The state says Michigan’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate edged slightly down to its lowest level in six years. The Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget said Wednesday that April’s state jobless rate fell one-tenth of a percentage point to 7.4 percent. It’s the lowest since April 2008 and marks the eighth consecutive monthly decline. The national rate for April …

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder has signed a law requiring hospitals to give materials to new parents about safe sleeping practices for infants. The governor signed the measure Wednesday while being joined by families of infants who died because of unsafe sleep. The law requires hospitals to prescribe a parental acknowledgment form for safe sleep information and to put it in …

A White Pigeon man was airlifted to a Kalamazoo hospital following a two-vehicle accident Tuesday at the intersection of U.S. 12 and U.S. 131. Thomas Lapham, 50, was in serious condition following the 4 a.m. accident. He was driving east on U.S. 12 when a westbound vehicle driven by 25-year-old Kevin Groff, of Burr Oak, turned south onto U.S. 131 …

A Mendon woman was injured Tuesday after she swerved off the roadway to avoid a herd of deer in Nottawa Township. Nancy Lee Gage, 68, was driving south on Nottawa Road shortly before 7 a.m., when the incident occurred near Wasepi Road. Gage’s vehicle went into a ditch, causing damage to her 2007 Chevrolet Malibu. She was transported to Sturgis …

St. Joseph County will see an increase in the amount of time  is devoted by equalization director Tony Meyaard. County commissioners last week approved an agreement where Meyaard’s services will be split evenly between St. Joseph and Cass counties. Meyaard for the past year had worked three days a week in Cassopolis and twice weekly in Centreville. Meyaard will remain …

Names of the Sturgis men arrested Friday on methamphetamine-related charges have been released. Jason Bishop, 39, and Calvin Merriam, 28, were charged following a traffic stop around 10 p.m. Friday near the intersection of Balk and Featherstone roads for defective exhaust. Troopers noticed meth-making ingredients, which they verified after being given consent to search the vehicle. Upon further investigation, troopers …

The “Snowbirds” have returned to “Pure Michigan”. A week or so ago, we decided to visit one of our favorite hometown restaurants. Located a stone’s throw away from the Wood Street Dam, it’s been a gathering place for many of the locals for over fifty years. On this particular Friday evening, we thought we’d go and join many other fish …

A state grant awarded last year to St. Joseph County is reducing recidivism rates and cutting time behind bars for qualified candidates. Judge Paul Stutesman provided details about the Swift and Sure Sanctions Probation Program last week, when he presented circuit court’s annual report to the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners. Stutesman said the State Court Administrative Office provided …

Deputies from the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department are investigating a property-damage complaint filed last week in Burr Oak Township. According to a department media release, a vehicle at a business was driven by the suspects a short distance and was then intentionally damaged. The suspects are described as two white males in their mid-teens.

State police were called to a Lockport Township business Saturday afternoon in response to a report of malicious destruction of property. The agency said a full-size pickup truck rammed a parked car three or four times in the parking lot at Sam’s Place, in the 60000 block of Lutz Road. The offending vehicle was last seen heading north on Lutz …