News

The Rev. Terry Cropper Jr., pastor of Bethel Baptist Church in Three Rivers, offered the invocation on the House floor to open the legislative session last week. Cropper was the guest of State Rep. Aaron Miller, who joined the pastor and House Speaker Kevin Cotter on the rostrum for the invocation.

A man suspected of stealing a pig topiary in Kalamazoo has turned himself in and offered an apology. The Kalamazoo Gazette reports surveillance imagery of the man walking with the pig in tow spurred a social media hunt after being posted by the nonprofit Kalamazoo in Bloom, which decorates Kalamazoo and Portage with flowers and animal topiaries. Monika Trahe, the …

State wildlife officials say testing has turned up a second case of chronic wasting disease in a wild deer. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources said Friday a 2-year-old male found near Lansing in Meridian Township tested positive for the contagious, fatal disease that attacks the brains of infected deer and elk. It was less than a mile from the …

A Saginaw man is continuing a near century-old effort to clear the name of his great-grandfather, a Maryland doctor who was convicted of helping former President Abraham Lincoln’s killer escape after the 1865 assassination. Tom Mudd and 75 relatives will meet Friday for a family reunion at Fort Jefferson in Dry Tortugas National Park. The long shuttered prison, located on …

An openly gay United Methodist pastor has gotten married several days after he says he was forced to resign. The Kalamazoo Gazette and South Bend Tribune report the Rev. Benjamin Hutchison married Monty Hutchison Friday in Cassopolis outside southwestern Michigan’s historic Cass County Courthouse. Guests included about 30 ministers. The 31-year-old says he resigned Monday from Cassopolis United Methodist Church. …

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and others on Saturday helped mark the bicentennial of the true end of the War of 1812 on Mackinac Island. Snyder took part in a ceremony in Marquette Park near Fort Mackinac. He was to be joined by Canadian Consul General Douglas George and Eric Hemenway of the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians. The event, …

When customers first step in Grundy’s Ace Hardware in Howell, most ask where Bobbi the cat is. “That is seriously the first thing people would ask: ‘Where is Bobbi?’ ” laughed Grundy’s owner Cliff Grundy. “She was the center of attention.” Bobbi was the store’s 21-year-old calico cat that would greet customers and expect belly rubs in return, according to …

Kalamazoo County Circuit Court Judge Gary Giguere Jr. on Friday affirmed a June 26 decision by the St. Joseph County Election Board regarding the case of a recall sought of three members of the Three Rivers Community Schools Board of Education. In a four-page summary, Giguere sided with the election board in the fact that “each reason for the recall is …

The Three Rivers Health Auxiliary has awarded four, $1,000.00 scholarships to local students pursuing degrees in the medical field. The Auxiliary raises funds for the scholarships through various raffles, sales and events as well as the snack bar and gift shop located at the hospital. The auxiliary has been awarding scholarships for more than 15 years and is excited to …

A 20- year- old Middlebury, Ind., woman received a prison sentence of 51 months to 20 years for her part in a Jan. 3 armed robbery at Sturgis Petroleum Marathon at the corner of Fawn River and South Centerville roads. St. Joseph County 45th Circuit Court Judge Paul Stutesman handed down the sentence to Kayla Sue Cockburn earlier this month. …