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 7, 2012 | 9:13 AM | By Dustin Dwyer
The State of Steubenville Ohio governor John Kasich delivers his State of the State address tonight. But instead of giving the speech at the state capitol, he’ll be at a public school in Steubenville. Partner station WCPN Ideastream explains why.
Tech jobs Chicago is landing more tech jobs, mostly in the digital advertising sector, reports Crain’s Chicago.
Detroit panel to meet in public A judge says there will be no more secret meetings to determine the fate of Detroit. A state-appointed panel is looking into the city’s finances to determine whether the city should be put under the control of an emergency manager. Now, partner station Michigan Radio reports the panel’s meetings must be held in public.
A pickle of a plant A plant in Detroit that once made auto parts is about to start making pickles.
Here’s hoping you never have to use it A couple of Clevelanders are launching a new startup company: eFunerals.com.
February 2, 2012 | 8:18 AM | By Dustin Dwyer
Indiana’s busy day Yesterday, the big news in Indiana was that legislators approved a new Right to Work law. But that wasn’t all the legislature accomplished. They also put the nail in the coffin of a $1.3 billion transit plan.
What the frack Bloomberg News says Ohio officials are hoping to stop the flow of fracking waste into their state. Meanwhile gas companies are still pushing their new natural gas drilling techniques further. Get ready for “super fracking.”
Mo’ Money, Mo’ Police The city of Cleveland is getting a $10 million tax windfall this year thanks to new construction. The Cleveland Plain Dealer says the money will help pay for an extra 20 police officers.
Notable tax credit news A new report in Michigan says tax changes will hit poor families 1000 times as hard as families that are well off. One of the main reasons is the elimination of the state’s child tax credit. Meanwhile, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn proposed adding child credit in his State of the State speech last night.
700 jobs short Google is celebrating its fifth birthday in Ann Arbor. When the company first opened its Ann Arbor office in 2006, it was huge news for the state. The company said it would hire 1,000 workers in the first five years. The actual number is closer to 300. (We tried asking Google: “Where are the rest of our jobs?” The search didn’t turn up anything useful.)
Honda, like Toyota, has suffered through a lot in the past year — sluggish sales, the Japanese tsunami and earthquake, and floods in Thailand. But it’s vowing to get its mojo back and plans to do so by revving up its American production.
This morning, Honda said it will invest $98 million at its engine plant in Anna, Ohio, the one you’ve probably driven by Interstate 75. The investment comes on top of a $120 million investment at Honda’s transmission plant in Russells Point, Ohio.
The money is going to build a new engine and transmission family called “Earth Dreams.” The transmission plant will make what are called Continuously Varying Transmissions, or CVTs, which don’t have gears but shift up and down smoothly, and the engine plant will produce parts for those transmissions. Continue reading →
January 26, 2012 | 9:09 AM | By Kate Davidson
Kate Davidson
Matt Ghazal runs a Buy Here-Pay Here business in West Michigan. He's trying to change the sector's reputation.
In the Midwest, it’s hard to get around without a car. These days, people are holding onto them longer. The average vehicle is almost 11 years old and used cars prices are on the rise. All this adds to the pressure on the bottom rung of consumers: people with bad credit. For many, the only way to finance a car is at a Buy Here-Pay Here lot. Here, dealers loan to deep subprime customers at interest rates up to 25%.[display_podcast] Continue reading →
January 25, 2012 | 8:30 AM | By Dan Bobkoff
Sarah Alvarez
David Dolsen (l), Jason Gumenick (center) and Lila Howard (r) sit in Saline High School.
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It’s been a tough few years for teachers. Classes are bigger. Pay is down. Benefits cost more. And, in the last year, teachers across the Midwest have been at the center of collective bargaining fights in Wisconsin and Ohio. With all that, we wanted to know what it’s like to be a teacher today. So, three generations assembled in Lila Howard’s classroom at Saline High School near Ann Arbor. Howard is about to retire after years teaching AP Psychology. Jason Gumenick teaches government and is in the middle of his career. Then, there’s David Dolsen, a college freshman, who had both of the others as teachers.
Continue reading →
Michigan Film Incentives: In our very first story, Changing Gears told you about The Film Factory — the race between our states to attract movie productions. But last year, Michigan capped its film incentives, and the result was immediate, reports The Atlantic Cities. Only 84 productions applied for incentives in 2011, and just 22 were approved. That compares with 119 applications in 2010, when 66 were approved.
Ohio Police: Tiny Woodmere, Ohio, is known for having one of the highest ratios of police to residents — one officer for every 50 residents. But Woodmere now may shut its police force and hire protection from nearby Orange, Ohio, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Its mayor feels the half-square mile village can no longer afford the $1.2 million cost. Orange, which surrounds Woodmere, plans to charge $500,000, the mayor says.
Wisconsin Web Cam: Wisconsinites have been riveted by the debate over recalling Gov. Scott Walker. So much, that a Web Cam showing bureaucrats counting recall signatures has become a hit. The Associated Press reports that watchers have given nicknames to the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board who are reviewing the signatures, and the Web Cam has gotten its own Twitter account, @recallcam. (The account is following just one person: The Reverend Al Sharpton.)
January 19, 2012 | 1:13 PM | By Dustin Dwyer
The corruption trial of former Cuyahoga County commissioner Jimmy Dimora hasn’t gotten much mention outside of Ohio. But the subject of the trial in Akron does have a connection to the economic transformation of the Midwest.
Dimora was at the center of a number of construction projects in the Cleveland area. Those projects were sold as ways to help boost the local economy. Taxpayers invested tens of millions of dollars, but prosecutors allege the only ones who benefited in the end were Dimora and his friends.
WOIO TV
A puppet version of businessman Ferris Kleem pauses momentarily with his money, shortly before using that money to pay for a prostitute to visit former Cuyahoga County commissioner Jimmy Dimora in Las Vegas.
But this is all prologue to the real reason for mentioning the Dimora trial. One of the news organizations covering the trial. Cleveland’s WOIO-TV (19 Action News!) was not allowed to bring its cameras in to film the trial.
So the news team there made a courageous decision: they are re-enacting trial testimony with … puppets.
Yes, puppets.
We’ve talked before about people having to resort to Plan B. But this is something else entirely.
It’s been a year since new Republican governors were elected in Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin. We all know the headlines.
Associated Press photo
Wisconsin and Ohio were wracked with union protests over efforts to strip public employees of their collective bargaining rights.
Michigan enacted a strict new law giving enormous powers to emergency managers, including the one that might run Detroit.
But life has changed in other ways, as well.
Starting tomorrow, Changing Gears presents STATES, a three-story series looking at people in each of our states and the ways they’ve been affected.
Kate Davidson kicks things off with a look at Laingsburg, Michigan, a small town north of the state capital where the big news camouflaged some small, but meaningful changes.
Listen for our reports on our partners WBEZ Chicago, Michigan Radio and ideastream Cleveland, and stop back here to see the people you’ll hear about on the air.
Our friends at Michigan Radio report that the Hudsonville Creamery and Ice Cream Company wants to create a flavor that reflects the taste of the Michigan outdoors. (Okay, we know Moose Tracks already exists, but maybe Creme de Pine?)
What are the flavors of the Great Lakes states?
That got us thinking: what flavors would you pick for each of our Great Lakes states?
Wisconsin Cheese Curds?
Ohio Buckeye Crunch?
Illinois Corn Pudding?
Indiana — Anything?
Send us your nominations and we’ll post a list for each state.
Update: Culvers tells us on Twitter.
“We have done a Pretzel and Mustard Fresh Frozen Custard for a special event in Middleton, Wis., for the Mustard Museum!”
