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Authorities say a motorcyclist struck a deer in southwestern Michigan, causing a crash that killed the rider as well as another motorist. The crash happened early Tuesday in Cooper Township, near Kalamazoo. Authorities at the scene in Kalamazoo County say the motorcyclist, Theobald Metzer, 55, of Kalamazoo, was thrown from the bike and hit by the other motorist, who then …

Officials from Centreville Public Schools are staging the second of four community-forum sessions regarding a November millage proposal request. Tonight’s event starts at 7 p.m. at Centreville Elementary School, where Superintendent Rob Kuhlman will lead a Power Point presentation, and school board and committee members from “Our Kids First” will be on hand to field questions. The district is hoping …

A boa constrictor and an aquarium to house it were stolen during the breaking-and-entering of a business over the weekend in Sturgis. The back door of a business in the 1100 block of South Centerville Road was pried open between 9 p.m. Saturday and 7:45 a.m. Sunday, allowing access to the store. Sturgis Police said the Colombian Red-Tailed constrictor was …

The official attendance count for the 2013 St. Joseph County Grange Fair was 140,547 patrons. The numbers, released Monday by fair director Bill Johnson, were just a few hundred shy of the 2012 attendance figure. Johnson said weather played a role in attendance not only at the grandstand and its nightly entertainment, but the fair overall. He said Saturday’s ideal …

Three dirt bikes were stolen from a storage shed last month in Constantine Township. State police investigators were called Friday to the 11000 block of Riverside Drive, where the Suzuki, Honda and Yamaha motorcycles were stolen, likely between Aug. 6 and 27. An extended-cab Chevrolet pickup towing a black trailer was spotted in the area and is suspected of being …

State police were involved in a pursuit of an alleged intoxicated driver Monday afternoon shortly after 3pm. The pursuit wound along county roads in Fabius Township and the city of Three Rivers. As the driver approached a densely populated area, the Precision Immobilization Technique maneuver was successfully deployed, and the 23-year-old Three Rivers man was taken into custody.

Western Michigan University has temporarily suspended a fraternity following a shooting at a house party near campus that left one person wounded. Police responded early Sunday to the shooting in Kalamazoo at the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity house. The school said in a statement Monday the suspension comes while it awaits an official police report. The Associated Press sent a …

A lumber and building materials supplier is planning to open a new distribution center in northern Indiana and potentially hire about 70 people in the next couple years. Zeeland Lumber Operations says it will spend nearly $1.6 million to buy and equip a facility in Elkhart. The Zeeland, Mich.-based company says that site will allow an expansion of its business …

The 163rd St. Joseph County Grange Fair is in the books, and organizers of the annual event said they expect attendance to be slightly down from 2012. Bill Younts, president of the fair board, said periods of rain during portions of three days of the seven-day fair may have kept prospective guests at bay. A shower Friday evening, he said, …

A 53-year-old Constantine man was arrested last week after he was found in possession of a stolen vehicle in Constantine Township. The man was arrested around 1:45 a.m. Friday near the intersection of Riverside Drive and Dickinson Road, where he was caught following a brief foot chase. The man had not only allegedly stolen the vehicle earlier in the night, …