, life delivered even more heartbreak.

In February 2023, he lost his sister in a car accident, and in May 2024, his mother died of cancer.

Now, he’s facing perhaps his most formidable battle yet — Burkitt’s lymphoma, a rare and fast-growing cancer of the lymphatic system.

VERNON TWP. — As Corunna High School’s Class of 2025 walked across the graduation stage in caps and gowns, 18-year-old Luke Dolehanty marked the milestone from a hospital bed.

07/08/2025

The Home Builders Association of Michigan and J.W. Morgan Construction filed a lawsuit Thursday in Shiawassee County Circuit Court against the city of Owosso, alleging it is charging excessive water and sewer tap-in fees for new homes and structures connecting to public utilities.

The suit accuses the city of unlawfully increasing taxes under the guise of “user fees,” which it claims is a violation of the Headlee Amendment. The amendment prohibits municipalities from implementing a new tax or increasing an existing one without legal or charter authority and without a vote of the residents.

The suit also accuses the city of violating the Freedom of Information Act by providing “incomplete and insufficient documents” in response to a FOIA request from The Home Builders Association of Michigan.

Here is everything you need to know about the suit ⤵️

OWOSSO — The Home Builders Association of Michigan and J.W. Morgan Construction have filed a lawsuit against the city of Owosso, alleging it is charging excessive water and sewer tap-in

07/07/2025

FLINT — When Gary Duehring returned from military service in 1972, his welcome home was something he would never forget.

An unpleasant memory was shared by millions of veterans when they arrived home after serving during the Vietnam War era.

But last month, Duehring and fellow veteran and friend Gary Higgins, had a much different experience at Flint Bishop International Airport – the same airport where, more than 50 years ago, they landed while returning home from service.

The two participated in an outing sponsored by Mid-Michigan Honor Flight, which according to its website, is “dedicated to honoring our veterans by inviting them to share a day of honor at our nation’s memorials, commemorating their services and sacrifices.”

Each year, dozens of Mid-Michigan veterans partake the two-day Honor Flight to the Washington, D.C. area where they tour sites of military importance. The organization pays for the flight and accommodations.

Higgins, of Corunna, and Duehring, of Owosso, took a plane from Bishop the morning of June 17 to Baltimore. Over the next two days, Honor Flight volunteers took each veteran around Washington, D.C. to visit military landmarks.

On June 18, the two men, and dozens of other veterans from around Michigan, landed back in Flint.

“We were greeted by hundreds, which I didn’t anticipate,” Higgins said. “It was typical of what you’d see on television and news reels. They had banners, and (American) flags, young and old alike, thanking us for our service and welcoming us home. It was very touching and I got a little emotional.”

FLINT — When Gary Duehring returned from military service in 1972, his welcome home was something he would never forget.