ITHACA — When someone dies unexpectedly in Gratiot County, the call now goes to a private firm based in Cadillac. The county Board of Commissioners voted March 17, 2026, to accept a proposal from Mid-Michigan Medical Examiner Group and to appoint its physician, Dr. Paul A. Wagner, as chief medical examiner through Dec. 31, 2028.
The vote
Michigan law requires each county board to appoint a medical examiner for a four-year term. The county issued a request for proposals on Jan. 20, 2026 (Project No. 02-26) and received two. The resolution says an internal review committee “concluded that the proposal submitted by Mid-Michigan Medical Examiner Group was best suited to meet the needs of Gratiot County.” The packet does not identify the other bidder or its price.
The board accepted the proposal “at an estimated average annual cost of $98,863.00,” with the note that “actual cost will be determined by the total number of Medical Examiner cases.” The motion by Commissioner Sopocy, seconded by Commissioner Bailey, carried 4-0; Chair Owens was absent.
The firm
According to its proposal in the packet, the firm’s administrative office is in Cadillac, Dr. Wagner’s private practice is in Hart, and it serves 17 counties in mid- and northern Michigan. It describes a network of about 63 contract death investigators, with four assigned to Gratiot County and regional backup. Autopsies are sent to board-certified forensic pathologists at Western Michigan University’s Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine in Kalamazoo or the University of Michigan. The proposal says the county’s budget would carry two categories: an administrative overhead charge and case-related costs billed as they occur.
A faster handoff than planned
Until this spring, Gratiot County’s medical examiner services came through an agreement with Genesee County. That agreement required 60 days’ written notice to end it. On April 7, the board adopted Resolution 26-411, which states that “Genesee County has requested that Gratiot County begin transitioning cases to MMMEG as soon as possible” and that the firm agreed to start immediately. The resolution set the start at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday, April 8, 2026, and appointed Dr. Brian C. Hunter as deputy medical examiner through the end of a transition period on May 20, 2026.
The packets do not say why Genesee County asked to move the cases early, and the minutes of the April 7 meeting were not included in the packets this publication downloaded, so the roll call on Resolution 26-411 is not reported here.
What to watch
The resolution ties the real cost to the number of cases. The county’s check registers from April onward will show what the firm actually bills, and the 2026-27 budget, which the administrator told the board in August would be presented in draft, will show what the county expects to spend. Gratiot County and Mid-Michigan Medical Examiner Group have not been asked to comment for this report. Either is welcome to respond at contactus@gcwhistleblower.com, and any response will be published in full.