The Sturgis Fire Department was dispatched to a structure fire early Wednesday at 204 North Centreville Road. All occupants were outside the home when firefighters arrived, with flames and heavy smoke in the front half of the residence. The structure appears to be a total loss due to heavy heat, smoke, and water damage. The cause of the fire is …

The parents of a 12-year-old boy who died following a southwestern Michigan crash where his 14-year-old friend was behind the wheel say the two had had sneaked out in the middle of the night for a joy ride. The Cass County sheriff’s department says the 14-year-old boy was speeding along a snow-slicked road about 2 a.m. Tuesday in Milton Township …

Michigan wildlife officials say 23 wolves were killed in the Upper Peninsula during the state’s first wolf hunt in four decades. That’s well short of the quota, and experts blame frigid conditions. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources said Wednesday that one additional kill was reported on the hunt’s final day Tuesday. The department had a quota of 43 for …

A question of whether to remodel or build a new animal-control facility has been researched by county administrator Pat Yoder. Though Yoder has not yet reached a definitive answer, he said input from animal-control officer Tom Miller has helped him consider suggesting a remodel job. The issue was discussed during the county’s December committee-of-the-whole meeting. Yoder said there seems to …

The idea of St. Joseph County commissioners using iPads was a matter of discussion during the commission’s December committee-of-the-whole meeting. Commissioners agreed the proposal should be tabled until the full allocation of iPads approved for purchase in April. The nine iPads commissioners approved last spring were to be distributed to officials with the prosecutor’s office as well as members of …

St. Joseph County Commission Chairman John Dobberteen said the county might consider employees work a four-day, ten-hour-a-day work week as an option. Dobberteen raised the idea earlier this month, when he said the option would be on the table since the county can’t always afford to increase compensation. The concept is in place at the sheriff’s department as well as …

Grace L. Kurzawski, age 84, of Sturgis, Mich., passed away Friday, Dec. 27, 2013, at Thurston Woods Village. She was born May 9, 1929, in Chicago, a daughter to the late Virgil and Ruth (Cowdery) Donohoo. On May 28, 1949, in Chicago, she married Alfred Kurzawski Sr. He preceded her in death March 10, 1992. Grace has been a resident …

Dwayne Charles Gortner passed away at home on Dec. 19, 2013. He was born to parents Leroy James and Willajean Gortner in White Pigeon, St. Joseph County, Mich. He was a longtime resident of Orcutt, Calif. Before moving to Orcutt, Dwayne lived many years at Eagle Rock, Calif., and White Pigeon, Mich. He served in Vietnam with the Navy Seabees …

This is my final column for the year. It’s been a great year so far, so I really don’t have anything to complain about. Tomorrow is a new day and a new year, and like many of you, I’ve made a few resolutions that, hopefully, I’ll follow through on. Time will tell. One thing I will attempt to do is …

The murder of Sturgis-area CPA David Locey was chosen by a local newspaper as the top local story of 2013. The Sturgis Journal has released its top stories in St. Joseph County for 2013, and the October murder of Locey was the unanimous top choice. Following Locey’s murder, the March fire that destroyed Curly’s in Colon was deemed the second-biggest …