News

Four St. Joseph County officials and three county commissioners are running uncontested in today’s primary election. Sheriff Brad Balk, 63, is completing his second four-year term. He has said this will likely be his final run for the office. Balk lives in Centreville. The post currently pays $79,000 a year. Prosecutor John McDonough, 36, is also completing his eighth year …

The president of Western Michigan University is retiring next year after 10 years in the job. John Dunn says he will serve through June 2017 and then become president emeritus for a year. He announced his retirement Monday to give university trustees plenty of time to find a successor. Kenneth Miller, chairman of WMU’s governing board, says the Kalamazoo school …

The June unemployment rate in St. Joseph County increased by three-tenth of a percent compared to a month earlier. The monthly labor-market analysis by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget showed St. Joseph County’s 3.9 percent June unemployment rate was more than May’s 3.6 percent. However, June’s unemployment rate was seven-tenths of a percent less than the same …

A countywide effort to assist a benevolent organization netted $9,000 in cash donations during a recent, one-day fundraiser. Over a three-hour period July 23, personnel from almost every fire department in the county joined Walmart stores in Sturgis and Three Rivers, the Three Rivers High School band and Sturgis High School cheerleaders to solicit the money to benefit Habitat For …

A 57-year-old Three Rivers man required medical care after the bicycle he was riding was struck by a car in a hit-and-run incident last week in Constantine Township. Sheriff’s deputies said the man was bicycling south on the shoulder of U.S. 131 around 4 a.m. Friday when his bike was struck near the intersection of Garber Road. The driver of …

A Cass County police agency released the identity of a man who was killed in an industrial accident last week. Ontwa Township Edwardsburg Police Department Chief Timothy Kozal said 32-year-old David Kantz died as a result of injuries he suffered from a machine press at a business in the 69000 block of Kraus Road in Edwardsburg. Kantz, an employee for …

Kalamazoo is getting $70 million from philanthropists and others to be used to create a foundation to help solve the city’s budget problems and cut property taxes. The Kalamazoo City Commission decided Thursday to move forward with the idea of creating the Foundation for Excellence. The Kalamazoo Gazette reports city leaders secured donations from Kalamazoo philanthropists William Johnston and William …

Three western Michigan teenagers have been charged in connection with a bank robbery in Van Buren County. Two girls — ages 16 and 17 — and a 15-year-old boy were arraigned Friday. Police say bank tellers saw what appeared to be a weapon covered by clothing during Thursday’s holdup in Bloomingdale, southwest of Grand Rapids. Investigators were able to get …

After hearing arguments, the state Supreme Court has dropped interest in a case involving police tactics during a marijuana bust in southwestern Michigan. The issue was whether deputies in St. Joseph County acted legally when they walked to the rear of a home and suspected there was marijuana inside. Moments earlier, they had knocked at a different door and got …

A police chief in southwestern Michigan is defending an officer who appears to be making a gun-pointing gesture with his hand in a photo that was posted on Facebook. Kalamazoo Public Safety Chief Jeff Hadley says it’s a misunderstanding. He says the officer is known for pointing when he acknowledges people in his patrol car. The Kalamazoo Gazette says the photo …