Government

Members of the Sturgis City Commission earlier this month gave approval to accommodations for an expanded Sturgis Fest lineup, slated for the last full week of June. Added to this year’s events are a car exhibition on U.S. 12 and a dog show in Franks Park. Cathi Abbs, executive director of Sturgis Area Chamber of Commerce, indicated another surprise is …

A western Michigan man will spend the rest of his life in prison in the slaying of his 2-year-old son. WOOD-TV and the Kalamazoo Gazette report that 41-year-old Brian Roberts of Kalamazoo was sentenced Monday. He was convicted earlier this month of first-degree murder and child abuse in the death of Nehemiah Dodd. Kalamazoo officers found Nehemiah unconscious Dec. 31, …

Investigators from the St. Joseph County Area Narcotics unit executed a search warrant Monday in the village of Colon. While conducting parole- and probation-compliance checks with agents of the Michigan Department of Corrections, SCAN officers obtained probable cause for a search warrant on a residence in the 400 block of Burr Oak Road. After the execution of the search warrant, …

Members of the Community Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Board of St. Joseph County voted Tuesday to separate the agency from the Federally Qualified Health Center. The health center, located under the same roof as CMHSAS in Centreville, operates on a $1.4 million budget, with $831,000 of its annual funding coming from the federal agency Health Resources Services Administration. …

Speed was a factor in a single-vehicle accident that resulted in injuries to four people Monday in Lockport Township. Members of the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department said the incident occurred shortly before 7 o’clock Monday night on Schweitzer Road, west of Holtom Road. Investigators said a Pontiac passenger car driven by an 18-year-old Sturgis woman was westbound on Schweitzer …

Investigators from the Cass County Sheriff’s Department have identified the driver and vehicle involved in a fatal hit-and-run incident over the weekend. Sheriff Joe Underwood said evidence and witness statements have helped with the investigation into the death of 25-year-old Duke Gowens of Cassopolis. He was struck by a northbound car at 1:20 a.m. Sunday on M-40, north of Withers …

A planning, assessment and feasibility study related to a proposed addition to the county courts building in Centreville was approved last week. County commissioners agreed to the $72,500 cost to tap the expertise of the National Center for State Courts. The Denver-based agency will spend the next six months analyzing the county’s needs in advance of what will potentially be …

St. Joseph County officials last week approved a measure that will ultimately lead to a water and sewer infrastructure at a county park in Fawn River Township. Commissioners agreed to fund a $160,000 plan that will upgrade the services to Cade Lake Park and Campground, thanks to an existing line servicing the village of Burr Oak. County administrator Pat Yoder …

A Sturgis woman accused of stabbing her sister in October 2014 pleaded no contest last week. Erica Gosnell will be sentenced Friday. As part of an agreement, Gosnell pleaded no contest to assault with intent to murder. The St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s intern dismissed all other charges connected with the assault, along with a separate assault charge. The prosecutor’s office …

The March unemployment rate in St. Joseph County increased by one-tenth 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 4.6 percent March unemployment rate was more than February’s 4.5 percent. March’s unemployment rate, however, was 2 percent less than the same month one …