Government

State police are investigating the death of a Constantine man and have labeled the incident suspicious. County prosecutor John McDonough said investigators were called shortly after 7:30 p.m. Tuesday to a residence in Constantine Township regarding a 71-year-old man found dead. An autopsy was scheduled to be performed Wednesday morning. McDonough said no other details would be provided until the …

A body found Monday morning along Klinger Lake Road in Florence Township was determined to be a Hispanic man who died of a gunshot wound. St. Joseph County Prosecutor John McDonough said an autopsy determined the cause of death, making the situation a homicide case. The victim was killed by a small-caliber gunshot wound to the head, according to McDonough. …

Supporters of a proposed 17-field sports development in the Three Rivers area are expected to find out later this month whether St. Joseph County officials will consider sooner than later helping fund the purchase of a 40-acre parcel to support the potential complex. Jared Hoffmaster, representing the steering committee assembled to plan and promote the youth sports complex, told commissioners …

The Centreville Village Council has been investigating repair options for its police station because of water damage, including a leaking roof, standing water, collapsing ceiling tiles and crumbling bricks on the exterior of the building. Village president Keith Shears said the village does not have the funds to construct a new facility. The council is considering repair of the roof …

White Pigeon Township’s board of trustees Tuesday unanimously supported the establishment of a pet cemetery. Designated for the northwest corner of White Pigeon Township Cemetery on Vermont Avenue, the pet cemetery portion will have a capacity of 1,040 gravesites. Jean Tefft, township office coordinator, said the cemetery will be open to anyone, not just the pets of White Pigeon Township residents. …

St. Joseph County authorities continue to investigate the death of a man whose body was found along a road early Monday in Florence Township. St. Joseph County Sheriff’s deputies were called around 4 a.m. to Klinger Lake Road, just north of Mintdale Road, where deputies found the body of an unidentified man. Investigators remained at the scene until late morning …

Law-enforcement officials investigating the 2007 case involving the homicide of 11-year-old Jodi Parrack are pursuing a new avenue, thanks to a change in Michigan’s DNA collection law. A 65-year-old White Pigeon man, arrested in August for allegedly assaulting and restricting with a dangerous weapon a 10-year-old neighbor, is not considered a person of interest in the Parrack homicide, said Constantine …

State police have arrested a 52-year-old man in connection with the sexual assault of a 14-year-old boy at a southern Michigan cemetery. WOOD-TV and WXMI-TV report that the man and boy were in a van stopped about 2:30 a.m. Tuesday. The trooper learned during the traffic stop that the boy had been sexually assaulted at a cemetery in Coldwater. The …

Sturgis city commissioners recently voted to repeal Michigan’s Fireworks Safety Act, saying the 2011 law took away local government’s ability to regulate consumer fireworks. The law liberalized fireworks sales in the state and limited local governments’ oversight authority. Following the latest July 4 holiday, commissioners had complained about widespread use of loud pyrotechnics in Sturgis neighborhoods, claiming it created a …

The July unemployment rate in St. Joseph County increased by nine-tenths of a percent compared to a month earlier. The monthly labor-market analysis by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget showed St. Joseph County’s 5.6 percent July unemployment rate was higher than June’s 4.7 percent. July’s unemployment rate, however, was 1.5 percent less than the same month one …