December’s unemployment rate in St. Joseph County remained unchanged from the previous month. The monthly labor-market analysis by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget showed the county’s 3.6 percent December unemployment rate was the same as November’s figure. St. Joseph County was below the state unemployment average, which was 4.4 percent in December. The agency said overall, seasonal …

State Rep. Aaron Miller last week testified on the need for teachers to focus on classroom instruction and quality, not trying to complete a requirement for professional certification. Teachers are currently issued a standard or provisional teaching certificate, commonly given to recent college graduates, with a professional teaching certificate issued to instructors with more than three years classroom experience, over …

One man is dead and two people were injured Friday in a crash on U.S. 12 west of Snow Prairie Road in Branch County’s Bethel Township. Identity of those involved have not been released, pending family notification. Branch County Undersheriff Keith Eichler said a driver of Ford Fiesta had stopped on U.S. 12 to turn left into the Sprung Lake mobile …

Although many health officials are focused on the flu, Michigan is in the midst of a serious Hepatitis A outbreak, said Rebecca Burns, health officer at Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Health Agency. The state’s case count as of Jan. 24 was 715 confirmed cases with 582 hospitalizations and 24 deaths. One case has been reported in Hillsdale. The concern with the Michigan …

Crews are preparing to remove a 90-year-old dam in southwestern Michigan to help restore habitat for native fish. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and other organizations will soon begin the $4 million project to remove the Alcott Street dam in Kalamazoo, the Kalamazoo Gazette reported . The dam, which impounds Bryant Mill Pond on Portage Creek, was built in 1927, but …

Robert Ward dresses like a cowboy, but he’s often referred to as a “space cowboy.” Neatly displayed in well-lit glass cases at his Prescott home are the meteorites that he has found, bartered for or purchased throughout the world. Ward made the most recent additions to his collection this month, when a meteorite was widely witnessed as it fell from …

George F. Classen, age 89, of Sturgis, passed away Sunday morning, Feb. 4, 2018, at the Birch’s of Leonidas, in Leonidas. He was born Sept. 23, 1928, in Meade, Kan., son of the late Jacob R. and Anna (Friesen) Classen. Mr. Classen resided in Sturgis since 1971 coming from Walnut Hill, Fla. On July 23, 1948, he married Bertha F. …

Richard Lawrence Crandall, age 72, of Three Rivers, passed peacefully at home on Tuesday, January 30, 2018, surrounded by his family. He was born in Richmond, IN, on April 6, 1945, the son of Noah and Blanche (Cosgrove) Crandall. Mr. Crandall served his country in the U.S. Army and met his beloved wife, Sussan (Kyong) Crandall in Seoul, Korea, where …

Richard H. Clark, 90, of Centreville, passed away on Friday, February 2, 2018 . He was born in Parkville Township October 2, 1927, a son of William and Marie (Phillips) Clark. Rich went to Centreville Public Schools. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps. from 1946-1947. On October 20, 1948 he married Mary Jane Fitch. She preceded him in …

Eugenia M. Fisher, age 91, of Pearl River, La., died Thursday, Feb. 1, 2018, following an extended illness. She was born June 20, 1926, in Chicago, the daughter of Harold and Argentina (Berchiolli) Cinkel. She lived in the Chicago area until 1970 when she moved to Constantine. She lived in Louisiana for the past eight months. She was employed as …