There’s no denying a desire for more sidewalks throughout the city of Belding. Providing ample pathways for foot traffic throughout the city limits is a dream that many residents have wished to come true for years. But at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting, an issue focusing on the addition of sidewalks in the industrial zoned areas of the city drew critical response from business owners and citizens as members of City Council rejected an ordinance amendment that would have allowed the Belding Planning Commission to declare the installment of certain sidewalks as “unreasonable.”

From a distance, the nuts, bolts, gears, wires, batteries, sweat and tears that go into building a robot at the high school level are hard to measure or place in the proper perspective when the mechanical machine is sitting lifeless on a classroom desk within Belding High School. But with the flip of a switch Saturday, eight students put all of those components and months of effort to work, bringing their robots to life as they raced, battled and bruised their way through the first robotics competition to be held at Belding High School in the Redskin Arena gymnasium.

Shivering in the freezing, crisp morning air, with a blanket wrapped tightly around his body and wearing a bright green hat, the one item he was able to recover from his home, Scotty Foote closed his eyes and listened as gun shells continued to pop and echo throughout the surrounding woods as the fire that had just destroyed his home burned away at the last remaining ammunition shells from his room closet.

An Ionia County lake in jeopardy of seeing its lake level drop significantly is on course to receive repairs on a dam that will properly maintain the lake level for another 30 years. Ranney Lake, located in the upper northwest corner of Ionia County just south of the county line and north of Belding, is a private lake with approximately 14 lots surrounding it.

Belding Area Schools Board of Education members were treated to an unexpected, colorful and thoughtful surprise Monday evening on a night in which School Board Recognition Month was celebrated toward the end of an organizational board meeting. After board members Robert Insley and Cori Anderson, who were re-elected to the board in the November general election, were officially sworn in for their new four-year terms, the board voted to assign officer positions for the new year.

With the aroma of freshly baked dough, spicy pepperoni and a variety of cheeses wafting through the air of the Alvah N. Belding Memorial Library, more than 60 members of the community filled their plates with slice after slice of delicious pizza from five Belding businesses with an intent to discover who was offering up the most tantalizing slice.

An early morning altercation today between a male suspect and a Belding police officer led to a shootout between the man and two police officers, resulting in the man’s death.

After months of deliberation during several Belding Planning Commission meetings, it appears the subject on the keeping of urban chickens within city limits is over. Belding City Council members voted down an ordinance amendment Wednesday evening that would have allowed chickens in residentially zoned districts. In a 4-1 vote against the amendment, with Councilman Joe Feuerstein voting in favor, the keeping of chickens in Belding will continue to be illegal within city limits.

As DTE Energy Regional Manger Roger Royer held a giant check in the amount of $10,000 to be given to the Belding Skate Park Committee, he reflected on the importance of helping to bring the skate park to downtown Belding at Central Riverside Park.

For Marie Brodock, Christmas Eve was sometimes a day spent alone as her children spent the day with their father. But for the past several years, that festive day that so many spend with family hasn’t seemed so lonely for the Greenville resident as she travels a few miles south to Bridge Street Cafe in Belding.