News

A Three Rivers institution for more than a century is closing this week. The Three Rivers Commercial-News announced it will cease operations and its final edition will be published on Saturday. Quoted in today’s edition, owner Dirk Milliman said the closure was announced to staff Tuesday. He said the culprit is lack of revenue due to a shrinking advertiser base. …

St. Joseph County Probate and family-law division has issued a call-out for families to consider foster care children as court-appointed special advocates in 2023. Judge David Tomlinson said new CASA training will begin in January. CASA of Southwest Michigan serves Berrien and St. Joseph counties. It started up just before the COVID-19 lockdowns in March 2020. Since then, 15 have …

Here’s a reminder that the Sturgis Salvation Army is looking for volunteers to help with its Christmas toy program. Help is needed setting up toys from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 21; shoppers are needed 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 22; and volunteers to assist families with shopping 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Dec. 23. Potential volunteers are …

White Pigeon Township Library wishes to remind the public that it is still distributing COVID-19 home tests free of charge. Anyone interested in a kit is welcome to stop by the library. The kits are available to anyone, whether they are a White Pigeon resident or library-card holder. In an unrelated statement, director Perri Saunders said the library is planning Camp …

Pfizer announced a $750 million project Monday toward expanding capacity at the western Michigan pharmaceutical plant where the company first mass produced its COVID-19 vaccine. Company officials said the project will boost the plant’s manufacturing of sterile injectable medications and could lead to 300 new jobs at the Portage plant near Kalamazoo that now has about 3,000 workers. Pfizer executive David …

Centreville Public Schools is inching closer to whether it will turn to voters regarding a potential millage-renewal request. Superintendent Chad Brady said he expects a decision on the matter to be yielded at the board of education’s Dec. 12 meeting. Brady said the district has cast a wide-reaching net in an effort to secure valid input. Besides staff and student …

Sturgis city officials have decided to delay action on whether to use a search firm to help them find city manager candidates. Last week’s shift came after the commission conducted two executive-search-firm interviews Nov. 30. Amy Cell LLC and Walsh Municipal Services were selected by the commission earlier in the month for consideration in guiding the city to replace Mike …

Constantine Village Council members have approved a Michigan Spark Grant application in hopes of developing a splash pad. Administered by the Department of Natural Resources, Michigan Spark Grants support public recreational facilities. The village’s Downtown Development Association has pledged $25,000 toward constructing the splash pad. Its estimated cost is $225,000. It would be constructed by Vortex Aquatic Structures. The proposed …

Western Michigan University alerted students to use caution Sunday following a shooting near the campus. The university issued an advisory around 4:45 a.m. to exercise caution in the area shortly after the shooting. Police found a 28-year-old Lansing resident with a gunshot wound to a shoulder after responding to a 4:20 a.m. report of shots fired. Police said the wound …

Wayfinding signs, a block-long social district, in-ground planting strips, rooftop gardens and brightly painted crosswalks were just a few of several ideas presented Tuesday to potentially enhance Colon’s image. The third of a three-part series centering on efforts to make Colon a destination community took place Tuesday at the American Legion. The 90-minute program was led by Michigan State University’s …