Berrien County, MI on the shores of Lake Michigan, has a well-documented history of Native American people who once occupied the region. Many artifacts are on display at local historical societies and museums. As WSJM-FM reports, the discovery of additional items could be problematic for the county as the articles were found at the site of a proposed new cell tower site.
County Administrator Brian Dissette explained that Berrien County and Motorola have been working together to set up a new emergency operation center, including a cell tower. Dissette said that it might be possible to construct a tower on another section of the 20-acre property, depending on what is unearthed. If the site is untenable, he said that the county would need to find an alternate location. Whatever the findings, Dissette said it was important that the tower plans move forward for 2023.
“The initial findings from the architectural review were that there were signs that would indicate there were materials that would have been tied to past Native American tribes,” Dissette noted to WSJM-FM. “Specifically, there were indications that the site would have some significance. We’ll be working with our contractor, Motorola, to determine if there are other locations on the piece of property that could work, and whether or not there are any signs from Historic Preservation [that] there could be problems with those sites.”
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