News

The February unemployment rate in St. Joseph County decreased by seven-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 4.5 percent February unemployment rate was less than January’s 5.2 percent. February’s unemployment rate was 2.3 percent less than the same month a year …

A 20-year-old Constantine man escaped injury last week after the vehicle he was driving went off the roadway and struck a tree in Sherman Township. Deputies from the St. Joseph County Sheriff Department were dispatched at 5 p.m. Wednesday to Balk Road, where they found Jason Gagliardo. He told police he was traveling north on Balk Road when he swerved …

Officials from Centreville-based St. Joseph County Council for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect spent portions of the day Wednesday and Thursday placing almost 400 pinwheels outside city hall in Three Rivers, and at Free Church and Thurston Woods parks in Sturgis. Eventually, the pinwheels will be in locations throughout all 16 townships in St. Joseph County, according to Myra …

Deputies from the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department responded last week to a breaking-and-entering incident in White Pigeon Township. Investigators were called to the 20000 block of Saunder Shores Road. The incident occurred within the past month, according to deputies.

The family of a slain Kalamazoo boy held a memorial for the 2-year-old, two days after the murder conviction of his father. A Kalamazoo County Circuit Court jury on Thursday found Brian K. Roberts, 41, guilty of first-degree murder and child abuse in the January 2014 death of Nehemiah Dodd. Angelene Dodd released balloons Saturday evening at her son’s grave …

Authorities in Lapeer County are seeking animal cruelty charges against a dog owner after his retriever was found with an arrow in the top of her head, according to the Detroit Free Press. The dog, named Gemma, was found Monday in North Branch by a construction worker. The arrow was lodged above her left eye and barely missed the dog’s …

A rural Burr Oak man died in a house fire Thursday evening on Middle Colon Road. The victim was identified as 45-year-old Terry Shears. Shears was found near a bedroom. A passerby reported the fire as flames were visible at the rear of the home. The preliminary cause of the blaze was careless smoking.

State officials have alerted Michigan veterinarians about a recall of veterinarian medicine provided by a North Carolina pharmacy that has been shut down. The North Carolina Board of Pharmacy issued a recall of all lots of non-sterile and sterile products compounded, repackaged and distributed by Prescription Center Pharmacy between September 10, 2014 and March 10, 2015 due to lack of sterility, …

A fire that destroyed two barns in Kalamazoo County has left five young goats dead. Crews responded about 10 p.m. on Thursday to the fire near Schoolcraft and found smoke and flames spreading from one barn to the other one. No injuries to people were reported. The five goats that were housed in the barn died in the fire. The cause …

A Kalamazoo man has been convicted of killing his 2-year-old son. A Kalamazoo County Circuit Court jury on Thursday found 41-year old Brian Roberts guilty of felony murder, second-degree murder and first-degree child abuse. Nehemiah Dodd was unconscious on December 31, 2013. The toddler died at the hospital two days later. Roberts had claimed his son was hurt after he fell down some …