The Centreville Downtown Development Authority board has created a business-improvement grant program to assist businesses with improving the facade of buildings located within the DDA district. The DDA is budgeting $15,000 per year to fund the grant. Grants are awarded on a dollar-to-dollar match, up to a maximum of $ 5,000. Examples of eligible projects are repair or replacement of …

June Rose Bellows, age 87, of Constantine, passed away Friday, April 17, 2015 at Borgess Medical Center. June was born in Hartford City, IN on July 9, 1927, a daughter of James Harley and Goldia Pearl (Hizer) Fuller. June attended Elkhart Public Schools. On October 24, 1952, she married Burt Walter Bellows in Bristol, IN. He preceded her in death on March …

Dowagiac police are investigating a couple of incidents this week in which school buses with students in them had windows shot out. Officers on Thursday were called by the Marcellus school district on a report that a bus on its way to drop off a student in Dowagiac had a window blown apart by a pellet gun. The driver then spotted …

Allen R. Bontrager, 62, of White Pigeon, passed away on Thursday, April 16, 2015, at I. U. Health, Goshen, Ind. He was born Dec. 1, 1952, in Sturgis, a son of Henry J. and Erma S. (Slabach) Bontrager. He was a graduate of White Pigeon High School and lived most of his life in the White Pigeon area. Allen married …

Elizabeth M. Frays, age 87, of Three Rivers, and a former longtime Sturgis resident, passed away Wednesday afternoon, April 15, 2015, at Riverview Nursing Home in Three Rivers. She was born May 7, 1927, a daughter of the late Orrie and Lulu (Benton) Bowdish. Mrs. Frays lived most of her life in Sturgis. On April 24, 1945, she married Lloyd …

It’s going to cost Michigan State University students more to live on the East Lansing campus next year. The MSU Board of Trustees Friday approved a $320 increase in room and board rates. MSU officials say the 3.5 percent increase will offset higher operating expenses and to help pay off debt from the top-to-bottom renovations of many residence and dining halls undertaken …

An alert was issued to students at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo Thursday after a student was robbed at gunpoint in one of the dorms. Campus Police say two men stole several items from the victim at Smith Burnham Hall and then escaped through a stairwell. There are security cameras in the residence hall. The robbers are described as black males, 19-20 …

Lewis Rodney Kaiser passed away in the early morning hours of Tuesday, April 14th, 2015 at Hill Country Memorial Hospital within a few hours after checking in. He enjoyed a normal day on Sunday, mowing the lawn, taking care of normal daily tasks and visiting with friends and family. He had breakfast Monday morning in his usual fashion while enjoying …

The Michigan Department of Transportation says there have been more than 40,000 downloads of the free Mi Drive traffic information app since it was introduced in November 2014. State Transportation Director Kirk Steudle says Mi Drive uses Intelligent Transportation Systems technology, speed sensors, cameras and cell phone data to provide motorists with up-to-date construction information, traffic incidents, traffic cams, and weather-related …

The Michigan appeals court has affirmed the conviction of a northern Michigan man who kept a state trooper’s gun that was found in a grocery store restroom. Authorities say Tim Flanagan of Kalkaska County knew the gun probably belonged to an officer when he found it at a Glen’s store in 2013. Police investigating an unrelated matter many weeks later …