News

An 18-year-old suspect was arrested early Tuesday in connection with a breaking-and-entering incident at a retail location in Centreville. Sheriff Mark Lillywhite said deputies responded at 1 a.m. Tuesday to an alarm at Dollar General. Upon arrival, deputies discovered the front glass door had been shattered. Deputies proceeded to clear the building, with the aid of a Michigan State Police …

Michigan reported far fewer coronavirus cases in the week ending March 27, adding nearly 5,700 new cases. That’s down 15 percent from the previous week’s tally of 6,651 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19. St. Joseph County reported six cases and no deaths in the latest week. Cases fell in 52 Michigan counties, with the steepest declines in …

Branch Hillsdale St. Joseph Community Health Agency has redesigned its scheduling process for COVID-19 vaccine appointments during the Recovery phase. The website location, however, remains the same. It is bhsj.org/scheduling. Starting Friday, residents will select the county in which they choose to be vaccinated and click on “Schedule an appointment.” Users will be taken to the screen for registration in …

More than half the dogs taken to St. Joseph County Animal Control last year were reunited with their owners. Loralee Knepper, volunteer coordinator for St. Joseph County Animal Control, provided that tidbit during the commission’s March 15 meeting. She said animal control in 2021 took in 535 dogs and 188 cats. Of those 535 dogs, 255 were returned to their …

A quest to make “Fisher Lake” the official name of the 327-acre body of water was stalled by the U.S. agency in charge of such matters. The formality was sought by lake residents Marian Cottingham-Schliesman and Katie Sweeney, who approached St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners in February seeking its support for the official declaration. Though the county never took …

Michigan State Police troopers were dispatched to a liquor store in Coldwater last week in response to an armed robbery. State police officials said troopers were called at 8:30 p.m. March 21 to Rick’s Party Store. During the course of the armed robbery, an iPhone XR – black in color with a cracked screen – was stolen. It is believed …

The trial of a man charged in a deadly shooting that sent shoppers fleeing for safety inside a northern Indiana shopping mall has ended with a hung jury. A St. Joseph County (Indiana) judge declared a mistrial in Dazhon Howard’s murder trial Thursday after jurors said they were deadlocked, the South Bend Tribune reported. Prosecutors can now move for a retrial, offer …

Sturgis City Commission is seeking applications to fill the seat recently vacated by Karl Littman. The seat is for the 4th Precinct, which covers the boundary of Sturgis north of East Chicago Road and east of North Prospect Street. To qualify for consideration, prospective applicants must be a registered voter in the 4th Precinct. Correspondence with name, address, phone number, …

An Upper Peninsula city is closing a portion of a road to vehicular traffic every night to protect migrating salamanders. The city of Marquette is closing a portion of Peter White Drive in Presque Isle Park from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. daily until April 15 or until the migration is completed, the city announced. The closures began on Monday. …

St. Joseph County Road Commission Manager John Lindsey said the agency has identified four bridges under its jurisdiction for potential funding from Michigan Department of Transportation. The bridges are in need of upgrades and Lindsey said an application to the state agency as part of its “bridge bundling” program will soon be on its way to Lansing. Lindsey said the …