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Michigan’s COVID-19 surge is trending in a “deeply concerning direction” ahead of the winter holidays and, unlike a year ago, is not subsiding following Thanksgiving, state health officials said Friday while urging vaccines and booster shots. Infection rates and hospitalizations are near or at all-time highs in the state 21 months into the pandemic. Vaccination rates lag the national average, especially among …

Thursday’s meeting of the board of the Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph County Health Agency never started after a small group of audience members refused to comply with COVID-19 safety requirements for entering the building. Most were there to object to a new contract for Health Officer Rebecca Burns, who had instituted mask and quarantine orders for schools until the state legislature banned …

Colon Township Library has announced it was the recipient of a $2,000 grant from the Branch County Foundation. Library treasurer Martha Graham said the competition was based on number of donors. The library won the grant money as it was the recipient of the most donors on Nov. 30 – Giving Tuesday, Graham said. Donations and the grant money will …

Michigan’s COVID-19 hospitalizations reached a new high Wednesday, exceeding the previous record for the fifth straight time that the state has reported data. Nearly 4,700 patients were in the hospital statewide amid a fourth surge in infections. The roughly 4,400 hospitalized adults with confirmed cases was at the highest point in the 21-month coronavirus pandemic and 150 more than a …

All Michigan drivers with auto insurance will receive a $400 per-vehicle refund next spring, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and a top regulator said Tuesday. Their announcement came more than a month after the governor requested the checks by citing a multibillion-dollar surplus in the Michigan Catastrophic Care Association fund. The account, which reimburses insurers medical and other costs for people seriously injured in …

St. Joseph County Administrator Teresa Doehring has agreed to a one-year contract renewal. During Tuesday’s board of commissioners meeting, county officials approved a contract for 2022. Doehring, 47, is completing her fourth year as the highest-ranking, non-elected employee in county government. A lifelong Mendon-area resident, Doehring said she is grateful commissioners think enough of her to keep her on board …

State Rep. Steve Carra, a member of the House Transportation Committee, shared with fellow committee members his plan to require long-term contracts for road construction and maintenance, which could increase road quality and save taxpayer dollars. Carra said any strategy needs to include building more durable roads in the first place. By pairing construction with long-term maintenance, Carra said his …

Several people were appointed or renewed to various boards, following action Tuesday by St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners. Eric Shafer and Dan Czajkowski were reappointed to the Board of Public Works; Kathy Humphreys to the Building Authority Board; Lon Huffman, Edward Bell and Joe Woodin to the Planning Commission. Meanwhile, Cathi Abbs, Rick Shaffer and Tracey Parker will continue …

Community members in Sturgis have a plan for an extreme-weather shelter this winter to accommodate its homeless population. The group consists of individual residents, church groups and The Salvation Army. The process began in 2019, when the city of Sturgis opened a warming shelter at Sturges-Young Center for the Arts. The plan is to have a shelter at The Salvation …

A ban on Pride flags in classrooms at Three Rivers Community Schools has been lifted until further notice. The decision to allow the display of such flags was made during Monday’s four-hour Three Rivers Community Schools Board of Education meeting. Following a closed session lasting more than two hours, board members agreed to allow flags to be hung in classrooms, …