St Joseph County

St. Joseph County is on its way to having its own Marine Corps League. Following a 90-minute meeting Saturday at Mendon Village Hall, a group seeking the county’s own league was given preliminary approval from the state’s top league official. With a turnout of nearly 20 prospective members at the organizational meeting, the only hurdle to clear is the national …

Flags in Sturgis are flying at half-staff today to honor a former mayor, Don Easterday. Easterday, 84, passed away Thursday. He served as mayor from 1988 through 1992. City offices will close at 3:30 p.m. today so employees may attend Easterday’s funeral.

A crowd of about 150 people attended Saturday’s annual St. Joseph County Lincoln Day banquet at the Sturges-Young Auditorium, in Sturgis. U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers delivered the keynote speech, which focused on the shortcomings of President Obama and underscored the need to vote for Republican candidates in the November general election. Congressman Fred Upton also gave a brief speech during …

Three Rivers Health and its fitness center, HealthTRAC, have announced the 13th annual Triple Creek Dash. The event starts at 9 a.m. April 14. Check-in and same-day registration begins at 7 a.m. The race course will include the neighborhood surrounding the Three Rivers Health campus, bounded by U.S. 131, Michigan Avenue, Broadway Street and the St. Joseph River. The event …

A well-received component to the annual Three Rivers Water Festival will return in 2012 following a six-year absence. Mayor Tom Lowry and commissioners this week approved “Bratfest,” which is to be in operation during the Friday and Saturday of the Water Festival. Rick Daniels, chairman of the Bratfest, told the commission during Tuesday’s meeting that he headed up the attraction …

Members of the Colon Village Council last week agreed to an increase in sewer and water rates. The 3.5 percent hike for the utility services was to go into effect this week. Village officials said the modification was necessary to offset an increase in its costs following a long-negotiated agreement with Colon Township and the Colon Fire and Rescue squad. …

Area fire departments wish to remind residents that due to the mild winter, vegetation is unusually dry for this time of year. As a result, the risk of grass fires is especially great. Fire officials in White Pigeon and Constantine stated that they believe discarded cigarettes triggered grass fires Tuesday in Constantine and property surrounding a residence on Mintdale Road. …

The Constantine Public Schools Board of Education has taken on changes at the state level that allow school districts to extend the terms of board of education members from four to six years. The matter was approved earlier this week by board members. Those in favor of the revised term length said the option provides more stability than what is …

The number of births in St. Joseph County in 2011 exceeded the number of deaths, according to data provided by County Clerk Pattie Bender. Bender, the county’s most tenured employee with more than 41 years of employment, presented her annual report Tuesday to the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners. Bender said 717 people were born in the county in …

Downtown Constantine will be the site of a quilter’s exhibit Saturday. Area residents will be displaying their quilts at various locations throughout the village’s downtown district 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. In addition, the Barry House will be hosting for the first time its heritage with a display of generational and heirloom quilts during the same four-hour timeframe. A quilt …