News

Michigan Department of Transportation officials said $196 million in federal COVID relief funds appropriated by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Legislature will allow the state to execute Phase II of MDOT’s bridge-bundling program, beginning later this year. In all, 19 bridges – including one in Nottawa Township – were selected for rehabilitation. The bridge in question is on Nottawa Road, south …

Here’s a reminder that the first Fresh Food Distribution events in April will be next week. It 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 April Thursday. Three distributions will occur on …

Constantine Village Manager Mark Honeysett and fire chief Mike Haydon met with attorney Catherine Kaufman this week to discuss the process to institute a special assessment for public safety services. Honeysett said they discussed a pressing need for a new fire station and other fire department equipment, an increase in the cost of ambulance service in the village and an …

Tricia Meyer, executive director of Three Rivers Downtown Development Authority, has announced she is resigning from the post to accept a job in Ottawa County. Meyer’s last day will be April 26. She said she has accepted a job working as an independent consultant in the city of Holland. Meyer said her work will center on event planning and grant …

Supply-chain issues have delayed redevelopment of the former Burger King restaurant on South Centerville Road in Sturgis. Tria Restaurant Co. announced in December it had acquired and would renovate the property into an Arby’s. The former Burger King, built in 1978, closed in February 2020. After the site-plan review process was completed and approved in late 2021, developers encountered supply-chain …

Former Colon Community Schools Superintendent Penny Brockway has returned to work where she had her first out-of-college teaching job. Brockway is back on staff at Coldwater Community Schools. Her first day as director of curriculum and instruction was March 1 – less than a month after her final day as Colon’s superintendent. Brockway first arrived in the district in 1992 …

Michigan State Police troopers are investigating the larceny of a seven-foot-tall sasquatch lawn ornament from a residence in Park Township. The incident occurred on or after March 22 on West End Road, near Heimbach Road. Investigators said the lawn ornament is made of sheet metal material and is rusty-brown in color with various sharp edges to detail fur. It appears …

U.S. Rep. Fred Upton announced Tuesday he will not seek re-election to another two-year term. Upton’s interest in running again was subject to debate in the wake of an independent redistricting commission’s creation of new boundaries that put Upton and U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga of Holland in the same district. Upton and nine other Republicans voted to impeach for President …

An Indiana Toll Road exit that provides a link to U.S. 131 in Michigan remains closed indefinitely. The Middlebury Toll Road, exit 107, was forced to close Jan. 13 after a vehicle caught fire while at the plaza. Toll Road officials said the fire caused considerable structural damage, including the collection booths, equipment and the roof. Toll Road officials said …

April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month and Sheriff Mark Lillywhite has issued a media release with information about the problem. Lillywhite said according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, more than 3,100 people were fatally injured in crashes due to distracted driving in 2020. Lillywhite described distracted driving as anything that causes a motorist take their hands off …