News

Three Rivers will have 15 more years of street and sidewalk improvements, as a millage-renewal request was passed Tuesday. The 3.7 mills were up for renewal after their formation in 2002. The 3.7 mills generate about $800,000 annually and allow the city to maintain its 49 miles of streets and sidewalks. The measure was approved by nearly 70 percent of …

Allen Balog won his fourth two-year term to the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners in Tuesday’s general election. The Three Rivers resident and former mayor of Three Rivers will join John Dobberteen as the only two incumbents returning to the five-member board in January. Representing Flowerfield and Fabius townships, and the city of Three Rivers, the 60-year-old Balog fended …

Aaron Miller fended off a strong campaign from challenger Carol Higgins to retain his seat Tuesday as 59th State House District representative. The 29-year-old Sherman Township resident likened his being contested to a “doctor’s check-up.” Miller is finishing his first two-year term after winning the 2014 general election as a dark horse in a four-candidate field. He said it will …

Membership to four different village councils and one spot on the Sturgis City Commission were decided Tuesday. In Centreville, Gary McClain, Steve Quake, Daniel Merten and Richard Thompson were elected to the board as trustees. Constantine will see Gary Mathers take over as president, and Willie Harder, Cathy Piper and Richard Larrance serve as trustees. Mendon residents selected Kirk Spence, …

Michigan Supreme Court Justice Joan Larsen has won a partial term on the state’s highest court. Larsen defeated Wayne County Judge Deborah Thomas and lawyer Kerry Morgan in the election Tuesday. She was appointed to the court in 2015 and now will serve the two years remaining in the term of a justice who resigned. Larsen was nominated by the …

A school principal says a 10-year-old boy who died after being struck by a vehicle while crossing a street in Kalamazoo County had just been at a youth group gathering. Police in Kalamazoo Township say Daniel Sluiter was trying to cross Wednesday night in an area where there was no crosswalk or stoplight. He was taken to a hospital, where …

Two bailiffs involved in the fatal shooting of a jail inmate at the Berrien County Courthouse in July won’t be criminally charged in the incident. Berrien County Prosecutor Michael Sepic said Wednesday that the fatal shooting of inmate 44-year-old Larry Gordon was justified, clearing bailiffs Milt Russell and Rick Lull of criminal responsibility in his death. The bailiffs had fired …

A Cass County man was taken into custody this week following a standoff with law-enforcement authorities. According to state police, troopers were called at 7:45 p.m. Tuesday to a Howard Township location where two people were struck by a car driven by a hit-and-run driver. The victims provided a detailed description of the vehicle and authorities managed to locate the …

Officials from the Michigan Department of Transportation said a two-week road project on U.S. 131 in the village of Schoolcraft has been completed. MDOT said work at the railroad crossing at the south end of the village of Schoolcraft was finished on schedule and a detour around the tracks has been removed. The project, which started Oct. 24, involved repaving …

Indiana Michigan Power plans to invest about $5 million to improve the electric transmission system in St. Joseph County. The Sturgis Area Improvements project is essential to ensure continued reliable energy service is available to customers, according to I& M spokesperson Tracy Warner. Plans include upgrading about three miles of 69-kilovolt transmission line. Warner said existing wood poles will be …