Officials with the St. Joseph County Grange Fair announced Monday that country/western singer and songwriter Alan Jackson will headline the closing night of the 2012 fair. Jackson, who gained national prominence in 1990 with the hit, “Chasin’ That Neon Rainbow,” will appear Sept. 22. Bill Johnson, fair manager, said tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. Feb. 29 at …

Jesse J. Kline, age 86, of Three Rivers, went to be with his Lord on Monday, February 20, 2012 at the Borgess Medical Center surrounded by his loving family. He was born on Jan. 25, 1926 in Three Rivers, MI. the son of Jesse C. and Lillian A. (Tesman) Kline. On Oct. 30, 1955 he married the love of his …

Thurman Caldwell, 71, of Constantine, died Feb. 12, 2012 at his home. Thurman was born Aug. 30, 1940, to Virgil Caldwell and Dovie (Staley)(Caldwell)(Sias)(Walker). He later married Eva Caldwell (Hyatt) around the age of 19. He was married to Eva until she passed away Jan. 22, 2011. Thurman is survived by two sons, David Caldwell of Sturgis and Darcy Caldwell of …

Marie Helen Miller, 95, of Durham, N.C., and formerly of Sturgis, died Feb. 17, 2012, in her daughter’s home on Club Boulevard. She was born Sept. 25, 1916, in Blackwell, Okla., to Karl G. Janke and Anna (Rohr) Janke. During the Great Depression, the family moved to Sturgis and later to a farm outside Howe, Ind., where she helped with …

Residential and commercial water bills in the village of Colon will soon feature a newly added monthly service fee of almost a dollar. Starting in March, the 89-cent-per-month fee will be added to the 630 water customers within the village limits to help generate $6,000 toward a new fire/rescue agreement between the village and township. Colon Township was paying all …

A first-time participant in the annual Constantine Chili Throwdown took top honors during the third annual event Saturday. The Village Inn, which opened for business in July, was the top vote-getter from nearly 50 voters who weighed in on choosing the event’s best chili. For $5 per person, the public was invited to sample each of four chili offerings and …

The Michigan Public Service Commission last week issued an order approving a settlement agreement, which authorizes Indiana Michigan Power to increase electric rates by more than $14.6 million annually, effective with the next full cycle of billings. The amount represents an increase of nearly 5.9 percent over the rates set in I&M’s last rate case. According to the most recent …

The American Cancer Society has announced its Relay For Life campaign in Three Rivers will kick off next week. Starting at 6 p.m. March 1, cancer survivors, caregivers, families, schools, companies, faith-based and civic organizations are invited to gather at Kadant Johnson Research & Development Center to launch fundraising efforts for the year. The theme of this year’s event is …

Life is about choices. Choices can create stress. Stress is annoying. As much as I hate to admit it, making a decision can be a time-consuming process for me. I am definitely not a “fly by the seat of my pants” kind of guy when it comes down to it. I think. I wonder. I debate. And even then, I …

Allowing four goals on their first 10 shots faced, the Kalamazoo Wings weren’t able to recover and lost 4-3 Sunday afternoon at Wings Stadium to the Chicago Express. Immediately after killing off a penalty, the Express capitalized on an odd-man rush. Stepping onto the ice after his penalty, Devin DiDiomete found the puck and sent a pass to Tyler Donati …