PERE MARQUETTE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) - A northern Michigan township has agreed to sell land where a large cross honors a famous Catholic missionary.
Pere Marquette Township in Mason County lately has been criticized for spending public money on a religious symbol, a 40-foot memorial cross built in 1955 near Lake Michigan.
The township and the memorial are named for Jacques Marquette, a 17th century missionary who explored the Great Lakes.
The township board agreed Tuesday to sell the property to a local group for $800, rejecting a $2,000 bid from the Freedom from Religion Foundation in Wisconsin.
Attorney Ed White tells WPBN-TV that the Pere Marquette Memorial Association will maintain the site with its own money.
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