St Joseph County

The first of a series of “Generate Sturgis” forums this week resulted in a group of five finalists from a field of 31 presenting valid business ideas for the city. Staged Tuesday at Sturges-Young Auditorium, the event was the result of a recently created, business-advocate group called Generate Sturgis. The top idea, according to a panel of five judges, was …

Two Fabius Township residents were assaulted by three men following an incident Tuesday morning. According to the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department, a woman knocked on the front door of a residence in the 13000 block of Mohney Lake Road shortly after 7 a.m. and told the resident that her vehicle broke down. When one of the occupants went outside …

A Fabius Township woman was one of two people charged with meth-related offenses late Monday. The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department said deputies went to a residence in the 14000 block of Bullock Road in search of Christon Vallier. Vallier was wanted on three warrants from Kalamazoo County. Vallier and 47-year-old Dawn Baumfeld were charged with maintaining and operating a …

Three Rivers Community Schools has announced that Fred Matusik, principal at Park Elementary School, is retiring at the end of the school year. Matusik, who oversaw Huss Academy alternative high school for 10 years, has been principal at Park School for six years. His wife, Judi, is a behavior specialist at Andrews Elementary and she also plans to retire in …

A 250-pound urn was stolen from a burial site between March 4 and 11 at Leonidas Cemetery. According to the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department, the cement urn was painted black, stands about 30 inches high and has a diameter of about 18 inches. The item was reported stolen last Saturday.

The Three Rivers Relay for Life was given a financial boost recently, thanks to Kadant Johnson. The Three Rivers-based company last weekend hosted its second annual Hoops for Hope, 3-on-3 basketball tournament. Seventeen teams combined to raise more than $2,300 for the local Relay for Life program.

The former president and CEO of a Three Rivers financial institution has pled guilty to embezzling more than $100,000. Kristen Taft, 57, will be sentenced April 27 after she admitted her guilt Friday in St. Joseph County Circuit Court. The Portage resident was found to have used a St. Joseph Valley Community Federal Credit Union credit card to purchase items …

The Three Rivers Public Library Board on Tuesday tabled action on a motion to allow Weenie Kings hot-dog stand to use its parking lot to operate his lunchtime business. A vote to let Mike King return to the site where he sold more than 60,000 hot dogs over a five-year period failed by virtue of a 2-2 deadlock, with two …

The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department arrested two men last weekend after they were found to be manufacturing methamphetamine on an island in the St. Joseph River. The men, whose ages and hometowns were not included in a sheriff’s department news release, were arrested at a boat launch in Mottville Saturday after they came ashore from an island downriver. A …

Constantine Police Chief Jim Bedell is heading up a cause that would allow for the purchase of a headstone for Jodi Parrack’s gravesite. Bedell said the 11-year-old Constantine girl, whose killer remains at large, is buried at White Pigeon Cemetery and lacks a permanent headstone. Parrack was last seen riding her bike home from a friend’s house in November 2007. …