News

Nearly two dozen people in St. Joseph County decided a free ride home New Year’s Eve was an offer too good to pass up. St. Joseph County Transportation Authority Director Allen Balog said 22 people took advantage of the agency’s annual, no-questions-asked program. The 22 riders was two more than a year ago. The service was offered from 8 p.m. …

St. Joseph County officials have tweaked the start time of one of their monthly meetings. During their first assembly of 2023, St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners agreed Tuesday to shift from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. the start of their executive committee meeting. It will still be held the second Tuesday of the month in the History Room at …

As an acknowledgment of January being Radon Action Month, the Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency is offering free testing kits to its residents. Kits are available at each county office and agency officials are encouraging residents to test their homes for this environmental hazard. Radon gas in the outdoor atmosphere is not harmful to people. But when radon gas gets …

A western Michigan man was charged Wednesday with two counts of second-degree murder for allegedly firing an AR-15 rifle in celebration and killing two guests at his New Year’s party. Christopher Alan Toppenberg, 62, of Lawrence Township, also faces two gun charges. He is being held on a $1.5 million bond. It wasn’t clear whether Toppenberg has an attorney who might …

Community Mental Health is expanding its accessibility to care. The organization, which includes Substance Abuse Services of St. Joseph County, opened a new Three Rivers location on Tuesday. The new location, at 1020 Millard St., will be open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, said Cameron Bullock, CEO of the Centreville-based agency. CMH recently opened a new location …

Ken Malone will serve 2023 as chairman of the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners. During their first meeting of the year Tuesday, board members unanimously chose the Sturgis resident as head of the seven-member board. Malone, who has served four years on the county board, is a former mayor of Sturgis who spent more than 15 years on the …

The victim of an early Sunday morning fire has been identified. Travis Williams, age 53, died in the fire. The fire broke out around 1:30 a.m. Sunday at a sub-divided house on West West Street at North Street. The Sturgis Department of Public Safety said first-arriving firefighters noticed heavy smoke and flames in an upstairs apartment. Upon entry, fire officials …

A southwestern Michigan man was sentenced Tuesday to at least 12 1/2 years in prison after pleading guilty in the 2017 death of an infant he had been babysitting. A Kalamazoo County Circuit Court judge sentenced Bryant Rolland Jr., age 37, to 12 1/2 to 40 years in prison in the death of 11-month-old Jaceyon Downey. The Kalamazoo man had …

Authorities have identified two men who died after being shot when a man fired a gun in celebration during a fireworks display at a New Year’s part y in western Michigan. The Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office said Monday that the shooting killed David Reed, 35, of Waverly Township and Jason McCreary, 40, of Sutter Creek, California. Reed, who was shot in …

November’s unemployment rate in St. Joseph County decreased by three-tenths of a percent from October. Figures from the monthly labor-market analysis by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget show St. Joseph County’s unemployment rate fell from 4.3 percent in October to 4 percent in November. St. Joseph County’s November 2021 unemployment rate was 3.4 percent. In addition, Cass …