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From Campus Project to Market Success: How one NMU student reimagined camping

How does a college project turn into a thriving outdoor brand? Discover how NMU student Evan BeVier and healthcare founder Gretchen Heinen scaled their big ideas with the help of Innovate Marquette SmartZone.
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Beyond the Shortage: How the Caregiver Incentive Project is building a better caregiving industry
The Caregiver Incentive Project povides free training, financial incentives, and support network for caregivers. The nonprofit aims to establish formal job standards, and deliver vital relief to underserved rural families.
Amazon opens first Upper Peninsula facility in Escanaba, cutting delivery times
The online retail giant’s newly opened 50,000-square-foot facility is drastically cutting shipping windows across the region while instantly injecting dozens of new jobs into the local economy.
Travel publications name Keweenaw Peninsula as top fall getaway
Celebrated local landmarks like Hungarian Falls and Copper Harbor are helping drive national and regional media attention.
How Michigan organizations are tackling food insecurity on the local level
Fair Food Network, Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities, and Detroit Food Policy Council increase families’ healthy choices while supporting local growers and retailers.
Michigan’s community mental health system: Overcoming stigma to provide needed care
Community mental health has played an important role in shifting the culture to asking for help.
Houghton revives historic Potato Festival this Saturday
Houghton is reviving its historic Potato Festival this Saturday, celebrating U.P. agricultural history and modern farming tech.
Food as Medicine: Prescription for a healthier U.P.
Backed by Superior Health Foundation, a powerful Upper Peninsula coalition has launched a “Food as Medicine” program to fight regional food insecurity and directly improve community health through fresh produce prescriptions.
Visit Keweenaw launches $100,000 fund to sponsor local events and festivals
Visit Keweenaw has launched a $100,000 Community Events Sponsorship Program funded by lodging assessments to support local festivals and outdoor recreation events that drive overnight tourism across Houghton and Keweenaw counties.
Centuries-old U.P. forest offers scientists a direct link to Michigan’s past
Lake Superior’s newly documented, centuries-old red pines feature gnarled “alligator bark” and historical fire scars that provide scientists and historians with a rare, direct link to indigenous land management practices.
$4 million in Michigan Rural Development grants available
Michigan is offering $4 million in Rural Development Fund grants for the 2027 cycle to support infrastructure, economic growth, and regional collaboration across the state’s rural communities, with letters of intent due by November 2, 2026.
How are Michigan’s families doing?
Rising costs, child care shortages and barriers to health care are straining Michigan families. What could help?
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