Support to local, small, and midsize businesses will help grow Southeast Michigan. That’s according to Dynamics of Detroit’s Startup Community, a session hosted by the William Davidson Foundation on Thursday, May 30 at the 2019 Mackinac Policy Conference.

Against the backdrop of Thursday morning’s signing of landmark auto insurance reform on the Grand Hotel’s front porch, Michigan’s legislative leaders gathered that evening to talk shop about the pressing issues still lingering as they move toward budget negotiations and reaching a deal on increased funding for the state’s declining roads.

More than 360,000 homes in Michigan and 27% of K-12 students lack access to broadband internet in their homes. This digital inclusion discrepancy is posing a serious risk for Michigan students as the state ventures into the information economy.

Shortly after signing a historic auto insurance reform bill on the Grand Hotel porch, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer took to Michigan’s Center Stage on Thursday, May 30 to deliver her first keynote as governor at the 2019 Mackinac Policy Conference.

Filling the Skills Gap: An Open Dialogue on Workforce Realignment, hosted by the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation, examined obstacles to hiring skilled employees in a rapidly shifting labor market and steps employers and others can take to address skills needs.

Michigan’s preeminent business people leave a legacy in their communities. From the revitalization of downtown Grand Rapids, to the saving of a Ypsilanti neighborhood to securing the future of Detroit’s Thanksgiving Parade, the sons of the men who made those contributions met in the same place for the first time on Thursday, May 30 at the 2019 Mackinac Policy Conference.

Michigan’s congressional leaders are working as a team to protect the Great Lakes, improve the Soo Locks, and maintain the state’s high-tech defense industries.

The city of Detroit, like communities across the state, will approach Census 2020 like one of the greatest door-to-door field campaigns it has ever seen.

Jeb Bush, former Florida governor, and founder, president, and chairman of the Foundation for Excellence in Education, shared his experience in implementing education improvements in Florida and the approaches Michigan should consider.

The Skillman Foundation’s Tonya Allen, Michigan Education Association’s Paula Herbart, and Business Leaders for Michigan’s Doug Rothwell explained their partnership through the Launch Michigan Coalition during The Education Crisis: Michigan’s Response session. This session was moderated by PNC Financial Services Group’s Richard L. DeVore.