County Information

Sturgis city commissioners on Monday approved a $1.6 million agreement for St. Joseph County’s commitment to help fund a proposed $2 million softball complex. The move came six days after the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners approved a motion to allocate the amount to the city toward development of the four-field complex on city-owned property on Lafayette Street, near …

Superintendents in St. Joseph County’s two largest school districts received good news Monday. In Three Rivers, Jean Logan’s contract was extended an additional year. As a result, her contract will expire in June 2018. Logan, 51, is in her second year as head of the 2,600-student district and is paid $120,000 a year. In addition, the Three Rivers board approved …

A utility trailer was discovered stolen from a Mendon Township location this week. State police said the 5-by-8-foot trailer was stolen from the 26000 block of M-60. The black, Tractor Supply-brand trailer is believed to have been stolen sometime in December 2015.

Cass County Circuit Judge Michael E. Dodge announced this week he will not be a candidate for re-election this year. Dodge will be leaving the post he has held since early 1982 due to mandatory retirement provisions in the Michigan constitution. According the state constitution, judges are no longer eligible for re-election once they reach age 70. Dodge has served …

A federal grant in excess of $900,000 was awarded this week to support funding of a new health clinic for low-income and indigent St. Joseph County residents. Monte Bordner, chair of the Covered Bridge Healthcare of St. Joseph County board, said the $910,000 grant will allow the agency to continue services it offered under the name St. Joseph County Health …

St. Joseph County Prosecutor John McDonough said a charge of concealing the death of an individual has been filed against two people in a case related to the death of a Three Rivers-area man last summer. Steven Stoner, 53, of Three Rivers, and 37-year-old Tracy Scott of Kalamazoo were charged after they allegedly broke into a Park Township residence where …

A month after John Schwartz retired as coach of Mendon High School’s football team, his successor was named Monday night. Members of the Mendon Community Schools Board of Education approved 2006 graduate Bobby Kretschman as the Hornets’ head football coach. Kretschman played on the 2005 team that beat Crystal Falls Forest Park to claim the Division 8 title game, and …

A Cass County man faces up to 15 years in prison after he was taken into custody for fleeing the scene of a fatal accident. Edwardsburg Police Chief Tim Kozal said Brett Gilpin, 25, whose prior community of residence included Edwardsburg, was arrested Thursday by the Michigan State Police Fugitive Team. He was taken to the Cass County Jail on …

The January unemployment rate in St. Joseph County increased by six-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 3.7 percent January unemployment rate was higher than December’s 3.1 percent. January’s unemployment rate, however, was 1.7 percent less than the same month one …

A new Adult Protective Services Centralized Intake process was made official during a signing-in ceremony Friday in Centreville. Led by probate court judge David Tomlinson, the signing-in marks the culmination of a plan nearly six years in the making. The intake process ensures referrals are sent to the local office in a timely manner. Furthermore, updates to the 2016 St. …