News

The Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency recently honored three outgoing board members for their service to the tri-county department. The members, who also are county commissioners, are leaving their elected office at the end of the year. Commissioner Bruce Caswell, from Hillsdale County, has served six years on the board of health and as board chairman in his sixth year. …

State police troopers are investigating an arson incident involving a vehicle in St. Joseph County. Authorities were alerted to a road hazard at 6:15 Sunday morning to an area near the intersection of Winding River and North River roads in Constantine Township. A Chrysler sedan was located on the roadway and the vehicle had been burned, investigators said. The car …

Consumers Energy has announced its participation in “Our Town,” an initiative to support Michigan’s small businesses. The agency has partnered with 55 chambers and downtown groups, including Three Rivers, to support the gift-card program. It provides holiday shoppers with a dollar-for-dollar match for gift cards they buy through local chambers of commerce and downtown organizations, doubling the amount they can …

A 54-year-old Sherwood man died after he was involved in a two-vehicle crash Wednesday in Fawn River Township. The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department said deputies were called around 4:30 a.m. to the area of U.S. 12 and Sweet Lake Road. Investigators said Daniel Waring was driving west on U.S. 12 when an eastbound vehicle driven by Alondra Aguilar, 19, …

Sturgis officials announced a traffic roundabout will be built in 2023. The traffic circle will be constructed at what will become the East Lafayette Street- North Franks Avenue intersection. The city recently was awarded a $472,000 highway safety improvement program grant from Michigan Department of Transportation for road-safety improvements. The city received the grant funding to rework the intersection of …

Constantine Village Council members have voted a second time against signing an application for a permit from Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy to relocate water lines under the U.S. 131 Business Route bridge. The relocation is the first step for a proposed Michigan Department of Transportation rehabilitation of the bridge. Council members had voted against signing the …

The city of Sturgis recently received an update regarding a group of turkey vultures near Galyn Drive on the city’s southeast side. The presence of the birds was deemed a nuisance by those in the neighborhood and was a potential health hazard, with the elevated amount of bird waste present in the area. City commission members have authorized the purchase …

Michigan expects to receive about 257,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines initially if the federal government authorizes them for emergency use this month, enough to immunize roughly 128,000 residents, a top doctor said Thursday. The priority remains frontline health care workers and people living and working in long-term care facilities such as nursing homes, said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, the state’s chief …

Michigan drivers could renew their licenses more frequently online or by mail instead of having to go to a secretary of state branch office under bipartisan legislation that received unanimous Senate approval on Thursday. Residents now can renew their driver’s license or state ID card by mail or the internet once, for a four-year term, but must go in person …

A person with a disabled vehicle who stepped into U.S. 131 was killed Thursday in western Michigan, causing traffic backups that led to more crashes that killed two more people, police said. The crashes occurred on northbound lanes in Allegan County, between Martin and Bradley, roughly 30 miles south of Grand Rapids. The first incident occurred shortly before noon. “A …