News

Here’s an announcement from the Three Rivers Area Chamber of Commerce. In response to the economic impact of COVID-19, the state of Michigan has allocated $100 million of CARES Act funding to implement the Michigan Small Business Restart Program to support the needs of Michigan Businesses directly impacted by COVID-19. The application for businesses to apply for funding will open …

Most confirmed COVID-19 cases in St. Joseph County have come from the Sturgis area, according to information released last week by the Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency. Of 303 laboratory-confirmed cases, those in Sturgis accounted for 197. Next closest was Three Rivers, with 33. It was followed by 21 in White Pigeon, 15 in Constantine, a dozen in Colon, nine …

A New York man was injured this week in a two-vehicle accident in Cass County’s Penn Township. Sheriff Richard Behnke said deputies were called shortly before 7 a.m. Monday to the intersection of Penn and Dutch Settlement roads in response to a personal-injury crash. Investigators said Yocov Roness, 20, was travelling south when he failed to stop at the intersection. …

Sheriff’s department deputies are investigating a breaking-and-entering incident at a location in Fabius Township. Sheriff Mark Lillywhite said the situation occurred early in the morning July 1 in the 15000 block of Hoffman Road. Investigators found entry was forced to a barn and a shed near a commercial building. Further information was not available.

Michigan’s confirmed COVID-19 deaths have surpassed 6,000, the state health department said Tuesday. The state said there have been 6,005 deaths and another 246 that are probable. Michigan reported 30 new deaths Tuesday, although 20 were confirmed through a records review and could have occurred weeks ago. Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties and Detroit account for 75% of Michigan’s deaths. …

Members of the St. Joseph County Fair Board voted Monday to cancel the 2020 fair due to concerns about COVID-19. Board president Tom Miller called Monday’s action the most difficult vote any fair board in St. Joseph County has ever had to make. Regarding 4-H participants, fair officials plan to meet with St. Joseph County Extension Office 4-H Program Coordinator …

A Schoolcraft resident was injured in a motorcycle accident over the weekend in Cass County’s Calvin Township. Sheriff Richard Behnke said deputies were called shortly after 1:30 p.m. Sunday to Brownsville Street, at a location east of Crooked Creek Road. Behnke said 50-year-old Michael Bell was driving his motorcycle westbound on Brownsville Street when the vehicle hit loose gravel. As a result, …

An Eaton County man drowned over the weekend in a Colon Township lake. Sheriff Mark Lillywhite said deputies were called shortly before 4 p.m. Saturday to Leidy Lake Campground. Investigators said 24-year-old David Burns Jr. was walking in Leidy Lake when he entered deep water. Burns did not know how to swim and he subsequently drowned. He was not breathing …

Hundreds of people spent the holiday in swimsuits but no masks at a lake in southwestern Michigan, a turnout that disappointed authorities who warn that the coronavirus remains a threat. The virus “doesn’t discriminate,” said Danielle Persky of the Van Buren/Cass District Health Department. “The goal right now is to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, and when we’re not doing …

A man was fatally struck by a boat while swimming in a western Michigan lake over the weekend, police said. The man was hit Sunday afternoon on Gull Lake near Kalamazoo. The man was brought to shore for lifesaving measures but was pronounced dead from his injuries at the scene, according to the Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office. The boat operator …