News

Ford Motor Co. said Monday that it’s pausing construction of a $3.5 billion electric vehicle battery plant in Marshall until it is confident it can run the factory competitively. The move comes as the company is in the midst of national contract talks with the United Auto Workers union, which wants to represent workers at battery factories and win them top wages. …

Officials with the St. Joseph County Grange Fair said a week of relatively good weather should help the seven-day event reach its average of 150,000 people. Mindy Timm, a fair board member, said figures will be tabulated this week to confirm attendance figures for the event. The 2023 fair concluded Saturday. Timm said a late-afternoon rain shower opening day Sept. …

A Constantine Township man died as a result of a house fire last week. The victim was identified as 66-year-old Delbert McCallie. He was pronounced deceased at the scene. Undersheriff Jason Bingaman said deputies and fire crews were dispatched shortly after 10 p.m. Thursday to the 13000 block of Riverside Drive, in response to a structure fire. Upon arrival, deputies …

Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport Director Craig Williams has announced expanded flight options on existing air carriers, as the airport works to regain air service to pre-pandemic levels. With the newly announced flights, Williams said the airport will be at 65 percent of pre-pandemic levels for seats in October 2023, and at 85 percent of pre-pandemic levels for seats in March …

Organizers of the 2023 Constantine Harvest Festival are issuing a last call for potential vendors and volunteers. The one-day event runs 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on September 30th on East Water Street. It will feature food, crafts, face painting, pumpkin painting, carnival games, prizes and inflatables. More information is available from the village: 435-2085. Meanwhile, the village has also …

A jury has awarded $14.5 million to a wrongfully convicted man, saying a Michigan State Police sergeant violated his constitutional rights as he pursued a perjury case against him. WOOD-TV is reporting the seven-person jury this week decided that Ray McCann Jr. was due $12.5 million in compensatory damages, plus $2 million in punitive damages. The verdict, McCann said, will …

A water-main installation has closed Shaver Road half a year earlier than anticipated. MLive is reporting that Shaver Road will be inaccessible for two months, as the closure started Monday to install a water main. The project is the second part of a multi-year, $3.8 million project to upgrade Shaver Road. The instillation was originally expected to take place between …

SEMCO ENERGY Gas Company announced an outage around 3 p.m. Wednesday affecting about 400 homes and businesses in the area. The outage is east of Three Rivers, in the Fishers Lake area, due to damage caused by a third-party performing work on underground facilities, according to WWMT-News 3. SEMCO employees will need to access every affected home or business to …

Several re-appointments to various boards and committees were approved Tuesday by St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners. First, John Gelvin, Pat Dane, Deborah Davis and Kathy Pangle were re-appointed to serve on the St. Joseph County Commission in Aging Board. Next, Michael O’Rourke, Glenn Nissley, Frank Kalasky, Doris Ripplinger, Carol Higgins and Mark Ripplinger all were re-appointed to the county’s …

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office is investigating an incident in which a 20-year-old South Bend man was injured in a single-vehicle crash Saturday afternoon in Jefferson Township. Authorities said the crash occurred shortly before 3 p.m. near the intersection of Dailey Road and M-60. Witnesses told deputies the driver was traveling north on M-60 at what appeared to be a …