Michigan Ladder Co., a 111-year-old Ypsilanti business that assembles wood and fiberglass ladders for the industrial market, used to buy its fiberglass ladders from suppliers in China. But the company recently decided getting ladders from suppliers that were thousands of miles away didn’t make financial sense. So, it began assembling its own fiberglass ladders in […]
Rick Haglund
Rick Haglund has had a distinguished career covering Michigan business, economics and government at newspapers throughout the state. Most recently, at Booth Newspapers he wrote a statewide business column and was one of only three such columnists in Michigan. He also covered the auto industry and Michigan’s economy extensively.
Posted inBusiness Watch
What’s up, who’s down in state economy?
While the Holland area may be better known to outsiders for its Dutch heritage and pristine Lake Michigan beaches, the locals know its economy is driven by manufacturing. The area suffered as manufacturing output fell by a third during the Great Recession. Unemployment exceeded 13 percent. But a strong rebound by auto suppliers, office furniture […]
Posted inQuality of Life
Job-based health coverage plummets
Linda and Ken Brauer went years without health insurance after Ken lost his job as a salesman in 2007. Ken became eligible for Medicare in January. But Linda, a 63-year-old unemployed social worker with a master’s degree, has been unable to find work and still lacks health insurance. “People are just so vulnerable,” said Linda […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Blue Cross revamp: What does it mean for your pocketbook?
Blue Cross Blue Shield is, in some ways, health care in Michigan. The nonprofit firm and its family of companies cover 4.4 million Michigan residents – or almost half the state. It paid out more than $18 billion in claims in 2011 – most of it in Michigan – while doing business with 158 hospitals […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
From light rail to neighborhood rehab, Kresge Foundation pours money, attention into Detroit
Rip Rapson became president of the $3.1 billion Kresge Foundation in 2006. He has since changed the foundation’s focus from providing challenge grants that support building projects in local communities to program-related investments in seven areas, including community development, education, health and human services. Kresge also has taken a high-profile role in the revitalization of […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Policy reasons for exempting police, fire from Right to Work remain unclear
Michigan’s new Right to Work law presents a huge challenge to the future of unions in a state known as the home of the modern labor movement. But not for the approximately 1,700 bargaining units representing thousands of local police officers and firefighters in Michigan. Lawmakers who rammed RTW bills through the Legislature during the […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Factory work drives slow Mich. recovery
If there’s one thing we’ve always been able to count on in Michigan, it’s that manufacturing will drag us into recession and lead us back to recovery. And it’s happening again. Durable goods manufacturing output has jumped 41 percent in the past two years, far outpacing any other segment of the economy since 2009. The […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Construction industry sees more work, more jobs on Michigan’s horizon
No industry contracted more during Michigan’s “lost decade” than construction. The value of new construction, including homes, offices, factories, hospitals and schools, fell by more than half, from $21 billion in 2001 to $9.2 billion last year, as measured by state gross domestic product. During the same period, Michigan lost 82,000 construction jobs, a 40 […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Health sector surges, but Michigan economy still faces educational drags
Manufacturing is still the engine driving Michigan’s economy, but several other industry segments are fighting to grab the steering wheel. Health care; finance and insurance; professional, scientific and technical services; management of companies; wholesale trade; and lodging and food service all have shown near or above double-digit growth of the past two years as measured […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Is Michigan too light on tax lures?
How many economic development incentives does Michigan need to compete for jobs and business investment? A debate is raging over that question since Gov. Rick Snyder largely shifted the state’s economic development efforts away from trying to buy jobs from other states to helping Michigan companies grow, a process he calls “economic gardening.” Soon after […]
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