Michigan
Rick Haglund: Michigan needs to face facts in boosting population and economic competitiveness ⋆ Michigan Advance
![Rick Haglund: Michigan needs to face facts in boosting population and economic competitiveness ⋆ Michigan Advance](https://michiganadvance.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Untitled_Artwork-23.jpg)
Foundation and other philanthropy executives aren’t generally known as firebrands. But veteran foundation leader David Egner recently served up a scorching assessment of Michigan’s protracted economic decline and why it happened.
“All indicators are that other states like Wisconsin and Ohio are surpassing Michigan on a number of measures,” Egner said in a recent webinar. “Our ability to stay competitive in comparison to other states is in serious jeopardy. Unfortunately, it’s becoming more attractive to live in other places than it is in our beloved Michigan.”
Egner, who heads the Ralph C. Wilson Foundation in Detroit, continued, “Michigan’s “challenges are complex. They’re not simple, and they result from years of ignoring the facts. In many respects we’re victims of our own success; 75 to 100 years of unparalleled economic success.
“And as conditions changed, we sought to protect our position instead of adjusting to the circumstances,” he continued. “Then we blamed others for our fall. And we stubbornly called for a return to the glory days by repeating the actions that stopped working. And that’s how we’ve spent the last few decades.”
Egner’s harsh assessment of Michigan’s competitive position came in an online discussion about one of the most comprehensive studies of the state’s standing in recent memory, produced by the nonpartisan Citizens Research Council of Michigan and Altarum, an Ann Arbor-based research group.
“Michigan’s Path to a Prosperous Future: Challenges and Opportunities” is a five-part series of reports on Michigan’s demographics, economy and workforce, infrastructure, environment and public services.
Egner didn’t cite specifics, but they’re not much of a mystery to those of us who have lived in Michigan for a few decades.
We’ve stubbornly clung to the hope that we can somehow recreate a 1960s manufacturing economy by subsidizing new factories, while other, more successful states have adapted to an increasingly knowledge-based, services economy.
That’s not to say manufacturing is no longer important — it is — and United Auto Workers-represented workers recently achieved gains in a new labor contract with Detroit automakers that will restore a middle-class lifestyle for many of them.
But it’s unlikely that manufacturing will again employ nearly 1 million workers, as it did more than 30 years ago. Currently, there are about 600,000 manufacturing workers in the state, only about 14% of the state’s total employment.
Meanwhile, we’ve ignored or short-changed investments in the things other states have done to grow their populations and economies, including improving K-12 education, building transit and making communities more attractive to new residents.
During the past 30 years of mostly Republican control of the Legislature and governor’s office, tax cuts and improving the business climate were the centerpieces of Michigan’s efforts to grow jobs and population.
Those policymakers were successful in the first part of the equation. Michigan residents benefit from the fifth-lowest state and local tax burden in the country, according to the conservative Tax Foundation.
But being a low-tax state hasn’t prompted people to flock here or boosted incomes of its residents above those living in competing states.
Michigan’s population has been stuck at about 10 million people for more than 20 years. And the state has fallen from 11th in the country in personal per capita income in 1950 to 39th last year, according to the CRC/Altarum study and census data.
Michigan’s low-tax strategy “has not been a winning proposition,” said CRC President Eric Lupher.
Yet some continue to believe that more tax cuts are the path to a larger population and increased prosperity.
The West Michigan Policy Forum, a group of West Michigan business leaders, has proposed eliminating the personal income tax to boost the state’s population. And a group called “AxMITax” is trying to put a measure on the November 2024 ballot that would abolish all property taxes in the state.
What’s that cliché about doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result?
Michigan instead needs to take difficult, and likely unpopular steps to grow and restore its economic fortunes.
What’s that cliché about doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result?
There are a lot of troubling trends in Michigan’s population demographics. Too many young people are leaving the state, which is getting older and less able to support the state’s economy.
In 2020, there were 4.5 working-age people per retiree in that state. Over the next 12 years, the ratio is expected to fall to 2.5, according to the CRC/Altarum study.
But there is some good news, should we choose to see it as that. The one component of the state’s population that is growing is international immigration, projected to add 22,000 people through 2050. Michigan can build on that growth by becoming a more welcoming state.
Policymakers, in promoting growth policies, must deal with the fact that Michigan is becoming more diverse and regard it as a positive. By 2050, 40% of the state’s working population will be people of color, according to the CRC/Altarum study.
“Now is the time to be relentlessly inclusive,” said Javon Dobbs, communications manager at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, who is African American and adds he’s seen too many of his college friends and family leave Michigan for better opportunities and an improved quality of life.
And state leaders need to face reality in crafting a new approach to revitalize the state, Egner said.
“Until we can build a coalition that actually believes and accepts the facts and realities of where Michigan is, we won’t be able to build solutions that work,” he said.
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Michigan
Michigan's Newest Lakeside Inn Is Giving Gilmore Girls Traditional, But in the Midwest
![Michigan's Newest Lakeside Inn Is Giving Gilmore Girls Traditional, But in the Midwest](https://www.domino.com/uploads/2024/06/25/WYWH-Wickwood-FEATURE.jpg?width=1200&crop=1.9:1,smart)
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From dreamy decor to top-notch amenities, Domino’s “Wish You Were Here” series is your first-class ticket to the most design-driven getaways around the world. Whether you’re looking to steal away for a few days or just steal a few ideas for back home (we encourage both, for the record), check out where we’re checking in.
I was born and raised in the Midwest (specifically outside of Chicago), which means I spent summers exploring Lake Michigan’s shores for family vacations. So when I pulled up to the newly renovated Wickwood Inn in Saugatuck, Michigan, why did I feel like I was suddenly starring as an extra in an episode of Gilmore Girls?
That magic is partly due to the charming town but also thanks to Martin Horner and Shea Soucie of Soucie Horner, their Chicago-based design firm, who bought the 1937 home two years ago and turned it into a modern inn befitting of Stars Hollow.
Before the pair could make any cosmetic changes, they first had to consider the building’s history: Since the ’90s, the colonial structure was already a beloved inn run by adored cook Julee Rosso, author of The Silver Palate Cookbook. “When we bought the inn, we were very conscious of [Rosso’s popularity and returning guests], but we also had to make it our own,” Horner says. So instead of taking down walls and turning the 11-room property into a sleek Scandi hotel, they paid homage to the legendary former owner by working in details that were already there, like the art and furniture, which they reupholstered or repurposed. (The bathrooms however? Those were gutted and replaced with new tile and marble.)
![View into bathroom with blue vanity](https://www.domino.com/uploads/2024/06/25/WYWH-Wickwood-Inn-Domino-06.jpg?auto=webp&optimize=high&width=100)
![Wood paneled guest room with clawfoot tub in room](https://www.domino.com/uploads/2024/06/25/WYWH-Wickwood-Inn-Domino-09.jpg?auto=webp&optimize=high&width=100)
The rest of the inn’s “jewelry,” as Horner calls it—like the bamboo bed frame in the room I stayed in—came from epic vintage shopping trips, Facebook Marketplace hauls, and even Horner and Soucie’s own homes. In fact, no two guest rooms are exactly the same other than the lighting, bedding, and Waterworks faucets. To further keep consistency, they went with a soothing, neutral Benjamin Moore paint palette. (Fan favorite White Dove was their go-to in most areas.) New Vispring mattresses appear in each guest room, too.
In the lobby and dining room, a fireplace and wood-paneled walls adorned with one of Rosso’s original tapestries, create cozy spaces in which to convene before a day spent exploring the area’s wineries and art galleries (prioritize Ox-Bow, trust me). Plus the backyard and screened-in gazebo are the perfect places to sip cocktails or indulge in the lobby’s complimentary chocolate chip cookies.
![Traditional-style room with lamp and chair](https://www.domino.com/uploads/2024/06/25/WYWH-Wickwood-Inn-Domino-04.jpg?auto=webp&optimize=high&width=100)
![Open shelving with bowls and fresh fruit and vegetables on counter](https://www.domino.com/uploads/2024/06/25/WYWH-Wickwood-Inn-Domino-14.jpg?auto=webp&optimize=high&width=100)
The result almost feels delightfully non-Midwest, and certainly not beachy, even though the inn is just steps from the Kalamazoo River, where you can rent a candy-colored retro boat for an afternoon (highly recommend). Instead, the quiet luxury vibe paired with former Oprah Winfrey chef Rose Duong’s refined menu and the warm welcome from general manager Susan Michele make the whole experience decidedly Midwest. The only thing missing is Luke’s Diner.
Michigan
Ferndale man receives first beating-heart transplant in Michigan
![Ferndale man receives first beating-heart transplant in Michigan](https://images.foxtv.com/static.fox2detroit.com/www.fox2detroit.com/content/uploads/2024/06/1280/720/snapshot-2024-06-25T181705.215.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Henry Ford Health surgeons perform 1st beating-heart transplants in Michigan
With the beating-heart transplant technique, the donor heart does not have to be stopped a second time; it keeps beating as it is placed inside the patient.
DETROIT (FOX 2) – Michigan’s first two beating-heart transplants took place at Henry Ford Health in Detroit recently.
On his 58th birthday, Ken Miller of Ferndale was given the news that he would be undergoing the first-ever beating-heart transplant in the state.
Now, he is in the process of recovering.
“I didn’t expect to be feeling this well,” Miller said. “I’m feeling great and blessed.”
Miller had been in heart failure for more than a decade. He spent 25 days in a hospital bed, on a machine, prior to receiving his new heart –and a kidney– on May 31.
“I’m really excited about this outcome and excited about how well this heart worked,” said cardiac transplant surgeon at Henry Ford Health, Dr. Kyle Miletic.
Ken Miller of Ferndale underwent Michigan’s first ever beating-heart transplant on May 31, 2024. (Provided by Henry Ford Health)
Heart transplantation has come a long way.
Generally, a donor heart is good for about four hours, which limits how far away a donor heart can come from. However, the “heart in a box” technology has been a breakthrough – which is a mini heart lung machine that keeps the heart beating.
But still, the heart has to be stopped, twice, before being transplanted.
“We are always very concerned every time we have to stop the heart. Now, it’s inevitable. It’s going to have to be stopped once at the donor hospital to put it on this box, but the problem is we have to stop it a second time,” Miletic said.
That can be problematic. But with the beating heart transplant technique, the donor heart does not have to be stopped a second time; it keeps beating.
“We hooked the donor heart up to his own blood stream. Once it came from the box, his blood was providing that blood and the nutrients to his new heart, and we sewed it in again as it was beating,” Miletic said.
Henry Ford surgeons performed a second beating-heart transplant just last week. That heart came from about 2,000 miles away.
“Despite being the furthest distance we’ve ever traveled – really woke up right away with no issues, and that patient is doing extremely well and has excellent cardiac function,” the doctor said.
The new technique is not only revolutionary for heart transplant patients, but liver and lung patients as well.
As for Miller, he’s ready to get back on his feet and back to his family.
“I look forward to just being able to move, walk, go upstairs,” he said. “All the things we take for granted.”
Michigan
Storms close Michigan’s Adventure for the day
![Storms close Michigan’s Adventure for the day](https://www.woodtv.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/51/2023/06/generic-michigans-adventure.jpg?w=1280)
FRUITLAND TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — Storms Tuesday morning forced Michigan’s Adventure to close for the day.
The park closed “due to a power outage and inclement weather,” it announced on its Facebook page. It said most tickets for Tuesday will be honored through Labor Day.
“Thank you for understanding,” it wrote.
A line of strong storms swept through West Michigan Tuesday morning, leaving tens of thousands without power. Damage from the storms included downed trees and broken windows at a Grand Rapids post office.
Consumers Energy crews will be working throughout the day to restore power. Some may not have power back until Wednesday, a Consumers Energy spokesperson told News 8.
Michigan’s Adventure isn’t the only West Michigan closure. Some local schools and churches, including many in Kent County, have canceled summer activities for the day.
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