A Sturgis man pleaded no contest Monday afternoon in St. Joseph County Circuit Court to charges in connection to the murder and mutilation of his girlfriend in 2019. The day before his trial was scheduled to start, Wade Allen, 39, of Sturgis, also pleaded no contest to the sexual assault of a fellow inmate. That incident occurred Oct. 7, 2020, …

An Edwardsburg man died over the weekend following a single-vehicle crash in Cass County’s Milton Township. Sheriff Richard Behnke said deputies were called at 1:15 a.m. Sunday to an area of U.S. 12, near Fir Road. Investigators said a vehicle driven by Gage Strawderman, 19, was heading east on U.S. 12 when it went off the road and struck several …

Area fire crews responded Sunday evening to a blaze that took the life of a man in Fabius Township. Sheriff Mark Lillywhite said deputies were made aware of the fire shortly after 8 o’clock in the 14000 block of Coon Hollow Road. Emergency crews said a 91-year-old Three Rivers man was pulled from the burning structure and pronounced dead at …

The U.S. Supreme Court last week fielded a 27-year-old deaf Michigan man’s claim that he should be allowed to sue Sturgis Public Schools for compensatory damages for failing to provide him an adequate education for more than a decade even though it later paid to provide him additional instruction as an adult. According to the Detroit Free Press, Miguel Luna …

December’s unemployment rate in St. Joseph County increased by one-tenths of a percent from November. Figures from the monthly labor-market analysis by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget show St. Joseph County’s unemployment rate rose from 4 percent in November to 4.1 percent in December. St. Joseph County’s unemployment rate 12 months earlier was 3.5 percent. Cass County, …

A Three Rivers man was hospitalized after being struck by a car over the weekend in Cass County’s Calvin Township. Sheriff Richard Behnke said deputies were called around 12:20 a.m. Saturday to Calvin Center Road, just south of Calvin Hill Street, in response to a two-vehicle crash. Deputies said a vehicle driven by Elkhart resident Nicole Gant, 28, was heading north …

Michigan State Police troopers are investigating the larceny of two travel trailers taken earlier this month from a location in Sturgis Township. Officials said the incident occurred between Jan. 3 and Jan. 25 in the 71000 block of Nottawa Road. The trailers were parked in a gated storage lot. The first trailer is a 32-foot, Alpha Wolf. The second is …

A Kalamazoo County man was in court last week for several violations related to illegal deer hunting. Authorities said Scott Meisterheim, 55, of Kalamazoo, faced a pretrial on 10 counts of illegal deer hunting. He was arraigned earlier this month and is currently serving 18 months of probation for aggravated domestic assault. Evidence collected during the investigation revealed that Meisterheim …

A Saginaw man accused of killing a Schoolcraft couple nearly two years ago in a Kalamazoo County car crash was found not guilty of second-degree murder this week. Twenty-eight-year-old Ezra Phillips, however, was found guilty on two counts of operating while intoxicated causing death. Each count  carries a 15-year maximum sentence. Phillips was driving a Dodge Durango at a high …

Michigan State Police troopers are investigating the larceny of a travel trailer taken from a location in Mottville Township. Authorities said the incident occurred between Dec. 20 and 21 from a residence in the 68000 block of Vistula Road. The trailer is a Trail-Cruiser camper trailer, white in color with dual axles. The trailer has a red sticker on the …