WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) announced today that he has sent a letter urging leaders of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure to retain funding for a new vessel to enhance icebreaking capacity on the Great Lakes. Recent winters have brought about near record-breaking levels of ice coverage on the Great Lakes, which has seriously impaired commercial shipping and economic activity in Michigan’s waterways. “The USGC operates an aging fleet on the Great Lakes that includes only nine icebreaking-capable cutters, some of which were commissioned back in… Read More »

Funds From EPA for Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Projects Release Date: 07/29/2015 Contact Information: Peter Cassell, cassell.peter@epa.gov, 312-886-6234 CHICAGO — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today issued a Request for Applications soliciting proposals for Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grants to fund new projects to restore and protect the Great Lakes. Up to $13.9 million will be available during the 2015 funding cycle for grants to state, tribal, interstate and local governmental agencies, institutions of higher learning and other nonprofit organizations. Applications are due September 28, 2015. “This round of Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding will be used to target invasive species… Read More »

Lakerpalooza, an annual information and resource fair at Lake Superior State University, will welcome students to the twin-Sault community for its 13th year. Area businesses, non-profit organizations and service groups are invited to participate. The event is also open to the public. Lakerpalooza has become one of more popular parts of “Laker Week,” several days of special events that start off the new academic year. This year’s Lakerpalooza will be held from 12:30-3 p.m. on Aug. 28 in the Norris Center and Student Activity Center. Registration deadline for vendors and informational displays is noon on Friday, Aug. 21. Register online… Read More »

SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. – Lake Superior State University invites adult students from both sides of the St. Mary’s River to find out what the university has to offer them during a Non-Traditional Student Open House from 6-8 p.m. on Monday, July 27, in the Walker Cisler Center on campus. The program is an opportunity for students who may have started a degree some years ago, or who may be thinking of expanding their skills in anticipation of finding a different career path, to find out how they can get started. It will also be an opportunity for students to… Read More »

  JULY 21, 2015 – A job-seeker who successfully used the state’s labor exchange system — Pure Michigan Talent Connect  — to gain employment is the first recipient of a $5,000 signing bonus under the Michigan Celebrates You campaign. The campaign promotes use of the www.mitalent.org site by job seekers and employers, increases the number of accounts created, helps job seekers with their searches and recognizes employer-employee matches made via the site. It gives registered users on Pure Michigan Talent Connect the opportunity to participate in a monthly sweepstakes for the chance to win a $250 gift card. Over the… Read More »

  WASHINGTON D.C. – Michigan Senators Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters today announced $1.3 million to give Upper Peninsula students, many of whom are the first in their family to go to college, coaching and skill development so they have a better shot at graduating college. This support through the Department of Education’s TRIO Student Support Services Program will benefit eligible students at Bay de Noc Community College, Northern Michigan University, Gogebic Community College, Finlandia University, and Bay Mills Community College. “Students who work hard and are accepted to college deserve every opportunity to succeed,” said Senator Stabenow. “Thanks to… Read More »

Banning heavy tar sands oil from ever flowing through the aging twin Straits of Mackinac pipelines is one of about a dozen recommendations included in a state task force report on the status and future of Michigan pipelines. The report, released jointly by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and the Attorney General’s office after a yearlong inquiry, mandates full insurance coverage for the 62-year-old Straits pipelines, owned by Enbridge Energy Inc. The report also calls for independent assessments of the risk to the Great Lakes posed by the pipeline, and alternatives to its future operation. The pipeline’s days “are… Read More »

GRAND RAPIDS, MI — Even Birgit Klohs was surprised the Greater Grand Rapids region has one of the best economies in the nation. Usually when the region is ranked, it’s compared to similar size regions. For the first time, the Grand Rapids-Wyoming qualified in the top category alongside metropolitan heavyweights such as Chicago, Boston and Seattle. “If we had ranked No. 1 in our category, I wouldn’t have been surprised at all,” said the CEO of The Right Place, the region’s economic development organization. Grand Rapids only lagged behind Denver and Houston in the study that compared the nation’s 373… Read More »

  Bipartisan Bill Would Eliminate Outdated Paperwork for Michigan Small Businesses FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 29, 2015 Allison Green 202-834-2281 Zade Alsawah 313-505-4810 Media@peters.senate.gov WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI), a member of the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, today cosponsored bipartisan legislation that would reduce burdensome paperwork and cut red tape for small businesses.  The Microloan Act of 2015 eliminates three outdated provisions in the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Microloan Program that have been unchanged since the program’s establishment in 1991 and only create unnecessary paperwork for small businesses and entrepreneurs. “Small businesses and startups are… Read More »

A grant opportunity designed to encourage growth in Michigan’s food and agriculture industry was announced today by Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Director Jamie Clover Adams. “This is a great chance for our food and agriculture businesses to find innovative ways to expand and grow.  Food and agriculture in Michigan is a $101 billion industry. This is one avenue to help spur job creation, support local communities and drive new economic development,” said Clover Adams. Applicants for grant funds will be asked to describe how the project potentially impacts and produces measurable outcomes for the food and agriculture… Read More »