I am writing today to announce the closure of the Michigan Messenger. After four years of operation in Michigan, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news into a single site, The American Independent at Americanindependent.com. This is part of a shift in strategy, towards new forms [...]
An abstinence-only presentation provided to numerous school districts in Calhoun and Eaton Counties in October of this year provided false and misleading information to students about HIV, experts allege.
Two county registers of deeds filed a class action lawsuit Monday on behalf of Michigan’s 83 counties alleging that the Mortgage Electronic Registration Services owes millions of dollars in property title transfer taxes.
Despite evidence of the impact of mercury on children and public health, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette last month joined with 24 other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to scuttle new EPA regulations that would reduce mercury emissions from power plants.
GRAND RAPIDS — Charges against the owner of a private Osceola County shooting range have been dropped, weeks after stray bullets from a .50-caliber machine gun struck private property two miles away, narrowly missing a stage full of children. Osceola County Prosecutor James Sims on Monday dropped misdemeanor charges against the property owner, Kent County Commissioner Dean Agee.
Deputies were called to investigate after reports that bullets from a shooting demonstration struck a camper and pickup truck at a Dulcimer festival in Osceola County on July 18. The truck was reportedly less than 100 yards from a stage where a group of children performed that day. Other festival participants reported seeing clouds of dust from bullets striking the ground.
Following the incident, Agee had his concealed weapons permit suspending pending outcome of the charges against him. With the dismissal, Agee has filed for reinstatement of his permit before the Kent County concealed weapons board. His plea is expected to be heard Thursday.
“We are thrilled,” Agee said. “All the time we believed that this was an accident.”
Agee, an Ada Township Republican, said he fully expects to get his permit back. “In Michigan, we are a shall-issue state. In this situation, you would say that you do not have a crime, so you would get your [permit] back.”
Michigan gun control advocates say the incident — and dismissal of charges — underscores this state’s lax standards for safety and gun ownership. “It’s not really a surprising outcome,” said Carolynne Jarvis, former executive director of the Michigan Partnership to Prevent Gun Violence. “It’s crazy what we tolerate in terms of gun danger in this country. In our country, we are very reluctant to hold people accountable for their guns.”
Sims could not be reached for comment. The county prosecutor at first declined to file charges against Agee or gun dealer Richard Rinzler, owner of the .50-caliber weapon. “Unless some other evidence comes forward, we are not going to authorize charges,” Sims said. He later decided to file charges after speaking with the owner of the camper.
Deputies from the Osceola County Sheriff’s Department had signed off the safety of the range after a walk-through visit. According to a videotape of the inspection obtained by The Grand Rapids Press under the Freedom of Information Act, one deputy said: “Everything looks good” at the end of the inspection.
Following the incident, Sgt. John Keathley of the Osceola County Sheriff’s Department said the department had “no good understanding of how it happened. I don’t know that it was foreseeable.”
The demonstration included more than a dozen machine guns and automatic weapons.
State Rep. Darwin Booher, a Republican who represents Osceola County, said he was reluctant to weigh on any safety issues raised by the incident. “Let’s let those people who are qualified to make that determination,” Booher said. “We have to wait and see. Maybe the laws are adequate.”
As for Agee’s right to continue holding a concealed weapons permit, Booher said. “I wouldn’t want to make any comment on that.”
One of the bullets reportedly struck the side of a garage owned by Rudolph and Barbara Tuten, a mile from Agee’s range. “It sounded like somebody hit it with a great big rock,” said Barbara, 65. “It sounded like we were in the middle of the Iraq war. I’m not one of those who wants to take people’s guns but I don’t see where any citizen needs a darn machine gun. But I suppose they are going to buy their way out of it.”
Gun control advocate Jarvis speculated that politics may have played a role in Sims’ decision. Osceola County, a sparsely populated area about 75 miles north of Grand Rapids, is an area where gun ownership and hunting are closely held values. “All prosecutors have to be elected and to prosecute a case like this could potentially lose a lot of votes in the next election.”
Michigan State Police Lt. Chris McIntire, chairman of the three-person concealed weapons board, said that with dismissal of the charges, Agee will most likely get his permit back. “In most cases we will give the permit right back to them,” he said. “But I could not speak to this until we have the entire board together.”
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