St Joseph County

Large crowds gathered over the weekend for the opening of a new business in downtown Constantine. The Constantine Brewing Company staged a soft opening Friday, with a public opening Saturday. Owner Matt Ryan said the 2,000-square-foot business was fully refurbished over the course of the past 13 months. Ryan said he brews his own product onsite and, according to terms …

A White Pigeon High School graduate will be one of 51 contestants vying for the title of Miss USA during a pageant televised live Sunday on NBC. Mekayla Diehl, a 2007 White Pigeon High School graduate, is representing Indiana in the pageant. A Bristol resident, Diehl was crowned Miss Indiana during a program seven months ago in Indianapolis. The 25-year-old …

The St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners has approved an out-of-state travel request for a circuit court employee. At the request of Judge Paul Stutesman, commissioners agreed to the plan for court administrator Kathryn Griffin to attend the National Association for Court Management’s annual conference in Scottsdale, Ariz. The six-day event takes place next month. As president of Michigan’s NACM, …

A musical summer is returning to White Pigeon in 2014. Sponsored by the White Pigeon Township Library, Summertime Tunes begins its third season Saturday, with the Whistle Pigs performing 2 to 4 p.m. at Wade Park. Library Director Perri Saunders said the South Bend-based band has specialized in the brass/rock sound of Chicago, the Commodores, Paul Simon and contemporary artists …

Investigators from the St. Joseph County Area Narcotics unit executed two search warrants Wednesday at a residence in the 29000 block of Edgewater Beach Road in White Pigeon Township, where two pounds of drugs were to be delivered by U.S. Mail. In conjunction with officials from the U.S. Postal Service, SCAN officers served a search warrant for a quantity of …

A Sturgis Public Schools administrator has been offered the superintendent’s position at a neighboring district. Members of the Bronson Community Schools Board of Education voted this week to extend a contract offer to Teresa Belote. She currently serves as principal at Congress and Wenzel elementary schools. Belote was one of three finalists from a field of six candidates interviewed for …

A mail carrier was injured in a two-vehicle accident Tuesday afternoon in White Pigeon Township. State police officials said a vehicle driven by Niles resident Lori Jones, 55, was eastbound on Indian Prairie Road when it was struck from behind by a vehicle driven by Harry Pletcher, 95, of White Pigeon. Jones was treated for minor injuries at Elkhart General …

A Sturgis man is in stable condition after he was stabbed during a residential break-in attempt Sunday. The incident took place in the 29000 block of Fawn River Road, where the victim was stabbed several times in the neck and chest, according to Sturgis Police. The 83-year-old victim was airlifted to a Kalamazoo hospital. A 28-year-old suspect is awaiting return …

St. Joseph County’s Board of Commissioners agreed Tuesday to cover a six-digit dollar amount request from Community Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. The commission unanimously approved an allocation in excess of $168,000 to the agency. What was labeled a one-time request for the funds from CMH sparked a lengthy discussion by commissioners. The five-member panel criticized state legislators for …

A 39-year-old Sturgis man was charged with drunken driving and child endangerment following an incident Monday outside Congress Elementary School in Sturgis. Sturgis police said their investigation showed a second-grade student was attempting to enter a vehicle after school, when the driver pulled away before she was entirely inside the vehicle. As a result, the vehicle drove over the young …