Operation Northern Exposure in June

[link to www.mlive.com]

MUSKEGON HEIGHTS, MI -- A military helicopter will be doing a practice landing in Muskegon Heights on Thursday, April 16, in anticipation for a Michigan National Guard event slated for June.

The landing is scheduled for late afternoon on Thursday at a large field off Broadway Avenue near Jarman Street in Muskegon Heights, weather permitting.

Muskegon County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Dan Stout II, the county's emergency services director, said the landing is a rehearsal for the actual event planned in June -- a training exercise that will involve local public safety officials and public health officials, Stout said.

Stout said he is unable to release information about the exercise. If the weather isn't ideal for the landing, it will be rescheduled, Stout said.

The National Guard event is called Northern Exposure, which is taking place across Michigan during the month of June, he said. According to the Michigan National Guard website, Northern Exposure is "a major exercise in Michigan where the military provides defense support to civilian authorities."