Recent Posts

Sentence handed down in armed robbery case

A 20- year- old Middlebury, Ind., woman received a prison sentence of 51 months to 20 years for her part in a Jan. 3 armed robbery at Sturgis Petroleum Marathon at the corner of Fawn River and South Centerville roads. St. Joseph County 45th Circuit Court Judge Paul Stutesman handed down the sentence to Kayla Sue Cockburn earlier this month. …

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Sturgis traffic signal change

A three-way traffic signal on South Nottawa Street at Wenzel Street will become a blinking light for the next 90 days, in anticipation of its potential removal. Sturgis city commissioners have approved a temporary control order that will change the stoplight to a flashing yellow signal for two-way traffic on South Nottawa Street and a red flashing light for Wenzel …

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Bank robbery suspect arrested

Thanks to the alertness of a Three Rivers police officer, the suspect in a Kalamazoo bank robbery has been arrested. Sgt. Andrew Howes was on patrol Monday when he spotted a vehicle matching the description of one used in a July 10 robbery at Consumers Credit Union. Howes stopped the vehicle on Millard Street. The suspect, later identified as Simon …

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Authorities identify worker killed in fall at grain elevator

Authorities have released the name of a worker who died in a fall at a grain elevator company in Kalamazoo County. The sheriff’s department says 31-year-old Marcos Fonseca of Marcellus died after the fall Tuesday morning at H&H Feed & Grain Inc. in Schoolcraft Township, just west of Vicksburg. The department says he fell about 15 feet when he left …

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Police seek man who robbed store while wearing trash bags

Authorities are looking for a man who robbed a Sturgis convenience store while wearing trash bags to disguise his identity. Police say the man walked into Sturgis Party Store around 1:30 a.m. Thursday, showed a handgun and demanded money. The man took cash and police say he was last seen running away from the store. Anyone with information about the robbery is …

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Death of 19-month-old boy investigated as homicide

Police in the Kalamazoo area say the death of a 19-month-old boy is being investigated as a homicide. Police say Nyshuin Lewis was pronounced dead Tuesday after officers with the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety responded to a report of an unresponsive child at a Kalamazoo Township home near the community’s border with the city of Kalamazoo. Officers and medical …

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Agency urges Michigan propane users to lock in prices now

Officials are advising Michigan’s propane users to lock in prices before the heating season gets underway. Valerie Brader of the Michigan Agency for Energy says customers can save money by signing contracts now, while propane supplies are significantly above the five-year average. Prices in more than 30 states jumped during the 2013-2014 heating season after cold temperatures and other factors …

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Michigan unemployment rate unchanged at 5.5 percent in June

Michigan’s unemployment rate has held steady in the latest month at 5.5 percent, 1.6 points lower than a year earlier. The state announced Wednesday that the seasonally adjusted jobless rate for June was identical with the rate in May. The U.S. rate fell 0.2 points to 5.3 percent in the latest month. The Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget …

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Girl dies after becoming entangled in clothing

Authorities say a 4-year-old girl has died after she became entangled in clothing at her western Michigan home and was accidentally strangled. The Ottawa County sheriff’s department says Makayla VanderLaan died Tuesday after being found unresponsive Sunday at her Grand Haven Township home at River Haven Village mobile home park. The department says the girl was playing alone in her …

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Man can’t recover $11,400 taken by police in Calhoun County

The state appeals court says Calhoun County can keep $11,400, a gun and a camera seized from a car, although the owner wasn’t charged with a drug crime. The court says there’s a preponderance of evidence that the cash was tied to illegal activity. In a seizure case, that’s a lower standard than beyond a reasonable doubt. Brye Rounds was …

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