News

Although many health officials are focused on the flu, Michigan is in the midst of a serious Hepatitis A outbreak, said Rebecca Burns, health officer at Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Health Agency. The state’s case count as of Jan. 24 was 715 confirmed cases with 582 hospitalizations and 24 deaths. One case has been reported in Hillsdale. The concern with the Michigan …

Crews are preparing to remove a 90-year-old dam in southwestern Michigan to help restore habitat for native fish. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and other organizations will soon begin the $4 million project to remove the Alcott Street dam in Kalamazoo, the Kalamazoo Gazette reported . The dam, which impounds Bryant Mill Pond on Portage Creek, was built in 1927, but …

Robert Ward dresses like a cowboy, but he’s often referred to as a “space cowboy.” Neatly displayed in well-lit glass cases at his Prescott home are the meteorites that he has found, bartered for or purchased throughout the world. Ward made the most recent additions to his collection this month, when a meteorite was widely witnessed as it fell from …

The Three Rivers Police Department is advising residents to remain observant in light of two incidents that occurred within the past week. In the first incident, a woman on the city’s River Trail Monday this week observed a man playing with a knife as he sat on a bench with a baby stroller at his side. He asked the woman …

State Rep. Aaron Miller this week joined House colleagues in unveiling an eight-bill package repealing Michigan’s no-fault car insurance system. The goal of the plan is to bring significant relief to drivers paying the nation’s most expensive insurance premiums. The proposal eliminates the no-fault system and moves Michigan to a full-tort system similar to other states, including Indiana. The legislation …

A dozen campers at a Fabius Township site were damaged sometime late last year. State police said the incidents occurred between Oct. 15 and Dec. 24 at Corey Lake Campground. The suspects caused damage to approximately a dozen campers by prying open or cutting holes into entry doors. Once inside, they rummaged through the interior and stole several flat screen …

Sturgis Hospital announced Wednesday it is implementing limited visitation in all hospital areas to reduce the transmission of influenza from person to person. Hospital visitors will be limited to18 years of age or older, visitors to maternity areas are limited to immediate family, siblings under 18 years will be able to visit the newborn and may be screened for fever, …

Some positive news related to Michigan State University was yielded during Wednesday’s executive committee meeting of the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners. Julie Pioch, MSU Extension’s District 13 coordinator, provided commissioners with the agency’s annual report covering 2017. She said it was a year of great programming with outstanding work taking place. Pioch’s annual report elaborated on a number …

The Three Rivers Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors voted at its January meeting to support the St. Joseph County 911 in an upcoming millage-increase request. Slated to appear before voters in May, the agency is seeking to increase its existing millage from three-quarters of a mill to one full mill. The proposed one-quarter-of-a-mill increase will allow for technology …

Scientists at Chicago’s Field Museum are studying a piece of the meteor that broke apart earlier this month over Michigan. The meteorite, the size of a peach pit, arrived Wednesday. NASA scientists say the 6-foot-wide meteor broke apart about 20 miles over Earth on Jan. 16. It created a bright light and what sounded like thunder in the sky. Museum …