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Here’s the Michigan Department of Transportation’s weekly update regarding the U.S. 131 reconstruction project. The agency is incorporating a Stage 5 traffic pattern, meaning two-way traffic in the highway’s southbound lanes throughout the project. Scheduled work this week includes some utility relocation. Also, traffic-signal work will continue at various intersections south of Michigan Avenue, and crews will focus on various …

Fourteen more homes in White Pigeon will have wells tested for PFAS contamination, but not until the COVID-19 emergency passes, said Paul Andriaachi, environmental health director at Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency. In a report Thursday to the health department board, Andriaachi said three of 19 homes whose well-water were tested showed levels of PFAS above 70 parts per trillion, …

Be very careful Wednesday as you venture out and about. It is, after all, April Fools Day, so you’ll want to double check the salt and pepper shakers to make sure someone hasn’t loosened their caps. Also, you shouldn’t believe all you hear to be true. My suggestion is to stay clear of Facebook. The year 1952 was quite a …

President Donald Trump has approved a major disaster declaration for Michigan amid the coronavirus pandemic. The declaration provides additional money to address the outbreak as a top health official warned that the situation in Detroit will worsen. Michigan officials also reported Saturday 19 additional virus-related deaths nearly 1,000 new confirmed cases. Michigan now has 4,650 cases and at least 111 …

President Donald Trump is willing to help governors in their struggle with a virus outbreak, if they ask nice. He has taken a round of steps to expand the federal government’s role in helping produce critically needed supplies to fight the coronavirus pandemic after desperate pleas from the nation’s governors. Yet he also rejected any criticism for the federal government’s …

The U.S. surgeon general says the situation in Detroit, a national “hot spot” for cases of the new coronavirus, will worsen next week. Three Detroit-area counties account for 83% of the more than 3,600 people in Michigan confirmed to have COVID-19. At least 92 have died. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says it’s “very unlikely” students will return to school, but she …

A new regulation prohibits Michigan’s largest livestock operations from spreading manure on croplands during the first three months of the year. The ban on waste application during January, February and March was included in an update of a state permit for farms that house large numbers of animals in sprawling barns. It applies to about 260 Michigan farms. The Department …

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says golf courses should abide by her stay-at-home order and close down. The guidance issued Thursday is the latest to businesses and operations looking for clarity related to the temporary measure that took effect earlier this week. Whitmer’s office also says 10-cent bottle returns are off-limits and that tobacco shops, cigar bars, vape shops and hookah …

State Rep. Brad Paquette has issued a statement regarding this week’s announcement of the first confirmed cases of COVID-19 in both Berrien and Cass counties. Paquette, of Niles, said his heart goes out to the individuals and their families impacted by the diagnoses. The area’s first reported cases are a concern, but not a shock, he added. That being said, …

The Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency is moving toward a daily notification model to local media. Health officer Rebecca Burns said the measure is necessary, as the number of positive cases begins to increase within the three-county service district. As of 2 p.m. Thursday, St. Joseph County had no confirmed cases, 10 people pending test results and 38 individuals known …