reWorking Michigan

On Tuesday, arts educators will come to Michigan State University for an annual breakfast meeting at the Wharton Center. 

This week from reWorking Michigan, our Monday report looks at a program that helps Lansing high schoolers get ready for successful college careers and the jobs that follow.

Michigan apple farmers suffered their largest crop loss since the 1940's this year. Early spring warmth followed by hard frosts killed fruit tree buds. The harvest is not all in yet, but state officials predict a 90 percent reduction in apple yield. WKAR's Melissa Benmark spoke with Michigan Apple Committee executive director Diane Smith about how farmers are coping.

A recent study finds some 108,000 K-12 students in Michigan have no access to arts curriculum in their schools.  The state mandates at least one credit in the arts as a requirement to graduate.

WKAR’s Kevin Lavery looks at how those who advocate for the arts and those who regulate its instruction might fill the gap.

Business leaders from more than 20 Michigan companies are traveling to China this week on a trade mission.  The six-city tour is one of the largest overseas events Michigan economic development officials have ever sponsored.  It’s an opportunity to match Michigan farmers, automakers, engineers and manufacturers with potential customers in China.

Data often show a clear connection linking employment back to education.  In Lansing, the executives of a new public school academy are going a step further by focusing its curriculum on entrepreneurialism and leadership. 

On this Labor Day from reWorking Michigan, our Monday report looks at the future of training in the skilled trades.

WKAR’s Scott Pohl spoke with Lawrence Hidalgo Junior, training director for the Lansing Electrical Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee.

It’s a joint program between the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and NECA, the National Electrical Contractors Association. They work with young electricians to prepare them for careers in the field, both in labor and in management.

That training has evolved in recent years.

Cities around the world are competing for new businesses and talented workers.  Lansing is no exception.  Cultural initiatives can and do play a role in economic development.  With that in mind, a new program strives to tell the stories of artists, musicians and business owners along Michigan Avenue.

Immigration experts in Lansing are planning a major outreach project this week.  Starting Wednesday, thousands of undocumented immigrants in Michigan who arrived in the U.S. as children will be eligible to file for work permits. 

A new program is offering talented college grads the chance to learn entrepreneurialism on the front lines. It also aims to help perk up job creation in some of America’s most economically challenged cities, including Detroit.

A unique mid-Michigan business is succeeding in keeping it loose at work.  Baker Drive Train in Haslett has carved out a profitable niche in the motorcycle business with cutting edge transmissions it designs and sells all over the world.  WKAR’s Mark Bashore reports on a married couple who left their buttoned-down GM jobs to embrace the rowdier culture of high performance motorcycles. 

There’s energy on the shop floor to start the workday at Baker Drive Train.  A little ‘liquid metal’ with your caffeine of choice is just the ticket for clearing out the morning cobwebs.

In 2007, the city of Lansing closed the Red Cedar Golf Course near the Frandor shopping center for budgetary reasons.  Now, an economic development team is studying five proposals to revitalize a portion of the 61-acre tract.  Regardless of which plan is selected, the land will undergo a major engineering project to keep pollutants from storm water runoff from spilling into the Red Cedar River.   

Last week’s historic Supreme Court decision upholding President Obama’s Affordable Care Act clears the way for some 32 million people to receive health insurance under Medicaid.  But many health experts fear there may not be enough doctors to serve everyone.  The nation is in the midst of a shortage of primary care physicians. 

In this week’s reWorking Michigan report, WKAR’s Kevin Lavery looks at how those who train tomorrow’s health care providers in mid-Michigan are getting ready for the influx of patients.

At more than 700,000, Michigan has one of the nation’s largest military veteran populations.  That’s a number any state would be proud of.  But Michigan also has America’s highest rate of unemployed veterans.

Economic gardening -- helping local entrepreneurs grow their own jobs rather than recruiting new workers from outside -- is building strong roots in Michigan. KI Technology Group recently took part in Michigan's economic gardening pilot program.