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Here’s a message from St. Joseph County courts: Pursuant to a local administrative order, St. Joseph County’s courts are able to conduct jury trials when the number of COVID-related cases is below a threshold set by the Michigan Supreme Court. At this time, the case count per million and the positivity rate remain too high for jury trials to be …

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration on Sunday ordered high schools and colleges to stop in-person classes, closed restaurants to indoor dining and stopped organized sports — including the football playoffs — in a bid to curb Michigan’s spiking coronavirus cases. The restrictions will begin Wednesday and last three weeks. They are not nearly as sweeping as when the governor issued a …

St. Joseph County officials heard an update this week on committee appointments. During Tuesday’s executive committee meeting, board chairman Dennis Allen noted the St. Joseph County Road Commission Board has one member whose term expires at the end of the year. Allen noted two people have applied for the six-year position. He and commissioner Dan Czajkowski will represent the county …

A Battle Creek man was arrested this week following a standoff at an abandoned Nottawa Township residence. Sheriff Mark Lillywhite said a woman driving west on Findley Road noticed a man entering the house, which had been abandoned since being destroyed by fire two years ago. The passerby is a relative of the homeowner and, around 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, notified …

The Three Rivers Woman’s Club is expanding a project of warmth this winter, as its members are gearing up for their “Socks for the Sole” campaign. The effort calls for collecting and distributing new or gently-used socks to those in need who come into the Three Rivers Food site. Organizers said member Waneta Truckey volunteered at the site and saw …

Four area high schools remain in the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s football playoffs. Three contests will be played tonight and the fourth Saturday afternoon. Tonight’s games begin at 7 o’clock and feature 7-and-1 Constantine at 8-and-0 Buchanan. Meanwhile, Marcellus is 5-and-2 and travels to Martin, which is 7-and-1 on the season. The showcase contest features No.1 state-ranked Reading at …

Hospital leaders warned Thursday that more than 3,000 people are hospitalized with the coronavirus in Michigan, a rate that is doubling every two weeks and is expected to top the spring peak of about 4,000 by late this month. “It’s an accelerating trend. It’s very serious,” said John Fox, president and CEO of Beaumont Health, the state’s largest system. Inpatients …

Michigan on Tuesday posted a record number of daily confirmed coronavirus cases, near 6,500, and reported 59 deaths within the previous 24 hours — its deadliest day in six months. COVID-19, which subsided over the summer after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer imposed sweeping stay-at-home and other restrictions, has rebounded this fall. Asked if she might again order people to stay home, …

St. Joseph County officials are mulling whether to raise a variety of fees associated with various county-provided services. During their executive committee meeting Tuesday, commissioners reviewed a four-page document produced by a company hired to study current and recommended user fees. It also analyzed the actual cost of each service. The county had previously authorized a $55,000 contract with Bay …

Mendon Community Schools Superintendent Leasa Griffith announced Wednesday that the district is now fully remote. Griffith said the district on Tuesday reported multiple students, staff and families were forced into quarantine due to contact tracing. Students in both Mendon Elementary and the middle/high school will be learning remotely, with a tentative return date of Nov. 30. Griffith said the decision …