Government

A 39-year-old Three Rivers resident died after being struck by a car while crossing a street in Three Rivers. According to a department media release, local police officers were called shortly after 5:30 p.m. Monday to the intersection of North Main and Cushman streets. The pedestrian was crossing North Main Street when struck by a southbound vehicle. The pedestrian was …

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Wednesday that she still supports President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, clarifying comments she made earlier this month in which she expressed concerns about it. After a federal appeals court overruled a decision last week that paused a nationwide vaccine mandate for employers of 100 workers or more, 27 Republican-led state governments have come forward with their intent …

Sturgis commissioners are reviewing a plan calling for development of a trail on leased Michigan Southern Railway right-of-way. The proposed route would extend from west of Big Hill Road west to North Jefferson Street, then south to Chicago Road. Initially, the scope of work consists of preliminary design layout, final design, preparation of contractor requests for bids, evaluation of bids, …

A Jones man was injured in a single-vehicle crash earlier this week in Cass County’s Newberg Township. Sheriff Richard Behnke said deputies were called shortly after 11:30 p.m. Monday to Bair Lake Street, near Wood Lake Road. Authorities said a vehicle driven by 41-year-old Adam Bistodeau, of Jones, left the roadway and struck a tree. Bistodeau was transported to Three …

People who haven’t been vaccinated for COVID-19 are taking up too many beds at Michigan’s strained hospitals, as the state prepares for the rapid spread of omicron variant, the governor said Tuesday. The omicron variant is already the dominant strain in the U.S. and is expected to spread rapidly through Michigan in the near future, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said at a news …

A Centreville man and his 5-year-old son died in a two-vehicle collision over the weekend, east of Niles, in Cass County’s Howard Township. State police troopers said the incident occurred around 8:15 p.m. Saturday near Pine Lake Street. Authorities said 30-year-old Phillip Parker was driving west on M-60 when his vehicle crossed the center line and crashed head-on into an …

Michigan’s COVID-19 surge is trending in a “deeply concerning direction” ahead of the winter holidays and, unlike a year ago, is not subsiding following Thanksgiving, state health officials said Friday while urging vaccines and booster shots. Infection rates and hospitalizations are near or at all-time highs in the state 21 months into the pandemic. Vaccination rates lag the national average, especially among …

Michigan’s COVID-19 hospitalizations reached a new high Wednesday, exceeding the previous record for the fifth straight time that the state has reported data. Nearly 4,700 patients were in the hospital statewide amid a fourth surge in infections. The roughly 4,400 hospitalized adults with confirmed cases was at the highest point in the 21-month coronavirus pandemic and 150 more than a …

All Michigan drivers with auto insurance will receive a $400 per-vehicle refund next spring, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and a top regulator said Tuesday. Their announcement came more than a month after the governor requested the checks by citing a multibillion-dollar surplus in the Michigan Catastrophic Care Association fund. The account, which reimburses insurers medical and other costs for people seriously injured in …

Michigan’s minimum wage will rise by 22 cents to $9.87 an hour on January 1st. State law requires annual increases in the wage until it reaches $12.05 in a decade. The 22-cent raise was supposed to occur in 2021 but was automatically delayed because of high unemployment early in the coronavirus pandemic. The state announced this past week that the …