Government

Remonumentation contract agreements with three different companies highlight the agenda for today’s St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners meeting. The contracts are likely to be signed with Mostrom and Associates, Car and Associates, and Keiser Land Surveying. Also on the agenda is the county’s annual equalization report. In addition, a Nottawa Park Campground attendant agreement with Denise Franklin, and an …

A federal appeals court has upheld a judge’s ruling that bars a central Michigan city from enforcing a bans on charity collection bins. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati on Monday upheld a Grand Rapids federal judge’s 2014 decision to issue a temporary restraining order against the city of St. Johns. The group Planet Aid sued the …

Sometimes fate taps you on the shoulder and you’re forced to make a split-second decision. For Muskegon County Sheriff’s Lt. Mark Burns, that moment came two weeks ago. “It was my turn and it was my time to take action,” Burns told The Muskegon Chronicle ( http://bit.ly/1F0OKVo ) talking about an incident involving a fellow law enforcement officer he’s credited …

Motorists passing through downtown Mendon have discovered work on a major infrastructure-improvement project has already started. The five-month, $4.1 million task began Monday last week. The Michigan Department of Transportation has routed traffic one-way through the village, resulting in a detour for westbound traffic on M-60. The 1.1-mile reconstruction, which runs the length of the village limits, has been on …

The February unemployment rate in St. Joseph County decreased by seven-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 4.5 percent February unemployment rate was less than January’s 5.2 percent. February’s unemployment rate was 2.3 percent less than the same month a year …

A 20-year-old Constantine man escaped injury last week after the vehicle he was driving went off the roadway and struck a tree in Sherman Township. Deputies from the St. Joseph County Sheriff Department were dispatched at 5 p.m. Wednesday to Balk Road, where they found Jason Gagliardo. He told police he was traveling north on Balk Road when he swerved …

Deputies from the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department responded last week to a breaking-and-entering incident in White Pigeon Township. Investigators were called to the 20000 block of Saunder Shores Road. The incident occurred within the past month, according to deputies.

Authorities in Lapeer County are seeking animal cruelty charges against a dog owner after his retriever was found with an arrow in the top of her head, according to the Detroit Free Press. The dog, named Gemma, was found Monday in North Branch by a construction worker. The arrow was lodged above her left eye and barely missed the dog’s …

A rural Burr Oak man died in a house fire Thursday evening on Middle Colon Road. The victim was identified as 45-year-old Terry Shears. Shears was found near a bedroom. A passerby reported the fire as flames were visible at the rear of the home. The preliminary cause of the blaze was careless smoking.

A fire that destroyed two barns in Kalamazoo County has left five young goats dead. Crews responded about 10 p.m. on Thursday to the fire near Schoolcraft and found smoke and flames spreading from one barn to the other one. No injuries to people were reported. The five goats that were housed in the barn died in the fire. The cause …