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Covering the intersection of business and policy, and informing Michigan employers and workers on the long road back from coronavirus.
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Six of seven Michigan small businesses don’t expect to regain lost sales
As Michigan begins to reopen, 87 percent of Michigan small businesses forecast sales declines. A survey also shows more business owners favor President Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic than they do that of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
In downtown Kalamazoo, store owners erect plywood and brace for damage
Windows were smashed along a street filled with small, independent businesses in this West Michigan city. As Tuesday evening loomed, there was sympathy for sincere protests against police violence, and fear of what “outsiders” might have in store.
Michigan recovery plan calls for keeping businesses alive amid coronavirus
‘During a time of crisis when you have limited dollars, you really need to make sure that whatever you are spending helps as many people as possible,’ says Doug Rothwell of Business Leaders for Michigan.
Michigan stores can reopen. It’s unclear how many shoppers will follow.
Coronavirus closed nonessential stores across the state, but now retailers can start to reopen. The return to in-person sales could be the start of a rebound for the struggling sector — and more jobs for unemployed residents.
‘Unusual situation’ pushes 50-year bookstore owner to make survival decisions
Some of Michigan’s retailers will still wait weeks to reopen, as they align staffing, their finances and how they’ll follow state guidelines. This is one story among them, as the owner of Curious and Archives in East Lansing grapples with coronavirus impacts.
Q&A with Rich Studley: Michigan hurt by ‘arbitrary’ coronavirus shutdown
“Are we heading toward another lost decade?” CEO Rich Studley recently tweeted.
Michigan stores are reopening. Masks are required. Who’ll enforce it?
The state’s retailers can reopen by following coronavirus safety guidelines, but that may cause new problems. Now they’re caught between customers who won’t wear masks - and those who expect it.
Coronavirus air travel: a postcard from a Michigan to Tampa-bound plane
As Michigan creeps toward re-opening, Bridge Business Editor Paula Gardner shares what it’s like at Detroit Metro Airport and on a crowded airplane.
Michigan travel industry feels ‘pressures in all directions’
Tourism drives billions of dollars into the state’s economy. Now, after months of coronavirus shut-downs, it’s starting summer without answers on when it can attempt to do that again.
Northern Michigan stores scramble to greet tourists. Well, some stores.
Not everyone in Traverse City and other coastal vacation hubs are geeked at the arrival of tourists on Memorial Day weekend, days after Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer lifted restrictions on northern Michigan businesses.
6 lessons Michigan restaurants and bars can learn from Florida's reopening
Some Michigan restaurants can reopen this weekend, but COVID-19 is still changing the industry. These lessons from Florida, which reopened dining room access earlier this month, offer insight into how the new rules are reshaping business.
Coronavirus has spared the Keweenaw Peninsula but may kill summer tourism
Untouched until now by COVID-19, this Upper Peninsula tourist haven needs thousands of downstate visitors to keep its economy alive. The opening of restaurants and bars may not be enough to save many of its businesses.
Over 1.7 million applicants push Michigan unemployment system to the brink
State legislators got their first look at overall jobless claims Wednesday after two months of coronavirus layoffs. Eight percent of applicants still await payments.
Long-term changes proposed for Michigan’s unemployment system
With 1.3 million residents filing for jobless benefits, the system is under a spotlight. Now, some policy experts and Democrats say, it’s time to revise it. Business leaders aren’t sure.
Michigan restaurants give Gretchen Whitmer a roadmap for opening May 29
No opening date has been announced for the state’s restaurant industry, which lost over $1 billion in sales during April. Now the industry is outlining what it thinks it needs to do to reopen — and it wants the OK to start planning.
Michigan jobless claims top 1.1 million as state streamlines approvals
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive order this week, changing the review process for benefits. The state hopes that step gets money to unemployed workers more quickly.
‘There is no playbook’ for Michigan’s businesses to navigate COVID-19
A look at first-quarter financial statements from 20 Michigan-based companies shows the first cracks from the pandemic — and raises questions about how deeply some of the state’s largest businesses will be affected.
Q&A with Brian Calley: 1 in 7 Michigan small businesses worry about survival
COVID-19 continues to pressure the state’s smallest operations, with 45 percent closed and 60 percent laying off at least one employee. Here is what an advocacy group says about the situation and what is needed next.
Michigan college towns were economically stable. Coronavirus changed that.
Cities like Ann Arbor and East Lansing benefit from the ‘economic engines’ of their state universities. Budget shortfalls, potential layoffs and more fallout from COVID-19 now threaten their financial balance, from students shopping in local stores to how many people they employ.
As Michigan economy nears reopening, businesses scramble for protective gear
Like hospitals before them, businesses across the state face the prospect of having to compete for personal protective equipment they expect will be required to reopen but remains in high demand amid the global pandemic.