My Community Dental Center at Maplecrest Plaza in Sturgis is scheduled to open today. MCDC offers dental care at an affordable price, said Pearline Bailey, regional manager. Services cost about 20 percent less than at a private dentist and the clinic accepts all insurance plans, Medicaid patients and residents with no insurance. It provides a sliding-fee scale for the uninsured …

Blake Allen Lauseng, age 30, of Sturgis, passed away unexpectedly Monday evening, Feb. 27, 2017, at the Sturgis Hospital emergency room. He was born Feb. 8, 1987, in Sturgis, a son of John and Tina (Russell) Lauseng. Blake resided in Sturgis and Florida most of his life. On Oct. 7, 2016, he married Holly Whitcomb in Centreville. Most of Blake’s …

Colon village president Diane Downs said a search committee charged with hiring a village manager will assemble as soon as possible to begin the process of interviewing two finalists. Fourteen résumés were turned in by the late January deadline and Downs said she reviewed them all. Eventually, the list was narrowed to three. One of the three, however, subsequently accepted …

An increase in calls for service and the savings of regional operations will result in a reduced subsidy cost for St. Joseph County governmental units that contract with LifeCare Ambulance. Sturgis Township last month became the first of 12 local jurisdictions to sign a new four-year contract with LifeCare Ambulance for emergency medical response. According to Mike Bobalik, Sturgis Township …

An agency that helps seniors and low-income St. Joseph County residents with overdue gas bills could have nearly $40,000 in its coffers thanks to an annual fundraiser last weekend. The 32nd “Walk For Warmth” event took place Saturday in Three Rivers. Event organizers said more than $13,000 was raised by participants and other donors. Thirty-year volunteer Rick Shaffer said additional …

The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the theft of a vehicle earlier this week in Mendon Township. Deputies were called shortly after 8 a.m. Monday to the 26000 block of M-60 in regards to the theft of a black, 1995 Ford F-150 pickup. Its license plate identification is DLA4333.

I can’t remember a February when the weather has been this pleasant, or perhaps I should say weird. We’ve had temperatures in the fifties and sixties, along with temperatures in the twenties and thirties. There have been times when we’ve had nicer weather than those Michiganders who have flown south for the winter. Back in the day, December, January, and …

The designation of a stretch of East Main Street in Centreville has been changed to all-season, a move that will benefit the village’s business park and adjacent commercial operations. The announcement was made by Michigan Department of Transportation operations engineer Alissa Hubbell during Monday’s Centreville Downtown Development Authority meeting. Hubbell further announced that a similar designation upgrade was made for …

State police are investigating the theft of a four-wheeler earlier this week from a location in Mottville Township. Troopers were called at 4 p.m. Sunday to the 69000 block of Blue School Road in response to the breaking-and-entering of a barn. Upon arrival, troopers were told the incident occurred between Feb. 18 and Sunday morning. The victim told authorities the …

Three Rivers High School director of bands Bryan VanToll is appealing to the public in hopes of securing enough funding to purchase new uniforms for the school’s marching band. VanToll said a new design has been considered as part of a plan to replace 12-year-old uniforms. The cost is about $45,000 for 120 uniforms. He said an increase in band …