News

Baby-formula manufacturer Abbott Nutrition has announced plans to expand operations at its Sturgis plant. Sturgis municipal officials recently approved a site plan for the 35,000-square-foot expansion. Abbott’s Sturgis plant is on North Centerville Road and the expansion will add to the facility’s warehouse building, a 1,060-square-foot water-treatment room and a boiler/compressor requiring in excess of 12,000-square-feet in space. Circulation improvements …

The leaders in five of St. Joseph County’s nine public schools are starting their first year as superintendents. Most districts started this week and first-year leaders are: Shelly McBride in White Pigeon; Joseph Holloway in Constantine; Rachel Kowalski in Colon; Chad Brady in Centreville; and Nikki Nash in Three Rivers. Brady and Nash served as interim superintendent in their respective …

Constantine Village Manager Mark Honeysett has been directed to take bids on demolition of the Clare Hoffman house, which is owned by the village. Located at 270 E. Water St., the house requires rehabilitation at a cost of more than $200,000, and probably considerably more to meet ADA standards, Honeysett said. The village received $221,000 in American Rescue Plan Acts …

Jeff Bailey has joined our executive management team and will be assuming the role of Vice President of Commercial Operations. Jeff has over 32 years of insurance experience in sales, underwriting, risk management, and adjusting. He has both the Certified Insurance Counselor and Commercial Risk Manager designations. Ben Harrison (currently President of our affiliate Noecker-Sullivan Insurance) will be assuming the …

Three positions were filled following action by the Centreville Board of Education earlier this week. During its monthly meeting Monday, the board approved the employment of kindergarten teacher Betsy Breitenbach; elementary music teacher Lynne Weaver; and Kayla Herman, who will work at the county jail. Superintendent Chad Brady said Weaver’s employment marks the first time in several years that each …

The Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency will be relocating its COVID-19 testing site from Centreville to Sturgis. The change in locations is effective today. Agency officials said the St. Joseph County Community Mental Health and Substance Abuse location will not be hosting testing sites. Instead, testing opportunities will take place at its Sturgis location, 1555 E. Chicago Road. The health …

An armed gunman robbed the Meijer gas station in Coldwater last week. Coldwater police officials said the incident occurred shortly after 10 p.m. Aug. 24 at 610 E. Chicago Road. Investigators said a man entered the store, displayed a handgun and demanded money. The clerk complied and the man fled on foot from the location and in possession of an …

Centreville Public Schools officials approved nearly $200,000 in purchases during the district’s board of education meeting Monday. The district has allocated remaining bond money, general-budget funds and Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds to cover the expenses. In the category of safety and security, the district approved a districtwide video-surveillance system, shelter shutters to cover door-side windows in the …

Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency has received from Michigan Department of Health and Human Services’ Bureau of Laboratories the final testing results of water samples taken from Round Lake on August 12. Results confirm a microcystin level slightly higher than the Environmental Protection Agency’s recommended level for recreational activity. Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency, in consultation with Michigan Department of …

A jury on Tuesday convicted two men of conspiring to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2020, a swift victory for prosecutors in a foiled plot that was described as a rallying cry for a U.S. civil war by anti-government extremists. Adam Fox and Barry Croft Jr. were also found guilty of conspiring to obtain a weapon of mass destruction, namely a …