As of 10:59 p.m. Tuesday night, with just under 72 percent of St. Joseph County precincts reporting, Republican Steve Carra led Democrat Amy East for the seat of 59th District Representative in the Michigan Legislature by a margin of approximately two to one. At that time, Carra carried 12,200 votes in the county to East’s 6,775. He also held a significant lead in Cass County. Speaking from St. Joseph County Republican Party Headquarters in Three Rivers around 11 p.m., Carra said his campaign was declaring victory. Results are also in for several other contested, local races.

Watershed Voice sent out questionnaires to over 30 candidates in contested local, state, and national races in St. Joseph County and the surrounding area for the November 3 General Election. In the days leading up to Election Day, Watershed will publish the answers it has received. Marcia Squier, a Green Party candidate for Michigan’s open seat in the United States Senate, filled out our questionnaire. These are her answers.

Effective a 3:15 p.m. Thursday, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a new pandemic health order in response to sharply-rising COVID-19 case numbers. The order’s language limits the number of attendees that may gather at indoor and outdoor gatherings in a variety of settings, particularly those where health officials have observed the most rapid spread of the virus. In related news, In a press release Thursday, Office of the St. Joseph County Administrator announced that the county’s Courts Building is closed to the public.

Watershed Voice sent out questionnaires to over 30 candidates in contested local, state, and national races in St. Joseph County and the surrounding area for the November 3 General Election. In the days leading up to Election Day, Watershed will publish the answers it has received. Amy East, a Democratic candidate for the 59th District seat in the Michigan State House of Representatives, filled out our questionnaire. These are her answers.

Watershed Voice sent out questionnaires to over 30 candidates in contested local, state, and national races in St. Joseph County and the surrounding area for the November 3 General Election. In the days leading up to Election Day, Watershed will publish the answers it has received. Jon Hoadley, a Democratic candidate for Michigan’s Sixth District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, filled out our questionnaire. These are his answers.

“West Michigan is, the candidates will tell you, a vast, layered space filled with the nuances of people’s lives that don’t always make their way onto television and computer screens: a land of religious Democrats who grew up in conservative households, of Republicans who are quick to condemn their party’s stance on climate change, of people who have, at least in the past, split their tickets.”

The Glen Oaks Community College (GOCC) Board of Trustees held a planning retreat and regular meeting Thursday morning at the college. President Dr. David Devier and other administrators and staff provided updates on pandemic cases and measures at the college, as well as on several student funding programs provided with assistance from the State of Michigan. Devier also said Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed the college’s 2021 budget at flat funding.