The Argus-Press

05/31/2026

A man responsible for a double murder 47 years ago is a free man.

Mark Steven Meksula was 19 when he killed a young man and young woman in Vernon Township. A pair of court decisions, one in 2012, the other in 2025, paved the way for his potential release.

🔗 https://www.argus-press.com/news_local/article_f9716391-6ca2-43d9-8e1e-3cc301e925dc.html -source=login

05/30/2026

The final tally for Argus-Press athletes at Saturday's track and field state finals is two state champions and 25 all-state efforts

WEST MICHIGAN — A pair of seniors — Corunna’s Logan Herrick and Morrice’s Oliver Long — ended their athletic careers Saturday, May 30 as track and field state champions.

Herrick broke his own school record in the 300 hurdles, completing the race in 38.02 seconds to capture first at the Division 2 state finals at Hamilton High School.

Long won his third-consecutive state Division 4 shot put title in Hudsonville, tossing the metal ball 61 feet, 0.5 inches — it was the farthest shot heave of any of the four divisional state championship meets. No high schooler has thrown the shot put as far as Long, who will continue his throwing career at Saginaw Valley State University, this season.

WEST MICHIGAN — A pair of seniors — Corunna’s Logan Herrick and Morrice’s Oliver Long — ended their athletic careers Saturday, May 30 as track and field state champions.

05/30/2026

Jake Hoot, who won Season 17 of The Voice, will bring his catalog of country favorites to the Lebowsky Center for Performing Arts in Owosso on June 19.

Ahead of the concert, he spoke with The Argus-Press about life after "The Voice” and what fans can expect when he comes to Shiawassee County.

🔗 https://www.argus-press.com/news/article_199ddd0f-073e-4599-bbc2-d0ba6e1aefae.html

05/29/2026

More than 100 years after the Owosso Casket Company donated land for a Carnegie library building, a committee tasked with determining the future of the structure is moving to settle a lingering legal question over who owns the property if it ever stops operating as a library.

Built in 1913 with a grant from philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, the building at 502 W. Main St. in Owosso has housed the library for more than a century. In February, the library purchased a new location at 621 W. Oliver St. and announced plans to vacate Main Street within the next two years.

While the city owns the building, the land beneath it was donated to the city by Fred Woodard, then-president of the Woodard Furniture Co. and Owosso Casket Co., for use as a Carnegie library. The 1913 deed contains a reverter clause stating ownership of the land would return to the Owosso Casket Company if the property ceased being used as a library.

FULL STORY 🔗 https://www.argus-press.com/news/community/owosso/article_ccdb789a-7c61-474c-8526-8db660357e2b.html

05/29/2026

The public speaking portion was crowded at the Wednesday, May 27 Owosso Public Schools Board of Education meeting, drawing north of 20 speakers and lasting more than an hour.

The hot topic in the Owosso Performing Arts Center was comments made by board President Shelly Ochodnicky involving the upcoming Owosso Pride Festival at two Owosso City Council meetings earlier this month.

Two public speaking sections Wednesday saw 24 combined people address the board for up to three minutes each, with all but one speaker discussing Ochodnicky’s comments. Sixteen people verbally supported Ochodnicky and seven speakers opposed Ochodnicky’s city council comments, with some calling for removal as board president.

OPS Superintendent Steve Brooks told The Argus-Press that by state law, Ochodnicky is an elected official and could not be removed from the board without a recall by voters.

FULL STORY 🔗 https://www.argus-press.com/education/article_bd29ccc4-f6db-42b4-8384-2388d47c8821.html -source=login

05/28/2026

Landyn Fleurette pleaded guilty Thursday, May 28 to aggravated child s*xually abusive activity, which carries a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.

In a separate court file, Fleurette pleaded guilty to two counts of third-degree criminal s*xual conduct, which involves s*xual pe*******on of a child aged 13 to 15 and is punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

During his plea hearing, Fleurette admitted to having images and videos on his phone depicting children engaged in s*x acts with adult men. He said the children ranged in age from 3 to 15 and that he saved the videos from the internet onto his phone.

FULL STORY 🔗 https://www.argus-press.com/news/article_9183aae0-f542-4b62-ba7f-96f2c083bd02.html

05/28/2026

Travis Brimmer, 31, pleaded guilty Wednesday, May 27 to three felony charges: child s*xually abusive activity, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; third-degree criminal s*xual conduct, which involves s*xual pe*******on of a child age 13 to 15 and is punishable by up to 15 years in prison; and accosting a child for immoral purposes, which is punishable by up to four years in prison.

FULL STORY 🔗 https://www.argus-press.com/news/article_55c00fae-7ed2-483f-ad56-8066228fa193.html

05/28/2026

For The Dairy Den Laingsburg, the timing couldn’t have been more perfect.

As its name implies, the business is a dairy shop in Laingsburg, and Friday, May 22 marked the first day in its new location. Owner Stacey Brewer said the timing of moving the shop from 750 E. Grand River Road to 119 E. Grand River Road in Laingsburg’s downtown allowed it to take advantage of last weekend’s Laingsburg’s Springtime Festival.

“It was nice. We really tried hard to get open for the carnival weekend and we did,” she said. “People loved the new location and were so excited we’re back open again.”

Brewer, 45, purchased The Dairy Den Laingsburg in November 2024 from original owner Wendi Kribs, who launched the shop in 2017. For Brewer, it marked her first venture into the business world after teaching pre-school and kindergarten in Mason for 19 years.

FULL STORY 🔗 https://www.argus-press.com/business/article_d91e8cb4-fa8d-44ea-a277-65b71cb96bed.html -source=login

05/27/2026

Best of the Best publication is June 27

The winners of The Argus-Press’ annual Best of the Best contest will be revealed in a special section within the Saturday, June 27 edition of the newspaper.

The publication date has been moved back from June 13 to allow more time to tally votes.

Voting has closed for the 2026 version of the contest. The winners of the dozens of categories will be listed in the special section.

The Argus received more than 110,000 votes during this year’s contest. We received an overwhelming response this year,” said Argus-Press Publisher Bryan Thurston. “Which shows how much local businesses mean to the community.”

The contest switched this year from paper ballots to an online-voting format.

05/27/2026

After narrowly failing in May, a proposal to renew the Morrice Area Schools non-homestead operating millage will return to the ballot in August.

The proposal failed at the May 5 election by 34 votes.

According to the district, voters originally approved the non-homestead operating millage in 1994. It generated approximately $450,000 annually for the district’s day-to-day operations.

Without the funding, Superintendent Daniel Nolen said the district could face cuts to staff, services and programs, including art, band and athletics.

🔗 https://www.argus-press.com/education/article_af71f2e5-4929-4d1f-bd13-1404a757fed0.html