Government

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 …

Cass County Prosecutor Victor Fitz has charged Kurt DeYoung, 46, with two counts of home invasion and two counts of larceny in a building. The charges were issued Wednesday after the Cass County Prosecutor’s Office received a warrant request late in the afternoon the day before. The charges are based on an incident that occurred earlier this month at Diamond …

The city of Sturgis recorded an 8.1 percent gain in its overall financial position last fiscal year, posting a worth of just over $71 million at the end of the 2014 fiscal year, according to a recent independent audit. The audit, presented to the Sturgis City Commission last week, showed the city collected about $16.5 million in governmental operating revenue …

Colon Elementary School teachers Adam and Kylie Bowen won the second annual Dancing With the St. Joseph County Stars competition Friday at Three Rivers High School. Sponsored by the St. Joseph County Council for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect, the event featured five couples. The Bowens – Adam teaches fifth- and sixth-grade science and Kylie is a kindergarten …

A Cassopolis man was killed in a pedestrian traffic accident 3 miles south of Jones early Sunday at 1:20am. The Cass County Sheriff’s Department says 25-year-old Duke Gowens was walking in the northbound lane of M-40, just north of Withers Street in Newberg Township, when he was struck by an unknown vehicle traveling north. Gowens was pronounced dead at the …