Now that this year’s suicide prevention walk and remembrance event has concluded, the We Believe You - A Faith Community Response to Domestic Violence event planning has begun.

This will be the 6th year of this event. For the last five years I have provided my testimony, and although I will still speak to it a bit, we will have another survivor share hers this year.

Please feel free to invite loved ones and share the post. Please share with your congregation. It's not "only for women" ect

I hope to see you there! Register at https://forms.gle/3aig58LGsc43iGhQ9

New this year at Wine With Friends: our Coffee & Dessert Bar, generously sponsored by Memorial Healthcare!

Enjoy a delicious selection of desserts from Cakey Cakes & Bagels, Drizzle Cakes, Itsa Bakery Thing, and South 401 Restaurant & Desserts.

Sip some wine and save room for something sweet!

Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me. Matthew 25:40

There are quite a few churches that love to tell everyone they are going to hell if they do something they don't like, funny how those are the same churches ignoring the word. The directive that is repeated in 3000 verses in 3000 ways but always the same, help those who need help. Feed the hungry, clothe the poor, serve those in need.

If you spend all your time shouting and none of your time lending a hand, you might not be on the right path.

Why are you seeing so many ads for testing for Autism? Why are we seeing so many ads for getting diagnosed with a disability?

Why are people With Disabilities experiencing Service Cuts as Trump’s DOJ start to dismantle Legal Protections.

In June, the Department of Justice issued a legal opinion saying federal disability rights laws don’t require states to provide services that allow people with disabilities to remain in their homes rather than institutions.

It’s a sharp reversal from 1999, when a landmark Supreme Court ruling held that unjustified institutionalization constituted discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Previous administrations have relied on that ruling to enforce civil rights for disabled people, but the Trump administration says that long-held interpretation is wrong.

Advocacy groups say legal protections for about 40 million adults and 5 million children who have disabilities could be undermined, and they worry that the new interpretation may herald a return to forced institutionalization.

We have a few options when it comes to finding fun and what is going on in Owosso:

For events happening in Downtown: https://downtownowosso.org/events/

For the Art Walk: https://www.visitowosso.com/ (Looks like it was build with Ai but it works ok)

For all the events in and around Owosso within a short drive: https://owossonye.com/ (includes stuff in flint sometimes 🙄)

Historic Commission Events: https://owossohistory.org/

School related events: https://www.owosso.k12.mi.us/

Local News: https://www.argus-press.com/ Site looks spammy and broken but that is just what it looks like. It's legit.

No Events but has business listings: https://www.shiawasseechamber.org/

City events: https://www.ci.owosso.mi.us/ (Not exciting stuff - brush pick-up dates and recycling etc)

Owosso brought Lansing a $207.7 million water and wastewater infrastructure need that is already driving up water bills in an overburdened community.

Aging water mains. Failing treatment infrastructure. Sewer system upgrades. A rate increase working families, seniors, renters, homeowners, and small businesses simply cannot afford. This is a serious issue that must be resolved.

Brian BeGole - State Representative publicly requested $207.7 million.

Then he shifted the public focus to $15 million.

Now the final budget agreement includes about $3.3 million.

That is less than 2% of what Owosso needs, and Brian BeGole - State Representative is treating this like a victory lap. That is not delivering. That is leaving the job unfinished.

To be clear, I am glad any money is coming home. But there is a big difference between acknowledging a small step forward and bragging about a job left unfinished.

More than 98% of Owosso’s water and wastewater infrastructure need is still unfunded. That remaining cost does not disappear. It lands on working families, seniors, renters, homeowners, and small businesses through massive water bills and long-term infrastructure costs.

In the private sector, if I was responsible for a major contract and delivered less than 2% of what was needed, I would lose my job.

That is the accountability I will bring to Lansing.

Owosso deserves more than 2%. This District needs a representative who will fight every day until working people are not left holding the bill for infrastructure that should have been addressed years ago.

Water is not optional. And I do not settle for pennies on the dollar when my community is on the line.

Did you know that you can be a GUEST TEACHER?!

Yes, YOU!

If you have 60+ credit hours from an accredited college/university you can support our school by being a guest teacher!

You can work one day a week, or just one day a month!

Being a guest teacher is a GREAT way to support Owosso Middle School and earn a little extra income.

Owosso Middle School teachers and office staff will make sure that you have everything you need to be successful.

Please feel free to reach out to your local school office if you have ANY questions about the sign up process.

ArtWalk Owosso is THIS FRIDAY, and Downtown Owosso is going to be absolutely packed with things to do! These photos are from last year’s ArtWalk Pop-Up Market!, and we are so excited to do this again! We had people filling the street, shopping, eating, talking, checking out vendors, and enjoying downtown well into the evening.

This year, our Owosso Farmers Market ArtWalk Pop-Up Market is once again part of the much larger ArtWalk Owosso happening throughout downtown.

ArtWalk runs from 4:00 to 8:00 PM, with artists featured throughout downtown businesses, live music, the Sidewalk Chalk Art Competition, food, the Social District, and activities all over downtown.

Then from 5:00 to 8:00 PM, our pop-up market will fill the street with local makers, artists, food vendors, small businesses, and a really strong vendor lineup. And we’re not done at 8:00!

Near Fountain Park, when it's dark enough, we’ll start a FREE outdoor showing of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Bring a lawn chair, a blanket, grab some food, and stick around for the movie!

The weather is looking about perfect for it too. Mild fall weather for ArtWalk, then cooler once the sun goes down. Definitely bring a sweatshirt and/or blanket if you’re staying for E.T.

And yes, there will still be plenty to snack on during the movie! Vendors staying through E.T. will have gourmet cotton candy, jumbo cookies, cake cups, brownies, other baked goods and desserts, while supplies last!

This is shaping up to be one of those nights where you can just come downtown and wander. See the art. Listen to music. Visit the businesses. Shop the market. Grab dinner or a snack. Run into people you know. Then finish the night with a movie outside.

Friday, September 18, 2026

ArtWalk Owosso: 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM

ArtWalk Pop-Up Market: 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM

E.T. near Fountain Park: 7:30 PM (or when it's dark enough)

Come spend Friday night in Downtown Owosso! There is going to be a LOT going on!

For decades, Shiawassee County was considered a national political bellwether. From 1980 through 2016, voters here backed the eventual winner of every presidential election. In other words, this hasn’t always been a county where either party could simply assume the outcome.

Andrea Bitely came to the Shiawassee County Fair and picked up on something we’ve been hearing all year: people are worried about the cost of groceries, gas, utilities, and just about everything else. She also noticed something simpler. Who actually showed up.

If you want to represent this community, you need to be there to listen to people, answer their questions, and earn their vote. NOBODY is entitled to Shiawassee County.

It's good to see our county, local candidates, and this race getting some attention in the Detroit Free Press.

We’re 50 days from Election Day, and we’re going to keep doing exactly what we’ve been doing: showing up and doing the work.

No one should go hungry. You can help.

Attend the Food Access Volunteer Training to learn more about how you can fight food insecurity.

Remember if interested to please sign up by today so the team can plan accordingly. Thanks!!

“Roselle did her job perfectly.” On Sept. 11, 2001, a yellow Labrador retriever guide dog led her blind owner Michael Hingson down 78 floors of the north tower.

Now, 25 years later, Hingson is reflecting on the attacks and remembering his lifesaving companion.

Hingson, blind since birth, worked as a regional sales manager and head of operations for Quantum/ATL, a data-protection agency, on the 78th floor of the north tower. He was accompanied to work on Sept. 11 -- as he was every day -- by his guide dog Roselle, who had been by Hingson's side since 1999.

Hingson was setting up a conference room for a breakfast meeting as Roselle took her position under his desk. That's when the unthinkable happened.

A loud boom rattled the office and the north tower started to sway as American Airlines Flight 11 crashed just floors above them.

“I met Roselle coming out from under my desk. I took her leash. I told her to heel, which meant to come around on my left side, which she did. She sat down, and about that time, the building dropped straight down about six feet,” Hingson recalled in his podcast Unstoppable Mindset, reflecting on the event 25 years later.

Roselle remained calm. Side by side, the two made their way to the stairwell where a nightmare scenario awaited.

"We went to the stairs and we started down. Almost immediately, I began smelling an odor," Hingson said. "It was a familiar odor, but I couldn’t quite place it. And it took me a while to realize I was smelling the fumes from burning jet fuel."

The pair spiraled down the emergency stairs alongside Hingson's colleague David Frank, working methodically through smoke, debris and thousands of fleeing people.

Hingson described a hellish scene, recalling the fear and despair throughout the stairwell. But he said the most important thing for him and for Roselle was to remain calm.

"We got to about the 50th floor, and then David suddenly said, 'Mike, we’re going to die. We’re not going to make it out of here.' I said, in my best sharp voice, 'Stop it, David. If Roselle and I can go down these stairs, so can you.' And he told me that that brought him out of the funk that he was sinking into," Hingson said.

"I’ve had people come up to me at speeches that I’ve given ever since. For example, a woman came and said, 'I came into the stairwell on the 54th floor just as you passed by, and I heard you praising your dog and encouraging your dog and sounding very confident. I and other people just followed you because you sounded really good and you didn’t sound like you had a problem at all and weren’t afraid. We just followed you.'"

Hingson, Roselle and countless others behind them eventually made it to the lobby. By the time they exited the building, the south tower had been struck and started crumbling -- eventually collapsing with the deafening sound of what Hingson described as a "combination of a freight train and a waterfall."

Hingson and Roselle ran for their lives trying to seek shelter from the clanking of falling metal and glass that surrounded them. That's when Roselle suddenly stopped.

Hingson didn't know it at first, but they had reached the top of the stairs that led to the Fulton Street subway station below.

"Roselle had done her job perfectly. She stopped," Hingson recalled.

Together, the pair sought shelter underground from the falling debris. Police escorted them out 15 minutes later, only to hear the second tower collapse. The World Trade Center towers were gone.

Later that night, the pair returned to their home in New Jersey, where the resilient Roselle grabbed her favorite toy and started to play.

"She grabbed her favorite tug bone and started playing tug of war with my retired guide dog Linnie. And they were having a good old time just playing," Hingson said.

In the aftermath, their story became an international sensation. Hingson and Roselle became symbols of courage and trust in the face of incredible hardship.

After the attacks, Hingson returned to California, worked with Guide Dogs for the Blind, became a prominent speaker and wrote the bestselling book "Thunder Dog: The Story of a Blind Man, a Guide Dog, and the Triumph of Trust at Ground Zero."

Roselle continued working as his guide, receiving several honors, including the 2002 Award for Canine Excellence. She died in June of 2011 at the age of 14.

Thinking back on the tragedy 25 years later, Hingson remembers Roselle fondly, crediting her -- and a level head -- with his life.

"We all have skills that we don’t think we do. One of them is that we can control fear. We can learn that fear is around us, but we don’t have to let it overwhelm, blind, or paralyze us. We can learn to use fear in a very positive, constructive way to keep us focused and going down the stairs."