| Integrity Fab and Machine Recognized by USSBA |
| by Greg NelsonHerald Editor
A loan program provided by the U.S. Small Business Association helped a couple of lifelong Gratiot County residents realize their dream of starting a new business.
SBA Michigan District Director Gerald Moore visited the Breckenridge Technology and Industrial Park last Friday to praise Kirk Smith and Rollie Koutz, ... |
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| SBA Visits Integrity Fab and Machine in Breckenridge |
| Michigan’s Director of the U.S. Small Business Administration was in Breckenridge Friday to highlight the success of Integrity Fab and Machine.
Owners Kirk and Tawny Smith and Rollie Koutz Jr., were able to take advantage of the SBA programs.
Gerald Moore, Michigan’s SBA director said he was not about to sit in ... |
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| Schurr Speaks at Energy Conference in Chicago, Telling the |
| Along with the Governor of Iowa Terry Branstad and Chicago Mayor Rahm
Emanuel, Greater Gratiot Development President Don Schurr spoke before
the American Wind Energy Association conference in Chicago on Monday.Schurr said he was asked to tell the Gratiot story in a four-minute presentation.“It looks like you guys did it ... |
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| Vote for the Gratiot Wind Story! |
| Vote in the AMERICAN WIND ENERGY ASSOCIATION video contest - voting is open now and ends at midnight on Thursday May 2nd!AWEA
is circulating the videos (link below), one of which features the
Gratiot Wind project and is produced by Ben Vander Veen. The video
with the highest vote count will ... |
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| Students Get Look at Manufacturing Careers |
| by Rosemary Horvath
For the Gratiot County Herald
Central Michigan manufacturers intended to dispel any notion manufacturing jobs don’t exist.
Companies showed a multitude of career paths and what it takes to nab one at the first ever Manufacturing Careers Open House on Wednesday at Winding Brook Conference Centre in Shepherd.
“We wonder where ... |
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| Study Shows Value of Greater Gratiot Development |
| by Greg NelsonHerald Editor
Source: Gratiot County Herald
With two long-time administrators nearing retirement, and future funding methods an unknown, Greater Gratiot Development Inc. officials wanted to get an independent view of how the agency was performing and any changes that should be considered down the road.
In an effort to see where ... |
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| Breckenridge Continues to Look to the Future |
| Waiting for the wind to blow some good luck it’s way, isn’t Breckenridge’s style.
Just a few years ago, the village was, in Village Manager Jeff Ostrander’s words, looking at a, “long, long road to recovery.”
The wind park helped, giving the village a badly needed shot in the arm.
But the investment ... |
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| GGD Gets Rave Review from Independent Study |
| One of the things most people in Gratiot County don’t know, is just how good Greater Gratiot Development is and how it’s viewed in the rest of the state.
People throughout the state say, “God, they’re good,” said Jim Hettinger, of Urban Development Services, who was hired to complete a study ... |
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| Unemployment Falls to Lowest Level in Five Years |
| The November unemployment rate in Isabella County dropped to its lowest level in since April 2008, and Clare and Montcalm counties continued to show unemployment rates below double-digits for the third straight month.
Gratiot County’s unemployment rate remained slightly below the statewide rate in November, according to data released by the ... |
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| Manufacturer to Move Into Former Wal-Mart Store |
| The former Wal-Mart store in Pine River Township won’t stand empty any longer as a St. Johns trailer manufacturer is getting ready to move in.
Legend Manufacturing will take over the 123,000-square-foot building for the production of aluminum trailers.
“The company anticipates the project will grow to have upwards of 150 ... |
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| Greater Gratiot Development Inc. Celebrates 35 Years |
| About 125 state and local government officials, area business and agricultural leaders, and many others turned out last Thursday at Town and County Recreation in Ithaca to honor Greater Gratiot
Development Inc. as it enters its 35th year of serving the community.
The special guest speaker was Michigan Economic Development ... |
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| Beebe Wind Farm Already Planning New Phase |
| Gratiot County’s second wind farm is progressing on schedule.
As of last week, 11 of the planned 34 turbines had been fully installed at the Beebe Community Wind Farm.
Everything is on track to be finished by Dec. 22, according to Project Manager Mark Hull.
“Our goal is to be ... |
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| Integrity Fab and Machine Makes Its New Home in Breckenridge |
| The story of how Integrity Fab and Machine became the second business to move into Breckenridge’s new industrial park, began in the 1980s.
Kirk Smith, an Alma College graduate met Rollie Koutz when they both worked at Danly Die Set in Ithaca.
Smith started as a customer service representative while ... |
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| County's Second Wind Farm Progressing |
| Construction of Gratiot County’s second wind farm is well underway with the installation of a number of turbines in North Star, Hamilton and Emerson townships taking place. Beebe Wind, in partnership with Exelon Energy and Nordex, is in the process of constructing 34 wind turbines that will supply power to ... |
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| Greater Gratiot Development Celebrates 35 Years |
| Trying to find the next big company to move to Michigan is like trying to find a needle in a haystack, said the president of the Michigan Economic Development Corp.
Speaking befor a large group at a luncheon marking the 35th anniversary of Greater Gratiot Development, Michael Finney said his ... |
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| Schrader Environmental Services Gains National Recognition |
| Special to the Sun
Schrader Environmental Services of Ithaca recently restored safe drinking water to the village of Sauk Village, a suburb of Chicago.
The Environmental Protection Agency had shut down the city’s wells immediately after high traces of vinyl chloride were found. According to the EPA’s website, exposure to ... |
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| Construction Begins on Beebe Wind Farm |
| A strong wind Monday delayed the construction of the first three wind turbines in the Beebe Wind Farm located in North Star, Hamilton and Emerson townships.
The massive blades, measuring 384 feet in its rotor diameter were scheduled to be installed and workers will try again Tuesday, said Mark Hull, ... |
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| Greater Gratiot Development Updates Commissioners |
| Gratiot county, businesses have opened and closed through the years.
Many have closed and shut their doors for good.
Even so, the county has seen several new business open or expand, even in a poor economy.
And the net result, Greater Gratiot Development President Don Schurr told the Gratiot County Commissioners ... |
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| MidMichigan Health affiliates with University of Michigan Health System |
| MidMichigan Health System’s announcement Tuesday that it would affiliate with the University of Michigan Health System was greeted with enthusiasm in Gratiot County.
“It’s great for the community,” said Alma City Manager Phil Moore. “It’s another attraction for people moving here.”
Greater Gratiot Development President Don Schurr agreed.
“University of ... |
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| Wind farms are a towering rural issue in Michigan |
| Ludington— It's a conversation Randy Saxton tries to avoid at all costs because, frankly, it never leads anywhere good. It's hard to do that, however, because the subject — the massive wind turbines now towering over the area — is impossible to miss.
And everyone here has an opinion.
"Whoever you're talking ... |
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| Merrill Fabricators in Alma Receives Grant to Train Veterans |
| Through a state unemployment grant, Merrill Fabricators in Alma began the Merrilll Institute of Welding last year.
Recently, it received an $80,000 grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corp. to train military veterans to become welders.
“It’s an opportunity for the veterans, for the soldiers who served,” said Chad ... |
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| More People Find Work in Mid-Michigan |
| Mid-Michigan gained nearly 1,500 jobs between April 2011 and April 2012, according to an analysis of state labor data.
The four-county region of Clare, Gratiot, Isabella and Montcalm counties saw its unemployment rate fall from 10 percent a year ago to 8.3 percent in April, according to the analysis of data ... |
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| Ithaca High School ranks No. 34 in state |
| According to Newsweek magazine, Ithaca High School is ranked the 34th best in the state.
In the nation, it made the top 1,400 high schools, coming in at 1,333.
Ithaca beat schools such as Midland, Owosso, Holland, Hillsdale and Dearborn.
In math, Ithaca totaled 61 percent of its students proficient and in reading, ... |
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| Gratiot County Officials Meet to Plan for Future |
| Surveys, vocational education, more collaboration and maximizing of resources, along with workshops, and the development of a clearinghouse of events were some of the ideas discussed at the Gratiot County Strategic Planning session Wednesday night.
Elected officials and community members were charged to find something that could be completed in ... |
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| Agro-Culture Liquid Fertilizer Shows Off New Plant - 9/01/11 |
| By Greg Nelson
A fertilizer production facility in Ashley opened its doors to several hundred visitors last Wednesday giving them an up close look at the new state-of-the-art plant.
Local dignitaries, state Department of Agriculture Director Keith Creagh, company officials, and NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Regan Smith, along with his crew ... |
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| Pioneer Hi-Bred Ithaca Corn Research Center celebrats 25th anniversary - 8/25/11 |
| Pioneer Hi-Bred, a DuPont business, today celebrated the 25th anniversary of its Ithaca corn research center last week during an open house for customers and community members.
The celebration took place at the new facility, which provides advanced research capabilities, equipment storage and maintenance facility, along with a more efficient work ... |
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| County board increases PA 88 millage - 8/25/11 |
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After more than an hour of listening to the opinions of local residents, business people and municipal leaders on both sides of the issue during a public hearing, members of the Gratiot County Board of Commissioners voted 5-2 during their meeting last week to re-implement the Public Act 88 millage ... |
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| First turbine installed at wind farm - 8/25/11 |
| As of late afternoon last Tuesday, the first of 133 wind turbine generators was up in Breckenridge.
The GE 1.6 MW turbine, which some would say resembles a giant pinwheel, towers over the surrounding landscape at a height of approximately 328 feet.
The blades, which are spun by the wind to generate ... |
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| Big crowd to help open new Ashley ag business 8/22/11 |
| When Agro-Culture Liquid Fertilizer stages an open house, they don't fool around.More than 200 dealers and managers across the country, the director of the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, an entire NASCAR team and the Lt. Governor are scheduled to make an appearance Wednesday at the company's new ... |
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| New Ashley Fertilizer Plant Plans Open House 8/18/11 |
| Gratiot County residents will have the opportunity to get an up close look at a new state of the art fertilizer manufacturing facility in Ashley.
Agro-Culture Liquid Fertilizers will host a public open house from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 24 at the plant on Sectionline Street adjacent to the ... |
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| Gratiot to levy slightly increased millage 8/18/11 |
| Overwhelming support for Gratiot County's commissioners to use P.A. 88 to levy taxes was demonstrated at the commission meeting Tuesday.Chairman Jeff Anderson said the hearing lasted 90 minutes as a majority of people spoke infavor of the plan to levy .443 mills to help pay for the 4-H coordinator and ... |
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