Category Archives: North Coast

Tourism bucks Michigan's larger economic trend

By John Bebow | Published: August 13, 2009
While lauding Michigan’s breathtaking “Pure Michigan” ad campaign in a July story, the Economist Magazine concluded that only time would tell if the campaign would produce economic results. Well, time is telling and the news is good. While still not at pre-recession highs, the Michigan Tourism Index for mid-2009 shows a definite uptick in overall tourism activity [...]
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Doing our best on tourism

By John Bebow | Published: July 30, 2009
Here’s a switch… Michigan won international praise this week for its economic development. “Michigan may not have found itself quite yet, but it is doing its best,” wrote the Economist magazine in a glowing story about the state’s Pure Michigan ad campaign. Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com, would probably approve, too. Bezos recently launched an online video [...]
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Great Lakes get good grades

By John Bebow | Published: July 16, 2009
If you head north yet this summer, take comfort in the fact that the Great Lakes are, in some ways, greater than they’ve been in a long time. The “State of the Great Lakes 2009″ report jointly published by the U.S. and Canadian governments offers plenty of bright spots. Most notably, efforts to reduce  toxic contamination [...]
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Keeping Michigan tourism top of mind

By John Bebow | Published: June 25, 2009
If you can afford the $30 bucks to pour into the gas tank, it’s definitely time to head north to celebrate the glory of the Michigan summer. Chicago Sun-Times columnist Mark Brown is a Michigan tourism junkie who’s been shooting the state’s magnificent Pure Michigan campaign directly into his veins… “You’re driving to work in the morning [...]
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West Michigan outshines Chicago

By John Bebow | Published: February 11, 2009
If you get a chance this spring, head over to Grand Rapids on a warm weekend and walk around downtown. If feels like a smaller, more livable Chicago. The streets are clean, the restaurants are full, and the night spots are bulging with young professionals. That’s not by luck or mistake. Yet Grand Rapids is also not [...]
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Mid-Michigan collaboration

By John Bebow | Published: October 24, 2008
Here’s another hopeful example of regional cooperation… “I wanted to note that Gratiot County, Michigan has over 20 local units of government working together on a joint countywide master plan,” writes Chelsey Foster, in response to our post last week about the Grand Traverse region’s long-range community planning process. “This is the first master plan [...]
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Great Lakes Compact a reality

By John Bebow | Published: September 26, 2008
Somehow, in the midst of the greatest national financial calamity in generations, Congress found the wherewithal to pass the Great Lakes Compact. The compact is very much in line with the “North Coast” sentiment expressed across the state by Michigan’s Defining Moment participants who’ve called for a balance between environmental protection and sustainable development. Many environmental [...]
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Prosperity and Michigan Population Trends

By John Bebow | Published: August 22, 2008
One in five households in Michigan’s four largest counties — Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, and Kent — is a “young professional” household, according to new research by Lou Glazer and his group, Michigan Future, Inc. But Michigan is falling behind more prosperous Midwest regions like Minneapolis and Chicago in attracting, retaining, and concentrating young professional “knowledge workers” [...]
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Those Youngsters in Mt. Pleasant

By John Bebow | Published: August 7, 2008
It turns out that Isabella County, home to Central Michigan University, is the youngest county in Michigan, with a median age of 26 years. About three hours to the northeast of the CMU campus, Alcona County along Lake Huron is the oldest county in the state at 50.2 years. Those county age estimates come from United [...]
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