County Information

The St. Joseph County United Way has started focusing on food donations for Thanksgiving baskets, and it is hoping local companies will consider staging food drives to help with the 2016 holiday. Last year, 150 local families received Thanksgiving food baskets thanks to donations from local companies and individuals, United Way Executive Director Kelly Hostetler said. For the past few …

A Constantine resident urged county commissioners to consider an allocation in their 2017 fiscal year to making the promotion of tourism, business and industry a county function. Rebecca Shank, at Tuesday’s meeting, suggested commissioners during their budget process in coming weeks put the duties of promotion and tourism under some aspect of the county. She proposed its parks and recreation …

A section of St. Joseph County lost power Tuesday morning as a result of two transformers malfunctioning. Erica Putt, communications consultant with Indiana Michigan Power, said the outage primarily affected residents in the Constantine and Three Rivers areas. She said the problems originated from the State Street transmission station in Three Rivers and a station in the Florence Industrial Park, …

Authorities are citing alcohol and excessive speed as factors in a single-vehicle crash early Sunday morning in White Pigeon Township. State police said 26-year-old White Pigeon resident Larry Krotzer was driving west on Fawn River Road at 12:10 a.m., when the SUV he was driving went off the roadway and struck a utility pole near the intersection of Lima Road. …

Sheriff’s department investigators were called last week to a Park Township residence in response to a breaking-and-entering situation. According to a department media release, deputies were called shortly before 8 p.m. Thursday to the 17000 block of Marcellus Road, where a residence and several outbuildings were broken into. The victim speculated the incident occurred between Oct. 21 and Oct. 24. …

An over-the-back leaf blower was stolen last week from a residence in Constantine Township. State police investigators were called at 6:30 a.m. Thursday to a residence on Peck Academy Road, between Youngs Prairie and Preston roads. The victim discovered tire tracks leading to a barn, where the leaf blower was stored. Tire tracks indicate the vehicle was likely a front-wheel …

Sturgis city commissioners recently took up an offer of more than $500,000 from the Michigan Department of Transportation to help pay for the final phase of the South Nottawa Street brick restoration paving. The city received a conditional commitment from MDOT in April for a grant that will augment city funds for the $1 million project. The city pledged just …

Only one of four local varsity football teams survived the weekend’s opening round of the Michigan High School Athletic Association playoffs. Friday’s lone winner from St. Joseph County was Mendon, which won a road contest over St. Joseph Lake Michigan Catholic, 39-12. The Hornets, now 8-2, will square off this upcoming weekend at Climax-Scotts, a 10-0 team and ranked No. …

The September unemployment rate in St. Joseph County decreased by two-tenths of a percent compared to a month earlier. The monthly labor-market analysis by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget showed St. Joseph County’s 3.5 percent September unemployment rate was less than August’s 3.7 percent. September’s unemployment rate was identical to the same month one year earlier, when …

A Sturgis native working in Alaska for the Fairbanks Police Department has died from complications related to surgery after he was shot five times earlier this month. Sgt. Allen Brandt, a 2000 graduate of Sturgis High School, died after complications arose from surgery to have shrapnel removed from his eye following the Oct. 16 shooting. Brandt, an 11-year veteran of …