Tens of thousands of people participated in the traditional Labor Day walk across the Mackinac Bridge. Organizers made changes to the 61st annual event and allowed to begin from either end of the bridge connecting Michigan’s Upper and Lower peninsulas. Participants could turn around after 2½ miles or make a full 10-mile lap between Mackinaw City and St. Ignace. Axel …

A fuel tanker caught fire on the U.S. 31/20 bypass in South Bend, sending flames high into the predawn sky and damaging the roadway’s pavement. Police say residents were evacuated from some nearby homes after the fire started about 4:30 a.m. Monday on the city’s far west side near South Bend International Airport. They were able to return a few …

Zelma Ruth (Jackson) Merritt, age 85, of Constantine, died on Saturday, September 1, 2018 at her home. She was born July 5, 1933 in White Pigeon Township to George and Eunice (Strong) Jackson. Zelma attended Scott High School, graduating in 1952. On May 25, 1952 she married Ernie Merritt in LaGrange. He preceded her in death on September 8, 2011. Zelma …

A kayak ride on Lake Superior that ended in the deaths of four Wisconsin family members would have been difficult even for experienced paddlers, officials say. Bob Krumenaker, superintendent of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, told the Star Tribune of Minneapolis for a story published Sunday that it was a sobering reminder of the vastness and danger of the largest of the …

E. Marie Brouse, age 94, of Sturgis, passed away Thursday evening, Aug. 30, 2018, at Sturgis Hospital. Mrs. Brouse resided in Sturgis since 1945. On June 28, 1947, she married Leonard V. Brouse in Angola. He died Aug. 25, 1983. Mrs. Brouse began teaching art in the Sturgis Public Schools in 1946 inspiring many little vivacious would be artists until …

Carl Junior Drumhiller, age 82, passed away on Friday, Aug. 31, 2018, at his home in Colon. He died peacefully, surrounded by his children. Junior was born in Colon to the late Carl Burr Drumhiller and Georgia Francis (Fitzgerald) Drumhiller. He served in the U.S. Army from 1959 to 1961. Junior spent his entire life in Colon, as a general …

Ronald R. Wolkins, age 82 of Elkhart, died Thursday, Aug. 30, 2018, following an extended illness. He was born May 21, 1936, in Constantine Township, Mich., the son of Lee R. and Anne H. (Miller) Wolkins. He was a resident of Elkhart since 1991, coming from Jones and Union. He was a 1955 graduate of Constantine High School and a …

St. Joseph County Prosecutor John McDonough has authorized seven charges against Fernando Mendoza Cruz. The 37-year-old Sturgis man was charged Friday with three counts of kidnapping, and one count for each offense of fleeing and eluding, carrying a concealed weapon, felony firearm and domestic violence. He remains in the St. Joseph County Jail with a $250,000 cash/ surety bond. An …

The White Pigeon School Board last week had a discussion about requesting a one-mill, five-year renewal of its 2014 bond. The board has not yet voted on whether to put it on the ballot in 2019. The 2014 bond was used for buses, technology, technological infrastructure and equipment. Should this initiative move forward, money would most likely go toward these …

Troopers from Michigan State Police are investigating a felonious assault by a 42-year-old man who used a hunting knife as a weapon. Investigators were called at 11 p.m. Thursday to the 400 block of River Road in Branch County’s Batavia Township. The suspect threatened to kill his mother. He also kept her from leaving the residence for several hours. The …