BY JOHN GALLAGHER AND CHRIS CHRISTOFF

DETROIT FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS


Today, the Free Press separates the swirling exaggerations from the truth in the border showdown critical to Michigan's future.

On one side: Ambassador Bridge owner Manuel [[Matty) Moroun, wielding the family fortune and political connections to defeat a proposed publicly owned span that would cut deeply into his business.

On the other side: the U.S. and Canadian governments, with strong support from business groups that want a new crossing between Detroit and Windsor to speed commercial truck traffic across the busiest trade crossing between the U.S. and Canada.

The weapons: muscular lobbying by the Morouns, with controversial TV ads and arm-twisting in Lansing, to convince lawmakers and the public that a second Detroit River bridge is unnecessary and a potential burden for taxpayers.

Gov. Rick Snyder and his aides have the bully pulpit to muster support for a publicly owned bridge. They say they have bulletproof legislation to protect taxpayers against use of any significant Michigan money to build a new bridge.

The stakes: control of the border crossing. And key decisions are expected in coming weeks from Lansing.





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