The Cities of Three Rivers and Sturgis have declared a Snow Emergency.

The December unemployment rate in St. Joseph County decreased by one-tenth of a percent compared to a month earlier. The monthly labor-market analysis by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget showed St. Joseph County’s 4 percent December unemployment rate was less than November’s 4.1 percent. December’s unemployment rate was 2.9 percent less than the same month one year …

Five vehicles were damaged last week after the driver of a car fell asleep and it collided into a line of cars stopped at a Schoolcraft railroad crossing. Schoolcraft police said the 25-year-old driver, a Kalamazoo resident, was heading north on U.S. 131 when his vehicle struck the rear of a car stopped at State Street due to a passing …

Sturgis Township officials said they are prepared to go to court if the owner of an unlicensed salvage yard on White School Road isn’t permanently closed and cleaned. During last month’s meeting, township clerk Mike Bobalik said Southwest Salvage operator Lester Butler’s state license to operate the facility expired in 2013 and was not renewed. According to Bobalik, the township …

The sale of the former Centreville Village Market property to a second entity has been completed, according to Carol Snow-Penn, Centreville Downtown Development Authority representative. The village’s DDA took over the property in January 2013. The former Village Market sold to Centreville Equities for about $85,000. According to Snow-Penn, the DDA has actively managed the property since its acquisition. The …

The mayor of the city of Elkhart wants to spend $349,000 to buy 80 body cameras for the city’s police force. Mayor Dick Moore was scheduled to ask Elkhart’s city council on Monday to approve the request that’s part of $3.75 million in proposed capital spending for 2015 for the city. The Elkhart Truth reports Moore said in a recent …

Consumer optimism rose in January to its highest level in the past decade. That’s according to the University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers which monitor consumer attitudes and expectations. U-M economist Richard Curtin, who directs the surveys, says most of the gains were recorded since mid-2014. The surveys found the gains during the past six months were as large among households with …

Mr. Robert “Bob” Norman Kerr, age 84, of Three Rivers, passed away peacefully on Thursday, Jan. 29th, 2015 at the Heartland Health Care Center following a lengthy illness. He was born on Jan. 5th, 1931 in Three Rivers, MI. the son of the late Paul and Shirlie (Jacobs) Kerr. Bob has been a lifetime resident of Three Rivers. On Oct. …

Rene L. Kidd Cook, age 56, of Sturgis, passed away Friday, January 30th, 2015 at an adult foster care home in Niles  She was born in Sturgis on May 26, 1958, a daughter of Ralph Kidd and Joyce Tinkham. In January 1987 she married Tony Lee Cook, he preceded her in death on October 2, 2013. Rene was a homemaker, …

Ana Jo Datema, age 68, of Marcellus, MI passed away Thursday, January 29, 2015 at Bronson Methodist Hospital, Kalamazoo, MI She was born August 19, 1946 the daughter of Basil and Josephine (Mikosz) Grimm. On July 17, 1987 she married Ronald Datema who preceded her in death. She was a member of the Marcellus V.F.W. Post 4054 Ladies Auxiliary and …