Local News

Officials from both the US and Canada are warning people to avoid this Sunday’s unsanctioned Port Huron Float Down along the swift St. Clair River, citing severe safety hazards ranging from hypothermia in sixty-degree waters to accidental drownings. Emergency responders caution that fast-moving currents, heavy alcohol consumption, and a widespread lack of life jackets create dangerous rescue conditions. To prevent catastrophic accidents and vessel collisions, authorities are shutting down all commercial boat traffic along the river from noon until 6 p.m.

Reporting for WGRT – JP bZet

A thirty-one-year-old father faces eleven criminal counts, including involuntary manslaughter, after a devastating drunk-driving crash killed his five-year-old daughter. Prosecutors say Austin Thorpe was driving southbound on Highway M-53 in Bruce Township last Thanksgiving when he crossed the center lane and smashed head-on into an oncoming vehicle. Authorities report his two young children were not properly secured inside the car, leaving his toddler injured and his daughter fatally wounded. Thorpe will be formally arraigned in Macomb County Circuit Court on August twenty-fourth.

Reporting for WGRT – JP bZet

St. Clair residents can step into the role of wildlife researchers on August 18th by joining a free monarch butterfly tagging workshop at the Eddy Center. Hosted by Friends of the St. Clair River at the Thumb Coast Watershed Center, two sessions at 2:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. will teach volunteers how to safely tag butterflies to help track their migration to Mexico. Attendees will also tour a milkweed garden and receive free tagging supplies upon registering at scriver.org.

Reporting for WGRT – JP bZet

A rapid K-9 tracking effort led to the arrest of a fleeing domestic assault suspect Sunday afternoon in Vassar. Police arrived shortly before 2:30 p.m. after a woman reported an assault that blinded her in one eye. When the suspect ran out the back, Tuscola County deputies and a Caro Post State Trooper deployed K-9 Belo, who tracked the man to a nearby backyard shed where he was safely arrested and jailed on third-offense charges. The suspect is now lodged at the Tuscola County Jail.

Reporting for WGRT – JP bZet

On September 26 Port Huron residents can take active steps against memory loss by joining the “Find the Cure” charity event at Kiefer Park. Beginning with an 8 am registration along the scenic St. Clair River waterfront, participants can either challenge themselves in a 9 am five-kilometer run or join a family-friendly one-mile walk fifteen minutes later. Every registration dollar collected through RunSignUp.com goes directly toward funding local caregiver respite grants, family education programs, and vital research at the Michigan Alzheimer’s Disease Center.

Reporting for WGRT – JP bZet

A record-breaking weekend at Lake St. Clair’s Muscamoot Bay ended in legal trouble after rowdy crowds led to over fifty stranded boaters and a violent stabbing. Authorities arrested twenty-six-year-old Salem Asmar of Shelby Township for stabbing a twenty-one-year-old man during a dispute on Saturday. Asmar was arraigned in Seventy-Second District Court for assault with intent to do great bodily harm, with bond set at one hundred thousand dollars. Sheriff Mat King emphasized that marine deputies will not tolerate violence on the water.

Reporting WGRT – JP bZet