A man who served 20 months in custody for a wrongful conviction is suing police. Ray McCann was repeatedly hounded by police during an investigation of a girl’s killing in St. Joseph County. McCann denied any role in the death of the 11-year-old girl but says he felt pressured to plead no contest to perjury. The conviction was thrown out …

A southwestern Michigan man has been sentenced to a year in jail for his 16-year-old son’s fatal drug overdose. Prosecutors accused Gary Birkhead of knowingly allowing his son to use illicit drugs over two years. He pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in November. Birkhead, a Bangor resident, has been in the Van Buren County jail for months and will have …

The Kalamazoo Wings (7-11-2-0) split a pair of weekend games in Wheeling, West Virginia, as they battled division foe, the Wheeling Nailers (9-10-4-0). On Friday, the K-Wings jumped out to a quick lead as Yannick Veilleux scored the first goal of the night just 2:51 into the opening period.  Justin Taylor, in his first game back after spending the past …

Clarence Lee “Butch” Stump, age 74, of Sturgis, passed away Thursday afternoon, Dec. 5, 2019, at his home, surrounded by his family. He was born July 2, 1945, in Three Rivers, a son of the late Samuel and Marian (Kindig) Stump. Butch had resided in Sturgis since 1990, coming from White Pigeon. He was a graduate of Constantine High School …

John C. Lindeman, age 74, a Sturgis resident from 1974-2019, passed away Thursday, Dec. 5, 2019, at Holland Hospital. He was born July 31, 1945, in Indianapolis, a son of the late Frank A. and Sue (Firth) Lindeman. John graduated from Ball State University with a bachelor’s degree in education. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army, serving during the Vietnam …

A few ways to feel better about yourself: Be forgiving of yourself and others. Floss your teeth. Return all things you borrow. Treat everyone you meet like you want to be treated. I love to watch movies, but I usually wait until they come out on cable, rather than go to a movie theater. The reason for not going to …

Michigan regulators have approved a 9.2% natural gas rate increase for 300,000 customers of SEMCO Energy Gas. The utility will use the nearly $20 million rate increase to replace gas mains and initiate an infrastructure reliability improvement program. The Port Huron-based company delivers natural gas to customers in the southern half of the Lower Peninsula and in parts of the …

Todd Michael Grieser, age 49, of Three Rivers, passed away unexpectedly on Wednesday, December 4, 2019. He was born in Kalamazoo, the son of Ires (Grieser) Robinson. Todd was baptized in 2014 and became a devout member of the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Left to cherish Todd’s loving memory is his mother: Ires Robinson; one uncle, two aunts, and …

Josephine E. Hittler, age 91, of Three Rivers, passed away on Friday, December 6, 2019 at Heartland Health Care Center in Three Rivers.  She was born in Centreville on January 17, 1928, a daughter of Joseph and Marcella (Moon) Lasko.  Josephine graduated from Three Rivers High School in 1946 and then completed her 3-year Nurse’s training at St. Vincent’s Hospital …

Charles LeRoy Edick, age 87, died peacefully with his family by his side at Rose Arbor Hospice in Kalamazoo on Wednesday, December 4, 2019. He was born April 4, 1932 in Kalamazoo, the son of Floyd A. Edick and Emma S. Kersten one of 9 children. He was preceded in death by his parents, his siblings (Richard, Robert, Floyd, Eunice, …