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State health officials are urging Michiganders to get a flu shot, especially since the state’s vaccination rate was no better than 42nd in the nation last year. Last flu season, only 40.8 percent of Michigan’s residents were vaccinated against the flu. This was below the national flu vaccination coverage of 45 percent. Michigan lags behind the U.S. estimates for flu …

I have always believed in fate, and that the world is small. The saying, “It’s a small world”, came true the Friday after this past Thanksgiving, often referred to as “BLACK FRIDAY”. My wife and I enjoy visiting a particular eating establishment near Constantine on Friday evenings. Upon arriving there on Black Friday, we discovered that it was temporarily closed, …

A Michigan legislator has announced a bill to require gas stations and convenience stores that stay open between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. to have two employees working or to install security cameras. The bill unveiled Monday in western Michigan comes after the April disappearance of a 26-year-old woman from her job at a Norton Shores gas station. Jessica Heeringa’s …

Nearly 1,500 jobs and $53.8 million in new, private investment were announced in St. Joseph County in 2013. The figures were included in the Southwest Michigan First 2013 annual report presented by Ken Jones last week before the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners. The 12-month period marks the first full calendar year the St. Joseph County Economic Development Corporation …

A 22-year-old Elkhart man has pleaded guilty to two counts of murder in the shooting deaths of the owner of a northern Indiana convenience store and an employee.  Richard Gross pleaded guilty Monday moments before his trial was scheduled to begin. He admitted taking part in a Sept. 5 robbery at Saleh’s Market east of downtown Elkhart, where 55-year-old Jagtar …

Glen Oaks Community College is continuing public forums for its presidential candidates today and Thursday. The second of three sessions takes place today, when Phil Gasparro will be involved in a question-answer forum 10 to 11 a.m., and again 1:30-2:30 p.m. Gasparro is an administrator with Student Success Initiatives at Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland. On Thursday, Douglas Brauer will …

The St. Joseph County United Way has issued a reminder of a donation opportunity that agency officials call a “win-win” proposition. Executive director Kelly Hostetler said by donating appreciated stocks that have been held for at least a year and a day, the giver is able to deduct the full, fair-market value of the stock on the date of the …

Seven area high school girls were named to the all-state volleyball squad. Members of the Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches Association named Brooke Howard of Mendon to its Class C first-team. Her teammate, Alexis Russell, was named to the second team, while fellow Lady Hornet Jordan VanOss made the third team. In Class B, first team honors went to Rachel Anderson …

The St. Joseph County Conservation District has announced a forestry workshop it is sponsoring this week. The event is 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday and features two keynote speakers: Ben Schram, forestry assistance program coordinator with the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, and Jeff Steinkraus, consulting forester. The focus of the workshop will center on qualified forestry, conservation …

Troopers from the Michigan State Police detachment in White Pigeon were called Friday to A-1 Storage Unit in Sturgis Township regarding break-ins to several units. The incidents occurred between 5:30 p.m. Thursday and 9 a.m. Friday in the 68000 block of White School Road.