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After more than a decade, law enforcement memorial breaks ground

Cheyna Roth

Governor Rick Snyder and members of law enforcement broke ground on a memorial Thursday.

It’s a tribute to law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty.

It’s a project more than a decade in the making: a structure composed of large metal panels engraved with the names of fallen police officers. A commission to build the monument has had trouble fundraising the effort for years.

Governor Rick Snyder approved a grant earlier this year for more than one million dollars to help push the fundraising efforts over the finish line.

“We need to celebrate those and honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice, and that’s why this monument is so important,” he said.

When it’s finished, the memorial will be engraved with the names of about 600 fallen officers.

Before becoming the newest Capitol reporter for the Michigan Public Radio Network, Cheyna Roth was an attorney. She spent her days fighting it out in court as an assistant prosecuting attorney for Ionia County. Eventually, Cheyna took her investigative and interview skills and moved on to journalism. She got her masters at Michigan State University and was a documentary filmmaker, podcaster, and freelance writer before finding her home with NPR. Very soon after joining MPRN, Cheyna started covering the 2016 presidential election, chasing after Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and all their surrogates as they duked it out for Michigan. Cheyna also focuses on the Legislature and criminal justice issues for MPRN. Cheyna is obsessively curious, a passionate storyteller, and an occasional backpacker. Follow her on Twitter at @Cheyna_R