Year in Review: The highlight reel of Sturgis news in 2022

STURGIS — Writing the Year in Review column for 2022 feels a bit loaded. It's almost easier to say what didn't happen than what did.

Last year was no exception, as the greater Sturgis area faced a continued baby formula shortage that crippled the nation, a sudden dismissal that led to uproar at the St. Joseph County Fair and a midterm election that heralded a sea change in Michigan.

Here's what we deemed the most impactful topics of 2022:

Baby formula crisis continues

It has been nearly 10 months since Sturgis-based Abbott Nutrition voluntarily recalled three types of infant formula — after four babies became sick with bacteria infections — and the country's largest baby formula manufacturer shuttered production at the Sturgis plant, sending the market into a tailspin. The Biden administration scrambled to address nationwide shortages that grew so bad, malnourished babies had to be hospitalized.

At the end of August, the company announced it was restarting Similac infant formula production in Sturgis, but that it would take about six weeks for the product to begin shipping to retail locations.

The anguish continues to be palpable and heartbreaking as mothers still are frantically searching for baby formula to feed their babies in December.

“In desperate need, it’s the only thing my daughter can tolerate,” one wrote on Facebook just before Thanksgiving. “I’m having a difficult time,” another pleaded.

Shelves are bare in some places. Stores still are rationing sales.

Fair fires director

In a surprise move, the St. Joseph County Grange Fair announced in October it had fired its director of 18 months, Missi Tefft — a fair employee for more than 30 years.

The board faced the ire of the public as the move wasn't expected, did not follow the board’s protocol for employment-related matters and resulted in at least one employee quitting, briefly forcing the fair to close its office and leaving payment of bills, day-to-day operations and other matters in limbo.

One notable quote: “Evil has been able to infiltrate a wonderful organization known as the St. Joe County Grange Fair Board … they have used intimidation, misinformation, negativity, muckraking, disrespect, contentious arguing and belligerence to achieve their ultimate goal of unjustly dismissing the manager.”

Former board members and citizens called for board members to resign and three board members — Tony Hoschstetler, Gary Clark and Tricia Ulsh — survived a recall attempt. Although they failed to get a majority of votes to support their continued tenure with the board, they didn't "lose" by large enough margins to be dismissed.

It was the second time the board fired its manager; the role was served by committee for the 2019 fair after longtime manager Bill Johnson was dismissed in October 2018.

The St. Joseph County Grange Fair, locally known as the Centreville Grange Fair, is ranked among the top five fairs in Michigan. It began back in 1851 and is still one of the most popular fairs to visit in Michigan.

Severe child abuse case

It was a heart-breaking case that gripped the community in August: maintenance workers entered a Sturgis-area apartment and found two children alone and in trouble.

An 8-month-old child suffered what doctors would later describe as horrific injuries, including multiple bone fractures and bruises. The child also tested positive for methamphetimines. His 3-year-old brother witnessed the abuse of his sibling, according to court testimony.

The child's mother and her boyfriend are facing child abuse charges currently, after the case was bound over to circuit court for Amanda Nicole Wood, 33, and her boyfriend Jason Haskin, 39.

The trial is expected in 2023 and hopefully will see this grisly case come to a close.

Dairy Queen labor laws

In September, the operator of Dairy Queen restaurants in Sturgis admitted it had used minors to work at some of its businesses in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

H&H Coldwater LCC, the Fort Wayne-based operator of 11 Dairy Queen franchises in Indiana and Michigan, violated child labor provisions at its locations, according to the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division.

A 2022 department investigation and audit found specifically 102 violations of Child Labor Regulations No. 3 of minors ages 14 and 15 working hours and at times beyond allowable standards.

The violations occurred at the Dairy Queen stores in Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, Bluffton and Decatur in Indiana and at one location in Michigan in Sturgis.

The FLSA prohibits 14- and 15-year-old employees from working later than 9 p.m. from June 1 through Labor Day and past 7 p.m., the remainder of the year. Additionally, they cannot work more than three hours on a school day, eight hours on a non-school day, or more than 18 hours per week.

In an agreement, H&H Coldwater LLC will pay $42,572 in civil money penalties by Nov. 14 for its violations, according to the Department of Labor.

Michigan Midterm Elections

The morning after the November midterm election, Democratic Michiganders awoke to discover they'd kept the governorship, secretary of state and attorney general offices — in addition to passing all three statewide proposals and flipping the state House and Senate for the first time since the '80s.

Following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in June, voters approved an amendment to enshrine abortion rights in the state's constitution. Proposal 3 establishes a "fundamental right to reproductive freedom" which includes — but is not limited to — the right to seek abortion. It also protects a right to contraception and infertility care.

Michigan voters also adopted Proposal 2, a wide-ranging constitutional amendment to establish early voting, preempt efforts to enact more stringent voter ID rules and expand access to absentee voting.

Perhaps the most bipartisan support came for Proposal 1, a ballot proposal that modifies term limits for state legislators and requires them, the governor and others holding top elected offices in the state to disclose information about their finances that could reveal potential conflicts of interest.

This article originally appeared on Sturgis Journal: Year in Review: The highlight reel of Sturgis news in 2022