News

State Sen. Kim LaSata on Tuesday applauded four Southwest Michigan communities, including three in St. Joseph County, for being awarded competitive grants through the Michigan Economic Development Corporation’s “Site Readiness Improvement Program.” According to MEDC, the grants were awarded through a new “Michigan Build Ready Sites Program,” which aims to boost the state’s inventory of available properties ready to compete for …

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has notified the Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency that as of Aug. 21, two unvaccinated horses in St. Joseph County have tested positive for Eastern Equine Encephalitis and both have died. EEE is an infectious and often fatal disease of horses, humans and pigs. It is transmitted by mosquito vectors. When levels …

State police troopers responded to a fatal accident last week in Branch County’s Girard Township. Troopers were notified at 3:35 p.m. on Friday that a vehicle left the roadway and struck a tree at Gorbell and Bidwell roads. The vehicle was traveling north on Gorbell Road when it failed to navigate a 90-degree right turn. It instead went straight through …

Volunteers worked today (Wednesday) with representatives from the Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy at a location in Fabius Township. The conservancy hosted the “Create the Corey Lake Trail” workday at the Corey Lake North Bay Preserve near Three Rivers. In early July, the Mittler Family, their children and grandchildren, who donated the preserve to SWMLC in 2014, met at the preserve …

Michigan Department of Transportation is two weeks from finishing a highway bridge project in Constantine Township. MDOT’s Nick Schirripa said the U.S. 131 bridge over the St. Joseph River is in the midst of treating the bridge as part of a routine-maintenance project. The $150,000 job includes an epoxy overlay and pavement markings on the 6-year-old bridge. The job started …

Here’s an announcement from Three Rivers Department of Public Services Director Amy Roth. DPS crew members will start the agency’s biannual hydrant flushing Sept. 3. Roth said she expects flushing to continue through Oct. 4. Flushing will occur 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. Due to many variables, the department is not able to determine the exact date …

An area elected official was the recipient of a prestigious honor last week at the 111th annual Michigan Association of County Clerks Summer Conference in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The MACC “Clerk of the Year Award” was presented to Branch County’s Terry Kubasiak. The award recipient is selected based on criteria formulated by the MACC Board of Directors from nominations by …

A moped was stolen from a Sturgis-area location last week. The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department said the incident was reported Aug.20 in the 69000 block of South Nottawa Road. The moped is a Flat Back Huwain moped, model year 2017. It has damage on the right-hand brake lever and scrapes on the front side. Investigators said it was stolen …

July’s unemployment rate in St. Joseph County was two and one-tenth of a percent higher than the previous month. The monthly labor-market analysis by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget showed the county’s 6.6 percent July unemployment rate marked an increase from June’s 4.5 percent. St. Joseph County was well above the state unemployment average, which was 5.1 …

The St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners last week re-appointed five people and added a new face to the county’s Solid Waste Management Planning Committee. Two-year reappointments were approved for Sturgis-area residents John Smits and Frank Kalasky, Burr Oak Township resident Glenn Nissley, Carol Higgins of Mendon Township and Mark Ripplinger of Mottville Township. Their terms will be in place …