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Based on new recommendations from the CDC and MDHHS, the Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency is changing its isolation and quarantine guidance for people who have tested positive or been exposed to COVID-19. The guidance will better align with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention protocols. This new guidance applies to the general population and may not apply to …

St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners will have a new chairperson for 2022. During their first meeting of the year Tuesday, commissioners nominated and approved Kathy Pangle to serve as chair of the five-person board. In addition, Dan Czajkowski was named vice-chair. Pangle, whose district is comprised of Park, Mendon, Leonidas, Colon and Burr Oak townships, is starting her sixth …

State Sen. Kim LaSata has announced details of her first office hours of 2022. The Coloma-area resident will be available on two different dates, beginning 1 to 2 p.m. Friday at Five Lakes Coffee on West Chicago Road in Sturgis. In addition, she will be at Niles Outdoor Downtown Experience 10 to 11 a.m. Jan. 11. LaSata said she held …

A major change to the 2022 meeting schedule for St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners was approved Tuesday. During their first meeting of the year, commissioners decided to hold their meetings to just once a month. The five-member commission had previously met twice monthly. The new schedule will go into effect in February, when the board starts a once-a-month meeting …

Sturgis Public Schools officials appointed Ben Myers to the district’s board of education during a special meeting Monday. Myers will finish out the remainder of Scott Swihart’s term, which ends Dec. 31. A nominating committee comprised of board members Gwen Donmyer, Emily Halling and Kerri Millett had interviewed seven candidates. Myers was the recommended candidate, but Millett said all candidates …

The return of New Year’s Eve Free Ride Home kept nearly two dozen potentially drunken drivers off St. Joseph County roads last weekend. The free service, offered over a six-hour period starting at 8 p.m. Friday, drew 20 riders. Rides were provided by the St. Joseph County Transportation Authority. Agency director Allen Balog said the service was worth the expense, …

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has notified Van Buren/Cass District Health Department that the Omicron variant has been identified in a Van Buren County resident. Health Officer Danielle Persky said the Omicron variant will likely spread more easily. Though, how easily Omicron spreads compared to the Delta variant, remains unknown, she said. Two new, free rapid antigen …

The family of a 16-year-old boy who was restrained at a shuttered western Michigan youth center and died two days later of cardiac arrest has settled a second wrongful death lawsuit in the case. The settlement between the family of Cornelius Fredricks and Lakeside Academy in Kalamazoo was approved Dec. 29 by Kalamazoo County Circuit Judge Alexander Lipsey. It was …

Michigan State University now is requiring proof of vaccination or a recent negative COVID-19 test to attend athletic, music, art and theater events on the East Lansing campus. Proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of the event will be required of all attendees ages 12 and older, the university said. Persons who cannot provide …

November’s unemployment rate in St. Joseph County decreased by three-tenths of a percent from October. The monthly labor-market analysis by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget was released recently. It showed St. Joseph County’s unemployment rate fell from 4.3 percent in October to 4 percent in November. The rate was 5.8 percent 12 months earlier. Meanwhile, Cass County …