News

Free fresh food distributions

Here’s a rundown of the nine remaining Fresh Food Distribution events in May. The next will take place at 4 p.m. Tuesday at Seventh-Day Adventist Church, east of Centreville on M-86. Then, First Presbyterian Church on Lakeview Avenue in Sturgis will host a distribution. It will take place at 4 o’clock Thursday. Three distributions will occur on May 19. The …

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Items stolen in Branch County

Michigan State Police troopers were dispatched to a Branch County location in response to a report of larceny. Troopers responded to the 1000 block of Colon Road in Matteson Township. The larceny is believed to have taken place between Feb. 1 and April 10. Items stolen include a metal wheelbarrow, a generator, a metal wagon chassis, scrap metal from a …

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Vehicle fire damages garage

Firefighters from the Constantine Fire Department responded to a vehicle fire inside an attached garage earlier this week in Constantine Township. The department was summoned shortly after 2 a.m. Tuesday to the 15000 block of North Northpark Road. A firefighter who lives in the area and a state trooper were first to arrive. They noticed the vehicle’s engine area was …

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Mishawaka – Man pleads guilty to manslaughter in mall killing

A man has pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in a deadly shooting that sent shoppers fleeing for safety inside a northern Indiana shopping mall. Dazhon Howard’s guilty plea on Wednesday came after his March trial ended with a judge declaring a mistrial after jurors said they were deadlocked, the South Bend Tribune reported. Rather than potentially stand trial a second time, Howard, 23, agreed to plead …

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South Bend boy, 5, shot, critically wounded by relative, 9

A 5-year-old boy was in critical condition after being shot last weekend by a relative in what South Bend police are calling a “very tragic accident.” The shooting happened Saturday night in a home on the city’s west side. South Bend police said Monday that the boy was shot by a 9-year-old relative and was hospitalized in critical condition. The …

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Sturgis man arrested on 18 charges

A 32-year-old Sturgis man was charged with child-sex crimes following a joint investigation by Michigan State Police Computer Crimes Unit and Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Authorities said Clayton Warren was arrested this week and charged with possession, manufacturing and dissemination of child sexually abusive material, and criminal sexual conduct first degree. According to a media release, the Sturgis …

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Sturgis street millage request approved

Voters in the city of Sturgis approved a 10-year, 3-mill renewal request for ongoing street maintenance and repairs. Unofficial results from Tuesday’s request show 502 “yes” votes were recorded, and 266 “no” ballots were counted. The millage will levy three-mills, or $3 for each $1,000 of a home’s taxable value, for another 10 years. Nearly $750,000 will be raised in …

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Constantine voters say no to millage increase

Voters in the Constantine Public Schools district on Tuesday defeated a proposed two-tenths of a mill increase that would have generated $38.8 million for improvements. The proposal was defeated by a vote of 754 against to 442 in favor. That includes 146 affirmative votes and 333 opposing votes in Cass County. Constantine Public Schools superintendent Jim Wiseley expressed disappointment in the result. He said …

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Michigan waives repayment of $431M more unemployment checks

Over 55,000 more claimants won’t have to pay back unemployment overpayments totaling $431 million from the Michigan unemployment agency during the COVID-19 pandemic, the state announced Wednesday. The Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency has to date waived more than $4.3 billion of overpayments to residents, totaling 400,000 claimants who were improperly awarded pandemic unemployment benefits. Many were worried about having to …

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Draft opinion jolts Michigan, where abortion ban is on books

A draft U.S. Supreme Court opinion that would overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision reverberated in political battleground Michigan, where a near-total abortion ban may take effect again after nearly 50 years and is unlikely to be changed by the Republican-led Legislature. There is increased attention in Michigan on the state courts, where Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Planned Parenthood — …

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