Government

The former president of a motorcycle club who was accused of stealing money from a fundraiser for a Kalamazoo police officer who was killed while on duty in 2011 is awaiting sentencing in the case. WOOD-TV reports Joseph Weeks Sr. of Kalamazoo County’s Comstock Township last week pleaded no contest to charges including embezzlement from a nonprofit of $200 or …

The condition of a 14-year-old girl is improving, more than a week after she survived a mass shooting in southwestern Michigan. Vickie Kopf posted an update about her daughter on Facebook. She says Abigail Kopf’s ventilator was removed Sunday and she’s breathing on her own. Abigail was outside a Kalamazoo-area restaurant when she was shot in the head on Feb. …

The Doyle Community Center in Sturgis is expected to begin a capital fundraising campaign in March. Director Michael Liston said the goal is to raise up to $200,000 to pay for a 3,000-square-foot weight room addition. Liston said the community center hopes to complete the project by January 2017 and that it would allow weight-training equipment to be moved off …

St. Joseph County’s emergency management director was given approval last week to attend a national conference this summer. The St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners passed a motion to allow T.J. Baker to attend the 2016 National School Safety Conference in Orlando in late July. According to a memo from Baker to commissioners, the conference will focus on all aspects …

The St. Joseph County Road Commission repaired potholes in more than 800 miles of roads and removed snow from more than 1,000 miles of roadways in 2015. The information was presented last week to the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners as part of the road commission’s annual report. Past board chairman John Bippus said other work completed last year …

A prosecutor says no charges will be brought after state troopers fatally shot a man during a November standoff at a motel in southwestern Michigan. Berrien County Prosecutor Michael Sepic announced the decision Thursday following a review of police reports, lab reports and autopsy results. Police say Marcus Meridy was fatally shot Nov. 18 after firing at police. Meridy had …

Authorities say a 6-year-old girl has died following a three-vehicle crash on a snowy roadway in southern Michigan. State police say Harlyn Radley died after the crash Wednesday afternoon in Calhoun County’s Leroy Township, near Battle Creek. Investigators say a car driven by the child’s mother lost control and collided with another vehicle. A third vehicle then struck the wreckage. …

A lawyer has been appointed to represent a man accused of killing six people in Kalamazoo. Eusebio Solis is based in Battle Creek. He declined to comment when reached Wednesday by The Associated Press. Jason Dalton is charged with killing six people during random shootings Saturday in the Kalamazoo area. Two people are in the hospital. Solis is a former …

A residence in which nobody was home was heavily damaged by fire last week in Lockport Township. Three Rivers and Fabius-Park Township fire departments responded at 11:15 p.m. Friday to the 16000 block of Null Road after the blaze was reported by a passerby. First-arriving crews found the home engulfed in flames. Firefighters had the fire quickly under control and …

Here’s a reminder that St. Joseph County’s Parks and Recreation Department is staging a public-input session Thursday in Centreville. The agency is asking the public for input into the development of a master plan for a newly acquired piece of property on the St. Joseph River. Working in conjunction with the design firm Edgewater Resources of St. Joseph, the county …