Michigan officials are still months away from finalizing rules on internet gaming and sports betting, but some Michigan-based Native American tribes are taking early steps to participate in the newly legalized industry. 

A lack of state funding for the popular Pure Michigan campaign that promotes the state as a travel destination complicates plans for tourism promoters now preparing for the 2020 summer season.

Craft brewing industry executives worry that a lack of Pure Michigan advertisements touting the state as a brewery tourism destination could have a chilling effect on attracting out-of-state visitors to their taprooms. 

In his previous role as chairman of Mno-Bmadsen, the non-gaming economic development and investment arm of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, Eugene Magnuson was able to help out the tribe of which he and his mother are citizens. In his new position as CEO of Little River Holdings in Manistee, Magnuson gets to leverage that experience in helping advance the economic security of his father’s tribe, the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians. He spoke with MiBiz about his long-term vision for Little River Holdings and the group’s growth strategy. 

This is the growth report for January 18, 2020.

Talent, housing and infrastructure topped the 2020 priority list for members of the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce.

GRAND RAPIDS — Family-owned aftermarket automotive parts distributor and retailer Auto-Wares Group of Companies is expanding its Michigan operations with a new acquisition.

The latest attempt to expand Michigan’s successful bottle deposit law comes as communities across the state struggle to maintain recycling programs amid overseas economic pressures.

Locally owned and operated businesses are a unique asset to West Michigan’s economy, but that dynamic is changing as more owners opt to sell to private equity firms that have increasingly targeted the region for deals. 

This is the MiBiz growth report for January 6, 2020.