Business

Three Rivers Mayor Tom Lowry and commissioners on Tuesday approved a special-exception-use permit for Menards. As a result, the Wisconsin-based home-improvement center is clear to break ground on its 215,000-square-foot store on the south side of Broadway Road, just west of U.S. 131. City officials said Menards representatives indicated they would like to break ground as soon as possible in …

The fate of where the Weenie Kings push-cart hot dog stand will set up for business in 2012 remains unresolved. Three Rivers Mayor Tom Lowry and commissioners on Tuesday discussed the situation after being told by Weenie Kings proprietor Mike King that the Three Rivers Public Library Board has approved a policy that prohibits commerce from taking place in the …

It appears Mike King, owner of the Weenie Kings hot dog stand in Three Rivers, will have to find a new location to conduct business when his seasonal operation opens later this month. King said he received last week a certified letter from members of the Three Rivers Library Board, who indicated that in January, they passed a resolution prohibiting …

The Sturgis Journal announced it is no longer printing its newspaper in Sturgis, as the job has been passed on to a sister company in Allegan. Saturday’s edition of the six-day-a-week newspaper was the final copy produced on the 38-year-old presses at the Journal’s John Street office. Fourteen jobs were lost as a result of the move, which was orchestrated …

A full-service grocery store in business for more than 30 years in Sturgis announced Wednesday it is closing by the end of the month. Officials from Miller’s Super-Valu said competition from Wal-Mart and other stores and markets in town is too significant to overcome. Mike Doust, general manager of LaGrange, Ind.-based Miller’s, said the Sturgis location simply couldn’t generate enough …

Indiana’s motorcycle dealers will be allowed to buy and sell their bikes on Sundays under a change in state law that legislators have approved.  The Indiana House voted 68-31 on Monday in favor of the bill removing the current ban on Sunday motorcycle sales.  Bill sponsor Rep. Ed Soliday of Valparaiso says all the states surrounding Indiana already allow Sunday …

A first-time participant in the annual Constantine Chili Throwdown took top honors during the third annual event Saturday. The Village Inn, which opened for business in July, was the top vote-getter from nearly 50 voters who weighed in on choosing the event’s best chili. For $5 per person, the public was invited to sample each of four chili offerings and …

The Michigan Public Service Commission last week issued an order approving a settlement agreement, which authorizes Indiana Michigan Power to increase electric rates by more than $14.6 million annually, effective with the next full cycle of billings. The amount represents an increase of nearly 5.9 percent over the rates set in I&M’s last rate case. According to the most recent …

The Three Rivers Police Department announced a 26-year-old man was charged with retail theft following an incident at 11 p.m. Tuesday. The man, a Three Rivers resident whose name was not released, allegedly tried to steal beer from a store in the 100 block of North Main Street. A clerk said the man fled north through an alley. The department’s …

On the first day of  February, UniQ Jewelry, Gems and Gifts of  Distinction, announced what is becoming an annual Valentine’s Day chance  to win something luxurious for anyone willing to make the effort to  enter.  The grand prize this year was a 14 carat heart shaped deep  purple Amethyst valued at over $1,000.00!  14 carats on the 14th!  There was …