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The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Monday in favor of Michigan and other Republican-led states that challenged Environmental Protection Agency rules that would reduce mercury and other air pollution from coal-fired power plants. The regulations, announced in 2011, are different from rules proposed last year to cut carbon dioxide emissions. What the decision means: ___ RULING A Supreme Court majority …

The May unemployment rate in St. Joseph County increased 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 May unemployment rate was higher than April’s 3.9 percent. May’s unemployment rate, however, was 1.1 percent less than the same month one year …

History was made last week in Centreville, as a pair of Three Rivers residents became the first same-sex couple to marry in St. Joseph County. Not long after the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, Susan Henry and Dawn Munson arrived to county clerk Pattie Bender’s office to complete a marriage license. The two decided on a …

Three school board members subject to a recall have through Monday next week to appeal a decision Friday that will allow the process to continue. Three Rivers Board of Education members Waneta Truckey, Carl Barth and board president Mike Bosma did not indicate after Friday’s clarity/factual hearing what course of action they plan to follow. The three-member St. Joseph County …

Members of the St. Joseph County Election Commission agreed Friday that the language in petitions to recall a trio of Three Rivers Community Schools Board of Education members is clear. As a result, the recall process against board members Waneta Truckey, Carl Barth and board president Mike Bosma will be allowed to continue. The decision was made by the three-member …

St. Joseph County officials hope a program they have discussed will increase the number of quality candidates for deputy positions with the sheriff’s department. During an executive committee meeting earlier this month, county administrator Pat Yoder said undersheriff Mark Lillywhite proposed an idea that is an option for not having a strong candidate pool. Yoder said the process begins with …

Two people were taken to the hospital following a two-vehicle accident earlier this week in Fabius Township. According to the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department, 76-year-old Mary Corban of South Bend was driving south on U.S. 131 when her vehicle collided with an eastbound car driven by Catherine Kull, 61, of Niles. Kull was on M-60 and, according to investigators, …

Colon Community Schools addressed a pair of business matters during its June meeting. The board granted tenure to Great Start Readiness Program teacher Sara Lindsey, and high school life skills and English teacher Kim Klocke. Also, the board adopted the district’s 2015-16 school year calendar. The first day will be Sept. 8 – the latest possible start date. Christmas break …

The state says Michigan’s seasonally unadjusted unemployment rate rose 1.1 points to 5.9 percent in May as a large number of people entered the workforce for the summer. The Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget released state and regional employment figures Thursday. The statewide rate is down 1.6 points from 7.5 percent in May 2014. The department says the …

A once-popular family attraction in southwestern Michigan is up for auction after it didn’t open this year. The Kalamazoo Gazette reports the telephone at Deer Forest has been disconnected and later this month a Kalamazoo-based online auction house has scheduled the sale of the 32-acre tourist attraction. Deer Forest included train rides through the trees and the feeding of deer …