Local News

A Huron County teen died early Sunday after an e-bike crash near Bad Axe. Deputies say the 15-year-old was riding with another teen on M-142 in Verona Township before 3 a.m. when they turned into a business driveway with a cable across the entrance, and the victim hit it and was thrown from the bike. The teen’s mother rushed him to the hospital, where he later died. Investigators say both were going faster than 25 mph and had no lights on their e-bikes.

Reporting for WGRT – JP bZet

St. Clair County leaders are set to tighten the reins on the health department today, with final action expected on new contracts for Health Officer Liz King and Medical Director Dr. Remington Nevin, plus a plan to swap a vacant nurse practitioner role for a deputy medical director. The revised deal would lock both top jobs into three-year terms through Aug. 19th, of ’29, spell out who handles daily administration and medical policy, and boost Nevin’s pay and malpractice coverage while adding a clinical support role for services.

Reporting for WGRT – JP bZet

St. Clair County Community College is celebrating a big win after its associate degree nursing program scored a 98.6% first-time pass rate on the national nurse licensing exam, a strong sign that students are well prepared for real hospital work. College leaders say the result reflects tough classroom training, hands-on clinical practice, simulation labs, and close support from faculty and healthcare partners, while graduates are already being recruited by employers across the Blue Water Area and other parts of Michigan.

Reporting for WGRT – JP bZet

As Port Huron marks the 50th annual Float Down this August 16th, local authorities are warning that the seven-mile drift down the fast-moving St. Clair River from Lighthouse Beach to Marysville is a high-stakes safety operation rather than a simple party. Following past tragedies—including a ’14 drowning and a ’16 storm that stranded fifteen hundred participants on the Canadian shore—officials urge everyone to wear life jackets, stay sober, and carry emergency gear, because strong currents can instantly turn a summer celebration into an international rescue.

Reporting for WGRT – JP bZet

A Marine City YouTuber was sentenced Monday to 30 days in jail and 18 months of probation after a judge said he wrongly used pepper spray outside Zimmerman’s Meat Market. Ian Pfister was convicted of improper use of a self-defense spray and aggravated assault after jurors watched his own video, which showed him warning store owner Richard Hobig before spraying him in the face; the judge said Hobig still has lasting eye problems, and the case is now a warning that self-defense claims must be used carefully and correctly.

Reporting for WGRT – JP bZet

Sarnia’s latest crime severity index dropped by nearly twenty-nine percent, but local police caution that this number reflects sentence severity rather than total crimes committed. While four homicides in ’24 artificially spiked the baseline to make this drop look dramatic, local call logs tell a mixed story: break-ins fell thirty-one percent to 253 incidents and weapons calls dropped to 108, yet shoplifting calls doubled to 822 and intimate partner violence reports remained high at nearly fifteen hundred. Overall, police solved over ninety percent of serious violent cases last year.

Reporting for WGRT – JP bZet