City offices closed Monday, July 5

I am pleased to announce that on June 18 Deputy Chief Steve Grinnewald graduated from the Michigan State University School of Police Staff and Command.

The MSU School of Staff and Command is a 400-hour problem based learning curriculum.
Students endured 10 weeks of instruction spread out over a five-month period beginning on Feb. 1 and ending with a graduation ceremony on June 18.

The class consisted of five weeks of “distance learning,” which was conducted utilizing Web-based technology such as Web cams for meetings, followed up by five weeks of classroom instruction at the Michigan State Police Training Academy in Lansing.

Students were structured into groups of five and worked as a team to tackle the issues and challenges facing law enforcement organizations using a problem-based learning approach.

Some of the topics covered were DiSC (personality) profiles, critical thinking skills, emotional intelligence, resource allocation, performance standards, recruitment/retention, organizational mission/vision/values and goals, leadership, ethics/integrity, budgeting, employee assistance programs, grant writing and oral presentation skills.

Students submitted several assignments/projects throughout the course culminating with an analysis of the student’s organization and where it is heading within the next five years.
Congratulations, Steve!

St. Denys Grant

I am pleased to report that the St. Denys Foundation awarded a $3,000 grant for landscaping and planting projects within the City of Dowagiac. The following projects are being funded:

• Riverside Cemetery and Rudy Park: Continue planting locally grown Dogwood trees, maple trees, white flowering crab trees and Japanese lilacs.

• Depot Drive in downtown area:  Continue rejuvenating the planting beds with different varieties of low shrubs and ground cover.

The ongoing generous donations from the St. Denys Foundation have funded many projects like this in the past and we are grateful for their continued support of landscaping and beautification projects within the city.
– City Manager Kevin Anderson