News

Glen Oaks Community College Board of Trustees recently administered the oath of office to its new and returning board members, as well as approved installation of officers for the year. Accepting the oath of office were new board member Joe Haas, and Nancy Percival, who returns to the board for a third term. The board also voted on its slate …

Fire damaged a Sturgis residence last week. Crews were called at 7:30 a.m. Friday to the 800 block of East Main Street, where personnel noticed fire at the rear, exterior portion of the structure. Sturgis Police officers were first to arrive and managed to contain the blaze with hand-held extinguishers. Firefighters entered the home and safely removed a dog before …

Michigan State Police troopers responded to a retail-fraud incident last week in Branch County’s Girard Township. Authorities were called to the Lion’s Den, on Jonesville Road near I-69. Video footage shows a white female in her mid-30s with blonde hair. The suspect was wearing blue jeans with gray thigh high boots and a pink top. The suspect was carrying a …

Six St. Joseph County firms recently received state-training grants. A total of $39 million in grants from the “Going PRO Talent Fund,” were available, and designed to train and certify new workers. American Axle Manufacturing of Three Rivers received $149,000, the largest grant in the county. Morgan Olsen in Sturgis received $126,000, the second largest. Other local firms receiving grants …

Sophia Ryan, a sophomore at Glen Oaks Community College and Michigan State University Institute of Agricultural Technology majoring in agricultural operations, competed last month in the Michigan Farm Bureau Collegiate Young Farmers Discussion Meet. To compete, Ryan videotaped a 10-minute response to an agricultural-related question. She was selected as a top-four finalist in the state. Ryan then competed in a …

The first medical-marijuana dispensary in St. Joseph County opened over the weekend. The Dude Abides, a medical-marijuana provisioning center at 160 N. Washington St. in Constantine, offers different types of edibles and several varieties of resin. The facility currently is able to serve only to medical-marijuana cardholders, but co-owner Cass Root said plans are in the works to offer products …

The fight over whether to allow youth contact sports took center court Thursday in Lansing as Michigan lawmakers heard testimony from educators, parents and students wanting to get back to competition. Even though a ban on indoor dining ends Feb. 1, youth contact sports, including winter high school seasons in basketball, hockey, wrestling and competitive cheer, remain off-limits because of the …

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Thursday that she will not cede her authority to issue certain COVID-19 restrictions, calling Republicans’ attempt to hold back federal pandemic relief funding unless she changes course “cruel and reckless.” The Democratic governor urged GOP lawmakers to “shift their perspective to looking forward” and stop “digging in” on their continued opposition to state health department orders …

Police said they solved the murder of a Battle Creek woman more than 30 years later, after a newly discovered blood sample connected a man to the fatal stabbing. But no charges will be filed because Roger Plato was killed in 1988, three days before Gayle Barrus’ body was found by hunters in Calhoun County, prosecutor David Gilbert said. Nonetheless, …

Former St. Joseph County Prosecutor John McDonough was sentenced to one year of probation and other conditions Thursday. Appearing via Zoom before Kalamazoo County District Court Judge Vincent Westra, the 41-year-old McDonough learned his fate after pleading guilty to the charge of operating a motor vehicle while visibly impaired. In exchange for McDonough’s guilty plea, Westra agreed to drop two …