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Registration for a first-of-its-kind competition in St. Joseph County opened this week. Bill Johnson, manager of the St. Joseph County Grange Fair, said the “River Country Has Talent” competition will involve eight local community celebrations after a kickoff weekend June 3-4 at the Centreville-based fairgrounds. At stake is $1,500 to the winner and $500 each to the two runners-up. Johnson …

St. Joseph County’s longtime medical examiner was recognized by members of the county commission during their meeting this week. A proclamation honoring John Robertson was approved by commissioners Tuesday. Commissioner Rick Shaffer read the proclamation. It commended Robertson for his personal commitment of time and energy required to responsibly perform a public duty, and for the unselfish sacrifices he demonstrated …

U.S. safety regulators are expanding a recall of Takata air bags, already the largest recall in U.S. history. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Wednesday that it’s adding up to 40 million air bags to the ongoing recall of 28.8 million air bags made by Japanese supplier Takata Corp. Inflators inside the air bags can explode with too much …

A request for 2.5 additional mills sought by the St. Joseph Road Commission was turned down by a margin of nearly 5-to-1 Tuesday. The unofficial tally shows 4,544 votes against the request and 961 in favor. The request for what would have amounted to about $5.4 million a year for a 10-year period was a fair question to let the …

Mendon Community Schools’ request to renew 18 non-homestead operating mills was endorsed by more than two-thirds of the voters who participated in Tuesday’s election. The unofficial total shows 339 votes in support and 149 opposed. At stake was more than $900,000 in annual funding, a substantial portion of the district’s $5.3 million budget. Board of education president Regina Schinker said …

A 16-year-old Edwardsburg girl was killed in a two-vehicle collision Tuesday morning in Cass County. Sheriff Joe Underwood said deputies were called at 11:40 a.m. to the intersection of Pine Lake Street and Dailey Road in Jefferson Township. Witnesses told investigators a pick-up driven by Jeffrey Jackson, 25, of Niles, disregarded a stop sign as Jackson was traveling east on …

Teresa Doehring, St. Joseph County’s human resources director, was named assistant county administrator under Pat Yoder following a vote by county commissioners Tuesday. The 41-year-old Mendon resident was hired in January 2015 to replace Elishia Arver, who also served during a portion of her employment as assistant county administrator. The assignment does not come with a pay increase, Yoder said. …

Voters in Kalamazoo County have approved a five-year renewal of a millage that will fund public transit through 2021. The Kalamazoo Gazette reports unofficial results of Tuesday’s vote included 11,650 in favor of the tax and 8,417 against the measure. The Kalamazoo County Transportation Authority had sought approval of the property tax to fund public transit, including the Metro County …

A pipeline company says it expects $62 million in fines and penalties related to a Michigan oil spill. In a filing Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Enbridge says $55 million represents penalties under federal water law. The Alberta-based company says no final fine or penalty has been ordered yet as negotiations continue with the U.S. government. Enbridge says …

The Michigan Supreme Court is taking a look at the risks facing shoppers, drivers and stores in big-box parking lots. Virginia Rawluszki suffered a brain injury when she was hit by a car as she left a Menards store in the Bay City area in 2011. She later died at age 72. Her family says Menards had a duty to …