About The Island City Weekly

The Island City Weekly is a free email newsletter with local news for Plainwell, Michigan, known as "The Island City" because a power canal carries part of the Kalamazoo River around downtown, making the downtown area an island.

Every Monday morning (about 7:00 AM Eastern) subscribers get one short email covering:

• City & government: what's on the City Council and planning agendas, and what was decided
• Schools: news from Plainwell Community Schools
• Business: openings, closings and changes around town
• Events: a dependable list of what's happening in the week ahead
• Public safety: official releases only
• Community: the library, parks, churches, clubs and neighbors

Who we are

The Island City Weekly is independent and locally owned. It is published by Andrew Vanderboegh, who has the final say on every issue.

How each issue is made

We gather items from public sources such as City of Plainwell agendas and calendars, Plainwell Community Schools, the Ransom District Library and Allegan County. Drafts are prepared with the help of AI tools. A human then reviews every issue, checks the facts against the sources and approves it before it goes out. We tell you this because you deserve to know how your news is made.

Our standards

• Every fact has a source, and we link to it so you can check it yourself.
• Nothing is made up. If we can't verify something, we leave it out.
• We write in our own words and quote briefly, with credit.
• Public safety news comes from official releases only. We don't name minors.
• Agenda items are not decisions. We say "on the agenda" until a vote actually happens.
• Mistakes get fixed in the open. See our corrections policy.
• Sponsored content is always labeled "Sponsored" and sponsors never influence our news coverage. See our sponsorship policy.

Get in touch

Have a tip, a question or a correction? Visit our tips & contact page.