Michigan lawmakers move to officially establish border with Indiana

(FOX 2) – Border disputes might not seem to be the everyday drawback for a state like Michigan, which shares most of its boundaries with lakes slightly than different states. 

However its border with Indiana, which is set by survey info that goes again centuries, stays considerably unsure. That is created issues for police investigating site visitors accidents and residents resolving property disputes. 

Now, nearly 200 years after its founding, the states of Michigan and Indiana hope to resolve any remaining border ambiguities that stay between them.

“That is the one space of the state that also doesn’t have a clearly outlined and correctly surveyed border,” stated Sen Kim LaSata, R-Niles in a press release. “Borders with Ohio and Wisconsin have been revisited, so there’s each precedent and a necessity for this undertaking.”

Senate Payments sponsored by the southwest Michigan lawmaker that will set up a state fee to fulfill with an identical physique in Indiana handed the state Home of Representatives in late April. The payments now go to the Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for signing.

Below the payments, Michigan would set up a fee that will fulfill a joint effort initiated by the 2 states to formally decide the border. Funding for the physique was accepted within the 2022 fiscal yr finances. 

Related funding was already accepted in Indiana. 

The proposed fee would use 5 surveyors licensed within the state and reside in souther Michigan counties together with Berrien, Cass, St. Joseph, Department, and Hillsdale.

“That is nice information for Southwest Michigan and for residents of Indiana as nicely,” LaSata stated. “As soon as accomplished, a proper survey together with up to date, clearly identifiable monuments will lastly set up a transparent border between the 2 states.”

Whereas the border is not anticipated to alter a lot, the uncertainty about the place it lies has difficult some land developments and work on invasive species. A launch from the state Republican Senate stated property disputes which have unfolded in areas that do not fully belong to at least one state or one other has made authorized proceedings tough.