News

The St. Joseph County Area Narcotics unit found evidence of a marijuana-growing operation at the scene of a Nov. 28 homicide. During the course of their investigation into the homicide in the 27000 block of Maystead Road in Sherman Township, SCAN members confiscated a large volume of marijuana that police say is far beyond medical-marijuana limits. Investigators also seized equipment used …

A Cass County man was injured after the golf cart he was driving was struck by a car earlier this week. Sheriff Richard Behnke said deputies were called around 8:30 a.m. Monday to the intersection of Grange and Five Points roads in Mason Township. Investigators said 69-year-old James Bercraft of Cassopolis was on Five Points Road waiting for traffic to …

Deborak Haak, from the Three Rivers Public Library, said it has one-on-one computer assistance available by appointment at its Michigan Avenue location. Haak said library personnel can teach the basics of email, Microsoft Office, social media, and more. Anyone wishing to learn more about computer, laptop, cell phone or tablet basics is invited to make a one-hour appointment, then show …

St. Joseph County sheriff’s deputies arrested a man over the weekend following what authorities called a police pursuit. The incident started shortly before 10 p.m. Sunday on Heimbach Road near Angevine Road in Mendon Township, where deputies attempted to stop a pickup with a registration violation. The driver failed to stop and continued driving for about 10 minutes before fleeing …

Authorities say two people have died after a motorcycle they were riding collided with a car. The Kalamazoo County sheriff’s department says the crash happened Sunday in Comstock Township. The department on Monday identified the dead as 28-year-old David Arthur-John Haan and his passenger 27-year-old Stephanie Marie Hirding of Portage. The roadway near the crash scene was closed as deputies …

October’s unemployment rate in St. Joseph County remained unchanged from the previous month. The monthly labor-market analysis by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget showed the county’s 4.2 percent October unemployment rate equaled the same figure from September. St. Joseph County was at the same level as the state’s unemployment average for the month. The agency said the …

State Rep. Aaron Miller last week delivered testimony before the House Health Policy Committee in support of a bill he sponsored to require hospitals in Michigan to disclose nurse staffing ratios to the public. Miller’s bill is part of a bipartisan package intended to combat the under-staffing of nurses, which results in some nurses being required to work 18-hour shifts …

Members of St. Joseph County’s animal control department are optimistic 2018 will be a good year for the agency. Their goal is to secure enough funding to begin firm plans for a new facility. A site – located southeast of the current complex – has been identified. But, Sheriff Brad Balk said, it’s a long road to the goal of …

Kelly Hostetler, executive director of St. Joseph County United Way, recently presented Children’s Trauma Assessment Group with a $10,000 donation. The $10,000 was recently given to the United Way by a county resident who wished to remain anonymous. Also present at the check presentation were Deana Strudwick, CTAG board president; David Tomlinson, probate and juvenile court judge; Tadd Davis, past president United Way Board; and Natalie …

Michigan’s minimum wage will rise to $9.25 an hour starting January 1st. That’s a 35-cent raise from the current minimum of $8.90 per hour. It’s the final definitive increase provided by a 2014 law, the state said Friday. Beginning in 2019, however, the minimum wage is due to increase annually with inflation unless the unemployment rate is high. Employers can …