Business

A utility that serves five southern Michigan communities plans to shut down its coal-burning power plant on May 31. The Daily Reporter of Coldwater reports the Michigan South Central Power Agency will end operations at the 55-megawatt Endicott power plant. Officials have said cost is the reason for shutting down the plant. Plans call for the plant to be demolished …

U.S. safety regulators are expanding a recall of Takata air bags, already the largest recall in U.S. history. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Wednesday that it’s adding up to 40 million air bags to the ongoing recall of 28.8 million air bags made by Japanese supplier Takata Corp. Inflators inside the air bags can explode with too much …

Operators of southwestern Michigan’s Donald C. Cook Nuclear Plant say one of its units is back online after being shut down for routine refueling and maintenance. Plant spokesman Bill Schalk says the Unit 1 reactor is connected to the transmission grid after a 36-day outage that began last month. The Herald-Palladium of St. Joseph reports workers also completed several large …

Michael Caywood and Joseph Haas, the shareholders of Dresser, Dresser, Haas & Caywood, P.C., are pleased to announce that effective May 1, 2016 the name of the firm will be changed to HaasCaywood PC. The firm will remain at its current office location at 112 S. Monroe Street in Sturgis. HaasCaywood PC is a general practice law firm that provides …

The National Rifle Association has chosen a northern Indiana gun range to host a competitive shooting championship for the next five years. Chief Wa-Ke’-De Outdoor Range held the National Smallbore Rifle Championships the last two years. The National Rifle Association called the facility “excellent” and awarded it a five-year contract for the event. The NRA also said it had “overwhelmingly …

Battle Creek (April 21, 2016)- The American Ambulance Association recently presented Darrell Mahrle, a paramedic with LifeCare Ambulance Service, the Star of Life award – – the highest honor an Emergency Medical Service worker can receive. Each year the American Ambulance Association hosts the Stars of Life event in Washington, D.C. to publicly recognize and celebrate the achievements of their …

Volkswagen, the U.S. government and private lawyers have reached a deal for the automaker to spend just over $1 billion to compensate owners of about 600,000 diesel-powered cars that cheat on emissions tests, including buyback offers to some owners, according to a person briefed on the matter. The “deal in principle” includes a maximum amount of spending, but the final …

Motorists who travel on U.S. 131 in Kalamazoo County are being advised of a construction project starting next week. The Michigan Department of Transportation on Monday will begin repaving 6.6 miles of U.S. 131 between I-94 and U Avenue in Portage. The $10.3 million investment includes guardrail replacement, carpool lot resurfacing, new signs and right-of-way fencing, and traffic signal upgrades. …

John Castle, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Southern Michigan Bank and Trust recently announced the appointment of Matthew S. Moses as First Vice President, Head of Wealth Management for the Trust Department of Southern Michigan Bank and Trust. Moses received a bachelor of business administration degree from the Haworth College of Business at Western Michigan University with a Personal …

There may be a reason why people have trouble seeing while driving at night, and it’s not their eyesight. A new rating of the headlights of more than 30 midsized car models gave only one model a grade of “good.” Of the rest, about a third were rated “acceptable,” a third “marginal” and a third “poor.” The difference between the …