Gladwin County

The Trout Lake dam in Gladwin County is facing uncertainly as the Michigan Department of Natural Resources recommends its removal. Community members are now advocating to save the lake.

On May 19, 2020, parts of Gladwin and Midland counties were flooded after two dams failed after days of heavy rain. The state of Michigan is being sued for damages tied to the floods.

A group of Midland and Gladwin county property owners are fighting a special assessment to pay for rebuilding dams that failed in 2020. They claim the assessment places an "unfair burden" on them.

The three-judge panel is promising to quickly issue an opinion

The proposal must be approved by Congress during the next rounds of annual budget funding. Kildee's funding proposals come four years after a major flood that devastated parts of Midland and Gladwin counties.

A group of homeowners known as the Heron Cove Association who reside in the special assessment district in Midland and Gladwin counties say the judge overseeing their case has a conflict of interest.

In response to the appeal filed by Midland and Gladwin county residents last month, the Task Force said in a news release that it cannot complete the project with its remaining funds from the state.

Without the funds from the special assessment rolls, said The Four Lakes Task Force, the dam reconstruction project may end up delayed or unfinished.

Effected property owners in Gladwin and Midland county residents banded together to create the Heron Cove Association to fight against dam repair special assessments that were passed earlier this month.

Commissioners from both counties signed off on two special assessments to rebuild the Sanford and Edenville dams that broke and caused widespread flooding in 2020.