JACKSON, Mich. — The founder of the internationally beloved Precious Moments empire has died. He was 85. 

Sam Butcher was born in Jackson, Michigan in 1939. According to his bio on the company's website, he was the third of five children born to a poor family. 

He was an artist from a young age, always sketching in his favorite spot under the dining room table. His family didn't have extra funds for drawing materials, so Sam would scavenge for rolls of paper at a factory dump near their home.

Some of his favorite things to paint were scenes from the bible. When he got a scholarship to the College of Arts & Crafts in Berkeley, he decided to use his talent for the Lord, his bio says.

Sam married his college sweetheart and his family moved back to Michigan, where he took a job at a fellowship. Here, he was given his first position as an artist — a chance he would do something monumental with. 

Sam began drawing teardrop-eyed children he called "Precious Moments" for family and friends. The drawings graced greeting cards in 1975. The first figurines were created just three years later. 

Soon, the porcelain statuettes became the centerpiece of living room hutches across the world. The product's Collectors' Club amassed over 400,000 members worldwide. The 9,000-foot Precious Moments Chapel was built in Carthage, Missouri, and filled with 84 hand-painted murals. A foundation was created from the proceeds that could support major children's hospitals and other non-profits.

Still, the company says, Sam remained the humble family man he always was. His favorite thing was spending time with his children and grandchildren. 

That's who he spent his final moments with, the company says, when he passed early Tuesday morning. 

"In his final words he shared that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were with him, and that it was beautiful," they wrote. "Although the sorrow is great, it is our prayer that the appreciation and celebration of his legacy be even greater."

Today, Precious Moments are recognizable around the globe. They've partnered with massive corporations like Disney and expanded their product line with clothes, books, décor and more. 

But the company prides itself on staying true to the heart of the product: the one thought up by a young Sam, under the dining room table in his small Jackson home, using paper scavenged from a dump to imagine a world where children are always smiling.

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MICHIGAN, USA — Consumers Energy agreed to pay a $1 million fine following an investigation into faulty meters, estimated billing and delays in new service hookups.

The utility company was investigated by the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) after customers complained about the issues at a public forum in 2023.

The MPSC Customer Assistance Division also took complaints from customers about broken electric meters, extended billing cycles with excessively high estimated electric use and lengthy delays in providing new electric and gas service hookups for customers.

13 ON YOUR SIDE also received complaints from customers about the high estimated electric use. The 13 Help Team helped several customers settle their incorrect bills with the utility company, getting over $20,000 back into the pockets of the customers.

MPSC says the meter issue came about after Consumers Energy moved from 3G-based meters to 4G-based meters. The utility was found to have "supply and staffing constraints" that hindered the transition between the meters. MPSC says Consumers failed to notify them of these issues.

Throughout the investigation, MPSC also learned that Consumers was estimating bills for some customers using 3G meters even before 3G service was discontinued.

“It is a fundamental job for a utility to measure the amount of electricity used and then accurately bill their customers,” Commissioner Katherine Peretick said. “There was a clear and obvious failure here, and this $1 million fine and the corrective actions required in the settlement agreement will hopefully ensure this doesn’t happen again.”

Consumers was also found to be in violation of standards requiring 90% of new service installation to be completed within 15 days.

MPSC has determined that "Consumers has shown significant improvements with reduced estimated billing, malfunctioning meters and delays in new service. As a result, parties in the case — MPSC Staff, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s Office and Consumers — reached a settlement agreement under which the utility will pay a $1 million fine that it cannot recover through customer rates."

In addition to the $1 million fine, the settlement also requires Consumers Energy to:

• Disclose any known issues that may affect future company requests for waivers of MPSC rules.
• Not seek recovery of company costs resulting from estimated customer bills.
• Submit semiannual reports for two years detailing consecutive meter reading estimates, timelines for new electric and gas service installations, and reporting meter failures.
• Improve its processes for new service installations.

Brian Wheeler with Consumers Energy shared the following statement regarding the fine:

“Consumers Energy remains committed to doing right by its customers, and we are focused on improving our performance every day. We appreciate the opportunity to work with the MPSC and other stakeholders to identify and resolve these issues, and are committed to ensuring they won’t happen again.  We want our customers to count on us 24/7, and that starts with delivering the service our customers and the MPSC expect.”

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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The family of a teen who died after being hit by a deputy's cruiser are calling for transparency from the Kent County Sheriff's Office just hours before laying him to rest.

Riley Doggett, 17, died May 9, weeks after he was hit by a police car during a chase. 

Back in April, Doggett was allegedly an occupant in what deputies believed was a stolen vehicle when they tried to stop the car. Doggett got out of the car and started to run, deputies said. He was then hit by a deputy's cruiser. 

The Kent County Sheriff's Office said Doggett had been hit accidentally.

Doggett remained in the hospital for several weeks before his death.

His family is now calling for transparency and for the dash and body camera footage to be released. They also want to see the police report.

In a press conference Friday, just hours before Doggett's funeral, his family called for justice alongside their lawyer, Ven Johnson, and Kent County Commissioner Robert Womack. 

The family said the only information they received from police after the incident was from a Michigan State Police detective who said the officer was trying to use his vehicle for a pit maneuver.

"For those who may not be so familiar, watch NASCAR, watch when one car is in front of another and the back car nudges, hits the car in front," Johnson said. "Ladies and gentlemen, we don't do pit maneuvers on people."

Doggett's mother said police had not been communicating with her, and that she was learning details about her own son's death through the media.

Johnson argued that the sheriff's office should be transparent if they believe Doggett's death was truly an accident.

The sheriff's office, however, said Friday that more information on Doggett's death would be released in the future.

“We are waiting on the Prosecutor’s evaluation of all the evidence. KCSO will release something when this review has been completed," reads a statement.

Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker had no comment on the situation or more information on a timeline to review the case.

During the press conference, Johnson asked the public to keep fighting for transparency in the incident.

"We sadly have an obvious problem with the use of excessive force in our state, and we need the public to stand up together and make it clear to our lawmakers that no one is above the law, everyone should be held accountable," Johnson said.

Doggett will be laid to rest Friday at 5 p.m.

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GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan — An American Airlines flight was met on the runway with emergency vehicles at Gerald R. Ford International Airport on Friday morning.

Officials at the airport said they received a call from Air Wisconsin 615A, which operates under American Airlines, reporting issues with their wing flaps around 11:33 p.m.

At 11:51 a.m., the aircraft landed safely at Gerald R. Ford Airport after departing from Chicago O'Hare International Airport at about 10:25 a.m.

Gerald R. Ford's Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting (ARFF) team and other area partners responded to the call when the plane landed. No injuries were reported.

"Our ARFF team and mutual aid partners responded to the call to support and assist as needed to ensure the health and safety of the passengers," airport officials said.

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