To place an obituary, please include the information from the obituary checklist below in an email to obits@pioneerpress.com. There is no option to place them through our website. Feel free to contact our obituary desk at 651-228-5263 with any questions.
General Information:
Your full name,
Address (City, State, Zip Code),
Phone number,
And an alternate phone number (if any)
Obituary Specification:
Name of Deceased,
Obituary Text,
A photo in a JPEG or PDF file is preferable, TIF and other files are accepted, we will contact you if there are any issues with the photo.
Ad Run dates
There is a discount for running more than one day, but this must be scheduled on the first run date to apply.
If a photo is used, it must be used for both days for the discount to apply, contact us for more information.
Policies:
Verification of Death:
In order to publish obituaries a name and phone number of funeral home/cremation society is required. We must contact the funeral home/cremation society handling the arrangements during their business hours to verify the death. If the body of the deceased has been donated to the University of Minnesota Anatomy Bequest Program, or a similar program, their phone number is required for verification.
Please allow enough time to contact them especially during their limited weekend hours.
A death certificate is also acceptable for this purpose but only one of these two options are necessary.
Guestbook and Outside Websites:
We are not allowed to reference other media sources with a guestbook or an obituary placed elsewhere when placing an obituary in print and online. We may place a website for a funeral home or a family email for contact instead; contact us with any questions regarding this matter.
Obituary Process:
Once your submission is completed, we will fax or email a proof for review prior to publication in the newspaper. This proof includes price and days the notice is scheduled to appear.
Please review the proof carefully. We must be notified of errors or changes before the notice appears in the Pioneer Press based on each day’s deadlines.
After publication, we will not be responsible for errors that may occur after final proofing.
Online:
Changes to an online obituary can be handled through the obituary desk. Call us with further questions.
Payment Procedure:
Pre-payment is required for all obituary notices prior to publication by the deadline specified below in our deadline schedule. Please call 651-228-5263 with your payment information after you have received the proof and approved its contents.
Credit Card: Payment accepted by phone only due to PCI (Payment Card Industry) regulations
EFT: Check by phone. Please provide your routing number and account number.
Cash: Accepted at our FRONT COUNTER Monday – Friday from 8:00AM – 3:30PM
Rates:
The minimum charge is $162 for the first 10 lines.
Every line after the first 10 is $12.20.
If the ad is under 10 lines it will be charged the minimum rate of $162.
On a second run date, the lines are $8.20 per line, starting w/ the first line.
For example: if first run date was 20 lines the cost would be $164.
Each photo published is $125 per day.
For example: 2 photos in the paper on 2 days would be 4 photo charges at $500.
Deadlines:
Please follow deadline times to ensure your obituary is published on the day requested.
Hours
Deadline (no exceptions)
Ad
Photos
MEMORIAM (NON-OBITUARY) REQUEST
Unlike an obituary, Memoriam submissions are remembrances of a loved one who has passed. The rates for a memoriam differ from obituaries.
Please call or email us for more memoriam information
Please call 651-228-5280 for more information.
HOURS: Monday – Friday 8:00AM – 5:00PM (CLOSED WEEKENDS and HOLIDAYS)
Please submit your memoriam ad to memoriams@pioneerpress.com or call 651-228-5280.
By ISABELLA VOLMERT and MARK VANCLEAVE
GRAND BLANC TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Investigators were focusing on what motivated a former Marine to ram a pickup truck into the sanctuary of a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Michigan and open fire during a crowded service, killing at least four people while setting the building ablaze.
Crews continued searching for victims in the charred rubble Monday as authorities said “some” people were unaccounted for following the Sunday morning attack that wounded eight others in Grand Blanc Township, about 60 miles (96 kilometers) north of Detroit.
The FBI considered the attack — the second on an American church in little over a month — an “act of targeted violence,” said Ruben Coleman, a special agent in charge for the bureau.
Authorities identified the shooter as Thomas Jacob Sanford, 40, of the neighboring town of Burton. Investigators deployed a robot while searching Sanford’s residence Sunday but did not say what they found or provide any additional details about him, including whether he had any connection to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, widely known as the Mormon church.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said investigators were looking into how much planning went into the attack and whether any cluse about the motive were left behind.
“From what I understand, based on my conversations with the FBI director, all they know right now is this was an individual who hated people of the Mormon faith,” she said Monday during an interview on Fox News Channel’s “Fox and Friends.”
Searching for more victims
Crews in white coveralls and hard hats searched through what remained of the church on Monday morning. A silver pickup truck with two American flags in the back remained where it had smashed into the front brick wall near a sign that says “visitors welcome.”
Across the street, there was an SUV with apparent bullet holes in the windshield and driver window.
The attacker apparently used gas to start the fire and also had explosive devices but it wasn’t clear if he used them, said James Dier of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Officers responding to a 911 call were at the church within a minute, said Township Police Chief William Renye. The suspect was killed while exchanging gunfire with two officers, the chief said.
Flames and smoke poured from the church for hours. The fire gutted nearly all of the building, consuming its towering white steeple and sanctuary — only its outer walls and a few side rooms remained standing.
Two bodies were found in the debris, and Renye said on Sunday more victims could be found but he did not have an exact number of those missing.
One of the wounded people was in critical condition Sunday evening and the seven others were stable.
Suspect was deployed to Iraq
According to records released by the Marine Corps, Sanford served for four years during the early years of the global war on terror. He enlisted in 2004 and was discharged in 2008 at the rank of sergeant. He deployed once to Iraq for seven months and was awarded a Good Conduct Medal, indicating three years of service without any major infractions.
The shooting was the latest of several attacks on houses of worship in the U.S. over the past 20 years, including one in August that killed two children at the Church of the Annunciation in Minneapolis.
It also was the second mass shooting in the U.S. in less than 24 hours. On Saturday night, a man in a boat opened fire on a crowd in Southport, North Carolina, killing three and injuring five.
President Donald Trump asked for prayers for the victims and their families. “THIS EPIDEMIC OF VIOLENCE IN OUR COUNTRY MUST END, IMMEDIATELY!” Trump wrote on social media.
The shooting occurred a day after Russell M. Nelson, the oldest-ever president of the Utah-based faith, died at 101.
“Places of worship are meant to be sanctuaries of peacemaking, prayer and connection,” spokesperson Doug Anderson said. “We pray for peace and healing for all involved.”
The shooting’s impact spread throughout the area
Brandt Malone, a member of the Church of Latter-day Saints who was attending services at a different church Sunday morning, said his congregation was evacuated when they heard about the attack.
“Everyone’s in a state of shock right now,” he said, adding he knows quite a few people who were in the Grand Blanc church. “We view church and our worship services really as a sanctuary.“
Grand Blanc Community Schools were closed Monday to “allow time for families to process and mourn this tragedy with their children,” Superintendent Trevor Alward said in a letter. “This act of violence is reprehensible.”
About 100 people gathered for a prayer service Sunday evening at a nondenominational Christian church in Grand Blanc. Many bowed their heads and some cried softly.
“We live in days that are difficult and troubled, days that are weary and tiring,” said Pastor Chuck Lindsey. “We’re exhausted by the evil, we’re exhausted by these things. But Lord, you are our refuge.”
Associated Press reporters Corey Williams in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan; Safiyah Riddle in Montgomery, Alabama; Sophia Tareen in Chicago; Konstantin Toropin in Washington; and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
Originally Published: September 29, 2025 at 10:37 AM CDT