Business

Regular production has resumed at a northwest Indiana refinery that was shut down last month following an electrical fire. The crude distillation unit at the BP refinery in Whiting along Lake Michigan has restarted, The (Northwest Indiana) Times reported Monday. Repairs — including restoration of the refinery’s five boilers, steam power and electrical utilities — were completed last week. Operations at the …

Even though battery costs are rising, auto companies are rolling out more affordable electric vehicles that should widen their appeal to a larger group of buyers. The latest came Thursday from General Motors, a Chevrolet Equinox small SUV with a starting price somewhere around $30,000 and a range-per-charge of 250 miles. You can get range of 300 miles if you …

Jeff Bailey has joined our executive management team and will be assuming the role of Vice President of Commercial Operations. Jeff has over 32 years of insurance experience in sales, underwriting, risk management, and adjusting. He has both the Certified Insurance Counselor and Commercial Risk Manager designations. Ben Harrison (currently President of our affiliate Noecker-Sullivan Insurance) will be assuming the …

An effort by Republicans in the Michigan Legislature to weaken minimum wage and sick leave laws was declared unconstitutional Tuesday. A judge on the Court of Claims threw out changes made late in 2018 as Republican Gov. Rick Snyder was near the end of his term and Democrats were preparing to take over top statewide posts. Advocates had turned in …

May’s unemployment rate in St. Joseph County increased by seven-tenths of a percent from April. The monthly labor-market analysis by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget was released last week and it showed St. Joseph County’s unemployment rate climbed from 3.4 percent in April to 4.1 percent in May. The rate was 6 percent 12 months earlier. Meanwhile, …

April’s unemployment rate in St. Joseph County decreased by one-tenth of a percent from March. According to the monthly labor-market analysis by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget, St. Joseph County’s unemployment rate fell from 3.5 percent in March to 3.4 percent in April. The rate was 5.2 percent 12 months earlier. Meanwhile, Cass County also experienced a …

New vehicles sold in the U.S. will have to average at least 40 miles per gallon of gasoline in 2026, up from about 28 mpg, under new federal rules unveiled Friday that undo a rollback of standards enacted under President Donald Trump. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said its new fuel economy requirements are the strongest to date and the maximum …

St. Joseph County Road Commission Manager John Lindsey said the agency has identified four bridges under its jurisdiction for potential funding from Michigan Department of Transportation. The bridges are in need of upgrades and Lindsey said an application to the state agency as part of its “bridge bundling” program will soon be on its way to Lansing. Lindsey said the …

A Colon business owner is giving a priceless gift to her 10 employees: two weeks of paid vacation. Dawn Furney, owner of Dawn’s Café, said the paid time off was part of a deal she made with her staff. Furney said she adopted a four-days-on, three-days-off work schedule and an hourly pay raise. In exchange, Furney modified the restaurant’s hours …

Michigan’s minimum wage will rise by 22 cents to $9.87 an hour on January 1st. State law requires annual increases in the wage until it reaches $12.05 in a decade. The 22-cent raise was supposed to occur in 2021 but was automatically delayed because of high unemployment early in the coronavirus pandemic. The state announced this past week that the …