Government

St. Joseph County commissioners appear to have a brief meeting before them this afternoon. The only item under new business is accepting the annual report from Central Dispatch. In a separate matter, commissioners will discuss whether to appoint Kathy Pangle, Rick Shaffer and Kay Decker to the Community Mental Health and Substance Abuse Board. The meeting begins at 5 p.m. …

Cass County Sheriff’s Department deputies were dispatched over the weekend to the scene of a one-vehicle accident in Howard Township. Sheriff Richard Behnke said deputies responded shortly before 9 p.m. Saturday to a location along M-60 where a vehicle went off the roadway. Shawn Hoover, 34, of Niles was the driver and 58-year-old David Crespo, also of Niles, was a …

A southwestern Michigan 15-year-old has been arraigned in juvenile court following a threat of violence at his school and the discovery of guns and pipe bomb materials at his home. The youth faced charges Monday of making a terrorist threat, two counts of possession of a shortened barrel firearm, possession of stolen firearms, and possession of bomb-making materials. Van Buren …

Authorities in a southwestern Michigan county are investigating cases from nearly 200 previously untested rape kits that eventually could lead to charges. Kalamazoo County Prosecutor Jeff Getting tells the Kalamazoo Gazette for a story Thursday that investigators are trying to prioritize cases approaching the end of time periods where legal action can be taken. Some of the kits are close to 30 …

A vehicle stolen last month from Kalamazoo was recovered this week in Schoolcraft. Schoolcraft police chief Bryan Campbell said his department was advised at 3 a.m. Wednesday to be on the lookout for a vehicle involved in a retail-theft incident in Three Rivers. The vehicle was spotted parked in a driveway in the 300 block of Duncan Street. Campbell said …

Two vehicles at the South Kalamazoo County Fire Authority were damaged while parked in the agency’s garage this week. Chief Bryan Campbell said police were called shortly after 11 p.m. to the corner of Grand and Eliza streets, where a 59-year-old Grand Rapids man had repeatedly run his vehicle into the bay doors of the fire station, damaging the doors …

Michigan has approved a 30-day grace period for displaying a license plate on vehicles. Gov. Rick Snyder signed the bill Wednesday, affording Michiganders 30 days from the time of vehicle registration or renewal to display a registration plate while driving. During the 30-day buffer, drivers are instead required to present paper or electronic verification through the Law Enforcement Information Network …

A Sturgis man was arrested on drug-related charges following a traffic stop earlier this week in Sturgis. According to officers, the suspect’s vehicle was pulled over shortly after 2 a.m. Tuesday on South Nottawa Street at Bogen Road following a traffic violation. According to a department media release, the officer in charge of the stop became suspicious of drug activity …

Sheriff’s deputies were called last week to a two-vehicle accident in Burr Oak Township. The incident occurred shortly before 9:30 p.m. Friday at the intersection of M-66 and Findley Road. Investigators said a vehicle driven by Sturgis-area resident Shirley Schrock was heading north on M-66 and turned left onto Findley Road, into the path of a southbound vehicle driven by …

Two people were injured Monday morning after a St. Joseph County Transportation Authority bus collided with a semi tractor-trailer in Constantine Township. State police said the bus driven by a 33-year-old Fulton woman was eastbound on Riverside Drive at 7:30 a.m. when it failed to stop at the intersection of U.S. 131. The bus struck the trailer of a northbound …