News

The Exchange Club of Sturgis recently announced its 19th “Keep Sturgis Beautiful” Award program winners, recognizing four city homeowners and one commercial business. As in the past, the Exchange Club chose one winner from each of the city’s four corners as well as one non-residential property. Sturgis Neighborhood Program Director Monica Smith shared that the properties are judged and selected …

An 18-year-old woman and 31-year-old man have been arrested after a counterfeit $100 bill was used to pay for a milkshake at a western Michigan restaurant. The Kalamazoo Gazette and Battle Creek Enquirer report Sunday that police later found fake bills were passed Saturday at three other businesses in Battle Creek. Police say the woman took the change from the …

St. Joseph County Prosecutor John McDonough has released the names of the two men involved in a fatal shooting Thursday evening in Three Rivers. McDonough said Westley George, 28, of Three Rivers faces a number of charges after fatally shooting Eugene Jackson, 24. The incident, McDonough said, is believed to be the result of a dispute between the two, and …

A Lake Michigan surfer is credited with aiding in the rescue of two teenage girls who were caught in an apparent rip current, according to police. The girls, ages 13 and 14, were approximately 800 feet from the pier in Grand Haven State Park, said Grand Haven Public Safety Director Jeff Hawke. Surfers and emergency personnel pulled them from Lake …

Temporary substitute teachers hired by all St. Joseph County school districts will get a $5-per-day pay hike beginning this fall. The St. Joseph County Intermediate School District Board of Education this week approved the pay scales for everyone from substitute teachers to fill-in maintenance workers. Temporary classroom substitute teachers will be paid $85 for a full day in the classroom …

A prosecutor says a southwestern Michigan man won’t face reckless driving charges after police say he posted videos online of himself driving up to 160 mph on an area highway. TV station WWMT aired videos of the man driving on US-131 that were posted on a Facebook page. Kalamazoo County Prosecutor Jeff Getting says in a statement there are no witnesses …

The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department is keeping an eye on three townships where an inordinate number of larceny-from-vehicle incidents has been reported. Sheriff Brad Balk said several incidents in the past few weeks have been reported by victims in Fabius, Lockport and Park townships. Balk issued a suggestion, urging residents to ensure their vehicles parked outside are locked day …

A Dowagiac woman recently submitted her claim for a lottery jackpot in excess of $195,000. According to a media release from the Michigan State Lottery, Joanne Kingman matched five out of five numbers in the Fantasy 5 lottery game. Kingman won after matching the digits 01-09-16-20 and 31 in the Aug. 7 nightly drawing. She bought her winning ticket at …

Michigan’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dipped last month to match the national average. The Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget released state and regional employment figures Wednesday. July’s statewide jobless rate was 5.3 percent, down two-tenths of a percentage point from June. It was 7 percent in July 2014. The state says the number of unemployed in Michigan dropped …

Craig “Curly” Spink swirls a hand-made jig above a water-filled 15-gallon galvanized steel tub in his Kalamazoo back yard, tugging and relaxing the line attached to a wooded fish decoy he carved and painted. He’s trying to make it swim as realistically as possible. “This is how I test them,” Spink told the Kalamazoo Gazette. “See, how I can make …