The University of Michigan moved from 10th to 6th in the rank of higher education institutions with the most students studying abroad between 2012 ans 2013. This represented a 15-percent increase, with 2, 365 students studying overseas (for academic credit) On the flipside, U-M dropped three ranks for schools that host international students. You can check out all the stats here. Kind of like baseball, ain't it?

And the competition continues, with East Lansing edging us out on the LGBT-friendly designation, scoring a perfect 100 out of 100. Knocked from its first-place slot, Ann Arbor secures number two with 83 out of 100 according to the Human Rights Campaign. Excerpt: "The Human Rights Campaign examined 353 municipalities in the U.S. to see how open their governments are toward people who identify as as being lesbians, gay, bisexual or transgender. East Lansing scored a perfect 100 out of 100 total points, based on six criteria that focused on city laws and government outreach; it was one of only 38 cities in the U.S. to do so, according to the report. The study said that being open to gays and lesbians can help cities develop and attract talent, an issue in Michigan, where attracting college grads has been a challenge. "Being welcoming to all residents and visitors reflects the core values of our university community," East Lansing Mayor Nathan Triplett said in the report, released Wednesday. "It's part of who we are." The city, for example, has an ordinance banning discrimination against the LGBT community and also includes transgender people in health coverage." Read the rest here.

As a concept, Jerry Tubbs's forthcoming Saline business has been brewing for years now. Come February, however, the nanobrewery Stony Lake Brewing Co. will finally be ready for patrons to get their first hoppy taste of the new local watering hole.  "My wife and I have always played around with different business ideas over the years," says Tubbs. "My love for beer and brewing made it just kind of fit." The 3,300 square foot Stony Lake Brewing Co. on E. Michigan Ave. in Saline has been under construction for months now, after Tubbs began his lease in June. Building a brewery from scratch takes time, however, and Tubb is just now getting his brewing equipment installed and ready for operation. His microbrewers license will allow him to brew and serve his own beer at the location. Offering food and and selling his beer to other local establishments may come further down the line.  "My kettles are three-barrel, which is on the small side, so I follow what a lot of these nanobrewes have done," Tubbs says. "I'm hoping with a year or two under our belt we'll be planning for larger tanks". While Stony Lake Brewing Co. will offer a variety of different beers, the menu will include a number of IPAs — Tubbs's own personal favorite. While he will brew the beer himself, he expects to hire a staff of about seven to operate the taproom when he opens in February.  Source: Jerry Tubbs, Stony Lake Brewing Co. Writer: Natalie Burg

A longtime knitter and card maker, Cindy Day has wanted to open a shop that included both for some time. Combined with her mother's experience as the former owner of Victorian Garden in Blissfield, the concept for Now, Then & Again in Milan finally came together: an antiques, thrift and vintage shop that includes her handmade cards and knitted goods.  "It's been going really wonderfully," says Day's mother Sandra Suchy. "Milan has been very responsive. I've from Milan and all our children were raised here, so it's like coming back home." Now, Then & Again opened about three months ago and celebrated their grand opening earlier this month. Many of the antiques came straight from from Suchy's own collection of displays from her former shop, as well as garage sale and auction finds she's collected along the way. In the future, Day, who is a nurse in Adrian by day, would like to add knitting and card making classes to the shop's offerings.  For now, the store will focus on a wide variety of new, used and antique items.  "We have unique treasures and price ranges for everyone," Suchy says "from 50 cents to hundreds of dollars. We have a lot of beautiful antiques, good quality used furniture and brand new items." Now, Then & Again is located between Roy's BBQ & Burgers and Chase Bank in Milan. Day manages the store herself with the help of Suchy.  Source: Sandra Suchy, Now, Then & Again Writer: Natalie Burg

Xoran Technologies recorded its best year in nearly a decade in 2014. The Ann Arbor-based company installed more of its Mini CAT CT scanners this year than any year since 2006. "2014 was actually a really good year for us," says Rachel Gajda, director of marketing for Xoran Technologies. "We hope to kick it up even more in 2015." The 13-year-old bio-tech company manufacturers and sells point-of-care CT scanners. Its principal technology is MiniCat, a compact machine that can produce high-resolution bone window imaging of the sinuses, temporal bones and the skull. It controls about 75 percent of the market it serves. Xoran Technologies has been developing a second product called xCAT, a mobile, inter-operative CT scanner. The company plans to start selling these in earnest within the next 12 to 18 months. "2015 will bring Xoran Technologies to a new level of innovation and advancement," Gajda says. In the meantime the firm is expanding its staff to accommodate that. It has hired seven people over the last year and is looking to bring on another six right now. Source: Rachel Gajda, director of marketing for Xoran Technologies Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

People want TurtleCell's iPhone case with retractable earbuds so badly they are willing to give the Ann Arbor-based startup $10,000 to get the job done. Twice. The smartphone accessory startup won the People's Choice award at last year's Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition, which came with a check for $10,000 in seed capital. The company did it again earlier this month, taking the People’s Choice award at Accelerate Michigan and another $10,000. "We do feel like we're a fan favorite," says Jeremy Lindlbauer, co-founder and director of branding & marketing for TurtleCell. "We weren't surprised. We were holding our breath for a bigger check." The 2-year-old startup didn't win one of the main prizes (top prize came with $500,000) but its team did leave knowing it would be able to deliver on its promise to sell iPhone case with retractable earbuds. The company is working with Digital Treasures in Auburn Hills and expects to sell between 300,000 and 500,000 units next year. "We're expecting to be in mass production and delivery by next March," Lindlbauer says. TurtleCell got its start when a couple of University of Michigan students got frustrated with constantly untangling the earbuds for their iPhones while walking to class. The group of three went through a few prototypes and started to really gain traction with their latest version. TurtleCell's main product allows full access to the smartphone’s buttons and has a four-foot-long headphone that easily retracts back into the case. The earbuds are higher-quality. TurtleCell has hired five people over the last seven months to get the product ready for sales in 2015. "We have a lot going on over the next few months," Lindlbauer says. Source: Jeremy Lindlbauer, co-founder and director of branding & marketing for TurtleCell Writer: Jon Zemke

High heels are one of those accessories that are usually high fashion with low functionality. A new startup based in Ann Arbor thinks it can improve the functionality. High heels are notorious for being unstable pieces of footwear that can be tough to walk in. Heel Secret is making a small insole that helps keep the users foot securely in the shoe. "That insole has a clear elastic strap that goes over your heel and forces your foot into the shoe," says Kiri Chapman, founder of HeelSecret. Chapman is a student at the University of Michigan going for a bachelors in dance and a certificate in entrepreneurship. She is also a dancer who worked in a professional ballet troupe before coming to Ann Arbor. College came with more opportunity to wear high heels for Chapman, which presented both a problem and an opportunity. "That's when I started to play with my shows to make them fit better," Chapman says. She launched HeelSecret a year ago and then took second place the student portion of the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition earlier this month. That showing comes with $5,000 in seed capital that will help Chapman create more prototypes of her insole, which she plans to perfect before selling them to the public. "We really want a product that will speak for itself," Chapman says. Source: Kiri Chapman, founder of HeelSecret Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.