Government

The November unemployment rate in St. Joseph County decreased by half a percent compared to a month earlier. The monthly labor-market analysis by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget showed St. Joseph County’s 4.1 percent November unemployment rate was less than October’s 4.6 percent. November’s unemployment rate was 2.6 percent less than the same month in 2013, when …

Two of four Ohio men linked to a September armed robbery at the St. Joseph County Fairgrounds have pleaded guilty to the charge. During a court proceeding earlier this month, 35-year-old John Gregory and Robert Howe, 55, pled guilty and as part of a plea agreement that included dismissal of additional charges. Corderrius Cook, 27, pled no contest, while Samuel …

A clerk at a motel outside of Schoolcraft was robbed at gunpoint earlier this week. Kalamazoo County officials said the incident took place at 4:30 a.m. Monday at the Plainsman Motel, on U.S. 131 in Schoolcraft Township. Investigators said a man with a bandana over his face and a woman with several piercings on her lip and face entered the …

The MSU Extension Service has played an active role in St. Joseph County during 2014, according to an annual report presented earlier this month to the county commission. Its role with children and youth included a “Grow Your Own Pig and Sell Your Pig” commodity carnival as a simulation of what it takes to raise a hog for market. Other …

Outgoing State Rep. Matt Lori was honored earlier this month by a number of dignitaries and representatives from a crime-prevention organization. Officials from the group “Fight Crime: Invest in Kids Michigan,” a non-profit organization led by more than 500 of Michigan’s police chiefs, sheriffs, prosecutors and crime survivors, honored Lori with a “Crime Fighter Award” during a reception at the …

A 47-year-old Sturgis man died following a two-vehicle accident Dec. 20 in LaGrange County. The LaGrange County Sheriff’s Department said Hugo Fernandez died at the scene after the car he was driving was struck head-on by a vehicle on State Road 9, just south of Howe. Sheriff’s investigators said 44-year-old Christopher Yoder of Sturgis was traveling south on State Road …

Deputies from the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Office investigated a breaking-and-entering incident last week at a location in Burr Oak Township. Investigators were called at 2 p.m. Dec. 21 to the 66000 block of Halfway Road. It was reported that someone entered a barn and took an engine. The engine had aluminum valve covers with the word “Avenger” on it. …

A bipartisan package of bills that makes boating, snowmobiling and use of other recreational vehicles safer has been approved by the Michigan House of Representatives and sent to Gov. Rick Snyder for consideration. The measures lower the lawful blood-alcohol-content level for boaters, snowmobilers and operators of off-road vehicles from 0.10 percent to 0.08 percent, the same level as operators of …

Two area state parks will be a part of a free, New Year’s Day event sponsored by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. The agency will sponsor free, guided hikes in Michigan state parks on New Year’s Day – plus additional hikes throughout the week – as part of America’s state parks “First Day Hikes” initiative. According to the Michigan …

A 54-year-old Sturgis woman’s vehicle struck a house last week at 302 S. Lakeview Ave. in Sturgis. Authorities arrived to find the vehicle resting on the front porch of the home, as the driver said the vehicle’s brakes had failed. She told police that when she tried to stop, the brake pedal accelerated all the way to the floor. Police …