Business

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 …

Operators of southwestern Michigan’s Donald C. Cook Nuclear Plant say one of its units is being shut down for routine refueling and maintenance. Plant spokesman Bill Schalk says power at the Unit 1 reactor was reduced to 50 percent Sunday night for equipment testing in advance of Wednesday’s start of the outage. The Herald-Palladium of St. Joseph reports equipment replacement, …

The average price of gasoline has jumped by 17 cents over the past two weeks, to $2.02 a gallon for regular grade. Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg said Sunday that the hike is due to growing demand for gasoline across the nation and higher crude oil prices. Lundberg says the increase is part of a trend that has seen the price spike nearly …

A $10 million project is planned to transform a former foundry building just east of downtown Kalamazoo into a campus-like office space. The Kalamazoo Gazette reports Kalamazoo-based Treystar plans to convert the building for office and other uses, including on-site dining. The company says it plans to upgrade the building while preserving it and paying homage to its past. Built …

FirstMerit Bank has confirmed the closure of two of its St. Joseph County branches, in Colon and White Pigeon, effective June 3. Colon’s branch operation will become consolidated with the Sturgis branch. Officials could not confirm how many employees are affected, but all have been retained and offered positions at other locations, said Rob Townsend, media relations officer for FirstMerit …

The state says Michigan’s monthly unemployment rate has fallen to its lowest point in nearly 15 years. The Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget said Wednesday the seasonally adjusted jobless rate for January was 4.9 percent. That’s down two-tenths of a percentage point from December and 1.1 percentage points below the January 2015 rate. The state’s January unemployment rate …