Here I am, one of the three siblings at Animal Control.  My brother and sister, Fred and Ginger would love to see me get a new home.  I want to dance my way into your heart faster than my sister.  My name is Rita, my docket number is 50582 at the St. Joseph County Animal Control Shelter located at 652 …

A decision to hire a deputy clerk for the county court’s civil division was approved by a slim margin Tuesday. A 3-to-2 vote resulted in an exception to the county’s hiring freeze and granted the request made by district court administrator/magistrate Tabitha Wedge. The $60,000-a-year position was discussed at length during the commission’s executive committee meeting last week. As they …

Legislation supported by State Sen. Kim LaSata could land a significant grant to a St. Joseph County department. LaSata recently voted for Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund legislation, which would help support projects in Berrien and St. Joseph counties. If signed into law by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, the legislation would provide St. Joseph County Parks and Recreation Department $50,000 to …

St. Joseph County commissioners approved appointing Sturgis-area residents Warren Atkins and Michael Wilson to the St. Joseph County Transportation Authority Board. Their terms are for a two-year period. The action took place during Tuesday’s board of commissioners meeting. Also, commissioners granted undersheriff Jason Bingaman permission to hire a replacement for an administrative assistant. The position was vacated last week upon …

A gathering scheduled to take place this weekend to celebrate a new park in Three Rivers has been postponed one week. The 80-acre Armstrong Park, located between North Main Street and Buckhorn Road, will be the site of the ceremonial grand opening at 9 a.m. May 1. Park officials said the threat of inclement weather this weekend prompted the one-week …

Kevin Ray Smith, age 56, of Bronson passed away Tuesday, April 20, 2021 at Ascension Borgess Hospital due to complications of Covid-19. A funeral service will take place at 2:00 pm on Saturday, April 24, 2021 at Pleasant Hill Missionary Church with Pastor Mark Case of California Corners Community Church officiating. Interment will follow at Pleasant Hill Cemetery. Visitation will …

Verlynne O. Kern, age 82, of Three Rivers, passed away at Rose Arbor Hospice in Kalamazoo on Sunday, April 18, 2021, after a brief non-covid illness. She was born Anita Verlynne Olson, in Clear Lake, IA, the daughter of Emmett and Luella (Tanner) Olson. On November 30, 1958, she married the love of her life, Monte James Kern, in Clear …

Kendal Davenport, age 74, died unexpectedly on Thursday, March 25, 2021 in Phoenix, AZ following heart surgery. Memorial Services will be held at 1 PM, Saturday, April 24, 2021 at Lensing Funeral & Cremation Service, Iowa City. Burial with military honors will be held at National Cemetery in Vining, Iowa. Visitation will be from 5 to 7 PM Friday, April …

Karen Lynn Lampe, age 58, of Lakewood, California and a former longtime Sturgis resident passed away Thursday, April 15, 2021 at the Los Alamitos Medical Center in Los Alamitos California of natural causes. She was born July 3, 1962 in Sturgis, daughter of Theodore Michael “Teddy” and Norma (Cousins) Lampe. Karen resided in the Long Beach area of California for …

A teenager struck by a car earlier this month in Branch County’s Sherwood Township passed away last weekend. Sheriff’s officials said 14-year-old Landen Risner died Sunday, nearly two weeks after he and two of his siblings were struck by a Chevy Equinox outside their residence on Ralston Road, just south of Arney Road. Its driver was traveling south on Ralston …