News

State Police troopers are investigating the theft of a trailer taken sometime between 12:30 p.m. Monday and 8 a.m. Tuesday from the 10000 block of Lucas Road in Fabius Township. The 16-by-7-foot enclosed trailer is black in color with tandem axles. There were four ladders, two 23-foot aluminum poles on top and it was loaded with tools, according to authorities.

The oncology treatment center at Sturgis Hospital will remain open, hospital officials announced Monday. Oncology services had been among those expected to close in Sturgis as part of a restructuring announced last month. Hospital president and CEO Rob LaBarge said the opportunity to keep the service open is possible through a cooperative partnership with Ascension Borgess Hospital. Ascension Borgess will do …

State Sen. Kim LaSata has announced she has opened her office in Lansing and is ready to serve her constituents in the 21st District. LaSata, who was elected to succeed term-limited John Proos, said she welcomes comments from the district’s constituents and encourages anyone visiting Lansing to stop by her office. Her Capitol Building office is S-310 and its phone …

St. Joseph County 3-B District Court is staging a ceremony at 3 p.m. Friday to celebrate the 50-year anniversary of the Michigan district court system. Among the guests expected to take part in the event are judges Jeff Middleton and Rob Pattison, retired Judge William Welty, and retired administrators David Recher and Carol Frohriep. The post was originally filled by …

Briah Stevens, a second-grader at Wenzel Elementary School in Sturgis, gave up her own Christmas gifts so one of her classmates could receive presents. Back in early December, Stevens heard one of her friends say she wasn’t going to have a Christmas this year because her family couldn’t afford gifts. Stevens explained the situation to her mother and asked that …

Additional revenue from the state has given St. Joseph County Road Commission a fund balance of more than $6 million. As a result, the agency is planning to do extra work in the upcoming year. Included in budgeted expenses are work on the Kalamazoo Street Bridge in White Pigeon at $2.2 million and at least $3.5 million on 22 miles …

A 46-year-old man has been arrested in connection with two recent bank robberies in the Michiana area. Dwight Neal faces charges for a Dec. 18 robbery of Flagstar Bank in South Bend and a Dec. 21 robbery at PNC Bank in Bronson. Neal was arrested Dec. 22 in South Bend after police responded to a domestic abuse call, said Kevin Garcia, …

A 46-year-old Cass County man has been charged with murder in connection with the 2016 death of his 2-year-old stepdaughter. Lance Reeves was denied bond by a Cass County judge Friday during the Dowagiac man’s arraignment on charges of open murder and child abuse. The judge entered a not-guilty plea for Reeves. Authorities say a witness accused Reeves of violently …

A Michigan man charged with killing six strangers between picking up rides for Uber pleaded guilty to murder on Monday, just before attorneys were set to interview jurors for his trial. Jason Dalton’s surprise move came more than three years after shootings, which occurred over the course a few hours in and around Kalamazoo. Dalton pleaded guilty to murder and …

November’s unemployment rate in St. Joseph County was six-tenths 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 3.9 percent November unemployment rate marked an increase from October’s 3.3 percent. St. Joseph County was above the state unemployment average, which was 3.6 percent in November. …