Government

April’s unemployment rate in St. Joseph County decreased by one-tenth of a percent from March. According to the monthly labor-market analysis by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget, St. Joseph County’s unemployment rate fell from 3.5 percent in March to 3.4 percent in April. The rate was 5.2 percent 12 months earlier. Meanwhile, Cass County also experienced a …

Cass County Sheriff Richard Behnke said deputies are investigating a case of animal cruelty at a location in Calvin Township. Behnke said deputies responded to the 6000 block of Kessington Road, where several horses and dogs were found shot to death. A number of separate incidents have occurred over the past six weeks, he said. The agency is being assisted …

The Michigan Supreme Court said Friday it wants more information from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer about her request to erase a state abortion ban from decades ago. The court wants five points addressed, including whether it needs to immediately get involved, especially after a judge at the Court of Claims this week froze the dormant law with an injunction. “We direct the governor to …

Both Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Republican-led Michigan Legislature proposed new plans to cut taxes Thursday but remained at odds over the scope and immediacy of any relief. Whitmer called for a one-time $500 election-year rebate for “working families,” adding to her earlier proposals to gradually repeal a tax on retirement income and fully restore a credit for lower-wage …

Americans should get used to “uncomfortable” postage rate increases in coming years as the U.S. Postal Service seeks to become self-sufficient, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said Thursday. The Postal Service Board of Governors sets postage rates, but DeJoy said he’ll advocate for raising prices until “we have accomplished our objective of projecting a trajectory that shows us being self-sustaining.” “I …

Michigan voters in November will decide whether to revise some of the country’s strictest legislative term limits and require state elected officials to report information about their finances to avoid conflicts of interest. The Legislature on Tuesday unveiled the proposed constitutional amendment and placed it on the statewide ballot within hours, with no debate or notice. The move saved a ballot committee …

A man has pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in a deadly shooting that sent shoppers fleeing for safety inside a northern Indiana shopping mall. Dazhon Howard’s guilty plea on Wednesday came after his March trial ended with a judge declaring a mistrial after jurors said they were deadlocked, the South Bend Tribune reported. Rather than potentially stand trial a second time, Howard, 23, agreed to plead …

A 5-year-old boy was in critical condition after being shot last weekend by a relative in what South Bend police are calling a “very tragic accident.” The shooting happened Saturday night in a home on the city’s west side. South Bend police said Monday that the boy was shot by a 9-year-old relative and was hospitalized in critical condition. The …

Over 55,000 more claimants won’t have to pay back unemployment overpayments totaling $431 million from the Michigan unemployment agency during the COVID-19 pandemic, the state announced Wednesday. The Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency has to date waived more than $4.3 billion of overpayments to residents, totaling 400,000 claimants who were improperly awarded pandemic unemployment benefits. Many were worried about having to …

A draft U.S. Supreme Court opinion that would overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision reverberated in political battleground Michigan, where a near-total abortion ban may take effect again after nearly 50 years and is unlikely to be changed by the Republican-led Legislature. There is increased attention in Michigan on the state courts, where Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Planned Parenthood — …