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Faced with the country’s highest rate of new coronavirus infections, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Friday urged a two-week suspension of in-person high school classes, all youth sports and indoor restaurant dining. She stopped short of ordering restrictions, instead asking for voluntary compliance to slow the spread of COVID-19. High schools should shift to virtual learning, both school and non-school …

Washington will rush federal resources to support vaccinations, testing and therapeutics, but not vaccines, to Michigan in an effort to control the state’s worst-in-the-nation COVID-19 transmission rate, the White House said Friday. The announcement came as Gov. Gretchen Whitmer strongly recommended, but did not order, a two-week pause on face-to-face high school instruction, indoor restaurant dining and youth sports. She cited …

Personal-finance company MoneyGeek has released statistics related to the most dangerous roads in Michigan, as well as identifying the most-dangerous roads in every county in the state. The data was based on analysis of 2,751 fatal crashes over a three-year period beginning in 2017. Nearly one-third of the fatalities were related to drunken driving. Seven of the 10 roads identified …

St. Joseph County commissioners have approved a request from county clerk Lindsay Oswald for an exemption to the county’s hiring freeze. During Tuesday’s board meeting, commissioners gave Oswald the green light to hire a deputy clerk. Commissioners acknowledged Oswald has been short-staffed for a year and that funding to accommodate the request was included in the county’s 2021 fiscal-year budget. …

Officials from the St. Joseph County Conservation District said the period to make an order through its annual spring seedling tree sale ends next week. Agency director Carolyn Grace said orders will be taken through April 15. Pick-up date for fruit trees is April 23; all others will be available in May. Grace said there will be a drive-thru pick-up …

A White Pigeon community activist plans to lead a door-to-door campaign to raise money toward fixing a Depot Park play structure. Lifelong village resident Shireen Cline said she decided to take action after noticing a slide component of a structure at the south end of Depot Park has been missing for two years. She said the corrugated plastic slide, which …

Thirteen of St. Joseph County’s 16 townships plan to take part in the 2021 matching-fund, road-improvement offer made by the county’s road commission. St. Joseph County Commissioner Dan Czajkowski cited the information during the board’s meeting Tuesday. He said the matter was discussed at a recent Roads Committee meeting, which typically involves township officials and representatives from the road commission. …

The Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency announced St. Joseph County is nearing 100 COVID-related deaths. Through last week, the county had recorded 91 deaths that agency officials said are attributed to COVID-19. The number of cumulative cases in St. Joseph County since March 2020 is more than 4,500. Based on statistics provided by the agency, daily cases were steadily declining …

Several minor issues were resolved during Tuesday’s county commission meeting. Two people were re-appointed to the Veteran’s Affairs Board: Park Township resident William Thompson and Bill Walters of Nottawa Township. Their terms are for a four-year period. Also, commissioners agreed to dedicate funds it received through the recent sale of the Covered Bridge Healthcare building into the county’s capital-improvement fund. …

St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners has approved a state of emergency in order to continue broadcasting its meetings electronically. During their first in-person meeting since fall, commissioners Tuesday agreed they will stick to assembling in person for their twice-a-month board meetings. The five-member commission, however, concurred it would be prudent to maintain public broadcast of their meetings via Zoom …