News

May’s unemployment rate in St. Joseph County was significantly lower than the previous month, but still higher than usual due to jobs impacted by COVID-19. The monthly labor-market analysis by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget, which showed the county’s drop in unemployment, was released earlier this month. St. Joseph County’s 19.5 percent unemployment rate for May was …

Members of the Constantine Village Council recently reviewed details for a proposed adult-use marijuana ordinance. The deadline to submit ballot details to the county clerk is Aug. 11. Village manager Mark Honeysett would like to have it prepared shortly after the council’s July 20 meeting. At their May meeting, the council voted to put the proposal of recreational marijuana on …

Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport and its airlines continue to recover and return service to Southwest Michigan, according to the airport’s director. Craig Williams said after significant reductions in seats and passengers in April and May, passengers are returning to the skies and the airlines are responding by returning planes to the Kalamazoo market. After the Fourth of July holiday, Williams …

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Friday toughened a requirement to wear masks during the coronavirus pandemic, mandating that businesses open to the public deny service or entry to customers who refuse to wear one. The governor also expanded where people must have a face covering beyond indoor public spaces. Starting immediately, they have to wear one outdoors if they cannot consistently …

A Three Rivers man was sentenced to prison Monday in Hillsdale County’s 1st Judicial Circuit Court. Michael Mercer, 23, appeared in court on charges of third-degree fleeing and eluding police. Mercer was sentenced 23 to 60 months in the Michigan Department of Corrections and given credit for 40 days served. He also was ordered to pay $200 in court assessments. …

Members of the Three Rivers Community Schools Board of Education this week were provided an update on the start of the district’s school year. Curriculum director Nikki Nash said Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s “Return to School Road Map” was reviewed as a guide for suggestions and requirements public schools are advised to follow in advance of classes resuming this fall. The …

Centreville resident Terry Cropper was chosen from a field of five candidates to the St. Joseph County Intermediate School District board. Cropper was selected unanimously Monday to fill the vacancy created after Sarah Vollmer moved out of the county. Cropper currently serves as executive assistant at Kalamazoo Community Foundation and as pastor at Bethel Baptist Church in Three Rivers. He …

A former Mendon Elementary School administrator has been named principal at Ryan Elementary in Bronson. Kristen Frisbie, who previously served as a teacher at Andrews Elementary in Three Rivers before joining Mendon Elementary as its principal, was named to the position earlier this month. She most recently was curriculum and instructional consultant at Constantine Public Schools. Frisbie said she looks …

The state Attorney General’s Office has agreed to handle the prosecution of any crimes stemming from a large party on a Cass County lake in which hundreds of people ignored state orders to wear masks or socially distance. The Cass County Prosecutor’s Office asked the Attorney General’s Office to appoint a special prosecutor after a viral video showed hundreds of …

Michigan health workers must receive “implicit bias” training tied to their professional licensure under a directive issued Thursday by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who said the mandate will help address the coronavirus pandemic’s disproportionate and deadly impact on people of color. The Democratic governor also said she would soon announce steps to ensure compliance with Michigan’s mask-wearing requirement in indoor public …