County Information

State Rep. Aaron Miller announced earlier this week a state grant to help develop five parcels of land in Sturgis into a two-story building, which represents the first significant new construction in the downtown area in half a century. Miller said Moso Village LLC will use the $1 million Michigan Community Revitalization Program grant to redevelop the land to include …

The 2015 Liberty Bell Award is being presented Friday to representatives from St. Joseph County’s two newspapers. Judge Jeff Middleton said the 31st annual award ceremony will honor the Sturgis Journal and the Three Rivers Commercial-News as recipients of the award for 2015. Presented by the St. Joseph County Bar Association, the Liberty Bell Award was established as a way …

Members of the Sturgis City Commission earlier this month gave approval to accommodations for an expanded Sturgis Fest lineup, slated for the last full week of June. Added to this year’s events are a car exhibition on U.S. 12 and a dog show in Franks Park. Cathi Abbs, executive director of Sturgis Area Chamber of Commerce, indicated another surprise is …

Investigators from the St. Joseph County Area Narcotics unit executed a search warrant Monday in the village of Colon. While conducting parole- and probation-compliance checks with agents of the Michigan Department of Corrections, SCAN officers obtained probable cause for a search warrant on a residence in the 400 block of Burr Oak Road. After the execution of the search warrant, …

Members of the Community Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Board of St. Joseph County voted Tuesday to separate the agency from the Federally Qualified Health Center. The health center, located under the same roof as CMHSAS in Centreville, operates on a $1.4 million budget, with $831,000 of its annual funding coming from the federal agency Health Resources Services Administration. …

Speed was a factor in a single-vehicle accident that resulted in injuries to four people Monday in Lockport Township. Members of the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department said the incident occurred shortly before 7 o’clock Monday night on Schweitzer Road, west of Holtom Road. Investigators said a Pontiac passenger car driven by an 18-year-old Sturgis woman was westbound on Schweitzer …

A longtime Sturgis Township farm operation plans to launch a 4,000-head, commercial hog-raising operation next fall in cooperation with a Constantine feed mill. Two 420-by-40-foot commercial barns are planned for a 500-acre section of the 2,500- acre Fairgrove Farms, located between Shimmel and Stubey roads, with a three quarter-mile access road off Stubey. Jennifer Bennett and Bill Pueschel, representing Fairgrove …

Investigators from the Cass County Sheriff’s Department have identified the driver and vehicle involved in a fatal hit-and-run incident over the weekend. Sheriff Joe Underwood said evidence and witness statements have helped with the investigation into the death of 25-year-old Duke Gowens of Cassopolis. He was struck by a northbound car at 1:20 a.m. Sunday on M-40, north of Withers …

A planning, assessment and feasibility study related to a proposed addition to the county courts building in Centreville was approved last week. County commissioners agreed to the $72,500 cost to tap the expertise of the National Center for State Courts. The Denver-based agency will spend the next six months analyzing the county’s needs in advance of what will potentially be …

St. Joseph County officials last week approved a measure that will ultimately lead to a water and sewer infrastructure at a county park in Fawn River Township. Commissioners agreed to fund a $160,000 plan that will upgrade the services to Cade Lake Park and Campground, thanks to an existing line servicing the village of Burr Oak. County administrator Pat Yoder …