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An hour-long event recognizing National Day of Prayer will take place this week in St. Joseph County. The local National Day of Prayer, spearheaded by Barb Kwiatkowski, will be observed starting at noon Thursday at the St. Joseph County Courthouse gazebo, at the northeast quadrant of the courthouse property. Kwiatkowski said seven different representatives will speak, directing prayers toward different …

A South Carolina man has been charged in a Three Rivers woman’s 1988 slaying after investigators used forensic genetic genealogy to narrow the pool of suspects to a single family, authorities said Monday. Robert Odell Waters, age 53, was arrested Sunday afternoon in Beaufort, South Carolina, where he lives, in the killing of Cathy Sue Swartz, St. Joseph County Prosecuting …

Overseas voters and military members from Michigan will have more time to cast their absentee ballots in future elections under legislation signed Monday by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. All absentee ballots were previously required to be received at local clerk’s offices by 8 p.m. on Election Day. While military and overseas voters will have to postmark their ballots on or before …

March’s unemployment rate in St. Joseph County decreased by three-tenths of a percent from February. Figures from the monthly labor-market analysis by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget show St. Joseph County’s unemployment rate fell from 5.1 percent in February to 4.8 percent in March. St. Joseph County’s March 2022 unemployment rate was 3.8 percent. In addition, Cass …

Sturgis Hospital is taking the next step to converting to a rural emergency hospital model. Jeremy Gump, hospital board president, told the Sturgis City Commission last week that as of 7 a.m. today, the hospital will cease admitting inpatients. The announcement was made to hospital employees April 25, Gump said. Emergency services and lab services will continue, Gump said. In …

Michigan State Police troopers are investigating a breaking-and-entering incident that occurred within the past week in Branch County’s Coldwater Township. Investigators were called to the 600 block of Marshall Road, where the victim stated a blue, 14-inch Cobalt chainsaw, and a red, 14-inch Craftsman chainsaw were stolen from a barn. The incident occurred between April 23 and April 27.

The Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency has received reports of cases of Lyme Disease within its three-county jurisdiction. Health officer Rebecca Burns said the arrival of spring and warmer temperatures experienced in March and early April tend to cause ticks to become more active. Ticks will remain active until fall or when temperatures are consistently below 40 degrees. A bite …

We should all take a look at our eating habits, and if we want to live healthier, make a few changes. It’s so easy to grab something from a fast-food eatery rather than put together a well balanced meal at home. Our lives are so fast paced and many of us don’t have the patience to put together a nice …

A boy grabbed the steering wheel on a school bus and hit the brakes, bringing the vehicle to a safe stop on a busy Detroit-area road after the driver had passed out, authorities said. “Someone call 911. Now!” seventh-grader Dillon Reeves shouted to dozens of other middle-school kids on the bus Wednesday. Dillon was hailed as a hero: He stopped …

St. Joseph County Bar Association has announced the recipient of its annual “Liberty Bell” award. Kelly Hostetler will be recognized next week as the 2023 award winner. Hostetler has been executive director of the St. Joseph County United Way since September 1998. She was involved in the merger of the Sturgis United Fund and the Three Rivers Community Chest to …