News

Seven cases of chickenpox have been reported to the health department’s St. Joseph County office this past week. In January, the Michigan Disease Surveillance System confirmed seven cases in Hillsdale County; most of these cases involve school-age children. According to Michigan law, all students are required to be immunized with two doses of Varicella vaccine or have had a history …

Authorities say two people suspected in robberies in Indiana, Ohio and Michigan have been taken into custody following a traffic stop. The Steuben County sheriff’s department in Indiana says 32-year-old John Morgan and 29-year-old Nickole Collins were arrested early Monday near Cincinnati in Hamilton County, Ohio. They’re awaiting extradition to Branch County, Michigan, where Morgan faces charges including bank robbery …

Police say a $1,000 reward is being offered for information after a local cemetery was hit by vandalism that caused more than $50,000 in damage. Police in Sturgis say more than 30 headstones were destroyed at Oaklawn Cemetery sometime from Friday to Sunday and a small building on the property also was vandalized. According to the city’s website, the cemetery was established …

A county-owned building is being targeted as the location of a new health clinic for low-income and indigent St. Joseph County residents. But at least one commissioner made clear he will not support a plan to pay for costs associated with remodeling the site. During last week’s county commission executive session, commissioners discussed a bid from Brussee/Brady Inc. of Three …

A dog had to be shot to death Friday after it attacked a mail carrier and police officer in Sturgis. According to a Sturgis Police Department media release, officers were called around 4 p.m. to a residence in the 400 block of South Jefferson Street following a report of a dog attacking a mail carrier. Sturgis officers and the dog’s …

The St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday is expected to authorize a survey of the Plumb Lake property it plans to develop into a park in Burr Oak Township. County administrator Pat Yoder during last week’s county commission executive committee meeting said a state requirement calls for the property to be surveyed, with relevant data recorded with the …

The validity of the Community Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services of St. Joseph County Board could become a topic of discussion by county commissioners this week. Commissioner Robin Baker inquired during Wednesday’s county commission executive committee meeting about interviews with prospective new members and reappointments of three current members. Baker said applicants to the CMHSAS Board need to be …

A new Michigan law offers ways for certain people to access the online storehouse of memories in Facebook and Google accounts after the owner dies, but the bill sponsor says it wasn’t easy to get tech companies and lawyers to agree on the new rules. While mega tech corporations like Google and Facebook tout privacy concerns, lawyers representing families or …

A man accused in a shooting rampage in Kalamazoo, told detectives that he shot a woman outside a restaurant after she declined his request for a dollar, according to a state police report. Jason Dalton told detectives that he had asked the woman “if she could spare a dollar to make America great again,” The Kalamazoo Gazette reported Friday. State …

Students all over the U.S. dissect animals as a kind of high school rite of passage. Not many, though, stuff and mount the critters afterward. A Michigan high school is teaching students to do just that. Croswell-Lexington High offered a taxidermy course for the first time this school year. So far, it’s been a hit. Sixty students enrolled in the …