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People in Michigan who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 don’t need to wear a mask any longer, and people who aren’t vaccinated don’t have to wear one outdoors, officials said Friday, noting that the state’s indoor mask requirement will expire in July. The announcement from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the state health department came a day after the Centers for …

St. Joseph County commissioners were asked Wednesday to consider the purchase of a video and recording system for animal control officer Greg Musser and his work truck. Undersheriff Jason Bingaman, addressing commissioners during their executive committee meeting, said the $8,900 mobile/video recording system will audio record Musser as well as video record from a dash-mounted camera. The system, Bingaman said, …

The former director of Sturgis Department of Public Safety was sentenced this week from a DUI charge last year. Geoffrey Smith was placed on one year probation and is required to use an alcohol-monitor for 90 days. His arrest for driving under the influence occurred Aug. 15. Smith was sentenced Wednesday via Zoom by Calhoun County District Court Judge Paul Beardslee. …

St. Joseph County commissioners appear in favor of recommending an exception to the hiring freeze, as the sheriff’s department is seeking a typist/clerk. The position became open when Jennifer Meyer was recently promoted to administrative assistant. Its pay is about $57,000 a year, including benefits. The matter was discussed during Wednesday’s executive committee meeting. Meanwhile, another exception to the hiring …

The Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency has begun vaccinating children ages 12-15 years old with the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. Appointments are encouraged but walk-ins are taken at our ongoing vaccination clinics in the tri-county area. Appointments can be made at www.bhsj.org/scheduling. Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are also available for individuals 18 years of age and older. All individuals …

State Sen. Kim LaSata welcomed her March is Reading Month literacy challenge winner Aaleyah Tomorrow to the Capitol on Thursday to serve alongside her as junior senator for the day. “It was great to have Aaleyah and her family join me at the Capitol today and to have her serve alongside me as a junior senator,” said LaSata, R-Coloma. “It was an …

A medical condition may have caused a single-vehicle crash that claimed the life of a Portage man Tuesday in Park Township. Sheriff Mark Lillywhite said deputies were called around 1:30 p.m. to the 52000 block of Parkville Road, between Michigan Avenue and Marcellus Road. Investigators said a northbound delivery vehicle had gone off the west side of the roadway. It …

The Three Rivers Area Chamber of Commerce wishes to remind the public that Saturday is the city’s annual Cleanup Day/Main Street Washdown. The downtown project can use all the volunteers it can get, organizers said. Volunteers will meet at the DDA office, located at 57 Main St., at 8:30 a.m. and receive their duties for the morning. The chamber asks …

Branch County sheriff’s deputies responded earlier this week to a single-vehicle accident involving a 46-year-old Bronson woman. Investigators were called shortly before 8 a.m. Monday to an area on Fremont Road, just north of Waters Road. Authorities said Merideth Goodsell was driving north on Fremont Road when she fell asleep. Her vehicle crossed the center line and went off the …

Michigan health officials on Wednesday urged primary care physicians to enroll to administer COVID-19 vaccines, as the state prepared to quickly begin vaccinating 12- to 15-year-olds following U.S. authorization. “The most important thing we can do right now is to make vaccines available for whenever someone is ready,” Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, the state’s chief medical executive and chief health deputy, …