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Police officers in Kalamazoo were outnumbered 50-to-1 before using tear gas and chemical spray in the wee hours Tuesday to get rid of protesters and stop damage at downtown businesses, authorities said. “It was not our community’s finest hour,” said Karianne Thomas, chief of public safety. She said peaceful protests Monday over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis turned …

The Sturgis Area Chamber of Commerce announced Friday the 2020 Sturgis Fest is canceled. Cathi Abbs, executive director of the chamber, said it was not an easy choice but organizers believe it is the responsible decision. She said canceling Sturgis Fest deeply impacts the community, its businesses and visitors. However, Abbs said the festival committee finds it is not able …

Westside Landfill Recycling Center is tentatively planning to continue with its quarterly Styrofoam recycling collection next week. Fabius Township Supervisor John Kroggel, who has helped organize and oversee the collections, said he is prepared to go ahead with the scheduled June 13 collection. The only contingency, he noted, is as long as Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has lifted restrictions allowing the …

After careful consideration and consultation with state and local officials, the Magic City Egg Fest will be postponed until August 15 due to the COVID-19 crisis, event organizers announced last week. The culinary grilling competition made its debut in Colon last June and was originally scheduled to take place again later this month. Participants use the Big Green Egg, a …

The St. Joseph County Intermediate School District has issued a media release indicating an impending vacancy on its board of education. Member Sarah Vollmer recently notified the board she will be moving out of St. Joseph County next week and, at that point, will no longer be eligible to serve on the board. As a result, the ISD is accepting …

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer lifted Michigan’s nearly 10-week coronavirus stay-at-home order Monday, letting restaurants reopen to dine-in customers next week and immediately easing limits on outdoor gatherings while keeping social-distancing rules intact. The governor moved regions comprising 93% of the state’s population to phase 4 — “improving” — two weeks after she announced that northern Michigan could advance to that stage. …

April’s unemployment rate in St. Joseph County was 30.3 percent, as every county in the state experienced an increase during what was the first full month of jobs impacted by COVID-19. The monthly labor-market analysis by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget, which showed the county’s jump in unemployment, was released Friday. St. Joseph County was above the …

Michigan Department of Transportation has provided a weekly update on its work related to the U.S. 131 redevelopment project. MDOT said Stage 5 traffic pattern continues, with all traffic using a single lane in the southbound side of the highway. Some utility relocation through the length of the project will continue this week. Meanwhile, West Michigan Avenue paving is complete …

The identities of a victim and suspect involved in a May 21 incident in Three Rivers have been released by Three Rivers Police. Det. Sam Smallcombe said 59-year-old James May of Three Rivers died during the incident. The suspect was 21-year-old Mohammad Abuhaltam, also a Three Rivers resident. Police were called at 9:43 a.m. to the 300 block of Middle …

The Three Rivers Water Festival is taking the year off for the first time in its 64-year history. Festival committee members made the decision Friday, according to Three Rivers Area Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Christy Trammell. She said the ever-changing situation regarding Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and her executive orders related to COVID-19 made it impossible to plan and …