News

The village of Mendon took a significant step this week to better showcase its picturesque location along the St. Joseph River. The Mendon Downtown Development Authority voted Monday to support plans for development of an overlook deck. The elevated platform will feature a 32-by-48-foot deck to offer a panoramic view of the river. Village manager John Hyden said the development …

A 48-year-old woman was charged with drug-related offenses following her arrest Sept. 18 in Cass County. Members of the Cass County Drug Enforcement Team went to the 20000 block of Bulhand Road in Calvin Township after receiving a number of tips regarding the suspected manufacturing and use of methamphetamine at the residence. Following a search of the home, several items …

The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the larceny of a Polaris Ranger from a home in the 23000 block of Butler Road in Mendon Township. The vehicle was stolen during the evening Sept. 24. Authorities said the owner heard the vehicle start, but thought it was a family member taking it to complete farm chores.

This year’s St. Joseph County Grange Fair attracted about 150,000 people, a figure confirmed Monday by fair manager Bill Johnson. Johnson said the process of establishing an accurate attendance count, however, is a moving target due to several variables. For example, he said, fair officials traditionally calculate attendance by assessing how many patrons paid each day, then using a multiplier …

Traffic flow is back to normal after the final stage of a major road project in a St. Joseph County community began last week. Main Street in Mendon opened to two-way traffic last Thursday after the westbound lane was closed when the $4.1 million infrastructure project started in late March. Village manager John Hyden said the balance of the project …

Cass County Sheriff Joe Underwood said the ninth annual National Drug Take Back event Saturday resulted in the collection of about 94 pounds of old and expired prescription medication. Collection sites were set up in Silver Creek, Howard, Edwardsburg and Marcellus townships, as well as the city of Dowagiac. Locally, more than six pounds were collected in Marcellus Township. The …

A 26-year-old Constantine woman was cited for disobeying a stop sign and no proof of insurance after causing a two-vehicle collision last week in Florence Township. Sheriff’s officials said Marranda Rohm was driving south on Fairchild Road at 6:18 p.m. Sept. 23 when she disregarded the stop sign at Centreville-Constantine Road. Her vehicle was struck by a pickup driven by …

A Cass County man was shot at after he confronted two men attempting to steal a motorcycle from his father’s property over the weekend. Cass County sheriff’s deputies said 27-year-old Roy Clark III of Dowagiac confronted the men around 4:30 p.m. Sunday on Twin Lakes Road in Wayne Township. The men were pushing a motorcycle from a shed. One of …

The August unemployment rate in St. Joseph County decreased by 1.8 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 3.8 percent August unemployment rate was less than July’s 5.6 percent. August’s unemployment rate was also 1.8 percent less than the same month one year earlier, …

St. Joseph County’s public libraries are staging their annual “One Book, One County” event tonight in Three Rivers. Author “Jackson” Kaguri will be present as he discusses his book, “A School For My Village,” starting at 7 o’clock at the Riviera Theatre. Kaguri’s book discusses his role in helping build schools for AIDS orphans in his home country of Uganda. …