News

Michigan officials say propane users should lock in fuel prices now, even though heating season is months away. The Michigan Agency for Energy says U.S. propane stocks are slightly higher now than they were a year ago. But they’re 27 percent below levels seen in 2016. Executive Director Anne Armstrong Cusack says customers should sign contracts soon instead of waiting …

Glen Oaks Community College will go to voters with a millage request in November. The college’s board of trustees last week agreed to move forward with a proposal for the five-year, half-mill request. The vote follows months of planning and community input. If approved, the millage would address situations including: renovating outdated technology laboratories and reconfiguring spaces to support workforce …

The Riviera Theatre in downtown Three Rivers will host a candidate forum later this month. Sponsored by River Country Solidarity and the St. Joseph County Democratic Party, the forum starts at 5:30 p.m. with a meet-and-greet event. At 6:15 p.m., a session with 6th Congressional District candidates will begin. Candidates planning to attend are David Benac, Rich Eicholz, George Franklin …

When final figures become available, it’s likely that the 2018 Lake and Home Tour – sponsored by the Three Rivers Area Chamber of Commerce – will show it drew fewer people compared to the 2017 inaugural event. Chamber director Christy Trammell said mid-afternoon rain Saturday was clearly the culprit. This year’s tour was offered on Sturgeon and Palmer lakes in …

Michigan Department of Transportation workers this week started a chip-seal project on U.S. 12 in the city of Sturgis, and Fawn River and Burr Oak townships. The $570,000 job started Monday and begins at Franks Avenue in Sturgis, working its way east to the Branch County line. MDOT Officials said the new surface will extend the life of the road …

Speed and alcohol are likely factors in a crash that left two Indiana residents dead from a weekend incident in Mottville Township, authorities said. St. Joseph County Sheriff deputies said Richard Spicher, 32 of Middlebury, and Brittany Wolcott, 30, of Shipshewana, were pronounced dead at the scene. The one-vehicle crash occurred around 9 p.m. Sunday on U.S. 131, between Indian …

An Indiana man power-washing the exterior of a southwestern Michigan church has died after coming into contact with an electrical line. The contracted employee was in a bucket lift Saturday afternoon outside St. Ann’s Catholic Church in Cassopolis when he was electrocuted. Police say the 65-year-old man was from Bremen, south of South Bend. His name has not been released.  …

Tests have been conducted at dozens of homes in the central region of Sturgis as part of a vapor-intrusion investigation. The Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency has been involved with the investigation since late 2016, as the Sturgis Municipal Well site was placed in the Superfund Program in 1984 due to chemical contamination from the Kirsch Company. The site was …

Organizers of the 2018 Covered Bridge Days said the weekend’s community festival in Centreville was a success, capped by a parade and square dance that were both well attended. The two-day event was highlighted by a widely-applauded fireworks show Friday evening. Saturday’s notable attractions included a 5K run and one-mile fun run, a pancake breakfast sponsored by the Centreville Lion’s …

Two elderly passengers were hospitalized for back and neck pain after the vehicle they were in was rear-ended over the weekend in Cass County’s Mason Township. Sheriff Richard Behnke said deputies were called shortly before 12:30 Saturday afternoon to U.S. 12 at Cassopolis Road, in response to the two-vehicle incident. According to authorities, 65-year-old Robert Postma of Elkhart was stopped …