The Ludington City council met Monday night. Fireworks were approved for the Downtown New year's Eve Celebration. The City renewed IT Rights contract with the city for computer support services. Although the city had previously voted to approve Fleis and Vanderbrink as engineers for the water system improvements, rural development requested that the city approve engineering agreements for water and sewer separately. The city voted to approve the agreement for the water system. The sewer agreement will be voted on during a future meeting. The building, planning, zoning and rental inspection reported 12 building permits, 6 zoning permits, and nine rental inspections completed. In September, 35 rental inspections were scheduled, of those, 3 rental units were found to have violations and 5 properties had no owner arrive to allow the inspector access.

Ludington Daily News and Ludington & Scottville chamber of commerce hosted a candidate forum last night at the ludington area Center for the arts. The forum opened with statements from unopposed Candidates. The debate portion started with Tom Rotta and Les Johnson competing for the 3rd ward Ludington city council seat. Les Johnson cited the cut in state funding as the largest challenge faced by the city council.  Rotta addressed concerns regarding working together with people he has, in the past, criticized on his website by stating “It’s never been a personal issue..hopefully we can both be professionals if I get on the city council and we can work for or against the same thing. I will continue to voice my opinion and what I consider is in the best interest of ludington.”Brandy Henderson and David Buskirk competed for Ludington City Councillor at-large. The stage was filled with mayor candidates as Kaye Ferguson Holman, Gary Castonia and Cheri Stibitz-Rozell discussed how each could benefit the city as Mayor. Kaye Ferguson Holman expressed a desire to continue giving back to ludington as she has for the past 12 years. Gary Castoina highlighted his availability to commit to the city as Mayor. Cheri Stibitiz-Rozell focused on education and involvement in community as her reasons for pursuing the mayor position. The debate concluded with Curt Vanderwall facing off against Dan Scripps. Education, Enbridge line 5, fisheries, Sargent Sands and political funding were some of the topics discussed. Both candidates had the opportunity to address accusations levied against them through the campaign. The entire debate is expected to become avilable online at shorelinemedia.com

Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital announced it has achieved 5-stars for its Treatment of Stroke Care from Healthgrades 2017 report to the Nation. Healthgrades is an online resource used to help consumers make informed decisions to find the right doctor,and the right hospital for the right care. Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital has also been named Among the Top 10% in the Nation for Patient Safety in 2016. Evan Marks, Chief Strategy Officer, Healthgrades said  “Hospitals that have achieved Healthgrades 5-stars in Stroke Care have demonstrated a commitment to exceptional quality care for their patients”