News

An Edwardsburg man was injured last weekend after he was involved in an accident driving an all-terrain vehicle. Sheriff Richard Behnke said the incident occurred shortly after 8 p.m. Saturday in the 20000 block of Old 205 in Mason Township. Deputies said Brenden Friday, 51, was operating an ATV on private property. Witnesses told authorities Friday was going too fast …

Gathered for a special meeting Wednesday, St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners approved two resolutions that featured corrected information. County administrator Teresa Doehring said action on the first resolution replaces a resolution approved earlier this month. She explained the original resolution featured a typo regarding an interest-rate figure. The corrected figure – 2.8999 percent – was included in a resolution …

A Sturgis man was injured after the motorcycle he was riding struck a raccoon last week in Cass County’s Newburg Township. Sheriff Richard Behnke said the incident occurred around 11:30 p.m. Saturday in the 15000 block of Quaker Street. Deputies found that 37-year-old Jeremy Tomlinson was traveling west on Quaker Street when his motorcycle struck the raccoon, causing the bike …

The Michigan Department of Transportation has announced the weekly details of its work taking place on U.S. 131 in Three Rivers. Stage 2 traffic is in place and operating with two-way traffic on southbound U.S. 131 at M-60 junction, toward the south end of the project north to the Hoffman Road/Rocky River bridge area. Meanwhile, Hoffman Road has been closed …

The Cass County Courthouse was evacuated last week after Central Dispatch received a bomb threat. Sheriff Richard Behnke said the incident occurred at 8:45 a.m. Friday, when Central Dispatch received two calls, indicating that a bomb had been placed in the courthouse and would explode when a timer expired. A decision was made to evacuate the building of its employees …

Five people were re-appointed to the St. Joseph County Commission On Aging Board last week. County commissioners agreed to renew the two-year terms of Three Rivers resident Al Balog, Sturgis-area resident Lee Austerman, Charles Thompson of Sherman Township, Lockport Township’s Jim MacTavish and Deborah Davis of Colon. Three Rivers-area resident Al Heivilin did not seek re-appointment to his one-year, at-large …

Three Rivers Health has selected American Physician Partners to enhance the already high level of care it provides to the more than 20,000 patients who visit its Emergency Department annually. APP is one of the nation’s leading providers of emergency-department-management services to community hospitals nationwide. Three Rivers Health CEO Dave Shannon said the Tennessee-based APP has a strong presence throughout …

The Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency has received increased reports of Pertussis – commonly known as whooping cough – in Hillsdale County. The cases are being seen in school-aged children and adults, according to agency officials. With the onset of summer in Michigan and normal summer activities that bring together groups of people, the spread of illness can increase, according …

A Marcellus man is being held on charges of attempted murder following an incident Friday night in the village of Marcellus. Sheriff Richard Behnke said the incident occurred at 9:44 p.m. at a back-yard campfire in the 300 block of East Dibble Street. Investigation into the incident reveals that a number of people had gathered for the bonfire when an …

St. Joseph County Circuit Court Judge Paul Stutesman on Friday ordered a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole for Zachary Patten in the 2017 murder of Shane Richardson. A Portage resident, Patten was found guilty last month of the killing at Richardson’s home in Florence Township. Patten also was sentenced to two years for a felony-firearm charge and five …