News

Icy roads were blamed as a factor in a four-vehicle crash earlier this week in Cass County’s Porter Township. Sheriff Richard Behnke said deputies were called at 10 a.m. Monday to the intersection of U.S. 12 and M-40. Investigators said 59-year-old Elkhart resident Lloyd Overholt was driving on M-40. Overholt lost control of his vehicle and could not stop due …

Plans are coming together for the 65th Three Rivers Water Festival. The 2022 event, a three-day celebration, starts June 16 and is the first of St. Joseph County’s eight community festivals. An additional event, the Soap Box Derby, will return June 19. After considering several options, Water Festival Committee members selected the theme for this year’s event: “The Roaring Twenties.” …

A Sturgis man died last weekend following a one-vehicle crash on the Indiana Toll Road. Indiana State Police said troopers were called at 8:30 p.m. Saturday to an area near mile-marker 128 in LaGrange County. Investigators said an SUV with heavy damage was discovered stationary on the shoulder along the westbound lanes. The body of 67-year-old Daniel Olson was found …

A $9.1 million development featuring retail and residential components has been proposed for an area in downtown Sturgis. The plan was introduced at last week’s Sturgis City Commission meeting. John Carmichael, of Root and Branch Real Estate LLC, presented a concept for the mixed-use development in the downtown area. The proposed project includes 25 apartments and a steakhouse over an …

Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy has announced the resumption of its Saturday Volunteer Workdays program. Its first workday will take place Saturday at a St. Joseph County property it owns: Hidden Marsh Sanctuary. Saturday’s event takes place 1 to 4 p.m. at the Buckhorn Road property. Event organizers said the focus will center on brush removal, which will include lopping, chopping, …

Sturgis police last week arrested a suspect connected to a ring of fraudulent checks distributed in the area. According to authorities, the suspect was arrested Wednesday following a several-days investigation. Officers obtained a warrant Thursday to conduct a search in the 400 block of East Congress Street. Officers found that a large number of fraudulent checks had been cashed across several counties. …

First Lt. Barry Schrader took over last week as the new commander for the Michigan State Police post in Marshall. Schrader will command District 5, Region 4, after Lt. Jim Coleman transferred to command the Hart post in September following more than a decade in Coldwater, then Marshall. The Marshall post provides service to Branch, Calhoun and St. Joseph counties. …

Glen Oaks Community College administrators are reviewing the option of securing a low-interest USDA loan versus the idea of campus financial resources. Currently, the only college debt consists of two USDA loans: the residence hall, which pays for itself in student boarding fees; and the concourse renovation. The proposed South Campus work would potentially include renovation of the locker rooms …

In December 2021, Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy signed the final purchase documents for the Armintrout-Milbocker Nature Preserve in Allegan, making SWMLC the official owner of the property. Ultimately, SWMLC was able to secure grant funding for the acquisition from several different sources, all of which combined with a generous bargain sale by the Armintrout and Milbocker Families, to make the …

A northern Indiana county is looking to spend some of its federal COVID-19 relief money to open a county morgue. The St. Joseph County coroner’s office is now using a cooler at a local cemetery to store six or seven bodies at a time since it doesn’t have its own facility, the South Bend Tribune reported. The County Council voted this …