Government

A bicyclist was struck by a car earlier this week in Cass County’s Newberg Township. Sheriff Richard Behnke said deputies were called shortly after 6:30 p.m. Sunday to M-40 near Hoffman Street. Behnke said a car driven north on M-40 crested a hill and struck a bicycle ridden by David Hutchins, age 57, of Jones. Hutchins was transported to Three …

A plan introduced by state Rep. Aaron Miller, and signed into law in October updating and clarifying Michigan counseling practices, took effect this week. Updates were needed because the state Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs proposed a rule that would have precluded many licensed professional counselors from using counseling techniques and psychotherapy to treat patients. LPCs are invaluable to …

The Michigan Senate has voted to require that a study be done to assess the feasibility of tolls along the state’s highways. The bill was sent Tuesday to the House for future consideration. It’s among several road funding-related measures that cleared the Republican-led Senate. Democrats voted against bills they said would seek to shift funds so higher union-level wages would …

Sheriff Brad Balk reports that deputies on Tuesday at approximately 7pm, responded to the intersection of US-131 and Riverside Drive in Constantine Township for a two vehicle crash. Two females ages 27 and 31, accompanied by a 36-year-old male all from Elkhart, turned southbound on a northbound lane on US-131 from Riverside Drive. The vehicle turned into oncoming traffic, colliding …

A 102-year-old man who is Indiana’s oldest state employee is retiring after nearly six decades on the job, saying that “your body tells you when it’s time to go.” Bob Vollmer plans to report to work for the last time Feb. 6 as a surveyor for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. He joined the DNR in 1962. The World …

Michigan would lift its ban on stun guns under legislation advanced by lawmakers. The bill would allow the sale, possession and “reasonable use” of a stun device by those 18 and older. Michigan currently allows law enforcement and people with a concealed pistol license to use a Taser, which is a different type of self-defense device than a stun gun. …

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and safety advocates want to combat distracted driving by restricting the use of cellphones, though pending legislation does not go as far as what she proposed nearly a year ago. The bill would prohibit motorists under 18 from using a phone while operating a vehicle, except in emergencies. Adults, however, would be exempt from the ban that …

A Constantine man was injured Tuesday afternoon in a traffic accident on Business Route US-131 at the intersection of Zerbe Road. The victim, 58-year-old William Clewell, collided with a semi, and was entrapped in his vehicle. Clewell was taken to Bronson Methodist Hospital for treatment. The driver of the semi, Carl Manley, age 58, of Cedar Lake, Indiana, was uninjured.

The Michigan Lottery has raised more than $1 billion for public schools for the first time. The lottery announced Wednesday that it contributed more than $1 billion to the school aid fund in the last fiscal year. That’s a $129 million boost over the prior year. It’s the largest one-year increase in the lottery’s 47-year history and the fifth straight …

About 300,000 hens have died in a barn fire at a southwestern Michigan poultry farm. WWMT-TV reports that the blaze started about 11 a.m. Friday at the Otsego Township farm. The barn was destroyed. Konos Inc. spokesman Brian Burch tells the television station that about 50 people work at the cage-free farm. About 250,000 hens in a second barn were …