News

A 1-year-old girl died in a family swimming pool last week in Lockport Township. State police troopers and emergency personnel responded at 6 p.m. Thursday in the 57000 block of Tim Avenue in response to Central Dispatch reporting a child had snuck into the pool with a 2-year-old sibling. According to authorities, one of the parents was home at the …

An Indiana man was injured after falling off a boat over the weekend in Cass County’s LaGrange Township. Sheriff Richard Behnke said deputies were called at 6:15 p.m. Saturday to a residence on Diamond Lake. Upon further investigation, deputies found that Michael Molnar, 34, of Granger, was pulling a tube attached to the back of the boat when a passenger …

Two Sturgis residents, both wanted on a number of felony warrants, were arrested following a brief pursuit by police last week in Three Rivers. The incident started at an undisclosed time Saturday near the intersection of U.S. 131 and Broadway Road, where officers learned of a possibly-stolen vehicle parked at an area hotel. A man and a woman, both 24 …

Two people were hospitalized after they were involved in a motorcycle accident in Cass County’s Penn Township. Sheriff Richard Behnke said deputies responded over the weekend to White Temple and Little Fish Lake roads in response to a single-vehicle accident. Deputies said 61-year-old Monroe Learn was traveling north on White Temple when he lost control of the motorcycle and crashed. Learn and his passenger, …

The road project on M-66 at the M-86 split to Colon is progressing on schedule and Michigan Department of Transportation officials say a mid-November opening date remains a probability. MDOT’s Nick Schirripa said the project has been erroneously called a bridge replacement. Once completed, the former bridge that once spanned a now-defunct railroad line will actually be a hot-mix asphalt …

The Sherman Township Board of Trustees last month rezoned property at 62274 M-66, located south of Findley Road, from rural preservation to neighborhood commercial. The change allows the Eash family to open a discount store at the site previously occupied by a used-car lot. Supervisor Steve Wolf said the township is being advised to zone more of M-66 as neighborhood …

After a four-day hiatus, workers involved with the U.S. 131 improvement project in Three Rivers are returning to their duties today. Michigan Department of Transportation officials said northbound and southbound U.S. 131 remain in a Stage 2 traffic pattern. That means two-way traffic on the southbound U.S. 131 lane remains in place through the balance of the construction zone. Meanwhile, …

State police troopers are investigating the theft of a minibike from a residence in Branch County. According to a department media release, the incident took place between 9 p.m. June 30 and 10:30 a.m. July 1 in the 600 block of Girard Road in Girard Township. The vehicle is a black “Monster Moto” brand minibike.

The Sherman Township Board last month approved an ordinance allowing sport-shooting ranges as a special-exception use in the agricultural and rural preservation zoning classifications. Passage of the ordinance gives potential operators of such ranges the opportunity to go to the township planning commission and request a special land-use permit. Requirements listed in the ordinance include specifics such as the site …

Sturgis Public Schools governance team recently completed an evaluation of Superintendent Art Ebert. The board assessed Ebert in 11 areas, including student growth, mission and vision, goals and expectations, processes and procedures, internal and external stakeholder relations, and communications and media relations. The board rated Ebert effective in five of the focus areas and highly effective in six of the focus areas, …