Newsletter 
February 2020
Upcoming Meetings
Alliance Annual Meeting
Thursday, February 20
7:30 a.m.
Chippewa Club
RSVP to Lois Ellis
Alliance Executive Committee Meeting
Tuesday, February 25
3:30 p.m.
Kingsford City Hall
Brownfield and Land Bank Development Tools Training
Tuesday, March 10
Bay College West
10 a.m.- 3 p.m.
Area’s Micropolitan Ranking Indicator of Economic Strength
POLICOM recently released their annual Micropolitan Statistical Area Rankings and Dickinson County has risen to 80 th out of 542 Micropolitan areas across the nation, up from ranking 99 th in 2019. The 2020 ranking marks the fifth consecutive year of improvement. The ranking focuses on the Economic Strength of each micropolitan area. Economic Strength is defined as the long-term tendency for an area to grow consistently in both size and quality. A Micropolitan Statistical Area must have an urbanized area (city) with a population of at least 10,000 but fewer than 50,000.

POLICOM specializes in studying the dynamics of local economies. The highest ranked areas have had rapid, consistent growth in both size and quality for an extended period. The lowest ranked areas have been in volatile decline for an extended period. The Iron Mountain MI-WI Micropolitan Statistical Area (McrSA) is the only micropolitan area in the U.P. ranked in the Top 100. The next U.P. area recognized is Marquette MI McrSA, which came in at 225 this year. To see the full results and learn more about the economic strength rankings, click here . 
The Alliance is Seeking Part-Time Marketing & Communications Coordinator
We are hiring! This part-time position is responsible for assisting with promoting the mission and activities of the Alliance through all types of marketing and communications, including social media. This position supports the actions of the Alliance Marketing and Branding Task Force and other task force and committee groups and can work a flexible schedule. For details visit our website and view the job description and application instructions.
City of Iron Mountain Survey
The City of Iron Mountain is encouraging residents to complete an online survey to provide their input for the city’s Master Plan update. One specific area of input is on housing options, with questions designed to understand residents’ housing format preferences. Visit cityofironmountain.com for details and to access the survey.
Brownfield and Land Bank Development Tools Training
With the recent reactivation of the Dickinson County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority and the creation of the Dickinson County Land Bank Authority, the time is right to learn more about how these tools assist communities and developers in creating new investment opportunities.

Tuesday, March 10
Bay College West
10 a.m. - 3 p.m. CT
Hosted by:
AGENDA
 Central Standard
9:30 AM
 
10:00 AM
 
10:05 AM
                     
 
11:00 AM
                     
 
12:00 PM
 
1:00 PM  
 

2:00 PM
 
 
3:00 PM


Registration and Networking
 
Welcome and Introductions
 
Forming a Land Bank – from Start up to Success
Anne Giroux, Marquette County Land Bank
 
Brownfield Basics
Jeff Hawkins, Envirologic
 
Lunch and Networking

The State’s Role and Incentives for Brownfields
Jen Tucker, Michigan Economic Development Corporation
 
Leveraging Land Bank and Brownfield Tools
Jim Tischler, Michigan State Land Bank Authority
 
Conclusion  
  All interested parties are encouraged to attend including developers, bankers, local elected officials and governmental staff, and local planning and zoning board members. Please email info@daeda.org to register. Lunch is included and the event is free to attend.
Bacco Construction Receives OAUP Award of Excellence
Congratulations to the team at Bacco Construction for receiving an Award of Excellence at the Operation Action U.P. Annual Meeting in Marquette on February 13! 
Legislative Updates
Alliance Welcomes State Legislators at Pine Mountain Ski Jumps
The Alliance Government Relations & Advocacy Task Force welcomed legislators at the Continental Cup Ski Jumping Tournament on Saturday, February 15. A special thank you to First National Bank & Trust who hosted the group at the bank’s tailgate booth. Many legislators stopped by to meet the leadership of the Alliance and to hear updates on our progress. Thank you to the following for taking time to join us!

U.S. Congressman Jack Bergman
Senator Ed McBroom
Senator Wayne Schmidt
Senator Dale Zorn
Representative Sara Cambensy
Representative Beau LaFave
Representative Aaron Miller

 Alliance Attends UP200 Legislative Activities
Alliance Executive Director, Lois Ellis, attended many events leading up to the UP200 Sled Dog race in Marquette February 13-14. The events provided a venue to network with legislators from across the state along with key state department leaders.
16 th Annual Sustainable Forestry Conference
This year’s Sustainable Forestry Conference focuses on “Woods to Market”. The conference will be held on Thursday, April 23 at the Keyes Peak Ski Lodge in Florence, WI. 

Organizers encourage individuals from Wisconsin and Michigan regional wood products and logging businesses, local government, forestry and land management, school boards and administrators, utilities, economic development, state government and other related associations and resource agencies to attend.
Loyal to Local Updates
New Participant – We welcome The Dance Academy as the newest member of the Loyal to Local campaign that now totals 108 businesses! Participants can join Loyal to Local at any time with the participant fee pro-rated for the months remaining in the program year.

Social Media Contest – The January contest saw an engagement of 1,351 individuals, reached 8,882 people and was a big success! The winner of the random drawing for a $50 gift card was Joshua Smith, who chose Moose Jackson Café . Congrats!

Participant Drawing – The 2 nd quarter winner of a $500 advertising certificate from WJMN TV Local 3 is Redline Sport and Marine . Congratulations to Jared Gendron and thank you to WJMN for sponsoring this quarterly drawing for the Loyal to Local participants.

Please visit loyal2local.org , where you can view a list of Loyal to Local participants and learn about the program, or reach out to Lois Ellis with any questions.
Dickinson Area Economic Development Alliance | 906-360-4653 | info@daeda.org | www.daeda.org