St Joseph County

A bipartisan package of bills that makes boating, snowmobiling and use of other recreational vehicles safer has been approved by the Michigan House of Representatives and sent to Gov. Rick Snyder for consideration. The measures lower the lawful blood-alcohol-content level for boaters, snowmobilers and operators of off-road vehicles from 0.10 percent to 0.08 percent, the same level as operators of …

Two area state parks will be a part of a free, New Year’s Day event sponsored by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. The agency will sponsor free, guided hikes in Michigan state parks on New Year’s Day – plus additional hikes throughout the week – as part of America’s state parks “First Day Hikes” initiative. According to the Michigan …

A 54-year-old Sturgis woman’s vehicle struck a house last week at 302 S. Lakeview Ave. in Sturgis. Authorities arrived to find the vehicle resting on the front porch of the home, as the driver said the vehicle’s brakes had failed. She told police that when she tried to stop, the brake pedal accelerated all the way to the floor. Police …

Two downtown Sturgis properties will install new outdoor signs after the Sturgis Planning Commission voted to allow the placards to be more colorful than historic standards allow. Sign designs proposed by West Chicago Road businesses Gina’s Healing Hands Day Spa and the Sturgis Area Chamber of Commerce had included more than the three building colors allowed in the central business …

Seven property parcels in Fawn River Township have been approved for conditional transfer into the city of Sturgis, based on development agreements inked by the two jurisdictions in 1999 and 2006. Property owned by Roger and Carol Olds at 28204 Fawn River Road, and Evelyn Steffey and Elenora Emerson, at 28246 Fawn River Road, all located between Lakeview Road and …

The Constantine Village Council last week changed zoning designations for parcels at 420 and 460 E. Second St. from residential to industrial. Michigan Milk Producers Association has a sales agreement pending to purchase the properties in order to construct an employee parking lot. Station Street residents Justin and Mollie Kent said they were worried about having a parking lot next …

Nearly 24 percent of St. Joseph County’s 12,488 residents 60 years of age and older are receiving some type of service from the county’s Commission on Aging, a report last week showed. If those numbers hold in 2014-15, it means taxpayers will provide about $760 of funding per client to deliver everything from nutrition services and in-home care to senior …

Several members of the Three Rivers Fire Department had the opportunity to play Santa during Tuesday’s eighth annual Firefighters For Santa event. Josh Griffin, a fireman/paramedic, said about three months of planning culminated with the delivery of toys to more than 60 families in Three Rivers, and Lockport and Fabius townships. An additional 30 children benefited from the event through …

A traffic signal at the intersection of South Nottawa and Congress streets will not be replaced with a four-way red flashing light, according to Sturgis municipal officials. City commissioners agreed last week to deny an engineering recommendation to change the signal. Traffic studies had shown the intersection does not meet signal standards. The majority of the board objected to making …

The Michigan Strategic Fund has approved $12.5 million in grants to support the construction of a 550,000-square-foot pork-processing facility in Branch County. The Clemens Food Group operation will acquire 450 acres at the southeast corner of I- 69 and Jonesville Road in Coldwater Township. It is expected to create more than 800 jobs and $255 million in total investments. Grant …