Local News

St. Clair Riverfest presented by McLaren Port Huron happens this weekend in downtown St. Clair.  The River Classic Offshore Powerboat Races are the biggest part of Riverfest and will take place on Sunday.  Boats are expected to run throughout the weekend as they familiarize themselves with the course and do some fine-tuning.  The Powerboats race in different classes as part of the Great Lakes Silver Cup Series and the Offshore Super Series. As anyone who has been down there in past years can tell you, those boats are a sight and sound to behold. 

There are hospitality tents, family-friendly activities, and more. On Friday, The Spin Doctors will perform, and Blue Oyster Cult will perform on Saturday. They are giving away complimentary VIP tickets to each of the shows, and the drawing ends on July 25th.  To enter, head to the St. Clair Riverfest Facebook page. 

This weekend is the Yale Bologna Festival.  The event is in its 31st year, and it really has something for everyone.  From the crowning of the Bologna King and Queen to outhouse races to live music, there is going to be a lot to take in. The event starts on Friday and will run until Sunday afternoon. 

T.J. Minnie began selling bologna in 1906 from a small store on Main Street in Yale. C. Roy Inc. has carried on that tradition for many years, and C. Roy’s is still run by the Roy family.  The Yale Chamber of Commerce expects at least 20,000 people to attend this year’s event. Festival-goers can look forward to Fireworks on Friday night and the Big Bologna Parade on Saturday.  Visit the Yale Chamber of Commerce website for a complete schedule of events.

Cirque Italia is a traveling, animal-free, Water Circus, and it’s coming to Birchwood Mall August 1-4th! Are you wondering what a Water Circus is? It’s a modern twist on a classic show, and it takes entertainment to a whole new level! Water, technology, and performing arts are mixed up under a big-top tent to create a one-of-a-kind-show. There is an ultra-modern water curtain that controls every drop of water meticulously to create beautiful patterns and words as the water falls to the lagoon below. This is the backdrop for high-flying performers and some of the best circus artists from around the globe.

You can get your tickets to Cirque Italia by visiting their website or Facebook pages. The box office will also be open on-site at Birchwood mall on Tuesday, July 30th & Wednesday the 31st from 10 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. When the shows start on August 1st, the box office will be open from 10:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. Listen to WGRT 102.3 FM during the week of July 22nd, and keep an eye on our Facebook page too. We will be giving away tickets to several of our listeners!

The City of Port Huron expects to be saving some money pretty soon.  Port Huron City Manager James Freed informed city council members about some savings they can expect from refinancing bonds that funded the multi-year sewer separation project in Port Huron. The City estimated that they would have a new rate of around 3.15% when they refinanced.  The City received seven bids from banks looking to refinance those 2007 Sewer bonds.  Key Bank returned a bid of 2.58%. The result was significantly greater savings than anticipated.  The city will save a total of $338,091 by refinancing which is $135,786 more savings than they hoped for.

On Monday, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel reminded Consumers Energy and DTE customers they may be eligible for a $25 credit if they were without power for more than 16 hours as a result of the recent outages.  Michigan consumers are eligible for a credit under “normal conditions” if the utility fails to restore service within 16 hours after an outage resulting from conditions other than catastrophic conditions. Catastrophic conditions are defined as an event that results in an official state of emergency or an event that results in interruption of 10 percent or more of the utility’s customers where the utility fails to restore power within 120 hours. 

Credits are also available for repetitive interruptions if a customer experiences more than seven interruptions in a 12-month period. If you qualify, you need to notify the electric utility of all service outages and should record the date and time of each outage. You should also note when and how the company was notified of the outage along with when the service was restored. Nessel said, “The weekend storms in some parts of Michigan left hundreds of thousands of electric customers with extended interruptions in services, and it’s important customers remind the energy companies that they may be entitled to a credit as a result of those interruptions.”  

The Friends of the St. Clair River has a couple of activities planned for this week.  Field Day will take place today and every Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. until late October. The group gathers down on the Blue Water River Walk for social fun, hands-on work, and citizen science to manage habitats and green infrastructure projects for people, plants, and wildlife.  The group also invites you to join them tomorrow for Wetland Wanderings at 6:00 p.m. You’ll find yourself digging in and finding macroinvertebrates. According to the Friends of the St. Clair River Facebook page, it’s a fun science activity that helps track wetland health over time.  The events are free and registration is not required. Wetlands County Park is along the St. Clair River shoreline at the south end of the Blue Water River Walk. Parking is in the gravel lot at the south end of the River Walk or at the Bean Dock.