February 22, 2012 | 12:01 PM | By Meg Cramer
Jillian Jones Sisko of Michigan writes:
Letter-writing has always been an important part of my family’s legacy.
My mother discovered her family origins through letters written in the early 1900′s that were found in a desk drawer in an attic in Epernay, France. The letter was written by my grandfather and addresses to his brother. When my mother discovered the letters, she started communicating with her family.
When my oldest sister left for college in the 70′s, my father, Wayne Muren, began writing weekly letters just as my great grandfather did many years prior. The letters served as a source of inspiration for my sister and as well as a blanket of comfort.
After all five children grew up and graduated from college, several moved away. Wayne kept writing letters. To this day, 35 years later, I am blessed to still receive a weekly letter filled with newspaper/magazine articles. The no. 10 envelope that was once delivered to my college dormitory is now a large manila envelope packed with news and information.
Maureen Houston/BND.com
Jillian's mother and her father Wayne with a stack of letters
The letters are sent to not only his children, but also to his 11 grandchildren. The letters are now mailed in large envelopes which accompany 10-20 newspaper clippings to keep the family up-to-date with current events as well as comic strips from a local artist.
This gift of communication is one that I hope will never stop arriving at my door for many years to come. This ritual is now our family tradition.
A new poll by NBC News shows Mitt Romney taking a narrow lead over Rick Santorum in the race to win Michigan’s Republican primary next Tuesday. 
The NBC poll, out Wednesday, showed 37 percent of likely voters support the former Massachusetts governor, while 35 percent support the former Pennsylvania senator. To statisticians, that’s within the margin of error, meaning a statistical tie.
“Michigan is neck and neck,” said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion, which conducted the NBC survey.
That’s a big change from last week, when Santorum led Romney in two Michigan polls. Continue reading →
A new poll out Monday shows the Michigan Republican primary race is tightening. Public Policy Polling says former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum’s lead over former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is down to four percent. 
PPP’s earlier poll showed Santorum with a 15 percent lead over Romney, raising the prospect that the Michigan born candidate was in danger of losing his home state. It was one of two polls showing Santorum ahead.
Romney’s gain is coming as he spends more time in Michigan ahead of next Tuesday’s primary.
Says PPP: ”What we’re seeing in Michigan is a very different story from Florida where Romney surged by effectively destroying his opponent’s image. Here, Romney’s gains have more to do with building himself up.”
Santorum has double digit leads among Protestant voters, union members, evangelical Christians, Tea Party members, people describing themselves as “very conservative” and men.
Romney is leading with women, seniors, moderates, people who say they are “somewhat conservative” and Roman Catholics. Continue reading →
February 17, 2012 | 10:54 AM | By Meg Cramer
Michelle Guevara writes:
My great-grandfather migrated from Sicily. Like a lot of Italian migrants, he was poor but carved a name for himself and ended up having a large family.
I miss the big family gatherings. Most of us are grown now. Weddings and funerals are the only time the extended family gets together any more. The older generation held more of the old traditions together than we do now. I find that a shame. Those were some of my best memories.
I remember cannoli day, a tradition that my family and cousins continue to this day. Everyone brings a batch of cannoli dough and we set up an assembly line. A few roll the dough out then pass it along to those rolling the forms. They drop the rolls gently into the deep fryer.
- Michelle demonstrates her cannoli rolling technique
Before the last batch is done, my cousins start dinner of spaghetti, meat balls or sausages, salad, and garlic bread. We fill our bellies to the point of bursting.
For dessert we eat…what else? Cannolis! By the end of the day, we pack the shells into boxes and divide them among the family. One day we made 700 shells.
-Michelle Guevara, Michigan
(In case you’re wondering—700 cannolis would add up to 4950 cubic inches of Italian dessert, or: one giant 3.5×1 ft cannoli.)
Most Americans have ethnic and cultural roots outside of the U.S. We’re asking you to share cultural traditions that are still important to you.
Changing Gears is looking for stories, recipes, songs, and pictures. We’ll be collecting these stories on the Your Family Story page. They’ll also appear at changinggears.info and we’ll even put some on the air. You can share your story here.
Yesterday, we told you that Michigan’s native son, Mitt Romney, has fallen behind former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum in two pre-primary polls. Now, Romney is firing back in the Detroit News. not at his rival, but at union leaders and Obama administration officials.
Romney touches on many themes about the 2009 auto industry bailout. You can read the entire op-ed here. We picked out three things and provide some context.
1) The UAW. Instead of standing up to union officials, Romney says President Obama “rewarded them” with stakes in General Motors and Chrysler.
The stakes he refers to are held by the health care trust fund that administers benefits for UAW members. But the UAW did not get the terms it wanted. The union originally sought a greater share of GM, only to accept a counter offer from the Treasury Department.
Meanwhile, the Treasury also owns about 33 percent of GM, out of an original 61 percent stake. Continue reading →
Conventional wisdom says there’s no way Mitt Romney can lose the Michigan Republican primary — after all, he was born in Detroit, grew up in suburban Oakland County, his father was governor, and he won the primary in 2008.
But two new polls show Rick Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator, leading Romney in Michigan, where the primary takes place Feb. 28.
According to USA TODAY, an American Research Group poll shows Santorum leading Romney 33 percent to 27 percent among likely Republican voters. Newt Gingrich has 21 percent. A poll by Public Policy Polling shows Santorum with 39 percent, to 24 percent for Romney. Continue reading →
February 8, 2012 | 2:53 PM | By Kate Davidson
courtesy of Cliffs Natural Resources
Cliff's Empire Mine in Michigan's Upper Peninsula
If you’ve been following our coverage of iron mining in the region, this might interest you. Cliffs Natural Resources, North America’s biggest iron ore supplier, is scrapping plans to build an iron nugget plant in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
A nugget is just a little clump of very pure iron. Big deal? Well, here’s why the new nugget technology matters … and why Cliffs spent years studying it in cooperation with Kobe Steel of Japan.
Remember, the iron-rich regions of Michigan and Minnesota:
1) provided the iron ore
2) that made the steel
3) that helped the industrial Midwest become the industrial Midwest.
However, miners extracted so much high-grade ore, for so long, that mostly low-grade ore remains today. Companies like Cliffs spend a lot of time and money processing that ore — essentially upgrading it into a product that contains more iron. That product, called a pellet, is what they ship to steelmakers.
Nuggets have a far higher iron content than the pellets typically produced in the region. They look like Junior Mints, but they’re almost 100% iron. Very pure. Which could make them very valuable to the next generation of steelmakers.
Check out our recent piece on a groundbreaking nugget plant in Minnesota. Mesabi Nugget hasn’t reached full capacity yet, but it has produced more than 200,000 tons of iron nuggets.
As for Cliffs Natural Resources, the company decided a nugget plant in Michigan would not be commercially viable. However, spokesman Dale Hemmila says that won’t prevent Cliffs from investing $60 million to extend the life of its Empire Mine to 2015.
The Empire and Tilden open pit mines are essential to the economy of the UP. We reported earlier on one “company town” that relies on the economic oxygen of the mines. If you’ve never been to Ishpeming, now’s your chance.
In a Michael Jackson music video, or an episode of Soul Train, Michigan governor Rick Snyder and Indiana’s Mitch Daniels might challenge each other to a dance off over Right to Work.
Michael Jackson in "Bad"
Instead, we have Snyder’s latest interview, in which he says Indiana ought to be worrying more about Michigan’s comeback.
Some context: Indiana and Michigan have been competing for years to land factories and convince businesses to locate in each state.
One of the biggest reasons why Snyder sought reform of Michigan’s business taxes in 2011 was so that the state could be on a more level playing field. It didn’t help that Indiana won a corporate headquarters formerly located in Michigan right after the state’s tax package was signed.
Now, Daniels has upped the ante by signing Right to Work legislation, which prevents unions from charging mandatory dues even if they represent a workforce. Many experts have said Michigan could be the next state to get such a law.
But Daniels, in an interview with Stateline.org, continues to oppose Right to Work for Michigan — and gives his neighboring state an elbow. Continue reading →
And now, it’s Michigan’s turn.
The political spotlight, which many people thought might have been flipped off by now, is about to shine brightly on the state as its Republican presidential primary approaches on Feb. 28.
People in the state can expect to bump into a candidate on a regular basis, whether in television ads, on local news programs, or in person.
The highest-profile appearance thus far is set to be Mitt Romney’s address to the Economic Club of Detroit on Feb. 24. Rick Santorum, who scored three wins on Tuesday, is expected at a fundraising event in Novi next week. There’s no word yet on whether Newt Gingrich or Ron Paul will be be in the state.
No matter the candidate, Michigan’s economy is likely to be front and center, and with it, discussion of the bailout for General Motors and Chrysler. Continue reading →
February 8, 2012 | 8:56 AM | By Dustin Dwyer
Wisconsin woes Changing Gears’ Niala Boodhoo has the second in a two-part report on how life has changed for public workers in Wisconsin, a year after the labor battle began. In today’s story, she reports that police officers and firefighters, who were originally meant to be exempt from the state’s cuts, are still feeling the pain.
Another deal, another vote The United Steelworkers has another tentative contract with the Timken Co. for workers at a plant near Canton, Ohio. Workers turned down the last agreement. If they approve this one, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports the company says it will make a $225 million investment to upgrade the plant.
State of the speech Partner station WCPN Ideastream reports Ohio Governor John Kasich focused on the economy during his State of the State speech last night.
Privatization problems An effort to privatize Michigan’s prisons and save $93 million in this year’s budget is stalled. The problem is that private contractors would have to pay prison workers the minimum wage $7.40 an hour. The Detroit News reports the state currently pays the workers a tenth of that amount.
Tax and switch Gas could get a lot cheaper in Michigan soon. But don’t worry, you’ll still lose that extra money another way. Lawmakers in Michigan are looking at a plan to replace the state’s 19 cents/gallon gas tax with a 1 percent increase in the overall sales tax. Partner station Michigan Radio says the idea is meant to increase funding for road repairs.
A novel class Chicago Police officers are getting a chance to try out a different profession: novelist. According to The New York Times, the police department has started offering voluntary writing classes for officers.
