St Joseph County

Organizers of the 2015 Sturgis Toy Run have announced the 32nd annual event will feature more vendors, it is accepting sponsors and providing a higher level of entertainment. To that end, tickets for this year’s headline act, Big Smo, go on sale at 10 a.m. today. Big Smo is an American country musician, songwriter, producer and film director who appears …

The Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency is reporting its third flu-associated death this year, as the number of flu cases caused by Influenza B strain increase. The adult who died last week was under the age of 65 with underlying health conditions, said Steve Todd, the tri-county health department’s health officer. The agency declined to state the victim’s gender and …

A driver and passenger in a vehicle involved in a police pursuit remain at large after the suspect’s car was found crashed in Kalamazoo County. The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department said deputies began pursuing the vehicle shortly before 7 p.m. Sunday on M-60 near U.S. 131. The pursuit continued north into Park Township and the vehicle was found wrecked …

An Indiana man was arrested on drug and weapon charges following a traffic stop last weekend in Sturgis. State police said a vehicle the man was driving was stopped for an equipment violation at 5:30 p.m. Saturday near the intersection of Clay and John streets in Sturgis. The 27-year-old driver, an Elkhart man, was found to be in possession of …

The Three Rivers Lions Club has announced that tickets for the “Bruce C. Snook Citizen of the Year” banquet honoring Al Heivilin are now on sale at Ridgeway Floral in Three Rivers. The April 28 banquet honoring Heivilin will take place at Belle Époque, 54 Railroad Drive, in Three Rivers. Event organizers said the evening will begin with a social …

A truck driven by Robert Gonser III, 21, of Constantine, hit another truck Wednesday night last week on Covered Bridge Road. St. Joseph County Sheriff ’s deputies arrived at the scene and found Gonser’s truck to have substantial front-end damage, resulting after the truck traveled through the curve too quickly. The air bag was deployment and Gonser was wearing a …

An outbreak of the parasite cryptosporidiosis at Centreville High School’s agriculture educaton program sent one student to the hospital and infected 12 others, according to the Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency. The outbreak is contained and the hospitalized student has been released. The outbreak came in early March in the co-op vet/ag science program run through St. Joseph Intermediate School …

A church in Sturgis sustained fire-related damage last week. Sturgis firefighters arrived shortly after 1 p.m. Thursday at Potter House Church, 210 E. Congress St., and found smoke coming from near the chimney on the west side of the building. Crew members entered the attic area and found flames in an outer wall and attic space near the pastoral office. …

A 19-year-old Sturgis woman escaped injury late Wednesday after the vehicle she was driving struck a utility pole on Fawn River Road near Franks Avenue in Sturgis. Police said the driver lost control of the car after becoming distracted, causing it to leave the road and collide with the pole. She was taken to Sturgis Hospital for treatment.

Constantine boys’ basketball coach Chuck Frisbie was named Associated Press Class C coach of the year. In his first season as the team’s coach, Frisbie turned around a program that went 1-19 a year ago to 21-3 this season. The Falcons won the KVA league title and had a deep run in the postseason. Frisbie gave credit to his players …