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Overall numbers were down at Saturday’s collection of household hazardous waste and electronics items compared to last fall’s event. Nonetheless, organizers are still calling the four-hour event a success because so many items were disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner. Pat Kulikowski, secretary of the St. Joseph County Solid Waste Committee, said the following amounts were collected Saturday: 1,500 …

Investigators from the St. Joseph County Area Narcotics assisted the Michigan Department of Corrections in parole and probation compliance checks last week. In all, nine residences were searched Thursday, resulting in five arrests. Officials said arrests were made in Three Rivers, Constantine and Sturgis. Charges include possession of methamphetamine, possession of marijuana, delivery of a controlled substance, maintaining a drug …

Three Rivers Area Mentoring officials on Saturday staged the agency’s ninth annual Coat Giveaway event to children and adults in need of warmer attire. 230 coats were donated to TRAM and more than half were given away during the two-hour event. Leftover coats and other clothing items were turned over to the Random Acts of Kindness Club at Three Rivers …

Indiana Michigan Power broke ground today (October 26, 2015) on its second solar generation facility and also launched IM Solar, a program that enables Indiana customers to use local solar power without the expense of installing their own system. The Twin Branch Solar Facility, northeast of Mishawaka in a commercial/industrial area, will have nearly 29,000 solar panels and a generation …

The windows on certain Michigan State Police cars automatically roll down in high temperatures, one of the key changes after two dogs died of heat stroke in Livingston County in 2013, the department said. Michigan State Police publicly confirmed the deaths this week — more than two years later — in response to a WDIV-TV report about a lawsuit related …

The Kalamazoo Wings are winless in their first four games of the season. After dropping a 5-2 decision to the Toledo Walleye at home on Friday night, the K-Wings found themselves on the short end of a 4-1 loss to the Cincinnati Cyclones on Saturday night. On Friday, the K-Wings received goals from Tyler Shattock and Alex Mallet. The Walleye …

St. Joseph County’s animal control director position is being overseen by the sheriff’s department while a search for a successor to Tom Miller continues. Two matters related to animal control took place during Tuesday’s county commission meeting. First, commissioners endorsed a request to fill the position of animal control officer/facility supervisor. Later, it was announced that longtime employee Brooke Bingaman …

State Rep. Aaron Miller this week voted in favor of a $1.2 billion legislative package to fix Michigan’s transportation system, including a bill he introduced that increases the use of competitive bidding for local road and bridge projects. Miller said House Bill 4610 expands the use of competitive bidding to keep the costs of road and bridge repair more affordable …

An Elkhart-based company was selected Tuesday to lead a sewer infrastructure project at a county park in Fawn River Township. Commissioners accepted the lowest of three bids, which was submitted by C&E Excavating for almost $104,000. County administrator Pat Yoder said he will have a meeting next week with company officials to go over the full scope of the project. …

Police are releasing no new information about two murders that occurred late this summer in St. Joseph County, but officials continue to investigate the two separate homicides. St. Joseph County Prosecutor John McDonough this week said police are awaiting results from the Michigan State Police crime lab regarding evidence collected at both scenes. About 4 a.m. Aug. 31, the body …