Government

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 …

A Kalamazoo man has been convicted of killing his 2-year-old son. A Kalamazoo County Circuit Court jury on Thursday found 41-year old Brian Roberts guilty of felony murder, second-degree murder and first-degree child abuse. Nehemiah Dodd was unconscious on December 31, 2013. The toddler died at the hospital two days later. Roberts had claimed his son was hurt after he fell down some …

St. Joseph County could be just a few months from having its first dog park. Members of the St. Joseph County Parks and Recreation Board this week gave its endorsement to the concept, explained Wednesday by parks and recreation director Jaymes MacDonald. The proposed 4 1/2-acre park would be developed at the 150-acre Meyer Broadway Park in Fabius Township. MacDonald …

Sturgis Township trustees have agreed to join a consortium of townships from at least four southwest Michigan counties to establish a central building code information library that will have its headquarters in Mottville Township. The idea of establishing a regional code library began recently when an existing law began to be enforced. The law requires governmental units with building-code authority …