In The News

Saginaw Future outlines 2012 goals

Mlive.com Tuesday, February 21, 2012

The solar industry in mid-Michigan may have taken a few blows lately, but if Saginaw Future has anything to say about it, that's all on the road to an end-to-end solar industry being built. That's part of the plan in the upcoming year.

Excerpt: Saginaw County's largest economic development organization has big plans for 2012.

From attracting more companies to fill the area's solar supply chain, to continuing work on the Central Michigan University College of Medicine East Campus, Saginaw Future President JoAnn Crary said she and her staff have a lot on the agenda this year.

To read the whole plan, go here.

Source: Mlive.com

"Undercover Boss" stops in mid-Michigan restaurant

WNEM TV Tuesday, February 21, 2012

The TV show "Undercover Boss" visited Rally's Restaurant in Flint Township as part of a recently-filmed episode where the company's CEO works as an undercover employee.

Excerpt: Reality TV made a stop in Mid-Michigan late last year and this Friday we get to see what was recorded.
Undercover Boss is a program that takes CEOs and puts them in the trenches of their business where they meet employees and talk to them as equals and hear what's really on the minds of employees.

For the whole story, go here.

Source: WNEM TV

CBS highlights mid-Michigan man doing good works

CBS Evening News Tuesday, February 21, 2012

We could all use a little more kindness in our lives, right? That's the idea behind a Mid Michigan man's twice-a-year get-togethers, organizing strangers to do good for others.

Excerpt: East Lansing, Michigan becomes a utopia for two hours, twice a year thanks to Bob Hoffman's "Pass it Forward" parties. Small groups do small gestures for complete strangers -- and the only payment they expect is for those individuals to pass on that good deed to others.

"So here's what you do: You go out in the community, you do random acts of kindness and ask them to pass it forward," Hoffman instructed people at one of his bi-annual events.

For more of the article, click here.

Source: CBS Evening News

CMU medical school may take applications this summer

The Saginaw News Tuesday, February 21, 2012

The advent of a medical school at Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant has been long awaited, and it looks like would-be medical students should keep their ears open this summer for the first chance at the school.

Excerpt: Central Michigan University could start accepting College of Medicine applications as soon as this summer.

The medical school awaits Higher Learning Commission accreditation, said Dean Ernest Yoder. The commission accredits degree-granting post-secondary educational institutions in North America.

For the whole article, click here.

Source: The Saginaw News

Midland hotel celebrates grand opening

Mlive.com Tuesday, February 07, 2012

Long-stay travelers have a new option in Midland, and it's not some cheap motel, either. Marriott is the name behind the new Residence Inn and its grand opening.

Excerpt: A Residence Inn by Marriott hotel opened its doors in Midland for guests in December. In the six weeks since then, the hotel has been used by a variety of people visiting the city for business.

On Feb. 14, the hotel is celebrating its official grand opening with a ribbon cutting to announce its new presence in the community.

For the whole article, go here.

Source: Mlive.com

Breckenridge to get facelift this summer

The Morning Sun Tuesday, February 07, 2012

The village of Breckenridge will look different this time next year, as the summer will see some renovations and downtown changes.

Excerpt: Breckenridge has lots of construction planned for the coming season.

Most prominent is a parking lot re-do in back of the village hall downtown.

The old parking lot will be removed and a new one constructed. Park benches will be added, trees will be planted and loading zones will be added, said Village Manager Jeff Ostrander.

For the whole article, click here.

Source: The Morning Sun

Great Lakes Collective fuels mid-Michigan music scene

ArtServe Michigan Tuesday, February 07, 2012

Mid Michigan creative thinkers are the backbone of the Great Lakes Collective, which aims to boost local, Michigan-made music and musicians.

Excerpt: Sitting in a riverside restaurant in Lansing’s historic Old Town, I watched Nick Berry, Adam Klein and Rich Whitman do business. Questions were put on the table, followed by animated conversation, the cacophony seeming to fuel their creative energy.

It’s the same energy that has helped this trio build the The Great Lakes Collective.

For the whole story, go here.

Source: ArtServe Michigan

Saginaw homes remodeled with stabilization program

NBC 25 News Tuesday, February 07, 2012

Turning abandoned homes into new remodels is the cornerstone of a real estate stabilization program making a difference in Saginaw.

Excerpt: Blight is a major problem for Mid Michigan cities like Saginaw, but today a neighborhood stabilization program is offering some hope by renovating old homes for new buyers. They're unsightly and even dangerous. Vacant, abandoned, boarded up homes. The city of Saginaw has more of them than the average city. That's why the neighborhood stabilization program is in effect.

For the full story, click here.

Source: NBC 25 News

Report shows value of investing in arts and culture

Crain's Detroit Business Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Often, arts are the first thing to get cut when states, schools or municipalities are talking budget cutbacks. ArtServe has a new report out showing why that’s a bad idea, economically speaking.

Excerpt: The intrinsic value of arts and cultural organizations has long been recognized, but a new report reinforces what the sector has long trumpeted: They have significant economic impact, as well.

For every $1 the state invested in nonprofit arts and cultural groups in 2009, those organizations pumped more than $51 into Michigan's economy through spending on rent, programs, travel and salaries.

For the whole story, go here.

Source: Crain's Detroit Business

Dow Corning employees focus of Wall Street Journal article

The Wall Street Journal Tuesday, January 24, 2012

If your job would pay you to travel to a developing country like India and consult on projects in your professional field, you'd probably be thrilled, right? That's one reason behind a trend of overseas service postings at large companies like IBM and Dow Corning; the other, of course, is spotting growing industries overseas for future development.

Excerpt: Dow Corning is among a growing number of large corporations--including PepsiCo Inc., FedEx Corp., Intel Corp. and Pfizer Inc.--that are sending small teams of employees to developing countries such as India, Ghana, Brazil and Nigeria to provide free consulting services to nonprofits and other organizations. A major goal: to scope out business opportunities in hot emerging markets.

For the rest of the article, go here.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Mid-Michigan investors look at Saginaw building

Mlive.com Tuesday, January 24, 2012

A Bay City developer is among those looking at the possibilities for the historic Bearinger Fireproof Building in downtown Saginaw. The DDA director gives an update in this article.

Excerpt: The Bearinger Fireproof Building at 126 N. Franklin in downtown Saginaw could be infiltrated by construction workers in the not-so-distant future, says Saginaw Development Director Odail Thorns.

For the whole article, and more background, click here.

Source: Mlive.com

Bay City student to participate in youth U.S. Senate program

Mlive.com Tuesday, January 24, 2012

For some high school students, a dream job means Washington, D.C., and that's the path Bay City's Samantha Smith appears to be set on taking. Her recent appointment as a delegate in the U.S. Senate Youth Program follows up a stint as a page for Congress last year.

Excerpt: Bay City Western High School student Samantha Smith was one of two Michigan students selected as delegates to the 50th anniversary United State Senate Youth Program.

Smith, 17, is the executive secretary to the Student Council at Western and is chairwoman of the Bay Area Community foundation's Youth Advisory Committee and helped bring the anti-bullying program, "Challenge Day," to local schools.

For the whole story, go here.

Source: Mlive.com

CMU facilities staff wins green cleaning award

American School and University Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Central Michigan University is being recognized for an unusual accomplishment. It's nothing to do with academics or athletics; the award went to the school's maintenance and cleaning staff, for keeping the campus neat and clean in environmentally-friendly ways.

Excerpt: Since receiving a 2010 Honorable Mention in American School & University Magazine, CMU continues to make advancements by introducing outdoor recycling, expanding our composting program to all five on-campus dining halls, applying an anti-microbial coating to all athletic and recreation areas, increasing our custodial training program from 24 to 30 hours on all three shifts, installing heated sidewalks in new buildings, and introducing LEED requirements on all new construction ensuring environmentally responsible practices.

To read more, go here.

Source: American School & University

Mid-Michigan Civil War history to get new film audience

OurMidland.com Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Civil War history is rich and unique in Michigan, and in the mid-Michigan area, that includes several events, local history books and, soon, a film highlighting Michigan soldiers.

Excerpt: The Clarke Historical Library at Central Michigan University got a grant for a film documenting the history of Native American soldiers of the First Michigan Sharpshooters.

The Michigan Humanities Council's website adds that the film -- to be shown on public TV and elsewhere -- is about soldiers of Company K of the Sharpshooters regiment, in which 139 Anishinabe men served. The film is "The Road to Andersonville: Michigan Native American Sharpshooters in the Civil War."

For the full article, click here.

Source: OurMidland.com

Midland woman profiled in biographical book

The Lansing State Journal Tuesday, January 10, 2012

A Midland native is the subject of a new book by her daughter. Part history, part biography, the novel sounds promising for those who are interested in Midland or Michigan history.

Excerpt: Webberville native Roberta Monroe Keenan will visit area coffeehouses in January to promote her new novel, "Bend or Break, My Mother's Words, My Life Within Them."

"The story," the author says, "is a perspective of my mother's life, resurrected from her notes, family stories and memories. All events chronicled are basically true and all locations, except for one, are actual Michigan places."

For the whole story, go here.

Source: The Lansing State Journal