1. Wisconsin shipbuilder adds jobs. A northeast Wisconsin shipbuilder plans to double its workforce over the next 18 months after winning a contract with the U.S. Navy, according to our partner station WBEZ. Marinette Marine, located on the shores of Lake Michigan, will add 1,100 more employees as it builds 10 new ships under a contract for approximately $4 billion. “Seven hundred of those are hourly wage earners,” says company president Charles Goddard. “They’re union employees. They’re steel-fitters. They’re welders, pipe-fitters, electricians, they’re painters.” The ships, called Littoral Combat Ships, mark a new direction for the Navy toward smaller vessels able to navigate in shallow water.

2. Indiana will consider right-to-work law. State Republican leaders will attempt to turn Indiana into a right-to-work state during the upcoming legislative session. “I do expect an intense debate,” GOP House Speaker Brian Bosma told our partner station WBEZ. Republicans say the legislation would set Indiana on more competitive footing in enticing businesses to relocate. Such right-to-work legislation would end requirements that force workers to join unions or pay dues as a condition of employment, according to the station. Democrats fought similar legislation during the last legislative session, and dispute that there would be economic benefits. “House minority leader Patrick Bauer said, “This could be the eventual decline and fall of Indiana being an economic, viable state.”

3. Kasich touts Ohio job gains. In the past week, Gov. John Kasich has announced the arrival of more than 1,700 new jobs at three locations across Ohio. On Monday, he was on hand as material-handler Intelligrated announced it would add 200 technical and engineering jobs over three years in suburban Cincinnati. It was the third such announcement Kasich had attended this week, seemingly marking a shift in his strategy since SB5 was repealed by voters, says The Columbus Dispatch. “What that illustrates is that we’re starting to get our act together in the state of Ohio,” Kasich told the newspaper. “We’ve got a long way to go, but we’re answering the bell.”

Obama in Western Michigan: President Obama visits Holland, Mich., today to tour a Johnson Controls plant that produces lithium-ion batteries, and discuss advanced auto industry technology. It’s his seventh visit to Michigan since taking office, and second talk about fuel economy this week.

But some critics say he should be keeping his focus on jobs. Our Changing Gears partner Michigan Radio has a roundup of the discussion of the President’s trip to western Michigan, including a commentary from the Grand Rapids Press. It asks whether incentives to fund future techology are really worth the money, given what’s happening with the economy.

Lake Michigan Only Gets A Passing Grade: Illinois Republican U.S. Senator Mark Kirk gives Lake Michigan a “C” when it comes to cleanliness and other environmental concerns, reports our partner station WBEZ in Chicago.

Kirk, who co-chairs the Senate Great Lakes Task Force, said water levels are decreasing, so he wants to pass a bill that would maintain and dredge harbors. (Changing Gears’ Kate Davidson reported on Great Lakes dredging earlier this summer.) He also called for increased voltage at electric barriers to keep out Asian carp, and a ban on sewage dumping in the Great Lakes.

More Jeep Jobs in Toledo? The Toledo Blade is reporting that Chrysler will invest up to $365 million and add another shift of 1,100 workers at its Jeep plant there. The deal depends on an incentive package from Ohio, which state officials have yet to approve.