Michigan citizens know the pocketbook pressures of rising prices for such everyday items as bread, milk and even the occasional beer. But less evident are the increased costs of the materials needed to build and repair the roads on which they drive. That means that the pennies of tax placed on each gallon of Michigan […]
Business Watch
Covering the intersection of business and policy, and informing Michigan employers and workers on the long road back from coronavirus. Our Michigan Economic Dashboard shows key metrics that show how the state is performing.
Posted inBusiness Watch
Who's to blame for Michigan's road woes?
There is no shortage of fancy electronic charts, graphs and statistics to document the crumbling state of Michigan’s streets and highways. Grand Rapids auto repair shop owner Jay Ziomkowski, though, charts it by the customers who walk through his door. He recalled a recent winter, when “the roads were just horrific. Certain sections were like […]
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In West Michigan, evidence mounts of statewide road crisis
A few weeks ago, Grand Rapids TV station WZZM posted a request on its Facebook page: Tell us about about the worst roads in West Michigan. Comments poured in. An Ottawa County resident described James Street, a road near Holland, as “horrible, has been for a long time. Not only filled with potholes but way […]
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Bad roads throw up barriers to farmers, auto firms, tourists
Better than most, Cass County resident Cliff Poehlman understands how bad roads raise the cost of doing business. Poehlman farms about 2,000 acres of corn, wheat and alfalfa in southwestern Michigan. He is also a 22-year veteran of the Cass County Road Commission. In recent years, Poehlman said, the commission has been forced to issue […]
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Whole Foods exec sees opportunity in Detroit’s urban farming, artisanal food scene
Red Elk Banks, executive operations coordinator for Whole Foods Market, is playing a role in one of the bright spots in Detroit’s tumultuous recent history – overseeing the construction of a Whole Foods Market in the city’s Midtown neighborhood. Detroit has long been (wrongly) perceived as a “food desert” for its lack of any national-chain […]
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Traverse City’s growth draws attention
In 2007, when Michigan was in the throes of the recession, a young entrepreneur named Chris Treter opened a coffee shop and cafe in Traverse City. The Ohio native could have launched his Higher Grounds Coffee Trading Co. in any number of places. But Treter, who spent many summer vacations at a family cabin on […]
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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 […]
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Labor says it will prevail, but RTW experts are skeptical
FORT WAYNE, Ind. — Given recent events in Indiana, third-shift General Motors worker Roxanna Lucas was “not surprised” when Michigan followed suit by adopting a Right to Work labor standard. Lucas, like many coworkers at the sprawling suburban Fort Wayne GM assembly plant, sees RTW as nothing less than a calculated scheme to take down […]
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Indiana reaction belies pro-Right to Work claims
FORT WAYNE, Ind. — In the weeks after “Right to Work” became law in Indiana, Michigan-based Android Industries was anointed a poster child for the job growth state officials predicted would flow from the measure. Company officials insisted it was no accident they picked Indiana to open an automotive plant in suburban Fort Wayne in […]
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Political fallout from RTW deal yet to land
INDIANAPOLIS — With passage of Right to Work legislation imminent, Indiana Democrats huddled on a Monday night in February 2011 to plot strategy. The following morning, some three dozen state representatives bolted for the Comfort Suites in Urbana, Ill., trying to wait out a Republican majority determined to push the measure through. The move left […]
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