5019 W Airport Drive
Kincheloe, MI 49788
Phone: 906-495-5631
Email: admin@chippewacountyedc.com

Tourism is up statewide in 2014

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – A cold, wet winter didn’t hamper Michigan’s ability to attract tourists in 2014, according to a report Michigan State University researchers released at the Pure Michigan Governor’s Conference on Tourism on Monday. MSU researchers Sarah Nicholls and Dan McCole report annually on Michigan’s tourism industry, which they estimate supported 200,000 jobs and generated $18.7 billion in direct spending in 2013. In 2014, Michigan’s hotel occupancy was up by two percent and car traffic was up just under one percent. “2014 saw another year of steady growth for tourism in Michigan, despite the weather which was especially… Read More »


Help starting a business

Eric Becks from the SSMart Zone and Joshua Billington from the SBDC will be starting the SproutLab’s Co.Starters entrepreneurial class April 15. This will be a 9 week class that will meet every Wednesday night from 6-9pm at the SSMart Zone building, and helps aspiring and seasoned entrepreneurs examine assumptions and turn business ideas into action.  More than a course, CO.STARTERS is the starting point for building a vibrant startup community. More information is available here.


DNR approves Graymont’s proposal

Following a recommendation from Department of Natural Resources officials, DNR Director Keith Creagh announced today his approval of a land transaction proposal from Graymont, Inc. Creagh announced his decision at today’s Natural Resources Commission meeting in Roscommon, Michigan. Graymont is planning a limestone mining operation in the Upper Peninsula’s Mackinac County, near the town of Rexton. The company will have to comply with all applicable state and local regulations before mining can occur. In January DNR officials identified several concerns with Graymont’s proposal and recommended against its approval by the director. In response to those concerns, Graymont revised its application… Read More »


New state department launched.

Gov. Rick Snyder said today’s launch of the Michigan Department of Talent and Economic Development demonstrates that Michigan is taking the lead in closing the talent gap by preparing its people for the highly skilled, technical jobs of today and tomorrow. Snyder created the new state department through Executive Order 2014-12. The department is led by Steve Arwood, who is also the CEO of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. “This new department will accelerate the state’s effort to become a national leader in connecting highly skilled talent with in-demand jobs. This team is poised to help Michigan prosper by engaging… Read More »


DNR officials recommend latest Graymont proposal

Officials with Graymont, Inc. have submitted a revised Land Transaction Application (LTA) to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for a limestone mining operation in northern Mackinac County near the town of Rexton. The March 6 proposal, which amends a January 2015 LTA, is unchanged in the total amount and location of public land under consideration. Revisions in the March LTA address DNR concerns with the previous proposal. Based on these revisions, department officials have recommended that the March 6 Graymont application be approved by DNR Director Keith Creagh. The LTA will be before Creagh for action at the… Read More »


Kanava International opens in Sault, MI

 Erin Marra, Regional Manager Read the full story here Downtown Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan is celebrating the newest business to open in 2015 this week.  Kanava International, LLC, a management consulting firm headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, has recently opened an office at 546 Ashmun Street. Kanava’s President and CEO, Susan Puska, born and raised in Sault Ste. Marie, has long wanted to return to the area to contribute to economic development in the Upper Peninsula. After serving as a logistician and Army Attaché to Beijing, she retired from the U.S. Army as a Colonel then worked as a U.S. government… Read More »


Bay College to get new equipment

LANSING – Students at 18 community colleges across the state, including Bay College, will gain in-demand skills using state-of-the-art equipment and training through a $50 million grant program, Gov. Rick Snyder said. Snyder announced Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) approval of schools selected through the Community College Skilled Trades Equipment Program (CCSTEP), an effort to help close a talent gap and meet a demand for good-paying jobs. “We are positioning Michigan to become the national leader in developing talent,” Snyder said. “This serious investment, one of the largest of its kind in the country, will tap our top-notch community colleges… Read More »


DNR millions to fight invasive species

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources today announced the award of 20 grant projects totaling more than $4 million, under the Michigan Invasive Species Grant Program.  The grant program is central to Michigan’s new invasive species initiative, which brings a multi-department, comprehensive approach to the ongoing problem of harmful, non-native invaders such as the Asian carp. The initiative enlists the expertise of the state departments of Natural Resources, Environmental Quality and Agriculture and Rural Development. Included in the grants announced was $179,100 to  the Chippewa Luce Mackinac Conservation District for the Eastern Upper Peninsula Cooperative Invasive Species Management Program and… Read More »


Hospital expansion in Marquette

LANSING, MI — The Michigan Strategic Fund on Tuesday approved incentives for a new hospital and hotel parking garage in Marquette expected to create 169 new jobs and retain 2,300. The existing hospital in Marquette was purchased by Duke LifePoint Healthcare in 2012, but the company wanted to expand service and needed a new facility. Duke LifePoint plans to purchase land currently owned by the city and develop a 516,000 square foot acute-care hospital, along with medical office buildings. The MSF awarded the project a Brownfield incentive that will allow it to capture $55.8 million in school and local taxes…. Read More »


Gov. Snyder emphasis on blue-collar jobs

Only a few short years ago, Michigan leaders talked excitedly about diversifying the state’s economy beyond the auto industry, envisioning a Silicon Valley-style workforce that would be less dependent on manufacturing and more invested in technology and green energy. It’s the same dream shared by virtually every other governor whose state once relied on factory jobs. But it has collided with a stark reality: Car production is booming, Michigan’s skilled tradesmen are getting older and there aren’t enough qualified people to replace them in a labor pool that has started to shift away from industrial jobs. A report from the… Read More »