Marked by several major triumphs for the city and school district along with a handful of shocks, setbacks and tragedies, 2015 was yet another monumental year for Dowagiac and its neighboring communities.

Throughout the next several issues of the Dowagiac Daily News, staff will count down the top stories of the year, culminating with the No. 1 story in the New Year’s Eve edition of the paper.

Leader Publications’ editorial staff created the list based on stories that were the most read, most talked about and most impactful in the community. Stories seven through five are as follows:

 

7: History museum opens second floor

One of the major gaps in the story of the history of Dowagiac, as told by the city’s premier historic archive, was filled in this fall.

The Dowagiac Area History Museum celebrated its latest landmark moment in October with the opening of its renovated second floor and its new permanent exhibit, “Industry, Arts, Education and Leisure: A Dowagiac Story.” The exhibit showcases more than 150 years of Dowagiac history, from the city’s founding in 1848 to the formation of the Dogwood Fine Arts Festival in the 1990s.

The opening of the second floor completed two of museum Director Steve Arseneau’s long-term goals since the institute moved from its location at Southwestern Michigan College to the former Behnke Paint building downtown in 2013. Arseneau, alongside museum volunteer Chuck Timmons, spent months putting the new exhibit space together after contractors with Burling Construction restored the building’s second floor.

Making the project possible were contributions from hundreds people around the Dowagiac area. The museum received $75,000 worth of donations, along with an additional $50,000 from the city.

The second floor also contains space for temporary exhibits — the first of which, Michigan State University’s “Michigan Eats,” is expected to open in February.

 

6: Union High School wins Michigan Battle of the Fans

While grey skies and piles of white snow dominated the sights of many southwest Michigan communities during the winter, in Dowagiac, the only color residents noticed was orange.

The rowdy and energetic Chieftain student cheering section secured the high school’s victory in the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s 2015 Battle of the Fans in February. Dowagiac beat out four other high schools, including nearby Buchanan, to win the award given every year to the school with the best student cheering section in Michigan.

Dowagiac Union High School was selected as the winner of the contest by the MHSAA student advisory board, which was influenced by a public vote on the organization’s social media pages. MHSAA staff visited home basketball games at the five finalists’ schools in the weeks leading up to the decision, with crews stopping by and filming the Chieftain “Attack” cheering section Feb. 13.

While it was the students who received the award, the school spirit on display during the contest was shared throughout the community, with hundreds wearing shirts sporting the phrase “#DowagiacUnited” in the stands of the basketball court — and throughout the streets of the city.

The victory was an important victory in the “Dowagiac United” campaign, which was initiated by the school district to help unite students and school staff with the community at large.

This sense of unity would pay off even larger for the district much later in the year.

 

5: Dowagiac Area Federal Credit Union robbed

A bank robbery that began in a flash in Dowagiac led to a prolonged search — and violent end — in spring.

During the morning hours of March 19, Dowagiac police responded to robbery that had taken place at the Dowagiac Area Federal Credit Union, located on Division Street near the city limits. Security camera footage released to the public showed that a man had threatened one of the bank tellers with a handgun before jumping over the counter and taking an undisclosed amount of money from the financial institution. The suspect then fled from the scene, heading in an unknown direction.

Dowagiac Police, along with the Cass County Sheriff’s Office, Michigan State Police, and Pokagon Tribal Police, immediately began efforts to track down the person responsible for the holdup. Local agencies worked with the FBI Safe Streets Task Force to find the suspect, sharing information with other area law enforcement agencies.

Eventually, this task force identified 29-year-old Don Oneal Smith as the prime suspect.

Smith, though, would never see his day in in court for his crime.

Instead, the man lost his life in a violent confrontation with police in Indiana, while fleeing from police after robbing a business, once again with a weapon, in Illinois April 10. Smith, who had taken a hostage following the theft, was shot and killed by police during a standoff.