Business

Three Rivers City Manager Joe Bippus said he and a group of municipal representatives received a warm welcome from American Axle Manufacturing officials during a goodwill visit last week to the company’s Detroit-based headquarters. Bippus said the scheduled meeting provided an opportunity to thank AAM President David Dauch for the company’s commitment to Three Rivers. The Three Rivers facility is …

State Rep. Matt Lori praised the passage of freedom-to-work legislation that he says will allow Michigan workers to earn a living regardless of union membership. Lori said workers should have the freedom to work any job without being forced to pay for that right to work. He added that unions will have the freedom to make their case to workers, …

The seventh annual Christmas in Colon event takes place 5 to 9 p.m. today in downtown Colon. The event features a 6 p.m. parade from Colon Elementary to Colon Township Library. In addition, downtown businesses will have promotions, goodies and attractions throughout the four-hour period, including reindeer and Santa Claus outside the library. Also, an Amish grilled chicken dinner will …

With little fanfare, members of the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners Tuesday approved the county’s 2013 fiscal year budget. The $28.8 million budget goes into effect Jan. 1. It is more than $780,000 less than the 2012 fiscal-year budget, thanks in part to a lower-than-expected allocation sought by the St. Joseph County Road Commission. According to a breakdown of …

A 17-year-old Three Rivers woman was treated for minor injuries following a single-vehicle accident at 3 p.m. Monday in Fabius Township. According to the St Joseph County Sheriff’s Department, the woman was driving south on U.S. 131 when she lost control of her vehicle due to a wet roadway around Hoffman Road. The vehicle went into a ditch and rolled …

A 16-year-old Colon resident was treated for minor injuries following a one-car accident Sunday in Colon Township. The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department said Heather Avery was driving north on Kane Road when she lost control of her vehicle and it rolled over. The incident occurred at 12:45 a.m. on a gravel road and near the intersection of Decker Road.

A Three Rivers man was slightly injured after he fell asleep at the wheel and crashed his car last week in Park Township. According to the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department, 30-year-old James Moore was driving west on M-60 when his vehicle exited the roadway west of Heimbach Road and struck several mailboxes and trees. The vehicle sustained heavy damage …

St. Joseph County’s October unemployment dipped to 6.8 percent, a decrease of half a percent compared to September’s figure. The monthly labor-market analysis by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget indicated seasonal jobs and continued hiring in the education field offset an increase in job losses in the leisure and hospitality areas. Compared to October 2011, last month’s …

An undisclosed amount of heroin and prescription drugs were found in a vehicle stopped Tuesday on U.S. 131. The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department said four Grand Rapids residents were in a southbound vehicle stopped near Arnold Street in Three Rivers. A motorist had informed central dispatch it appeared the driver may have been intoxicated. Three Rivers Police initiated the …

The Admiral gas station in Sturgis was robbed Tuesday morning by a man who used pepper spray to disorient the sales clerk. Sturgis police said a black man with cornrows in his hair entered the West Chicago Road station at 8:15 a.m. and discharged the spray on the clerk. The suspect then took a large sum of money from the …