News

A Cass County resident and Westside Landfill employee has been recognized by Waste Management as “Heavy-Equipment Operator of the Year.” Harold Douglas Norton of Jones won the title for the 45,000-employee company. Norton began working for Meyer Brothers Construction the day after he graduated from high school. When the Meyers bought the landfill, he began working there, and stayed on …

As part of ongoing monitoring of substances commonly known as PFAS, the city of Sturgis, in coordination with Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, conducted tests on groundwater at the landfill on Big Hill Road. Results showed quality standards for surface-water discharge are being met. Testing took place within the past several months after the city in October sampled water from the …

A missing-person report centering on a Sturgis-area woman earlier this week has been resolved. State police troopers were advised that 54-year-old Juanita Hunt had not been seen since she left her place of employment Thursday last week in Sturgis. She was reported missing over the weekend but an update by state police late Monday indicated she was found by family …

The chairman of a local economic-development corporation said the past six years of economic growth should continue for the foreseeable future. Ken Jones, chairman of St. Joseph County EDGE, said the diversity of St. Joseph County’s business community is strong, to the extent that it is significantly insulated from the economic bumps other jurisdictions experience. With the jobless rate in …

Glen Oaks Community College has announced Anita Lopez-Schlabach, is the recipient of the ACT postsecondary champion award, in recognition of her work helping students navigate their education and career journey. Lopez-Schlabach advises students in the St. Joseph County Early Middle College program – a job that takes her daily from one high school to another to meet with students and …

Fire destroyed a home in Nottawa Township last weekend. Three departments responded to the 58000 block of Covered Bridge Road about 4:30 p.m. Saturday. First-arriving personnel found the home engulfed in flames as well as stored ammunition going off inside the residence. Authorities said the homeowner was working in a shed when he noticed the house ablaze. Officials believe a …

Authorities have identified the victim who died in a single-vehicle crash early Saturday in Mottville Township. Constantine resident Cody Hayden, 34, died at the scene of the incident, which occurred shortly before 3 a.m. on Indian Prairie Road, near Harrison Road. His passenger, a 31-year-old Constantine man, was taken to Elkhart General Hospital after suffering non-life-threatening injuries. His identity has …

Two Elkhart police officers who were caught on video repeatedly punching a handcuffed man have been placed on unpaid administrative leave. A federal grand jury last month indicted Cory Newland and Joshua Titus of the Elkhart Police Department on a charge of depriving Mario Ledesma of his rights through excessive force. Police video shows them punching Ledesma after he spat …

A Constantine man died over the weekend in a single-vehicle accident in Mottville Township. The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department said deputies were called shortly before 3 a.m. Saturday to Indian Prairie Road, where a vehicle went off the roadway near Harrison Road. According to a department media release, the vehicle was traveling west on Indian Prairie when it appears …

February’s unemployment rate in St. Joseph County was eight-tenths of a percent lower than the previous month. The monthly labor-market analysis by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget showed the county’s 3.8 percent February unemployment rate marked a decrease from January’s 4.6 percent. St. Joseph County was below the state unemployment average, which was 4.1 percent in February. …