News

A public hearing on St. Joseph County’s proposed 2017 fiscal-year budget generated scrutiny toward the county’s board of commissioners Tuesday. The focus of the scorn centered on the proposed $18.1 million general-fund budget and the $2.8 million the board earlier this year agreed to provide toward expenses related to a 17-field sports complex in the Three Rivers area. The proposed …

St. Joseph County commissioners this week approved the reappointment of Matt Scheske as a member of the county’s Investment Advisory Board. His three-year term will expire at the end of 2019. Scheske is vice president of commercial lending at Sturgis Bank & Trust. Also, commissioners agreed to reappoint four people to the county’s Planning Commission. They are: Warren Atkins of …

The city of Sturgis has cancelled the snow-removal emergency. The measure went into effect at 7 p.m. Thursday in light of a forecast that called for snowfall to exceed four inches. By ordinance, parking is prohibited on all city streets during a snow emergency. Any vehicle in violation is subject to being issued a citation with a fine of $50 …

Two people were hospitalized following a two-car accident this week in Cass County’s Volina Township. Sheriff Joe Underwood Jr. said deputies were dispatched shortly after 1:30 p.m. Wednesday to Decatur Road and Marcellus Highway. A vehicle driven by Janekk Spears, 18, of Lawton, was southbound on Decatur Road when Spears failed to yield at a stop sign. Her vehicle collided …

Police say a 20-year-old Western Michigan University student has been fatally shot at an apartment near campus and they’re seeking two men seen fleeing the area. Kalamazoo public safety officers and campus police responded about 10:30 p.m. Thursday to a call about the shooting and found the man dead of an apparent gunshot wound. Witnesses told police two men fled …

Detroit Police Chief James Craig has defended the decision to arrest and charge then drop charges against a man in the fatal shooting of a college police officer. Craig told reporters Thursday that police and prosecutors had “probable cause” to arrest and charge DeAngelo Davis with murder in the November slaying of Wayne State University officer Collin Rose. Craig says …

Mere hours after St. Joseph County concluded its recount of Nov. 8 presidential ballots, a federal judge ordered further recounts in Michigan and other states be suspended or not proceed. The decision, made late Wednesday, came after St. Joseph County Clerk Lindsay Oswald and a team of 24 people concluded a recount of more than 24,000 ballots. The procedure, which …

Officials with White Pigeon Community Schools have about six weeks to piece together what will appear before the district’s voters in a May renewal request. The third of three community forums was staged Tuesday, providing a final opportunity for event participants to fine-tune their choices for what should be included in a five-year, 3-mill sinking-fund-renewal request. Superintendent Jon Keyer said …

Members of the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners were recognized Tuesday by a representative from the Sturgis Area Chamber of Commerce. Chamber executive director Cathi Abbs said the agency staged its annual meeting a few weeks ago. During that event, the chamber board agreed to support special-recognition awards to commissioners Allen Balog, Don Eaton, Robin Baker, Rick Shaffer and …

A Pennsylvania police department says a black cat was lucky for one of its officers tracking down a fugitive. The Ephrata Police Department posted on its Facebook page that officers were searching for Jonathan Michael Steffy last month over an outstanding bench warrant. They found the 23-year-old in a backyard but he fled. As they searched the area, one officer …