News

The July unemployment rate in St. Joseph County rose by eight-tenths 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 4.7 percent July unemployment rate was higher than June’s 3.9 percent. July’s unemployment rate, however, was 1.2 percent less than the same month a …

The Aug. 20 river cleanup of the Portage River was called a success by event organizers. The St. Joseph County Conservation District’s fifth of six cleanups scheduled this summer took place in Mendon Township from the Portage Lake public access to Parkville Road in Park Township. Volunteer and conservation district board member John Nelson said 18 people took part in …

The Three Rivers Department of Public Services will begin its biannual hydrant flushing this week. Three Rivers Water Department Superintendent Mark Glessner said the task will start at 11 o’clock tonight. He expects the flushing to continue through September. The flushing will take place Sundays thru Thursdays from 11 p.m. until 6 a.m. Due to many variables, Glessner said, the …

Students in the Glen Oaks Community College’s machine-tool program will now be able to work and learn on a new piece of equipment, thanks to Vaupell Midwest Molding of Constantine. Vaupell has donated an electrical-discharge machine to be housed in the newly renovated Machine Shop at the college. The donation means Vaupell is able to assist in helping educate Glen …

Some school-age children whose families were homeless have begun moving into temporary housing with funding from a property tax approved by Kalamazoo County voters. Kalamazoo residents in November approved a tax that is expected to raise about $800,000 a year for six years to provide temporary financial housing assistance and other support services. About $700,000 has been collected from winter …

Michigan is waiving more public schools from a decade-old law requirement to open after Labor Day — a nod to increasingly popular year-round schooling, the addition of more mandated class days and other factors. In 2006, the first year in which August start dates were legally off limits, the state Department of Education issued nine waivers. More than 10 times …

Two firearms were stolen from a Colon Township residence this week. State police were called to a breaking-and-entering of a residence in the 58000 block of Lepley Road around 4:45 p.m. Wednesday. The victim said a .22-caliber semi-automatic rifle and a 12-gauge “stagecoach” style double-barrel shotgun were taken. A department media release did not indicate how access to the residence …

A Cooper Township man pled guilty last week in Kalamazoo County District Court to poaching-related charges. According to a media release from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, 29-year-old Craig Laws was originally charged with seven misdemeanor counts. Under a plea agreement, however, Laws pled guilty to possessing a deer while ineligible to secure a license; possessing a deer without …

Vicksburg residents are one step closer to enjoying a new nature trailhead in their neighborhood with help from a Blight Elimination Program grant awarded by the Michigan Land Bank Fast Track Authority. The $33,000 grant will be used to demolish an old car wash on the future site of the Vicksburg Nature Trailhead. The proposed trailhead will be a municipal-owned …

Two Kalamazoo officers have been suspended for one day following the accidental death of a 57-year-old man in police custody. Public Safety Chief Jeff Hadley says in a release Wednesday that the officers should have recognized James Dunigan’s medical condition and sought treatment. Medical examiners have determined that Dunigan’s May 6 death was caused by medical issues which included heart …