A White Pigeon-area native was recently crowned Miss Indiana USA. Mekayla Diehl  won the Miss Indiana USA pageant last week in Indianapolis and in June will be one of 51 contestants vying for the crown of Miss USA. The 24-year-old Diehl is a native of Union and was graduated from White Pigeon High School in 2007. She is also an …

State police from the Coldwater post are investigating a pair of breaking-and-entering incidents reported last week. At 5 p.m. Nov. 6, troopers responded to a residence in the 71000 block of Harrison Road in Mottville Township, where a residence was burglarized. The homeowner told police a four-wheeler, snow blower, television, gaming system and tools were stolen. On the same day …

In honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Constantine Monsanto site decided to do its part to raise awareness by hosting “Harvest for a Cure.” The fundraiser took place in early October at the corn-production site in Constantine. The site designed and sold nearly 1,000 pink, breast-cancer-awareness T-shirts to employees, growers, truck drivers and members of the community. The …

A Gator-brand off-road vehicle and a leaf blower were reported stolen last week from a barn at Meyer Broadway Park. State police investigators said the John Deere Gator and Stihl backpack-style leaf blower were taken during the incident, which was reported last Thursday. In a separate but potentially related incident, a chainsaw was reported stolen last Thursday from a logging …

A 60-year-old Cass County man died Sunday from injuries after he fell into a pile of burning leaves. The Cass County Sheriff’s Department said Bobby Quick was burning leaves at his home in the 2400 block of Dick Street in Howard Township just after 3:30 p.m. Saturday, when he apparently lost his balance and fell into the flames. A passerby …

His birth certificate reads Nicholas Whittle, but his family is calling him Magic Baby. He was born Tuesday at Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo. M-Live reports the 8-pound, 9-ounce boy was born at 10:00 a.m. on November 11th – or 11/12/13. If you string his birth weight, time he was born and the date together you have: 8, 9, 10, …

Alma Jeanette (Huntley-Osborn) McIntosh, age 81, died Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2013 following a long illness. She was born in Alpena, MI on Dec. 9, 1931 the daughter of Charles and Ruth (Baker) Huntley. Alma attended Centreville Schools and American Beauty Academy in Kalamazoo. She and her family moved to Mendon in 1961, and she has been a resident of Sturgis …

A pre-winter storm has brought up to a foot of lake-effect snow to southwestern Michigan. The National Weather Service says that the snowfall totals from late Monday and into Tuesday along Lake Michigan in the St. Joseph area came in at about 8 to 12 inches. The storm dropped 6 inches or so in some northern parts of the state …

Officials at a Battle Creek middle school are apologizing to parents after administrators forced students to take off t-shirts, or turn shirts inside out, memorializing a student who died over the weekend. Twelve-year old Caitlyn Jackson lost her battle with Leukemia. In response her friends wore shirts with her name printed on them Monday, but officials said they were a …

State police investigators are looking into a situation in Florence Township, where a small-caliber rifle was fired at a residence. According to a department media release, the homeowner reported two rounds were fired through a living room window, passed through a wall and into a laundry room. One of the two bullets struck a washing machine, the other was lodged …