News

The St. Joseph County Association of Realtors has named Johnnie Decker as its 2017 Realtor of the Year. The award is given in recognition of outstanding leadership and service for the association, the community and the real estate industry. Award winners were chosen and recognized both locally and at the annual Michigan Realtors Convention and Expo, to be held this week …

A two-man field of Republicans jockeying to challenge Sen. Debbie Stabenow in 2018 could soon double in size. Rep. Fred Upton, who has held southwestern Michigan’s congressional seat for 30 years, took more steps toward a Senate run at the GOP’s biennial leadership conference this weekend on Mackinac Island. While he has yet to make a final decision, numerous Republicans …

An Elkhart man was arrested Wednesday after he attempted to flee from Cass County Sheriff’s Department officials. Sheriff Richard Behnke said deputies conducted a traffic stop on the driver of a vehicle clocked traveling 96 miles per hour on Decatur Road near Kelsey Lake Street in Penn Township shortly before 6 p.m. The driver of the vehicle fled on foot during the …

The Michigan Department of Transportation wishes to advise motorists that the third and final Adopt-A-Highway cleanup event is underway and slated to conclude Saturday. The latest cleanup period started this past weekend. Volunteers in Michigan have been participating in the program since 1990. Adopt-A-Highway volunteers collect more than 60,000 bags of trash annually. The program has grown to involve more …

A Union City man was injured after the moped he was driving went off the road after the driver attempted to avoid striking a deer in Colon Township. State police said 26-year-old Shawn Davenport was driving east on M-86 shortly before 11 p.m. Wednesday when he swerved the moped off the road and into a ditch near Farrand Road. Davenport, …

A representative from Three Rivers Community Schools was the winner of the fourth-annual pie-eating contest Saturday at the St. Joseph County Grange Fair. Athletic director Andy Mains was the first of eight contestants to finish their pie in the competition, which requires participants to not use their hands. Mains, who opted for a chocolate pie, participated in an effort to …

Autumne Keifer of Three Rivers, who won the inaugural “River Country Has Talent” competition in 2016, repeated as top prize-winner Thursday in the final round at the St. Joseph County Grange Fair. Keifer sang “Girl Crush” and “Gunpowder and Lead.” A probation officer/magistrate for St. Joseph County District Court, Keifer said she plans to take a vacation with her winnings …

A 31-year-old Schoolcraft man was arrested and faces multiple charges after he was stopped for a speeding violation Sunday in Colon Township. According to a department media release, a trooper on patrol in the area of Colon Road and Orla Engle Road in Colon Township clocked the man traveling in excess of 100 miles per hour. After losing sight of …

State police arrested a White Pigeon man Tuesday morning after he allegedly attempted to kidnap his wife. Troopers were called at 10:45 a.m. to Indian Prairie Road and U.S. 131 in White Pigeon Township, where a witness saw the suspect chase the victim down the road and force her back into a vehicle. The witness followed the vehicle until it …

A 24-year-old Battle Creek man wanted on felony warrants was arrested by Three Rivers Police last week. Officers were called in the early-morning hours Saturday after a complaint about a loud gathering outside Riverside Townhouses. Officers responded and noticed a number of people enter a particular apartment. While officers discussed the situation with the primary occupant, police recognized a man …