Government

Three children were injured in a two-vehicle accident over the weekend in Florence Township. The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department said 43-year-old Melissa Sandker of Constantine was driving north on Lutz Road when her vehicle crossed over the center line and struck a southbound van driven by Jennifer Nusbaum-Suits, 41, of Constantine. The incident occurred shortly before 11 a.m. Saturday. …

Sturgis officials announced the city flag will be lowered in honor of Sue Bir’s service to the community. Bir, 56, died Wednesday at the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor. She was elected Precinct 2 commissioner in November 1989, and also served as vice mayor in 1996. City officials believe she was the first woman to preside over a …

A former St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department corrections officer pled guilty Wednesday to two counts of larceny. Stephen Morris, a 39-year-old Fulton resident, pled guilty in Van Buren County Circuit Court. He was arrested following a Jan. 9 incident during which he stole prescription drugs, investigators said. A 12-year veteran of the sheriff’s department, Morris will be sentenced April 8.

A 3-year-old boy was taken from a Sturgis residence Wednesday morning after his parents were arrested for drug-related offenses. According to a Sturgis Police Department media release, Children Protection Services officials were at a Cato Lane Apartment complex unit when they noticed two crack pipes on a bedroom end table. Police were called and upon further investigation, methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia …

A 52-year-old man from Canada was arrested in Lockport Township last week on a federal warrant. Anthony Sove  was arrested by the St. Joseph County Special Response Team at 7 a.m. March 1 at a residence in the 57000 block of Haines Road, according to authorities. Sove was deported after having been convicted of an aggravated felony offense, but illegally …

A police investigation that spanned several weeks culminated early Wednesday with the arrest of six people on charges related to methamphetamine. The St. Joseph County Area Narcotics unit executed a search warrant in the 400 block of Center Street in Sturgis and arrested four male suspects and two females. Their names, ages and places of residence were not stated in …

White Pigeon village officials declined to accept a bid on the community’s former municipal office and property. Instead of accepting the $12,500 offer from Joe Winkfine during a special meeting Tuesday, village council members decided to start a new round of sealed bidding. A deadline of 4 p.m. Thursday next week was set. Those opposed to Winkfine’s bid said they …

Here’s a reminder that the St. Joseph County MSU Extension is inviting elected officials and area farmers to an overnight agriculture and water tour of Central Wisconsin. Jon Zirkle, MSU Extension program director, said the tour offers stops at several locations to view vegetable, field crop and cranberry farms in an irrigated, sandy part of Wisconsin around Stevens Point. In …

The next step for a campaign to promote St. Joseph County as a retirement destination for the Chicago-area market will take place at the end of the month. Members of the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners agreed Tuesday to meet at 3 p.m. March 26 in a work session that will include the marketing firm 2 Fish Company. Holland-based …

A report of domestic violence led to the arrest of four men who were found to have an active methamphetamine lab inside their vehicle earlier this week in Sturgis. Police were called around 10:30 p.m. Sunday to a disturbance and subsequently stopped a vehicle at Lakeview Avenue and Myrtle Street to question one of its passengers. Officers recognized one of …