Government

The city of Sturgis will have a fleet of five new vehicles, following action taken recently by members of the city commission. The new vehicles and departments to which they will be assigned are a Ford Focus for the electric department; two Dodge Charger vehicles for the police department; a pickup for the wastewater department and a mower to be …

Four firearms-related charges have been filed against a Flowerfield Township woman who allegedly shot her husband in the upper torso Monday night. St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department officials said Connie Tolbert, 54, was taken into custody after she allegedly shot her husband, 52-year-old Darryl Tolbert, at their residence. He is the pastor at Bethel Baptist Church in Three Rivers. His …

Sturgis municipal officials have made two minor changes in order to more equally balance populations in its four city precincts. Prior to action the city took last week, the difference between the most and least populated precincts was about 400 people. The discrepancy was between Sturgis’ first and second precincts. Commissioners agreed to redistrict two blocks from Precinct 1 to …

Sturgis attorney Andrew Rogness has announced his candidacy for St. Joseph County District Court judge. The position will be vacated a year from now by current seat holder William Welty. Rogness said he has filed necessary paperwork with the Michigan Bureau of Elections. He previously served as a judge pro-tem in LaGrange County, Ind. Rogness is a graduate of Michigan …

A pedestrian was killed in a traffic accident in Sturgis early Tuesday evening. When police arrived on scene in the 1100 block of North Nottawa Street, they found the victim, 64-year-old Gary Kryzaniak, lying unresponsive in the roadway. Witnesses were unable to revive the victim, who was pronounced dead at the scene. Further details are pending.

Organizers of last week’s Firefighters for Santa program in Three Rivers called the gift- and food-distribution event a success. Over a five-hour period Friday, members of the Three Rivers Fire Department for the fourth year in a row delivered food and gifts to area families in need. This year, 50 families received food donations and children of the household received …

A toy- and food-collection effort led by the Michigan State Police at White Pigeon netted about 1,100 food items and nearly 1,050 toys. Det.-Sgt. Todd Petersen said a one-day collection effort at Wal-Mart stores in Three Rivers and Sturgis Dec. 3 helped off-duty state police personnel collect an ample quantity of items stuffed inside a State Police patrol car. For …

An unidentified Flowerfield Township man was injured in a shooting incident Monday evening at a home on Johnson Road, north of Three Rivers. The 52-year-old man was taken to Borgess Medical Center for treatment. He was reportedly shot in the upper torso with a small-caliber handgun. The man’s wife was taken into custody as the investigation continues.

Cindy Underwood has been named director of the Department of Human Services for St. Joseph and Cass counties. The move fills a spot created after her predecessor, Chris Kadulski, retired a year ago. Underwood had been serving the post in the capacity of interim director following Kadulski’s departure. Underwood is in charge of a staff of about 125 people between …

An investigation into a Dec. 10 fire at Walnut Meadows apartments in Three Rivers found that either a short or faulty wiring of a ceiling vent fan in a third-floor bathroom was responsible for starting the blaze. Three Rivers Fire Chief Dan Tomlinson said smoke detectors in the unit where the fire started had been removed. Even so, the 21-year-old …