Government

Police in Michigan are using an easy way to check whether a motor vehicle is properly insured. Starting last year, police got access to information on whether a vehicle is insured by running a license plate number through an in-car computer. State police 1st Lt. David Simon, commander of the Tri-City Post in Bay County’s Williams Township, says the update …

St. Joseph County deputies responded to a stolen vehicle complaint last weekend. The owner of the truck said a blue, 2000 Ford F-150 was parked in his driveway Saturday night and it was discovered stolen Sunday morning. The truck has front- and passenger-side damage from a prior crash. It has Michigan license plate CDJ4297. The truck was last seen in …

State Rep. Aaron Miller has announced passage of a budget to fund State Police operations by the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State Police. Miller, chairman of the subcommittee, said the panel reported a $612 million budget to fund the law-enforcement agency. Miller said the plan ensures the continuation of vital public-safety programs that have resulted in lowering crime rates in …

A new statewide poll is showing that Proposal 1, which is on the May ballot in Michigan, is in trouble. The survey was commissioned by the Lansing-based “MIRS” newsletter and conducted by Target Insyght. While pro-Prop 1 ads have been aired heavily for three weeks, 55-percent of likely Michigan voters remain opposed to it. And that figure rises to 65 percent after …

Police say the body of a missing Marine was recovered from the St. Joseph River in northern Indiana.  Thirty-three-year-old Jason Holland of Mishawaka initially was reported missing from his home last October.  Two Indiana Michigan Power employees conducting a routine inspection discovered his body Wednesday afternoon near the Twin Branch hydroelectric dam in Mishawaka.  A St. Joseph County coroner used …

State Rep. Aaron Miller announced this week that a state grant has been awarded to reconstruct a portion of Wade Street in Sturgis. Miller said the Michigan Department of Transportation has awarded a $259,000 Transportation Economic Development Fund grant for work on Wade Street from South Centerville Road to a location just east of Clark Street. The roadwork will accommodate …

Investigators from the St. Joseph County Area Narcotics unit on Wednesday executed a search warrant that led to the arrest of three people. According to a department media release, the incident took place in the 67000 block of Klinger Lake Road in White Pigeon Township. Investigators had received information about possible methamphetamine production and distribution from a residence. A search …

A 42-year-old Sturgis man was taken to a Kalamazoo hospital after he was found unconscious in a city street. Officers were called shortly before 9 p.m. Tuesday to the 300 block of North Clay Street regarding a motorcycle accident. The man was lying in the street with his motorcycle nearby. He was taken to Sturgis Hospital and subsequently to Bronson …

Once thought to be dead, legislation that would increase the speed limit to 80 miles per hour on some outstate rural freeway sections in Michigan is being resurrected in the state House. Representative Brad Jacobsen says I-69 between Flint and Lansing, areas north of the Saginaw/Bay City area and US-131 around Cadillac would seem logical for inclusion in the measure. But …

The Three Rivers Department of Public Services has announced details regarding its twice-a-year hydrant flushing. Residents should be advised that the process begins at 11 p.m. April 1, continuing from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. five nights a week through the end of May. The action will take place Sunday through Thursday nights. The department will begin in the Fourth …