Kalamazoo
New ‘Growlers’ to play baseball in summer league
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) — Kalamazoo’s new baseball team will be aptly named The Growlers.
The name for the team, which makes its debut next year, was picked following an online contest. The Growlers will play at Homer Stryker Field and are part of the Northwoods League, a summer league made up of top college players from North America. Other names considered as part of the contest were the Cabbies, the Clutch, the Kangaroos and the Krakens.
The team’s name pays homage to the breweries in the Kalamazoo area, Growlers assistant general manager John Bollinger said. An event was held Friday to celebrate the new team and included fans’ first chance to buy Growlers merchandise, the Kalamazoo Gazette reported.
“This is not only a team we decided we wanted to try to name,” Bollinger said. “This is our team. This is your team. This is Kalamazoo’s team.”
The team’s manager is Joe Carbone, who was head coach for Ohio University for 24 years until retiring after the 2012 season. In order to succeed in the Northwoods League, he said that the team will need to draw on the talent of college players in Michigan.
“We need to get some of the best players from Western Michigan University first, then the other colleges in the state of Michigan and then from there we’re going to fill in wherever else we need,” Carbone said.
Ellsworth
Charges filed a year after cider made people ill
ELLSWORTH, Mich. (AP) — A northern Michigan farm owner faces criminal charges after at least four people who drank apple cider got sick.
James Ruster of Mitchell Hill Farm in Antrim County is charged with knowingly making adulterated, or unsanitary, food. Inspectors said his cider equipment was unsanitary and had dried food on it.
His customers got sick a year ago, including three who tested positive for E. coli. Ruster couldn’t be reached for comment Sunday. Someone who answered the phone at the farm hung up during a call from The Associated Press.
Prosecutor James Rossiter tells the Traverse City Record-Eagle it’s an uncommon case in Antrim County.
In 2012, the Health Department of Northwest Michigan urged people to avoid Ruster’s cider.
Detroit
Schauer calls for raising minimum wage to $9.25
DETROIT (AP) — Mark Schauer says he’ll make raising the minimum wage a top priority as Michigan governor.
The Democratic gubernatorial candidate is proposing to increase Michigan’s minimum wage from $7.40 an hour to $9.25 per hour over three years. After that, the wage would rise with inflation to protect earners’ purchasing power.
Schauer tells The Associated Press that increasing the minimum wage is good for the economy because it puts more money in people’s pockets to buy everyday necessities. He also says it’s the morally right thing to do for workers struggling to get by.
Schauer will unveil his proposal Monday morning outside a Detroit bakery.
Republican Gov. Rick Snyder hasn’t embraced minimum wage hikes. His spokeswoman says while he hasn’t taken a position, there could be unintended consequences like job losses.
Royal Oak
Beaumont seeks volunteers for treatment study
ROYAL OAK, Mich. (AP) — Beaumont Health System is seeking volunteers for a prostate cancer treatment study.
Researchers want to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of an MRI-guided ultrasound therapy system to destroy cancerous prostate tissue.
Participants will be followed for a minimum of 12 months to check on their progress and any side effects, monitor their quality of life and signs of prostate cancer.
To be eligible for the study, participants must be 65 or older, have had a biopsy confirm cancer of the prostate and be able to tolerate general anesthesia.
The Beaumont Research Institute has 1,100 active laboratory and clinical studies involving 82,000 patients that are funded by government, foundation and commercial grants.
