News

The second annual Sturgis Fest community celebration was a success, despite weather impacting the event’s most popular attraction. Saturday’s scheduled fireworks show was postponed until Sunday due to rain. Otherwise, activities such as bike night, an old-car show, family-fun night and several other community-oriented events took place with enthusiastic public support. The county’s next community festival is White Pigeon Days, …

Glen Oaks Community College officials voted to accept the retirement of president Gary Wheeler effective June 30, 2014. The date is one year earlier than Wheeler’s originally planned final day as GOCC president. Wheeler, who joined the Centreville-area junior college in 2008, voluntarily moved his retirement date 12 months sooner. The offer was affirmed by board members during a special …

Cass County Sheriff’s officials investigated an accidental shooting Wednesday night in Calvin Township. Sheriff Joe Underwood Jr. said 17-year-old Christopher Burnham of Cassopolis was shot in the abdomen after a .22-caliber rifle was accidentally discharged by his 20-year-old cousin, Jeremy Faye, of Cassopolis. Faye told investigators he was checking the rifle to ensure it was clear of ammunition and the …

A Sturgis man and a Three Rivers resident were charged with methamphetamine-related offenses after they were stopped Wednesday in Three Rivers. Police said the men were observed entering businesses and purchasing items typically used in the production of meth. Their vehicle was pulled over and searched. Troopers from the Michigan State Police discovered in the back of the truck a …

Authorities say an unlicensed teenage driver failed to yield at a stop sign in southwestern Michigan, causing a crash that killed another motorist. The Cass County sheriff’s department says the crash happened Wednesday afternoon in LaGrange Township. The department says the vehicle driven by the 15-year-old girl from Eau Claire collided with one driven by 40-year-old Adam Koppy of the …

Authorities say a 20-year-old man accidentally shot his 17-year-old cousin in southwestern Michigan while checking a rifle to make sure it was unloaded. The Cass County sheriff’s department says the boy was listed in stable condition after being shot in the abdomen on Wednesday night in Calvin Township. The man told investigators that he thought the gun was clear of …

A Kalamazoo man is facing felony charges after walking into three separate banks and demanding $1  billion and two cents.  Police say 24-year-old Lemont Pierce is charged with three counts of bank robbery. Mlive.com reports Pierce entered a First National Bank in Kalamazoo Monday and told the teller that he wanted a billion dollars. When the teller responded saying “I …

A St. Joseph County agency had to return more than $200,000 it was given by a fellow department earlier this year. Members of the Community Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services of St. Joseph County were told during their monthly meeting Tuesday that more than $211,000 it was issued in April by the Oakland County Community Mental Health Authority would …

A Howe, Ind., woman sought medical treatment at a Kalamazoo hospital after she was involved in a two-vehicle accident Monday in Fawn River Township. State police said the woman was a passenger in a vehicle driven north on Big Hill Road by her husband, 30-year-old Matthew Case. Case failed to stop at Fawn River Road and struck a westbound vehicle …

A Nautilus marine battery was stolen from a pontoon boat between June 3 and 23 at Portage Lake in Mendon Township. The victim told sheriff’s officials the pontoon was partially pulled up on shore and it appears the suspect unhooked boat wiring from the battery. Value of the battery was estimated at about $100.