Ionia Township’s own legal counsel told the Township Supervisor and Rep. Gina Johnsen in September 2024 that the existing disorderly conduct ordinance was fully enforceable against Casey Wagner’s repeated detonations. They did nothing with that opinion. An elderly woman, Lois, lost her hearing, developed PTSD, and continues to collect her own evidence because the officials she contacted have refused to act. The blasts continue.
A damning email has surfaced, placing accountability squarely on the doorstep of Ionia County and Michigan elected officials for not just failing, but outright refusing to enforce noise ordinances that have left an elderly woman deaf and with thousands of dollars in property damage.
In September 2024, Ionia Township’s own legal counsel, Ronald A. Bultje, informed then Township Supervisor Kurt Scheuer and Michigan House Representative Gina Johnsen (R) that the Township Ordinance banning extreme noise was in fact ENFORCEABLE.
Guns are a long documented issue in the county, with multiple officer-involved shootings, suicides, domestic violence incidents, and more. Rather than enforce an ordinance that would restore peace and safety, the township and Lois’ elected officials did nothing with the legal opinion. They were also contacted by a Veterans’ Rights advocate who stressed the seriousness of Casey’s misconduct. That, too, fell on proverbial deaf ears.
If you’ve been following Lois’s story, you know she’s endured years of explosions set off by her neighbor Casey Wagner, an irresponsible gun-owner and current Michigan Department of Corrections employee at Bellamy Creek in Ionia County. He is the guy who makes responsible gun-owners look bad, the kind Republicans and Democrats alike should want to hold accountable.
What has unfolded is unconscionable. If it were to have occurred in a poor Black or Brown neighborhood, or even next door to the people in power, arrests and convictions would surely have been made by now.
Instead, Lois has lost her hearing. She suffers from PTSD. She’s called Sheriff Charlie Noll. She’s called Prosecutor Kyle Butler. She’s called the Township. She’s called her elected officials. She’s called everyone who claims to serve and protect. They all have excused Casey Wagner’s bad behavior.
And the blasts continue to this very day even when they should have long been over.
They have forced her to put herself at further risk by collecting her own evidence, not just because they refuse to act, but because former Michigan DOC employees are also on the Sheriff’s payroll.
Surprise: Kyle Butler is not only wrong but outright lying. Casey Wagner IS violating the ordinance and the Township was advised to act. He was given the documentation last year and ignored it.
The Legal Opinion They Buried
Now, thanks to a recently surfaced email, we know that local officials knew exactly what they could do, and chose not to do it.
In September 2024, the Township’s own attorney, Ronald Bultje, made it crystal clear:
“In my opinion, a person who repeatedly fires a cannon-type device…for no reason other than to disturb the peace… violates Section 8.C of the [Disorderly Conduct] Ordinance.” — Ronald A. Bultje, Dickinson Wright, Township Legal Counsel, September 2024
He cited supporting Michigan case law confirming the ordinance was fully enforceable, including Grand Rapids v. Gaspar and Lansing v. Hartsuff.
When any duty is or shall be enjoined by law upon any public officer, or upon any person holding any public trust or employment, every willful neglect to perform such duty, where no special provision shall have been made for the punishment of such delinquency, constitutes a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than 1 year or a fine of not more than $1,000.00.
MCL 750.478 — Willful Neglect of Duty; Public Officer or Person Holding Public Trust or EmploymentThe Silence and Cowardice of Those in Power
This legal opinion wasn’t buried in a desk drawer. It was shared directly with then-Township Supervisor Kurt Scheuer, and it was also sent to Michigan Representative Gina Johnsen, who according to her campaign website, claims to care about her constituents’ freedoms.
But which freedoms? Lois’s right to live in peace and safety? Or her neighbor’s so-called right to create permanent life-altering disabilities for his elderly neighbor by detonating devices large enough to damage windows, eardrums, and any real sense of security? What about the freedom of family and friends who want to visit Lois but are terrified they’ll be hit with explosion debris every time they do?
Gina Johnsen publicly claimed that Casey Wagner wasn’t breaking any laws. She threw temper tantrums when people asked for accountability, all while being endorsed by and taking money from dark money gun interest groups. She knew better. Privately, she told Lois and her support system to stay quiet, warning her not to speak up or go to Attorney General Dana Nessel out of fear it would hurt gun rights.
Meanwhile, Gina put her neck on the line for Casey Wagner and the others did nothing. Lois lost her hearing. She lost her sense of safety. She lost the ability to go outside in her own yard and feel safe. And she is still waiting for even one of these leaders to do their job.
Since 2017, Michigan Senator Rick Outman accepted over $1 million from Everytown for Gun Safety. He has done nothing to assist Lois, choosing instead to ignore her. He also received significant funds from an LLC that was under Campaign Finance Investigation.
This isn’t just incompetence. This is blatant misconduct and a full-on government cover-up to protect an irresponsible gun-owner who shouldn’t be trusted with a super soaker. Ionia County: your ordinances are on the books. You know what’s happening. You know Casey Wagner willingly and knowingly violates the ordinances and the law. You know he is intimidating a person with disabilities and violating her civil rights. Your own lawyer told you so.
How Many Emails Does It Take?
When lawyers say yes, you can enforce this, and local supervisors shrug, that’s not government at work. That’s government looking away.
Lois deserves more than thoughts and prayers. She deserves to live without fear. She deserves leaders who read legal advice and then actually use it instead of hiding it, condoning disrespect, and covering their own exposure in ways that inadvertently create liability for themselves.
Tonight, I forwarded everything to Attorney General Nessel. It doesn’t matter what I personally think of Dana Nessel. What matters is that what is happening is wrong and taking place solely because of politics. And tomorrow, a Lansing news entity will air a segment on Lois’ plight.
Perhaps, the end to all of this is finally near.
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