News

The annual Mackinac Bridge Walk is back for 2021, and the Mackinac Bridge Authority (MBA) has updated a video explaining the options people have for participating in this beloved event. Based on the success of the 2018 and 2019 events, the MBA will again start the 2021 Annual Bridge Walk from both St. Ignace and Mackinaw City, which eliminates the …

A 9-year-old boy died Thursday after being shot in Kalamazoo, authorities said. The child was pronounced dead at a Kalamazoo hospital on Thursday afternoon, Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety Chief Vernon Coakley said. The child’s name and the circumstances leading to the shooting were not immediately released. Representatives from Pastors on Patrol, the Northside Ministerial Alliance and the NAACP were …

Republican lawmakers voted Thursday to stop a $300 weekly federal supplement that is added to unemployed workers’ benefits in Michigan, though the measure is expected to be vetoed when it reaches Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. The GOP-controlled Senate passed the bill on party lines, 19-16, after making a change to the measure that cleared the House last week. It would …

State Senate Republicans who investigated Michigan’s 2020 presidential election for months concluded there was no widespread or systemic fraud and urged the state attorney general to consider probing people who have made baseless allegations about the results in Antrim County to raise money or publicity “for their own ends.” The GOP-led state Senate Oversight Committee said in a 55-page report released Wednesday …

Constantine Village Manager Mark Honeysett provided an update on a recent force-main break of a sewage pipeline from the village to the waste treatment plant in Three Rivers. Addressing village council members during their meeting Monday, Honeysett said he was made aware of the incident June 13 from Doug Humbert, engineer at the Three Rivers plant. Humbert had reported the …

Constantine Village Trustee Joe Faulkner submitted a letter of resignation from the council this week. During Monday’s village council meeting, Faulkner said state law prohibits anyone involved in marijuana services from serving on a municipal board. Faulkner is a co-owner of Rainbow Farms, a pro-marijuana campground in Vandalia. Faulkner has served six months of a two-year term. In addition, Jason …

Sturgis Area Community Foundation has announced its 2021 scholarship award recipients. The foundation is scheduled to award $161,500 in educational scholarships this fall to 77 students representing high schools in St. Joseph and Branch counties. This year’s class of scholarship recipients represents a mix of aspiring two-year, four-year and trade school students with a diverse set of goals and aspirations …

Historical tours will be conducted this fall at Oak Lawn Cemetery in Sturgis, pending weather and status of the pandemic. Jenifer Policelli, director of Sturgis Historical Museum, said tours will highlight the lives of 12 Sturgis residents buried at Oak Lawn Cemetery, including the first mayor of Sturgis, Thomas Collins. Other notable figures include Mary Hackstaff, John and Ardillacy Sturgis, …

State Sen. Kim LaSata issued a statement Tuesday centering on an announcement concerning a considerable expansion at Three Rivers-based American Axle. According to the Michigan Strategic Fund, American Axle has been granted a five-year State Essential Services Assessment Exemption for its $40.6 million expansion project. The tax exemption, worth an estimated $470,000, will help the company complete the project that …

A high-lift was stolen Monday from a location on Blue School Road in Mottville Township. Sheriff Mark Lillywhite said deputies were notified shortly before 11 a.m. that the high-lift was taken off a flat-bed trailer parked in the 71000 block of Blue School Road. The 2019 Polaris RZR 1000 high-lifter that was black in color. The trailer it was on …