News

Funding to cover major projects at three county parks might be financed through the sale of bonds. Members of the county commission’s Executive Committee agreed Wednesday to consider the option to support nearly $1.4 million in proposed projects at Covered Bridge Farm and Plumb Lake parks, and Cade Lake Park and Campground. Parks and recreation director Jaymes MacDonald said the …

Two people were arrested and a significant quantity of drugs was recovered following an arrest Tuesday morning stemming from an investigation in Three Rivers. According to a Three Rivers Police Department media release, officers were engaged in a drug investigation centering on a Broadway Street motel. At 4:45 a.m., the target vehicle pulled into the motel parking lot, followed by …

With the support of The Andersons Inc. and in keeping with their mission of supporting communities that will increase their value, the St. Joseph County Grange Fair has received a $10,000 matching grant. Fair manager Bill Johnson said the grant was finalized over the winter and was recently received. Johnson said the grant is earmarked for infrastructure and will be …

A recently formed committee with a focus on roads is expected to meet monthly instead of an informal basis. The state of the Roads Committee was raised during Wednesday’s county commission Executive Committee meeting. Commission chairman Allen Balog late last year established the Roads Committee. Balog said the Roads Committee has been meeting every six or seven weeks, and he …

Two dogs perished in a residential fire Monday afternoon in Fawn River Township. A passerby alerted central dispatch at 1:30 p.m. that a house in the 30000 block of U.S. 12 was ablaze. Investigators said it appears the fire originated in a breezeway between the home and a garage/workshop. A preliminary assessment shows the fire was likely electrical in nature.

Constantine Village Council members on Monday discussed a Jan. 11 fire that destroyed a historical residence at 320 S. Washington St., between the post office and Eley Funeral Home. Village Manager Mark Honeysett expressed mild surprise that, considering the intense heat from the blaze, there wasn’t more damage to the post office, although the plastic on one of its meters …

A man who was a witness for prosecutors and had immunity for his testimony about a 1988 southwestern Michigan slaying has been acquitted of murder in the case. A jury this week returned the verdict in the case of Guy Carl Simpson in Van Buren County Circuit Court. He was charged last year in the slaying of 22-year-old Charles Paul …

Michigan’s northern Lower Peninsula is experiencing a bear boom. The black bear population has risen 29 percent in the region since 2012 and almost 50 percent since 2000, according to wildlife management specialist Kevin Swanson of the Department of Natural Resources. Swanson says complaints about nuisance bears are increasing, especially in the Baldwin management unit, which extends from Muskegon County …

A single-family residence in Sturgis appears to be a total loss after it sustained fire, smoke and water damage early Monday. The Sturgis Fire Department said it was called at 4:10 a.m. to the 400 block of West West Street. Crews were advised by Sturgis Police that all occupants of the residence had escaped. Fire officials arrived to the scene …

Horizon Bank recently announced it is merging its two Three Rivers locations later this year. According to market president Jeff Gatton, the bank’s downtown branch at 123 Portage Avenue will close April 14. All accounts at that location will be transferred to Horizon’s facility at 1213 W. Michigan Ave. Gatton said the Michigan Avenue location is expanding and all services …