Kalamazoo County hotel owners approve adding fee to room charges for youth sports complex | WKZO | Everything Kalamazoo
KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – Tuesday was a tough day for three funding requests on the ballot locally. Two school bond issues in the Parchment and Otsego school districts, and a hike in funding for Alamo Township operations all failed by wide margins. However, results from a very special election in Kalamazoo are also in. […]
KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – Tuesday was a tough day for three funding requests on the ballot locally.
Two school bond issues in the Parchment and Otsego school districts, and a hike in funding for Alamo Township operations all failed by wide margins.
However, results from a very special election in Kalamazoo are also in. A referendum of local Hotel owners on whether they were willing to add a fee to their room charges to fund a new youth sports complex was held last month.
Discover Kalamazoo Director Jane Ghosh says their results were positive.
“75% of those cast ballots, and of those who cast ballots, 82% voted yes, so an overwhelmingly positive vote,” says Ghosh.
She says the next step will be to appoint a group to sort out which of three proposed sites would be the best for the new youth sports complex.
“That would meet to review the potential sites and then make the recommendation to the county.”
County commissioners will be asked to set up an ad-hoc site selection committee at their next meeting.
The facility would provide indoor hard-court surfaces for basketball and volleyball tournaments and for local use, and also serve as another tourist attraction for the area.
Today Youth golf U.P. Junior Tour, at Wawonowin Country Club, Champion, 9 a.m. American Legion baseball Westwood at Post 44 Reds (doubleheader), at Haley Memorial Field Complex, Field #1, Marquette, 5 p.m. Tuesday High school softball MHSAA Division 3 quarterfinals, at Cheboygan: Boyne City regional champion vs. Houghton Lake regional champion, 4:30 p.m. MHSAA Division […]
Last Wednesday evening Lamppost Head, playing for the first time on their designated home field, Oak Glen’s new synthetic turf Field of Dreams, broke a slump by crushing the ball to the fence and racing around the bases for an inside-the-park home run. Two days later he did It again on the same field but […]
Last Wednesday evening Lamppost Head, playing for the first time on their designated home field, Oak Glen’s new synthetic turf Field of Dreams, broke a slump by crushing the ball to the fence and racing around the bases for an inside-the-park home run.
Two days later he did It again on the same field but against a different team, scoring even through he slipped and fell on the “slide-friendly” turf rounding second. These teams play in rain – they have to, if they want to get a season in – but this was a steady downpour and the game was called, erasing Lamppost Head’s home run.
A couple of days before, his brother, The 747, pitched four and a third innings and struck out 13, walking only four. On Friday, playing catcher on a rural baseball Field of Mud, where the rain was not so heavy as to prevent play, he went hitless at the plate and overthrew a pickoff attempt at third, allowing a tying run to score. He had an awful game, as did almost the whole team.
So it goes in spring youth baseball.
We grandparents bring our own chairs and sit with daughter Shark behind the chain-link fences, squinting into the sun or bundling against a chill wind or dripping on each other with our umbrellas. We cheer the good plays and moan at the bad ones, calling out “You’ve got this” to a pitcher searching for the strike zone and “Get the next one” when he doesn’t find it. We use their names when we yell encouragement to the players because they can hear us, at least when they want to.
Our daughter Shark’s boys play every organized youth sport available, including basketball, track, and soccer, which is probably their favorite. They tried football one year over Grandma Honey’s objections. She made them watch the movie “Concussion” before she would reluctantly agree to attend their games.
They both love baseball, at least when they’re not in a hitting slump. When Lamppost Head got out of his, he marveled that it was like a switch suddenly turned on. Coach moved him up in the lineup. The 747, a usually dependable hitter batting leadoff, is doing everything right at the plate but not finding that switch. We know he will.
Lamppost Head is 13, playing in the Pony Division of the Ohio Valley Youth Baseball League. The 747, 12, plays 12 and under, the Bronco Division. There are nine Pony teams and 23 Bronco teams in the league this year, all from towns in the valley or just up out of it, from East Liverpool down to Brilliant.
In that Field of Mud game, the balls in play were all uniformly brown after a few minutes. Except for the muffed throw to third, The 747 played his position well, even cutting down a runner stealing second.
The opposing team was short a couple of players and apparently called up a boy from a Mustang team, but still had only two in the outfield. (Players can play up an age group, but not down.) The call-up boy, who was very undersized, played left field, right in front of where we were sitting. He had a different uniform, and his name, “Pettit,” was stitched on the back, prompting unkind remarks from me because it’s from the French for “small.” My doubts abouthis abilities were dead wrong. This kid could throw and hit, and he caught the only fly ball our team managed to send to the outfield.
After the game, I heard our coach chew out our players when I walked on the field to get a picture of them in their muddy uniforms. He told them they played line a 1-and-9 team instead of a 10-and-0 team.
“It’s a win and we’ll take it, but you’d better get your heads on straight for these next games,” he said.
Yep, they won, 4-3, and are undefeated with three games left before playoffs. Lamppost Head’s team is also undefeated. Both teams have won with blowouts and squeakers, winning, I think, not because they are loaded up with the top players, but because they are good teams: solid defense, good pitching, smart and aggressive base-running and not bad at the plate. They have good coaches who care about the kids and can be tough, but don’t abuse their players like some coaches we hear.
The hero of Friday’s Field of Mud game was Brody, who earned three RBIs and pitched the last couple innings with a broken arm. A mostly healed broken arm, they said. Whatta guy.Our son-in-law Snickers is an assistant coach on The 747’s team. When he told the players I wanted to get a picture, one of them ran back to the infield and slid heavily into second because his uniform wasn’t muddy enough. It was just the right thing to do.
The coaches laughed and one yelled “sorry about the laundry” to his mother.
The synthetic turf has its advantages, but it would be a sad thing for baseball if kids never got to play on a Field of Mud.
By STEPHANIE UJHELYI
Staff Writer
CALCUTTA — When asked what you did over Memorial Day weekend, not many …
LISBON —Proposed annexations of land from Perry Township into Salem became the news of the day, with the denial …
Last Wednesday evening Lamppost Head, playing for the first time on their designated home field, Oak Glen’s new …
NEW CUMBERLAND — The board of the Hancock County Museum is asking New Cumberland city officials to get more …
San Antonio Spurs Forward Julian Champagnie youth basketball camp in Los Fresnos
San Antonio Spurs forward Julian Champagnie hosted his youth basketball skills camp at the Los Fresnos United School in Los Fresnos. 85 kids registered for the camp that started at 12 p.m. and ended 4 p.m. They went through fundamental skills, dribbling, shooting and passing. The campers ended the day with a 5v5 game having […]
San Antonio Spurs forward Julian Champagnie hosted his youth basketball skills camp at the Los Fresnos United School in Los Fresnos.
85 kids registered for the camp that started at 12 p.m. and ended 4 p.m. They went through fundamental skills, dribbling, shooting and passing. The campers ended the day with a 5v5 game having the chance to go up against Champagnie.
Channel 5 news asked him about the importance of bringing these camps to the Valley.
“It’s super important because there aren’t any NBA games down here. I think we’re the closest ones out of the three Texas teams so coming out here is super important giving the kids something to look forward too and someone to look up too,” said Champagnie.
He also said he would love to come back out here and hopes to be here as soon as August.
Community and school youth football field support grants
OUR GRANT OPPORTUNITIES: Youth Today’s grant listings are carefully curated for our subscribers working in youth-related industries. Subscribers will find local, state, regional and national grant opportunities. THIS GRANT’S FOCUS: Youth Sports, Youth Football, Physical Activity, Low-income Community/YouthDeadline: June 30, 2025 “The NFL Foundation Grassroots Program provides non-profit, neighborhood-based organizations with financial and technical assistance […]
OUR GRANT OPPORTUNITIES: Youth Today’s grant listings are carefully curated for our subscribers working in youth-related industries. Subscribers will find local, state, regional and national grant opportunities.
THIS GRANT’S FOCUS: Youth Sports, Youth Football, Physical Activity, Low-income Community/Youth Deadline: June 30, 2025
“The NFL Foundation Grassroots Program provides non-profit, neighborhood-based organizations with financial and technical assistance to improve the quality, safety and accessibility of local football fields. Athletic fields can serve as tremendous community assets by offering opportunities for recreation, education and relaxation that contribute to the local quality of life. The NFL Foundation Grassroots Program seeks to redress the shortage of clean, safe and accessible football fields in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. There are two levels of funding available: (1) General Field Support and (2) Field Surface Grants.
(1) General Field Support: applicants may submit requests of up to $50,000 for capital projects not associated with the actual field surface. This support includes the installation/refurbishment of bleachers, concession stands, lights, irrigation systems, etc.
(2) Field Surface Grants: Matching grants of up to $250,000 are available to help finance the resurfacing of a community, middle school or high school football field. Matching grants of up to $250,000 will be available to applicants seeking to install new synthetic sports turf surfaces. The ability of these new surfaces to withstand constant use and require little ongoing maintenance costs makes this an attractive option for communities, schools and youth groups to consider.
A smaller number of matching grants of up to $100,000 will be available to help finance the resurfacing of a community, middle school or high school football field utilizing natural grass/sod surfaces.”
Funder: The NFL Foundation and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) Eligibility: Community-based organizations, middle schools or high schools serving a neighborhood consisting of low- and moderate-income families and individuals with 501 (c)(3) tax exempt status or school tax exempt status. Amount: Up to $250,000 Contact:Link →
Related: Q&A: From summer slide to summer glide — Blending learning, engagement and fun
>>> CLICK HERE to see all of Youth Today’s GRANT LISTINGS
Rep. Nancy Mace Says Nike Should Face ‘Consequences’ For Trans Youth Athlete Study
PublishedJune 9, 2025 9:16 AM EDT•UpdatedJune 9, 2025 9:16 AM EDT Facebook Twitter Email Copy Link While everyone involved in the allegedly Nike-funded transgender youth athlete study remains virtually silent, one member of Congress is calling on Nike to face “consequences” if they truly provided funds for a study that involves minors taking puberty-blockers. Rep. […]
While everyone involved in the allegedly Nike-funded transgender youth athlete study remains virtually silent, one member of Congress is calling on Nike to face “consequences” if they truly provided funds for a study that involves minors taking puberty-blockers.
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) spoke to OutKick about the damage that transgender ideology has on young people. Mace is a very outspoken pro-women member of the House of Representatives and she explained why that position is so important to her.
“I’m a woman who’s been through some things, and I’m a girl mom and I have sisters and a mother, of course, and friends who’ve been through some traumatic events in their lives. And having gone through my own trauma, I’ve realized… there’s just so much more we can do to protect women and girls,” Mace said.
“To see women being erased in real time by the left, by progressives, by people who are mentally ill, doesn’t sit well with me. And there aren’t enough women speaking up and speaking out and fighting for other women, and that’s what I’m trying to do.”
Nancy Mace speaks with OutKick’s Dan Zaksheske about transgender athletes in women’s sports
Even though President Donald Trump signed an executive order to ban males from girls’ and women’s sports, several states continue to defy the ban. Over the past few weeks, males have won state championships in several girls’ high school events.
“We saw what’s going on with the governor of Maine really doubling down on this gender ideology that hurts women and hurts girls. It’s appalling. It’s offensive,” Mace told OutKick. “I think that there will be more women in the Republican Party coming to our party, fleeing to our party because they don’t like what they see happening to women and girls. But we need conservative governors across the country who will protect women. And girls, that’s the next fight. It’s not just at the federal level, it’s going to be at the state level now.”
Rep. Nancy Mace told OutKick that Nike should face “consequences” for their role in allegedly funding a study on transgender youth athletes as young as 12 years old.
(USA Today Network/Imagn Images)
Mace turned her attention to Nike, the company that allegedly helped fund a transgender youth athlete study on children as young as 12 years old. OutKick has tried to speak with the company dozens of times, and they’ve stonewalled us at every turn.
“That’s not the behavior of an innocent company. And if they’ve been caught red-handed funding, gender transition research and studies on underage minor children, then we do need the media and influencers and folks online to point it out and expose it for what it is. There should be consequences to this behavior,” Mace said.
While radical left-wing Democrats continue to push gender ideology – even on children – Mace pointed out that the overwhelming majority of Americans reject providing “gender-affirming” care to minors.
“[The] vast majority of Americans don’t agree with progressives or the Democrat party on transitioning underage kids. And in fact, there are a lot of studies around the world that show that if your child has gender dysphoria, once they get through their teenage years in puberty and get to the other side, they no longer have gender dysphoria. What we’re doing is damaging and harming these kids, making their mental health worse, and we’re physically mutilating them,” Mace said.
While OutKick continues to try and get answers about this alleged study, no other media outlet is putting any pressure on Nike to come clean about its role. Mace suggested that perhaps the reason other media outlets aren’t covering this study is simple: money.
“Nike is a big advertiser. They throw a lot of money around. They have a lot of power and influence and people are afraid of giants, but like in the Bible, David existed – David [vs.] Goliath – and he won,” Mace said.
Taking down Goliath wasn’t easy, but it was possible. The key is not to stop fighting. And we have no plans to quit anytime soon.
