Government

Teresa Doehring, St. Joseph County administrator, announced that Tuesday’s county commission meeting has been canceled. County officials are scheduled to not meet again until their March 11 executive committee meeting, followed by the next regularly scheduled county commission meeting March 17.

Michigan Republican congressman Fred Upton says he will seek re-election to his Sixth Congressional District seat. In announcing his re-election bid, Upton says there is “unfinished” business that has to be completed, including fighting the opioid epidemic and immigration reform. The 66-year-old Upton Upton was being watched closely as a potential House retiree as Republicans struggle to try regaining the …

A group has launched a ballot drive to replace Michigan’s flat personal income tax with a graduated system. Supporters say the proposed constitutional amendment would cut taxes for more than 90% of residents and raise them on higher earners. The 4.25% income tax would have to be reduced for individuals making $175,000 or less — $350,000 for joint filers. The …

State police are investigating the theft of a campaign sign. The sign, promoting sheriff candidate Gordon Evilsizor, was stolen between Feb. 16 and this past Saturday. The sign was posted on the south side of U.S. 12, just west of Mann Road in Mottville Township, according to investigators.

No injuries were reported after a semi tractor-trailer caught fire last week on a highway in Branch County. Michigan State Police troopers were dispatched at 4:40 a.m. Friday to a report of a Fed Ex truck on fire in the northbound lane of Interstate 69 near the weigh station in Ovid Twp. The semi, a double trailer, was transporting nitric …

A Michigan legislator has introduced a bill that, if eventually passed and signed, would prohibit the declawing of cats unless it is for a clear medical or therapeutic reason. The Detroit News reported Friday that House Bill No. 5508 could make Michigan the second state to ban declawing cats, following New York. State Rep. Nate Shannon, a Sterling Heights Democrat, …

A proposal to ban drivers from using handheld cellphones on Indiana roads is advancing in the state Legislature. A state Senate committee voted 8-1 Tuesday to endorse the bill that only permits cellphone use with hands-free or voice-operated technology, except in emergencies. Tina Smith of Indianapolis testified from a wheelchair about how she and her husband had stopped their motorcycle …

A motorist has been killed in northwestern Indiana after a car was struck by a stolen SUV whose driver was fleeing police. State police say a trooper attempted to pull over the SUV about 7:30 p.m. Friday after seeing it travel about 99 mph near the Elkhart and St. Joseph county line. Other officers joined the pursuit and as they …

Democrats are putting Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on the national stage Tuesday to rebut President Donald Trump’s State of the Union message. By elevating a fresh face and casting an election-year spotlight on the Midwest, the party looks to win back states Trump narrowly captured. The 48-year-old’s ascendance comes as Democrats hope to solidify gains with female voters and as …

A northern Indiana woman who pleaded guilty for her role in a hit-and-run crash that killed three people has been returned to jail after violating probation. Forty-three-year-old Penelope Grosswiler pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice for hiding evidence related to the August 2017 crash, in which a vehicle driven by her husband, Leonard Grosswiler, struck and killed a man and …