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Alliance Executive Committee Meeting
Tuesday, June 30
3:30 p.m.
Via Zoom Meeting
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Alliance Board of Directors Meeting
Thursday, July 16
7:00 a.m.
TBD
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The Coronavirus, known as COVID-19, is changing the way we live and do business. As restrictions are lifted and segments of our economy reopen, the Alliance is here to help if you encounter any difficulties. We are happy to use our network of resource providers to assist you. We continue to update our COVID-19 Resource page at
daeda.org/covid-19/
.
Please reach out if you need assistance. We stand ready to help.
Lois Ellis, Executive Director
906.360.4653
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Loyal to Local 3rd Year Kick - Off
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The Loyal to Local program is approaching the start of its third year on July 1. The program continues to raise awareness of the importance of supporting our local small-business community – at a time when that support could not be more critical for the survival of our businesses.
On June 16, the Annual Loyal to Local presentation was held via webinar with Planning Committee Chair, Rich Mortl delivering the message. A recording of the session is available for those that missed it
here
.
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Thank you to these businesses for renewing their Loyal to Local participation!
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Ameriprise
Bimbo's Wine Press
Breitung Township
Carey Contracting
City of Iron Mountain
CJ Graphics
Computer Connection (U.P. Logon)
Danielson Insurance
Dickinson Area Chamber of Commerce
Dickinson Area Community Foundation
Edelweiss Coffee
Edwards Automotive
Erickson-Rochon & Nash
First National Bank & Trust
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G. Brooks Electric
Gallery of Floors
Iron Mountain Automotive
Iron Mountain-Kingsford Community Federal
Credit Union
Kingsley North
NeuCup Coffee
Orbit Technology
Step Ahead Boots & Clothing
The Savage Mane Salon & Day Spa
Tourism Association of the Dickinson County Area
Town & Country Sales
U.P. Sport & Spoke
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Interested in joining Loyal to Local?
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Loyal to Local launched a new feature highlighting the Loyal to Local participants that offer gift cards with information on how to purchase gift cards from these businesses. The COVID-19 pandemic shuttered many small-businesses for a long period, and they need your support now more than ever before.
You can make a difference to our small-businesses by purchasing gift cards – as gifts for others, for employee recognition or for yourself for future use. To learn more, click
here
.
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Alliance Featured in July Publication
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In July, the Dickinson area and the Alliance will be featured in
Business In Focus
, a national business magazine. The Dickinson area was selected based on the area’s performance on the yearly Micropolitan Economic Strength rankings by independent research firm, Policom. The Micropolitan Economic Strength rankings are a measure of the strength and quality of an area’s economy. The Iron Mountain MI-WI MSA has risen to #80 on the list of 542 similar sized MSA’s across the country. Just five years ago, the Iron Mountain MI-WI MSA ranked #206. The sustained growth over this time-period captured the attention of
Business In Focus
magazine for a feature article that will be rolled out to 460,000 subscribers across North America and shared via the publisher’s social media network in early July.
The Dickinson County area, known as the Iron Mountain MI-WI Micropolitan Statistical Area, encompasses the market area in and around the cities of Iron Mountain, Kingsford and Norway, including nearby areas in Wisconsin.
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#KEEPUPWORKING
Promoting U.P. jobs, highlighting essential workers and answering questions on why it pays to work now.
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Last month, we kicked-off a new marketing campaign - #KeepUPWorking. This campaign highlights the many employers who continue to hire and grow, even during the COVID-19 pandemic. The #KeepUPWorking campaign also highlights the benefits of working and keeping the U.P. economy strong during a time of high unemployment. Many Dickinson County area manufacturers are deemed essential, are actively hiring, and have put extensive safety measures in place to ensure safe workplaces
We encourage employers to let us know if they are hiring so we can add those positions to our promotional efforts and to use the hashtag #KeepUPWorking in their social media posts. Additional campaign details and available job opportunities can be found on our website
here
.
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Bay College Leadership Academy
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The Bay West Leadership Academy (BWLA) is focused on bringing together emerging leaders from the area to develop meaningful skills, grow a professional network, and become more aware of Dickinson County and how to get involved.
This program brings awareness to emerging leaders to increase their effectiveness in the workplace and through giving back to their communities. The third cohort will kick off this fall with necessary precautions in place to keep participants safe through this pandemic.
The Program Includes:
- Eight workshops running September 2020 through April 2021. Each workshop is three-hours in length centered on key learning outcomes
- This includes a DiSC Assessment
- Eight community presentations on Dickinson County
- Eight lunches centered on discussion and building a professional network
- Admission to the 2021 Leadership Conference
- A professional head shot with all rights to share and reuse
Deadline to apply (no payment due): July 17, 2020
Accepted applicants will be notified: August 5, 2020
Final registration and payment must be completed prior to: September 10, 2020
Check out program details
here
.
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The Small Business Administration has implemented recent changes to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and reopened applications for the Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL).
Revised requirements for PPP Loan Forgiveness include:
- Reduced the share of aid money small business are required to spend on payroll from 75% to 60%
- Extended the window businesses have to use the funds from two months to six months
- Pushed back a June 30 deadline to rehire workers
- Extended the time recipients have to repay the loan
- Let companies that get loan forgiveness defer payroll taxes
In addition, a new “EZ” PPP Forgiveness Application was released for borrowers who:
- Are self-employed and have no employees; OR
- Did not reduce the salaries, or wages of their employees by more than 25% and did not reduce the number of hours of their employees; OR
- Experienced reductions in business activity as a result of health directives related to COVID-19, and did not reduce the salaries or wages of their employees by more than 25%
All recipients of PPP funding should consult with their banker and/or accountant to ensure compliance with requirements and to maximize use of this benefit.
The SBA also reopened the Economic Injury Disaster Loan portal to new applications recently, so if you missed out previously, there is still time to apply.
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State Approves Business Restart Funding
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Michigan Senate Bill 690 passed quickly and unanimously in the House and Senate this past week. One of the approved funding programs is a $100 million appropriation to create and operate a small business restart grant program, similar to the Michigan Economic Development Corporation Small Business Relief Program administered in April. At this time, program details include:
- Application is limited to entities that did not receive funding through the Michigan Small Business Relief Grant Program previously;
- An eligible business must have fifty (50) or fewer employees;
- Requires at least 30% of the funds awarded go to women-, minority-, and veteran-owned eligible businesses;
- Grants awarded are limited to a maximum of $20,000.
As we learn of additional program details, application instructions and the program timeline, we will send a communication to update you.
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