Michigan's infrastructure is definitely in need of help, and has been for years. A Michigan couple, Jim and Linda Shea, think the key to fixing it lies in the public sector, so they started the
Students Reinventing Michigan organization.
Part of what the group does is hold a competition among students to come up with bright ideas that could help fix the aging roads and bridges in the state, and another part is to solicit ideas from the public, which they are doing in a series of open houses across Michigan. Several are scheduled for the U.P., in fact, as Shea is a Laurium native. Each event will present some of the ideas from last year's competition and help inform the public on the current road and bridge situation.
We've all come up with our own solution for what Michigan should do to improve its infrastructure; these events are a chance to express it and get that great idea heard by legislators.
Jim Shea's first forum was held April 9 at Michigan Technological University, but events are planned until April 17; if you can't make one, there are plenty of others to choose from. Morning forums are from 9 to 11 a.m., and evening events are from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
For April 11, the morning session is held at Bay College West's Fornetti Hall; the evening session is in Escanaba at the Peninsula Bay Inn. On April 12, Shea will hold the morning forum at the Peninsula Bay Inn again, then head to Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie. On April 13, the morning session takes place at LSSU, and an afternoon forum will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Alger County Road Commission in Munising.
Next week, on April 16, Shea will be in Petoskey in the morning, and return to the U.P. April 17 for an evening forum at the Comfort Inn in Manistique.
And in keeping with the focus on transportation, attendees at each forum can win a $100 gas card or a free front end alignment on their vehicle. A complete schedule of stops is available on the Students Reinventing Michigan
website.
Writer: Sam Eggleston
Source: Jim Shea, Students Reinventing Michigan
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.