Business

The state’s business roundtable continues to forecast that Michigan’s economy will grow faster than the U.S. economy over the next six to eighteen months. The forecast by Business Leaders for Michigan is reinforced by 43 percent of its members planning to increase hiring in Michigan in just the next six months. According to the survey, 55% of business leaders believe …

The first session of the Adopt-A-Highway cleanup of 2013 begins Saturday. Overseen by the Michigan Department of Transportation, Adopt-A-Highway involves volunteers picking up litter along state highways from April 13 to 21, the first of three scheduled pickups this year. In 2012, Adopt-A-Highway volunteer groups collected about 65,000 bags of trash, a cost benefit to the state of $5.6 million. …

A vehicle driven by a 47-year-old Union woman was broadsided in a two-car crash at 9 p.m. Sunday in Park Township. State Police investigators said the incident occurred at Michigan Avenue and Parkville Road, where Scotts resident Daniel Shankleton, 17, failed to stop on Parkville Road at the Michigan Avenue intersection. His vehicle struck a car driven by Kristine Nichols. …

Two teenagers were taken into police custody after a Three Rivers Police Department canine unit found drugs in their vehicle. According to a department media release, a 19-year-old Kalamazoo man and his 16-year-old passenger were stopped Thursday at North Main and Moore streets following a traffic violation. An officer had reason to believe narcotics were in the vehicle and was …

An eight-foot, flatbed trailer was taken from outside a residence in Nottawa Township. Investigators from the Michigan State Police said a report of the incident was filed last week by the owner, who told police the trailer was likely stolen in March from outside a pole barn on Findley Road. The trailer, which is four feet wide and has three-foot-high …

February’s unemployment rate in St. Joseph County ended a two-month trend and decreased compared to the previous month. The monthly labor-market analysis by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget showed St. Joseph County’s 7.8 percent February unemployment rate was half a percent less than January’s figure. Furthermore, the February unemployment rate was 1.7 percent less than the same …

A woman attempting to cash a fraudulent check in Three Rivers eluded police on two occasions and remains at large. Three Rivers Police officials said the woman attempted to cash the fake check late Thursday at a local bank. A teller recognized the check was not real and identification she presented was fraudulent, and attempted to stall the woman in …

Mayor Tom Lowry and members of the Three Rivers City Commission have agreed to place a resolution for the sale of city-owned property on file for 30 days. The property in question is a western portion of the former Essex Wire property on Fourth Street. Union City-based Dove Ag Services is hoping to gain approval for a truck-loading facility and …

A number of St. Joseph County residents expressed concerns over a variety of subjects during Tuesday’s St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners meeting. The focus of most comments revolved around potential plans to build a senior center in Sturgis and a proposal to market St. Joseph County as a retirement destination to retirees in the Chicago market. Points were made …

Three Rivers Police Chief Tom Bringman will instruct officers to beef up enforcement of parking violations around Hoppin Elementary School when classes resume next week. Concern about the issue was raised Tuesday by Three Rivers City Commissioner Daryl Griffith, who said illegally parked cars pose a risk to children who walk home from school or to waiting cars parked legally …