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Commission on Aging board members recently heard from executive director Pam Riley about several upcoming improvements at the Sturgis and Three Rivers centers. Work on a pickleball/shuffleboard court soon will start in Three Rivers. Two ramps are being added at the Three Rivers apartments for handicapped accessibility and atrium windows are being repaired there, Riley said. At the Sturgis center, …

A second person died in a tornado that hit northern Michigan, authorities reported Saturday, as crews searched a mobile home park that was virtually destroyed by the rare weather event. The person, who was in their 70s, lived in the Nottingham mobile home park, which was among the first sites hit by the tornado Friday, said state police Lt. Derrick Carroll. “There …

The Michigan Supreme Court said Friday it wants more information from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer about her request to erase a state abortion ban from decades ago. The court wants five points addressed, including whether it needs to immediately get involved, especially after a judge at the Court of Claims this week froze the dormant law with an injunction. “We direct the governor to …

Cass County sheriff’s deputies responded to a fatal crash earlier this week in LaGrange Township. Sheriff Richard Behnke said the department was notified shortly after 3 p.m. Wednesday about a two-vehicle crash on Dailey Road, north of Pokagon Highway. Investigators said two vehicles had struck head-on. The driver of one vehicle was identified as Curtis Mengel, 28, of Warsaw, Ind. …

Here’s a message from Laura Brott, collaborative coordinator for St. Joseph County Human Services Commission. First, Glen Oaks Community College has ended its weekly COVID-19 testing and vaccination clinic. Free COVID testing is still available locally, however. It is offered 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Tuesdays at Community Mental Health parking lot in Centreville. It is also offered 9 a.m. …

Glen Oaks Community College has named Adam Cloutier as its new vice president of academics. The position is effective July 1. Cloutier is currently dean of arts and sciences at Lakeland Community College, where he has worked since 2018. Prior to his work at Lakeland, he held various academic-related positions from 2006-2018 at Henry Ford College, including director of academic …

Both Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Republican-led Michigan Legislature proposed new plans to cut taxes Thursday but remained at odds over the scope and immediacy of any relief. Whitmer called for a one-time $500 election-year rebate for “working families,” adding to her earlier proposals to gradually repeal a tax on retirement income and fully restore a credit for lower-wage …

After working nearly two months without a contract, nurses from Three Rivers Health-Beacon Health Systems staged a rally Tuesday to bring visibility to their plight. More than 50 nurses, joined by a number of family members and supporters, staged a 90-minute picket outside the West Broadway Street facility. Emergency Department nurse Brandy Shoup, president of the local Michigan Nurses Union, …

St. Joseph County officials appear to have some momentum regarding an allocation of their American Rescue Plan Act funds. During their monthly board meeting Tuesday, county commissioners discussed various options regarding a $1 million allocation of an $11.8 million windfall received through the American Rescue Plan Act. It seems commissioners are going to make funds available to local entities, not-for-profit …

An all-volunteer group that operates under the St. Joseph Sheriff’s Department has received a state award. The Michigan Sheriff’s Association recently recognized St. Joseph County’s Victim Services Unit as the state’s “Unit of the Year.” The award was announced and presented at the conclusion of a Victim Services Unit annual training event in Lansing. Sheriff Mark Lillywhite said St. Joseph …