Government

State police troopers are investigating a hit-and-run accident that involved a vehicle and a horse-drawn buggy in Branch County. The incident occurred at 10 p.m. Wednesday on Hamman Road near State Line Road in California Township. Investigators said a black passenger car traveling north on Hamman Road crossed the center line and struck a southbound buggy head on. The buggy …

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has signed legislation to forgive Michigan schools from rescheduling up to four snow days that occurred during an artic deep freeze in which she declared a state of emergency. The law will let schools not count the Jan. 29-Feb. 1 period toward a cap on snow days. State law forgives districts from making up six days that …

Investigation into the shooting death of a 51-year-old woman in Fawn River Township is continuing, though few details are available from authorities. Pauline Randol was the victim. Her 9-year-old adopted son was allegedly responsible for the shooting, killing her after he fired a rifle at her. Court records show the boy was charged with one count of open murder and …

Two Sturgis-area residents were added to the St. Joseph County Commission on Aging board. By unanimous vote at Tuesday’s county commission meeting, the citizen-interest forms submitted by Lee Austermann and George Letts were approved.

Michigan voters are free to take a picture of their ballot before they leave a voting booth. Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson has settled a 2016 lawsuit that challenged a ban on so-called ballot selfies. The ban on displaying completed ballots has been around since 1891. Benson’s office and Joel Crookston, a voter in the Kalamazoo area, reached a deal …

Michigan’s Board of Education has selected Kalamazoo Public Schools Superintendent Michael Rice to be the next state superintendent. The board voted 5-3 for Rice on Tuesday after conducting final interviews with three candidates. Once a contract is signed, he will lead the state Department of Education, starting in July and making $216,000 a year. Board members say they liked Rice’s …

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is threatening to veto Senate-passed auto insurance legislation if it gets to her desk in its current form. The Democrat said Tuesday the bill headed toward the House “creates more problems than it solves.” The Senate earlier Tuesday approved a bill that would eliminate Michigan’s unique system requiring drivers to buy unlimited medical coverage for crash …

The St. Joseph Sheriff’s Department is investigating a shooting that occurred Monday in the 68000 block of Plumb School Road in Fawn River Township. Because the matter is an ongoing investigation, authorities are not releasing additional information.

Two major routes in Cass and Van Buren counties will be partially closed through the end of the month as Michigan Department of Transportation crews work on repaving. MDOT’s Nick Schirripa said the project started Monday and involves seven miles of M-40 and M-51, including M-40 from Marcellus Highway north to the Cass/Van Buren county line, and on M-51 from …

Here’s an update on the U.S. 131 project that started Monday in Three Rivers. Through the end of the week, northbound and southbound traffic will see single-lane closures and construction will begin on the existing median curb lane islands. These will be removed and replaced with temporary paving. Signal work will begin at M-60 and U.S. 131, while tree removal …