News

Fire destroyed a home in Nottawa Township last weekend. Three departments responded to the 58000 block of Covered Bridge Road about 4:30 p.m. Saturday. First-arriving personnel found the home engulfed in flames as well as stored ammunition going off inside the residence. Authorities said the homeowner was working in a shed when he noticed the house ablaze. Officials believe a …

Authorities have identified the victim who died in a single-vehicle crash early Saturday in Mottville Township. Constantine resident Cody Hayden, 34, died at the scene of the incident, which occurred shortly before 3 a.m. on Indian Prairie Road, near Harrison Road. His passenger, a 31-year-old Constantine man, was taken to Elkhart General Hospital after suffering non-life-threatening injuries. His identity has …

Two Elkhart police officers who were caught on video repeatedly punching a handcuffed man have been placed on unpaid administrative leave. A federal grand jury last month indicted Cory Newland and Joshua Titus of the Elkhart Police Department on a charge of depriving Mario Ledesma of his rights through excessive force. Police video shows them punching Ledesma after he spat …

A Constantine man died over the weekend in a single-vehicle accident in Mottville Township. The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department said deputies were called shortly before 3 a.m. Saturday to Indian Prairie Road, where a vehicle went off the roadway near Harrison Road. According to a department media release, the vehicle was traveling west on Indian Prairie when it appears …

February’s unemployment rate in St. Joseph County was eight-tenths of a percent lower than the previous month. The monthly labor-market analysis by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget showed the county’s 3.8 percent February unemployment rate marked a decrease from January’s 4.6 percent. St. Joseph County was below the state unemployment average, which was 4.1 percent in February. …

Michigan Department of Transportation has launched a new, online dashboard to make information about the condition of all bridges on state and local road systems easily accessible to the public. Replacing a more limited version from 2018, the Michigan Bridge Conditions dashboard is now online, providing data on more than 11,000 bridges across the state. Matt Chynoweth, head of the …

The Cass County Sheriff’s Department is asking for help in locating a man who has been reported missing. Authorities said Larry Waldschmidt, 78, has been missing since last Wednesday from his home in Dowagiac. Once aware of the situation, family members immediately consulted the sheriff ’s department for assistance. Waldschmidt was most recently seen working in his yard about 5:30 p.m. …

Investigators from the Three Rivers Police Department are looking into an armed robbery that took place earlier this week outside an apartment complex. According to a department media release, officers were called shortly after 7 p.m. Wednesday to the 200 block of River Drive, where a man in the Edgewater Apartments parking lot said he was approached by two subjects. …

Armstrong Park will be the name of the still-under-construction multi-field sports complex in Three Rivers. A recent donation by the Armstrong and Bloss families will favorably shape youth and adult recreation, economic development, and the quality of life in the Three Rivers community for generations to come, according to Patrick Armstrong, Armstrong’s chairman of the board. Armstrong announced the naming …

State police troopers are investigating a larceny incident that occurred during a seven-week period earlier this year. Troopers responded to the 62000 block of Shaffer Road in Constantine Township, where keys were taken from a truck and a basketball hoop stolen between Feb. 1 and March 24. Meanwhile, troopers are also investigating a recent break-in in Sherman Township. Authorities responded …