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Nearly 800,000 people have filed for unemployment benefits in Michigan since mid-March. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Monday detailed the stunning impact of the coronavirus on the state’s economy. Only businesses deemed essential remain open and Whitmer says her stay-at-home order will be extended in the coming days. She says more people have applied for unemployment aid in the last two …

One night I was attending a Kalamazoo Wings hockey game. I checked my phone during the game, as I always do, and learned that the NBA had suddenly suspended their season.   The next day, the K-Wings announced that their season was suspended.  Later that night, it was announced that our schools were closing down for three weeks. The dominos were …

White Pigeon Paper Company in White Pigeon will be listed on the Michigan PFAS Action Response Team’s website. The team last week updated officials from St. Joseph County and White Pigeon Township about investigation of contamination. The site will be added to the MPART web page because results of a groundwater monitoring exceeded the groundwater cleanup criteria. Michigan Department of …

Two longtime traditions in St. Joseph County are among the casualties of the coronavirus. Organizers of the 2020 Mendon Dust-Off old-car show decided last week to pull the plug on what would have been its 57th annual show May 3. Meanwhile, the twice-a-year collection of household hazardous waste and electronics at the St. Joseph County Fairgrounds has been canceled. Solid …

Sturgis Department of Public Services crews will begin spring brush and leaf pickup today. While the compost site also was scheduled to open this morning, due to COVID-19 restrictions, the city is keeping it closed, along with other facilities, through April 13. For brush and leaf pickup, DPS crews will start on the north side of the city and work …

We all have a lifestyle, yet the word “Lifestyle” didn’t exist before 1929. The word entered the English language that year and is defined as “a set of attitudes, habits, or possessions associated with a particular person or group.” Here’s a helpful hint to consider before you mail in your tax return for this year. If you have already received …

Michigan lawmakers plan to convene for the first time in weeks to lengthen Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s emergency declaration amid the coronavirus pandemic but are at odds over the extension and whether the session is even necessary. The Republican-led Legislature is scheduled to meet Tuesday, three weeks after last voting. Since then, one legislator has died from a suspected COVID-19 infection and another has tested …

State officials are reminding residents that permits to openly burn yard debris remain suspended across most of Michigan and that the dangers of fire are increasing as temperatures warm. Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources says recent fires, including a 21-acre blaze wildfire in Presque Isle County, have been caused by backyard debris burning. DNR firefighters also have stopped conducting prescribed …

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s decision Thursday to close Michigan’s public schools until fall was acknowledged by area superintendents as not a surprise but necessary. With COVID-19 still not under control, Whitmer said Michigan joins a growing list of states that hoped to resume classes in mid-April but will instead be shut down for the rest of the academic year. In Sturgis, …

Two local student-athletes were recognized with All- State accolades for their basketball seasons. White Pigeon’s Claycee West was named to the Associated Press Second Team for Division 3, while Centreville’s Joanna Larsen was tabbed to the honorable mention team for Division 3. West this season set the all-time scoring mark for White Pigeon, breaking head coach Brooke McClure’s record. West …