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Nativity scene removed in northern Michigan after complaints

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MENOMINEE, Mich. (AP) — A nativity scene that’s been displayed in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula as part of a longtime Christmas tradition has been taken down following years of complaints.

Menominee City Manager Tony Graff tells WLUK-TV that the display was taken down shortly after being put up this year. He says the city attorney determined that the display was “a violation of our own policy” governing what can be put up on public property.

The Madison, Wisconsin-based Freedom from Religion Foundation had sent several complaints to the city. Ryan Jayne, an attorney with the foundation, says the group first reached out to the city in 2007 after a complaint from a Menominee resident.

Following the decision, Graff says he hopes a local church will put up the display.