Been a busy summer newspaper-wise

The annual fair, Michigan Primary races, and a Fowlerville wrestler competing in the Paris Olympic Summer Games

Been a busy summer newspaper-wise, which is my excuse for not publishing any new posts on this website since July 4th. The annual Fowlerville Family Fair always requires a chunk of time, starting with the preview put out a couple of weeks prior to opening day and then the actual coverage. For the News & Views that coverage is mainly taking photos and typing up the captions.

Intertwined with this was an issue with the statements of local candidates running in contested races in the recent Michigan Primary. We invited those seeking an office to tell the voters ‘Why are you running for office?’ and ‘What do you hope to accomplish if elected, what would your goals and priorities be?’ In the case of incumbents, the question is rephrased to ‘What do you feel your accomplishments have been while in office?’ The candidates are also invited to submit any experience they feel qualifies them for the office, along with personal information about themselves they wish to include.

All of the contested races in Western Livingston County, the area covered by our newspaper, were on the Republican side of the ballot—which is usually the case in this ‘red’ area of Michigan. Including the state House race, one of the county commission districts, and five of the six townships, there were 45 candidates competing for an office. Of this total, 36 of them sent us their statements. Needless say, these submissions required a lot of formatting and several more pages in the newspaper. The extra cost of printing, though, was offset by the ads that several of them purchased.

In past years, we’d have published this issue the last Sunday of July—or about 10 days prior to Election Day. However, with voters having passed a Constitutional Proposal the previous election that expanded voting opportunities, there are now 10 days of early in-person voting available as well as more ease in obtaining an absentee ballot. This meant that we needed to publish these statements a week earlier due to this early voting.

Even so, it’s not until after the polls close on Election Day when the votes are counted and winners emerge. I was interested in the outcomes given that I know many of the candidates and have covered some of the issues of local importance. There were a couple of surprises where the incumbents survived strong challengers who I thought had a chance of success. What surprised me the most though was a report from the Livingston County clerk that turnout was lighter than usual. With all of those contested races, I’d have thought the opposite.

Along with those two events, the community enjoyed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see a young man who had grown up in Fowlerville compete in the Paris Summer Olympics earlier in the month. Adam Coon, who had been a star wrestler, football player, and shotput competitor in track during his days at Fowlerville High, then an All-American heavyweight wrestler at the University of Michigan, had qualified take part in the 130kg Greco-Roman bracket.

I did a profile of him prior to the local July 4th celebration, given that he and his wife Molly were serving as the parade Grand Marshals. There was the pre-Olympic article, a follow-up of his match in the opening round of the wrestling competition (which alas he lost by a 3-1 margin—the difference being one move that went in his opponent’s favor rather than his), and finally a surprise ‘Welcome Home’ Party held in the Fowlerville High School parking lot. He thought he was heading north of town to his parents’ home for a supper date. While he likely did get fed, his meal was delayed when he saw several dozen well-wishers waving signs and flags in the lot, followed by plenty of hugs, handshakes, and photo ops when he got out of the car to greet the entourage.

Now, as August begins to draw to a close, the school news is returning to our pages. Webberville has already started classes and Fowlerville resumes in a few days. I’ll be taking photos of the sports teams starting this week for a special section we publish at the start of each season—the upcoming one, of course, being fall. I’ll do my back-to-school interview with the Fowlerville School superintendent, going over the recently-adopted budget and any new initiatives or goals he and the administrative staff plan to pursue. The District ‘Teacher of Year’ and District ‘Support Staff Person of the Year’ are announce prior to the start of school and I’ll be doing stories on those honorees.

A trip to Traverse City is planned over the Labor Day weekend. Hopefully, the weather will be nice and no unforeseen mishaps will occur, allowing us to enjoy this end-of-summer excursion to the North Country.

A couple of deep breaths and, lo and behold, there’s the November General Election awaiting. The contested local races will be joined by battles for the 7th Congressional District seat between Curtis Hertel (D) and Tom Barrett (R), the U.S Senate opening between Mike Rogers (R) and Elissa Slotkin (D), and the U.S. Presidency between current Vice President Kamala Harris (D) and former President Donald Trump (R).

Being a local weekly newspaper, I don’t do much in the way of coverage with the statewide and national races as there are plenty of other media to handle those duties. But as a commentator and having this website at my disposal, the boundaries are broader and those marquee clashes will likely be examined in the coming weeks. Stay tuned or be forewarned.

Last, but hopefully not least, I finished the proof on my new book What Say I: Social Commentary & Personal Reflections last week and sent it off to the printer. It contains 60 articles I’ve written, with most of them published during the past 10 years. Copies will soon be available for purchase. More information will be forthcoming on how to obtain the book for anyone interested.

Steve Horton is a mid-Michigan journalist and editor-publisher of the Fowlerville News & Views.