IRON MOUNTAIN — An Operation Drive program will be established in 95B District Court in Dickinson County to help defendants regain driving privileges.

The local court was one of 12 statewide awarded a grant from the State Court Administrative Office, District Judge Julie LaCost informed the Dickinson County Board.

Courts receiving Operation Drive grants will be expected to establish programs that promote safe and valid drivers while helping defendants resolve outstanding legal and financial obligations.

Under SCAO guidelines, the program will:

— Focus on individuals with pending misdemeanor traffic offenses and suspended or never-issued licenses.

— Offer support for resolving tickets, warrants, court appearances, and fines.

— Include funding for personnel, supplies, transportation incentives, and virtual tools.

The program aims to continue the work of the Jail Reform Task Force, whose recommendations were passed into law in 2020 and have helped decrease the jail population in Michigan by reclassifying certain driving-related offenses, SCAO said in a news release. Operation Drive stakeholders include judges, magistrates, city attorneys, county prosecutors, local law enforcement and defense attorneys.

“We are grateful to the state legislature for enabling our courts to assist individuals who need cars to get to work, earn a paycheck, and support their families,” Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Megan K. Cavanagh said as grants were announced. “This program will not only help improve their quality of life, but through a collaborative approach, Operation Drive will also help keep our roads safer,” Cavanagh said.

Ontonagon County’s 98th District Court is the only other grant recipient in the Upper Peninsula. The others are in East Lansing, Grand Rapids, Detroit, Oak Park, Genesee County, Dearborn, Kent County, Romulus, Tuscola County and Oakland County. Grant funds totaling up to $1 million statewide will be distributed on a cost reimbursement basis, requiring quarterly reports.

The Michigan Department of State, meanwhile, has scheduled a Road to Restoration clinic Sept. 23 in Iron Mountain-Kingsford, with details to be announced.

Since launching in 2022, Road to Restoration has helped over 13,500 Michiganders at more than 100 clinics across the state, MDOS said in a news release.

In collaboration with several partners, MDOS said it will hold free clinics in 18 communities statewide to assist residents in understanding how to get their driving privileges restored. The Road to Restoration program was created to help more than 150,000 Michigan residents regain their driving privileges after changes to state law in 2021 made them newly eligible.

About 3,000 more Michiganders gained eligibility to apply for a driver’s license when Public Act 42 of 2024 repealed the state’s three-year ban for people cited for driving without a license.

Road to Restoration clinics are free of charge, but some participants may be required to pay past fines. The clinics do not provide DUI expungement services, and license reinstatement is not guaranteed.

In another matter, Dickinson County expects to join Iron and Delta counties in applying for Michigan Indigent Defense Commission funding on a regional basis. The county now receives an individual MDIC grant, but it’s hoped that a tri-county system will make a larger pool of attorneys available to serve indigent defendants.

MDIC was created by legislation in 2013 after an advisory commission recommended improvements to the state’s legal system. The MIDC Act requires the state to fund MIDC so it can provide grants to ensure that effective counsel is delivered to all indigent adults.

On March 9, attorneys Daryl Waters and Andrea Mashak addressed the Dickinson board to promote a regional MIDC application. Dickinson County once had six to eight attorneys available for indigent defendants, but that’s now down to three, Mashak said.

The board voted 3-2 to allow a tri-county application to proceed in consultation with Controller Brian Bousley and a review by Prosecuting Attorney Abbey Anderson. The application deadline is March 27, with implementation on Oct. 1.

Waters and Mashak said regional systems are not unique and a successful application should mean less time spent on administration. The board has a final say on whether to accept the grant, they said.

Voting no were Chairman Dan Harrington and Commissioner Joe Stevens, who wanted written application details that might later be approved at a special meeting ahead of the grant deadline.

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Jim Anderson can be reached at 906-774-2772 ext. 85226.