A fire late Monday last week destroyed a building used for auto repair on Fawn River Road near Bauman Road in Fawn River Township. The building’s owner, who lives next door, became aware of the fire after hearing an explosion shortly after 10 p.m. A vehicle inside the facility also was destroyed and another vehicle in the building was damaged. …

A southwestern Michigan woman who entered a plea deal after being charged in her 87-year-old mother’s overdose death has been sentenced to 5-15 years in prison. Sixty-year-old Susan Kubicek of Portage learned her punishment Monday after pleading no contest to involuntary manslaughter in the May 2017 death of Dorothy Allen. Kalamazoo County authorities say Allen got a morphine dose 80 …

Authorities say a southwestern Michigan police officer has been struck by a car on a sidewalk. The Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety says the officer was with a group of investigators talking to neighbors Monday afternoon when the vehicle struck and injured him. The department says other officers performed first aid on the injured officer, who was taken to a …

Donald A. Maystead, age 78, of Sturgis, passed away Saturday afternoon, Nov. 17, 2018, surrounded by his family at Grace Health Care of Three Rivers. He was born March 23, 1940, in Burr Oak, son of the late Earl and Edna (Lankanau) Maystead. Don was a lifelong resident of the Burr Oak and Sturgis area and a graduate of Burr …

Evelyn May Blucker, age 78, of Sturgis, passed away peacefully Saturday afternoon, Nov. 17, 2018, at Thurston Woods Village in Sturgis. She was born Aug. 26, 1940, in Cassopolis, daughter of the late Menno and Nora (Weldy) Richer. On Feb. 2, 1958, she married John Blucker in Goshen. Evelyn was employed as a recess teacher at Congress School in Sturgis …

St. Joseph County Prosecutor John McDonough said three people were arrested in a case related to the shooting death of a man in Flowerfield Township last week. According to a media release, McDonough said two men and a woman were arrested following the 3 a.m. shooting incident Thursday on South Street. Officials have not released the name of the victim, …

A slush-covered roadway is being blamed for two vehicles involved in separate accidents Friday afternoon in Cass County’s Newberg Township. Sheriff Richard Behnke said the incidents occurred moments apart at 2:20 p.m. on Hoffman Road, east of Sodaman Road. The first vehicle, a pickup driven by 18-year-old Vandalia resident Kaylee Thieme, was heading west on Hoffman when it slid off …

Hand tools and audio equipment were among the items taken during a larceny-from-a-vehicle incident last week in Constantine Township. Sheriff’s deputies responded to an area near North River Road and U.S. 131, where the incident occurred between 4 p.m. Thursday and 10 a.m. Friday. The theft occurred from a Ford SUV, silver in color, which was parked along North River …

Two area high school volleyball teams are state champions. Bronson High School won its fourth consecutive Division 3 crown after sweeping Unionville-Sebewaing Saturday at Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek. Meanwhile, the Division 4 title was claimed by Mendon High School. It also needed just three sets to defeat top-ranked Leland High School. It marks the Hornets’ first volleyball state-championship team …

Virginia Lee “Ginger” Neal, age 81, of Athens, died peacefully at her beloved home on Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2018 following a ten-year illness. She was born in Kalamazoo on Oct. 28, 1937 the daughter of James and Marguerite (Vink) Waters. She graduated from Kalamazoo Central High School and also graduated from several banking institutes. She was involved in banking for …