News

A crash Monday in Fawn River Township led to a lengthy interruption of internet and other services in St. Joseph County. According to Michigan State Police, the crash occurred just before 6 p.m. on Fawn River Road near Big Hill Road. A tractor-trailer driven by John Smoll of Elida, Ohio, was hauling an excavator that was over the legally allowed …

Sturgis Public Schools Board of Education has reached a contract agreement with Art Ebert, incoming superintendent. During Monday’s board meeting, its members voted unanimously to approve Ebert’s contract. Board president Ann Bird said the sides agreed to a three-year contract, similar in total to the amount that was paid in the last contract for recently-retired Tom Langdon. His last 12-month …

State Rep. Kim LaSata announced Tuesday she has filed paperwork to be a candidate for the 21st State Senate district in the 2018 election. LaSata, a Republican from the Berrien County community of Bainbridge, hopes to replace Sen. John Proos, who cannot seek re-election due to term limits. The 21st Senate District encompasses St. Joseph, Cass and Berrien counties. LaSata …

State police investigators out of the Coldwater detachment are looking into an explosion earlier this week in Branch County’s Sherwood Township. The incident occurred at 9:50 p.m. Monday inside a dumpster in the 100 block of Oliverda Drive. Authorities said the explosion was heard up to half a mile away and scattered debris more than 60 feet out of the …

The Michigan Department of Transportation Adopt-A-Highway program will kick off its 2018 season across the state beginning this weekend, concluding April 22. Volunteers pick up litter three times a year. The next two pickups will be July 14 to 22 and Sept. 22 to 30. The AAH program began in Michigan in 1990. Today, more than 2,800 groups have adopted …

Authorities who have searched a southwestern Michigan river for a missing kayaker since February say they’ve found a body. The Berrien County Sheriff’s Office says the body of a male was found Tuesday in Watervliet Township in the Paw Paw River. A statement says the body wasn’t immediately identified, but notes the search for the kayaker lasted more than 40 …

Removal of a southwestern Michigan park fountain that some say celebrates white supremacy is expected in the coming weeks. Kalamazoo officials say the Fountain of the Pioneers in Bronson Park will be dismantled and stored until a decision is made on where to relocate it. Last month, the city commission ordered the monument removed. The fountain was completed in 1940 …

A southwestern Michigan man has been sentenced to more than 20 years in prison after pleading guilty in a police pursuit crash that killed an Indiana motorist. The South Bend Tribune reports 39-year-old James Morrison of Niles, learned his punishment on Monday after earlier pleading guilty to five felony counts, including resisting law enforcement, in the February 2017 crash. Police say Morrison had heroin …

A western Michigan funeral home will host a community memorial service for 30 dogs that died in a boarding kennel fire late last month. Clock Funeral Home of Muskegon is hosting the service April 12 for families to share memories of their pets that died at Storm’s Ahead Kennel in Fruitport Township. Each pet that perished in the March 30 …

For the second time in five months, an infant has been left in a baby box at a northwestern Indiana volunteer fire station. Lt. Chuck Kohler of the Coolspring Township Volunteer Fire Department outside Michigan City said everything worked as planned and he was on scene tending to the baby girl less than a minute after receiving a page Sunday …