Authorities say a 4-year-old girl who died following a two-vehicle crash in southwestern Michigan appears to have been properly restrained in a child safety seat at the time of the crash. The Cass County sheriff’s office on Thursday issued an update on the Monday afternoon crash in Mason Township that killed Adrianna Chanthavongsavath. The department had said Tuesday that the …

Patricia Ann Straw, 62, of Elkhart, IN, passed away Wednesday, July 16th, 2014 at Elkhart Center for Hospice Care. Patricia was born in Martin, Kentucky on February 12, 1952, a daughter of Cora Lee (Harrington) and Troy Taylor. She graduated from East Central High School in Tulsa, OK in 1972. Patricia attended North Eastern State University and later Cosmetology school …

Michigan’s attorney general is reminding people who bought DRAM or computers or computerized devices that contain D-RAM between 1998 and 2002, that they may be entitled to a cash payment of at least ten dollars and possibly as high as 50-dollars or more. Attorney General Bill Schuette says at issue are devices like laptops, desktops, servers, graphic cards, video game …

A utility official says an unlikely set of factors led to an underground fire and a downtown South Bend power outage in May. Indiana Michigan Power CEO Paul Chodak III says a company investigation found a low-voltage cable overheated at one of the spots where most of the downtown grid’s largest cables feed into a transformer. Chodak says the utility …

A proposed infrastructure improvement at Cade Lake Park would allow it to have the benefit of a sewer system. Members of the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners agreed Tuesday to a contract with Jones Petrie Rafinski for engineering services related to the proposal. County administrator Pat Yoder said the plan calls for expanding a sewer pipe from a Burr …

The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department was called to Burr Oak Township Wednesday in response to a residential break-in. Deputies said access was gained through a back door by forced entry sometime between July 9 and Wednesday. Items stolen include a .22-caliber rifle, a variety of tools, a camera and paperwork.

The Secretary of State office in Sturgis will close later this month for remodeling, prompting staff members to encourage anyone with business to conduct at the site to do it soon. The office will close for the workweek July 28 and remain unavailable through Aug. 1. Staff members said the South Centerville Road office will be remodeled to include a …

St. Joseph County’s Board of Commissioners has agreed to fill a vacant position in the two departments. During Tuesday’s meeting, commissioners agreed to fill a clerk’s spot in the finance department. The post is being filled half-time by a member of the Register of Deeds office. Human resources director Elishia Arver said the position will stay filled in such a …

The former owner of Deer Forest in Coloma is the target of a complaint filed against the animal park by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Spokeswoman Tanya Espinosa tells WSJM Radio the complaint was filed within the past several weeks in the federal court system and is based on several complaints that were filed …

Joyce Ann Hughes, age 71, of Leonidas, died Tuesday, July 15, 2014 at the Sturgis Hospital Emergency Room. She was born in Battle Creek, MI on March 20, 1943 the daughter of Samuel B. and Eddiess (Thomas) Hughes and has been a lifetime resident of Leonidas. She attended the Reserve Country School and worked on the family farm. Joyce loved …