Livingston County experienced a great many things in 2021 from a 20,000-person concert in a farm field in Fowlerville to a visit by President Joe Biden.
Court cases also captured headlines with an uptick in homicides and a state representative’s legal woes after his arrest in Livingston County.
Here are some of the Livingston Daily’s top stories of 2021:
A 40-acre hayfield in Conway Township was transformed into a concert venue for country music star and “American Idol” judge Luke Bryan in September.
About 20,000 ticket-holders attended the stop on Bryan’s Farm Tour 2021. It was easily the largest event of its kind held in Livingston County.
President Joe Biden visited a training center in Howell Township in October to rally support for his Build Back Better agenda, which still hasn’t passed in Congress.
The president completed a tour of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 324 training facility and then spoke to an audience that awaited his arrival outdoors.
Biden was met with both cheers and protests during his trip to the largely Republican county.
State Rep. Jewell Jones, D-Inkster, was charged in April with four counts of resisting and obstructing a police officer stemming from an incident in Fowlerville.
Jones, 26, also was charged with four misdemeanors: operating a motor vehicle with a high blood alcohol content, operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, possession of a weapon while under the influence of alcohol and reckless driving.
In September he was charged with two additional felonies, one count each of bringing a weapon into a jail and escape waiting trial for a felony, after officials discovered a handcuff key to the bottom of his foot while at the Livingston County Jail.
Jones and his attorney Byron Nolen have argued his April arrest was unlawful, an argument two Livingston County judges have dismissed.
A jury trial is scheduled for February 2022.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services shut down and later limited indoor dining in an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Several restaurants in Livingston County resisted the pandemic order fearing a shutdown would ruin their businesses. Some received hefty fines, others had licenses suspended.
Former Livingston County judge Theresa Brennan was disbarred in February, more than a year after pleading guilty to perjury charges.
Brennan was removed from the bench in June 2019 after the state Supreme Court found she committed eight instances of misconduct.
The deaths of four county residents have been classified as homicides in 2021.
Hayden Jagst, an 18-year-old Brighton man, is charged with killing his father, Edward Jagst, a Canton Township police officer, at the family’s home June 21. This was the first reported homicide in the county since November 2019.
Janey Cairns was found dead in her Genoa Township home in early October. Brandon Wilson, also of Genoa Township, was charged with her death. Officials say he confessed to killing Cairns when stopped by police in Texas.
Chance Hallam is charged in the deaths of Dale Dormanen, 75, and Joan Dormanen, 79, who were found dead in their Oceola Township home on Nov. 19. Hallam is the grandson of the couple, according to Michigan State Police.
The number of million-dollar homes in Livingston County have increased this year as housing prices soar across the country.
In Livingston County there are at least 18 homes listed for over $1 million, with nearly a dozen close behind listed for between $900,000 and $999,999.
Three of the five most expensive homes were still for sale going into the new year.
Howell’s largest piece of vacant land will be transformed into a motor sports complex with a driving circuit, more than 100 garage condos and a clubhouse lounge.
Co-owners of Motorsports Gateway Howell, Jordan Dick and his father MarkDick, said they expect the complex to spur economic development on the city’s south side.
Jordan Dick said he expects to break ground next summer. The circuit would be ready for vehicles by summer 2023.
Contact Kayla Daugherty at 517-552-2848 or kdaugherty@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @KayDaugherty92.
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