Year in review: Seven stories that shaped Battle Creek in 2022
Here are our choices for the most meaningful and emotional stories in Battle Creek in 2022:
Trace Christenson, Battle Creek Enquirer reporter for four decades, dies at 72
Trace Christenson, Battle Creek Enquirer justice and public safety reporter, died in January.
Christenson, 72, fell down the stairs at his home in Battle Creek on Jan. 8 and suffered a traumatic head injury. He was officially pronounced dead the next day and was an organ and tissue donor through Gift of Life, according to Bronson Healthcare spokesperson Carolyn Wyllie.
Christenson is survived by his sister, Cile Nabors of San Antonio, Texas, and his fiancee, Karen Burns, of Portage.
"He held things very near and dear to his heart, and the things he loved he loved with a passion," Burns said. "I know he loved me and I loved him. There is some solace in that."
Christenson was a native of Niles and a graduate of DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. He worked at the Sturgis Journal beginning in 1973 and joined the Battle Creek Enquirer as a staff writer and photographer in 1984.
In his 37 years reporting on Battle Creek and its surrounding communities, Christenson won numerous Gannett, Associated Press and Michigan Press Association awards for his reporting and news photography, with his work being featured in publications around the globe.
In his role as justice and public safety reporter, Christenson was notably granted unparalleled access in covering crime and courts through the Battle Creek Police Department, the Calhoun County Sheriff's Office and the Calhoun County Justice Center.
Michigan Sen. John Bizon sentenced for inappropriately touching nurse
Bizon, R-Battle Creek, also had to pay $1,130 in court costs and fines and complete a mental health treatment program as part of the sentence handed down by 10th District Court Judge Michelle Richardson. In addition, he was ordered to have no contact with the victim.
Bizon pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor assault and battery charge in February.
The nurse practitioner said Bizon touched her inappropriately during the August visit while she was discussing medications with him in an exam room, according to a police report of the incident.
Bizon addressed the incident following his guilty plea.
“Without question, this entire situation is regrettable. As a doctor who has spent decades caring for those in need, I am deeply distressed that I unintentionally caused someone to feel unsafe," he said in a statement. "I was very sick at the time of the incident and did not behave as I normally would have. Nevertheless, I take this situation very seriously and have learned from it.”
Plans unveiled for former McCamly Plaza Hotel; McCamly Place to be demolished
Battle Creek Unlimited and its affiliate, 50 Capital Ave. Development Corp., revealed plans for an overhaul of the 265,000-square-foot downtown Battle Creek complex.
Plans include razing the McCamly Place atrium space to add an outdoor green space and additional indoor space for the hotel and adjacent Kellogg Arena.
BCU, the nonprofit economic development arm for the city of Battle Creek, gained ownership of the property in November 2020 following a lawsuit against its previous owners for failure to meet deadlines in rebranding the hotel into a DoubleTree by Hilton. The hotel had not been open since November 2019.
“We are so excited to return this historic property to productive use,” Joe Sobieralski, BCU's president and CEO, said in a release. “Having a hotel of this size and magnitude will significantly contribute to the economic vitality of downtown Battle Creek and the entire city. We cannot thank our partners and contributors enough for their continued support and generosity. This multi-faceted project will be a showpiece for our great city and will once again make Battle Creek a destination for entertainment and events.”
The renovations are to include new guest rooms, lobby, ballroom and meeting spaces; a new restaurant with a farm-to-table menu; a new bar and beer garden; a new kitchen; and much more.
The 239-room hotel will operate as a DoubleTree by Hilton and will be managed by Zeeland-based 6PM Hospitality Partners.
Kellogg Co. to split into three companies by end of 2023
In June, Kellogg Co. announced it will split into three independent companies focused on cereals, snacks and plant-based foods by the end of 2023.
The global snacking headquarters will move to Chicago, with Battle Creek continuing to have a snack food campus, and remain the world headquarters for its cereal and plant-based food entities.
The snack business, which accounts for about 80% of Kellogg sales, includes products such as Cheez-Its, Pringles and Eggo Waffles.
"We're very committed to Battle Creek," Kellogg Co. Chairman and CEO Steve Cahillane explained shortly after the announcement in June. No employees will be asked to relocate and no offices are expected to move or be closed, he said.
City leaders said they support Kellogg's plan and will work with the company to address its needs while also pursuing other economic development opportunities.
"(Kellogg executives) have committed to being open and transparent to us as a community and we are believing in them and we are supporting them in this," Battle Creek City Manager Rebecca Fleury said. "Whatever they can do to position themselves for growth, we want them to do. We will do whatever we can to also be their partner in Battle Creek and in other areas."
Kellogg had net sales of $14.2 billion in 2021, with $11.4 billion generated by its its snack division. North American cereal, which includes Frosted Flakes, accounted for another $2.4 billion in sales in 2021 while plant-based sales, led by the MorningStar Farms brand, totaled about $340 million.
A Season To Remember
It was a season to remember for several high school programs in 2022, taking strides their programs haven't seen in years or going places they have never been before.
Not really in the rankings much of the year, the Lakeview baseball team just kept on winning once the postseason came around and rode that momentum all the way to the Final Four.
The Spartans (29-7), who had won their regional title and were in the semifinals for the first time since 2014, were hoping to claim their first state championship since 2006.
"This is a season I will remember forever, no matter what the score of the final game," said Lakeview senior Kooper Etheridge. "As a senior, the best way to end your high school career is getting to the Final Four and that's what we did."
Once there, Lakeview lost to Grosse Point North in the state semifinals, 8-0, on the big stage on the campus of Michigan State University. But that didn't put a damper on an historic season.
"I just told them, enjoy every second, because this just does not happen very often," Lakeview baseball coach Kyle Kracht said prior to the Final Four. "They are going to remember this forever, no matter what happens from here."
One dead following 'jet truck' explosion during Battle Creek Field of Flight performance
On July 2, as driver Chris Darnell raced against two airplanes down the runway at Battle Creek Executive Airport in his Shockwave Jet Truck during the Field of Flight Air Show and Balloon Festival, something went horribly wrong.
A piece of tire debris could be seen flying off the back of his custom-built vehicle. Moments later, as a parachute deployed from the truck and pyrotechnics shot off nearby, there was an explosion on the back end of the vehicle where three jet engines were mounted, causing the highly modified performance vehicle to careen out of control, flipping four times.
Darnell, a 40-year-old married father of two, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Shockwave crash was the first casualty for a performer in the nearly four decades since Battle Creek began hosting balloon competitions and air shows.
Battle Creek police determined the likely cause of the crash was the blown tire. A team inspected the airfield before and after the incident, finding no issues that would have potentially caused the crash.
Darnell Racing Enterprises had performed in Battle Creek several times over the past 13 years, and had never suffered a crash in its 20 years performing at venues across the country.
Barb Haluszka, executive director for the Battle Creek Field of Flight and Air Show, said Darnell Racing Enterprises is under contract to return to Field of Flight in 2023. They have yet to determined which vehicle will be used and who the driver will be.
Two Battle Creek teens to stand trial in drive-by killing of 2-year-old
Two Battle Creek teens have been ordered to stand trial in connection with the drive-by shooting death of 2-year-old Kai Turner.
After taking additional time to review testimony in the case, Calhoun County District Court Judge Paul Beardslee ruled Dec. 19 that there was probable cause to bind over Martavon Nelson, 18, and Jaylen Smith, 17, to Circuit Court for trial in the Sept. 20 shooting death of Kai.
Both Nelson and Smith are charged with open murder, discharging a firearm from a vehicle causing death, discharging a firearm at a building causing death, carrying a concealed weapon and three counts of felony firearm in Kai's death.
The 2-year-old suffered a single gunshot wound to the head in the early morning hours of Sept. 20 while sleeping inside his family's Cliff Street apartment. He later died at the hospital from his injuries.
Smith, a juvenile, is being charged as an adult in the case.
Investigators have repeatedly indicated Kai and his family were not the intended targets in the shooting, and said the intended target was believed to be living in a separate apartment inside the building.
Contact reporter Greyson Steele at gsteele@battlecreekenquirer.com
This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: Seven stories that shaped Battle Creek in 2022
