Government

A Three Rivers resident will succeed Aaron Miller as 59th District State Representative. Republican Steve Carra topped Democratic challenger Amy East and write-in candidate Jack Coleman. Carra captured about two-thirds of the 27,000 votes cast in St. Joseph County for the two-year term.

A former Three Rivers City Commission member will represent the municipality and two adjacent townships as St. Joseph County District 1 commissioner. Jared Hoffmaster comfortably held off Andrew George to claim the two-year seat. The position, which is being vacated by Allen Balog, also includes representation of Flowerfield and Lockport townships. Hoffmaster collected about 1,400 more votes than George. No-party-affiliation …

Three positions in two townships featured contested races. In Mendon Township, longtime incumbent Mike Kline defeated challenger Gregory Allen in a race for supervisor. Kline won by a margin of 68 percent to 31 percent and will serve four additional years as Mendon Township’s supervisor. In Lockport Township, Christy Trammell captured nearly 59 percent of the vote for township clerk. …

Three Rivers Community Schools chose four people from a field of six candidates to its board of education. Newcomers Melissa Bliss and Ben Karle will join incumbents Julia Awe and Anne Riopel to six-year terms on the board. Meanwhile, incumbent Fred Barclay was unsuccessful in his bid for re-election to White Pigeon Community Schools Board of Education. Instead, Jeff Baechler …

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer warned Wednesday that Michigan has more confirmed daily cases of the coronavirus than ever, noting a sharp increase since the state Supreme Court invalidated her sweeping orders earlier this month. The number of COVID-19 cases had been gradually rising for months prior to the Oct. 2 ruling, from a seven-day average of 119 in June to 984 — …

Unemployed Michiganders can get an extra six weeks of benefits under a bipartisan bill Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed into law Tuesday. Whitmer signed Senate Bills 886 and 991 codifying part of her now-void executive orders expanding unemployment benefits to Michiganders from 20 to 26 weeks until the end of the year. The Michigan Supreme Court on Oct. 2 ruled the 1945 law from which …

A Sturgis man died from multiple gunshot wounds following an incident Friday in Sturgis. Police said officers were called around 5:30 p.m. to a residence in the 500 block of North Prospect Street in response to a shooting. According to authorities, officers found a 33-year-old man who had suffered multiple gunshot wounds. He was taken to Sturgis Hospital, where he …

A 1945 law repeatedly used by Gov. Gretcher Whitmer to respond to the coronavirus pandemic was declared unconstitutional Friday by the Michigan Supreme Court, a striking decision that puts months of restrictions in jeopardy while COVID-19 continues to flare up around the state. The opinion is an extraordinary development in a monthslong conflict between Whitmer, a Democrat, and Republicans who …

A Kalamazoo pastor who has criticized police over their handling of protests has lost his seat on a community police review board. Members of the Citizens Public Safety Review and Appeal Board must be “impartial and perform their duties without bias,” City Manager Jim Ritsema said. The Rev. Nathan Dannison’s service won’t be extended when his term ends next week. …

St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners plans to hold an in-person commission meeting next month. During their executive committee meeting earlier this week, county administrator Teresa Doehring and commissioners targeted Oct. 6 as their first in-person board meeting since Feb. 18. Doerhing said the spacious commissioners’ room would allow up to 35 people to attend while still safely observe social …