Rich Adams

The skilled trades are on the ropes. According to the National Association of Manufacturers, the manufacturing skills gap in the United States could result in 2.1 million unfilled jobs by 2030. There are many reasons for the shortage, including an exodus of older workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. “I think what’s driving the biggest shortage is years of experience, expertise and can be trade-specific,” said Ron Kendall, president of ABC Michigan, a statewide trade association.

When Francis Corr and Robert Le Moyne signed a single-page, handwritten land swap agreement in February 1953, it’s likely neither could have imagined the eventual development of a shopping center that would still be thriving 70-plus years after its completion. Yet either by visionary thinking or luck, the Frandor Shopping Center — a combination of Francis’ and spouse Dorothy’s names — has continued to flourish and evolve to meet the needs of today’s shoppers.

In Michigan, there is seemingly some kind of festival every weekend. From the Don Keranen Jazz Festival in Houghton and the Black Lake Sturgeon Shivaree in Cheboygan County to the Four Flags Apple Festival in Niles and the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michiganders always seem to be celebrating something or other. Greater Lansing is home to more than 60 area festivals and special annual events, making Lansing the Festival Capital of Michigan, according to Choose Lansing.