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One county commission incumbent will be contested in August’s primary election and another district will feature a two-person race. Filing deadline for county commission candidates was Tuesday and a total of nine Republicans are running for seven seats. The expansion from five to seven seats starting in 2023 came as a result of last year’s once-a-decade county reapportionment. Incumbents Jared …

New coronavirus cases leaped in Michigan in the week ending Sunday, with 7,725 cases were reported. The previous week had 3,759 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19. St. Joseph County reported 25 cases and three deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 12 cases and zero deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 13,692 …

St. Joseph County officials finally tapped into the $11.8 million in funds they received last year through the American Rescue Plan Act. During their monthly board meeting Tuesday, county commissioners authorized funding for four requests that, collectively, total $235,000. The four items and others were discussed in great detail at last week’s executive committee meeting. Without any debate Tuesday, commissioners …

A Jones woman was injured in a single-vehicle crash this week in Cass County’s Newberg Township. Sheriff Richard Behnke said deputies were notified at 9:30 a.m. Monday regarding the incident on Bair Lake Street, east of Cory Lake Road. Lindsey Whitaker, 41, was driving east on Bair Lake Street when she lost control of her vehicle. It ran off the roadway …

Branch Hillsdale St. Joseph Community Health Agency has been notified by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services that a Trumpeter Swan collected by Michigan Department of Natural Resources tested positive for HPAI H5. The swan was collected in Hillsdale County. There are no additional cases identified at this time, nor has there been identified transmission to backyard or …

Human remains which were found in Three Rivers on April 11, 2022 have been identified. Local police say the remains are those of David Abrams, age 66. He had been reported as missing, and was last seen on December 25th. Abrams’ body was found in a wooded area in the 300-block of Second Avenue by a man who was walking …

Sheriff’s deputies are investigating the theft of irrigation wire last week from a location in Fawn River Township. Sheriff Mark Lillywhite said agency officials were notified that the incident occurred the night of April 15 on Oak Tree Road, near Halsey Square Road in the southeast corner of the township.

A Burr Oak woman was arrested after she was involved in an assault-with-a-firearm incident last week in Burr Oak. Sheriff Mark Lillywhite said deputies were called around 10 a.m. Friday to the 600 block of West Front Street in response to a felony assault with a firearm. With assistance from the St. Joseph County Special Response Team, deputies made contact …

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has confirmed the first influenza-related child death in Michigan for the 2021-2022 flu season, the agency announced. The reported death involves a child from Kalamazoo County who contracted flu strain known as A/H3, the agency said Friday. It did not reveal the age of the child. A/H3 was first identified in U.S. …

A Marcellus woman, who has been charged with filing fraudulent accident claims, must pay back the benefits she received. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel made the announcement Thursday. Following an investigation by the Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services Fraud Investigation Unit, Christine Presock was charged in St. Joseph County’s 3rd District Court with six counts of insurance-fraudulent acts, felonies …