State and local economic development officials are in the process of luring a major Chinese electric vehicle battery manufacturer to Mecosta County that could result in thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in investment over the next decade.

Here is the MiBiz Growth Report for September 26, 2022:

GRAND RAPIDS — Tribal Business News, a national publication headquartered in Grand Rapids that covers the $130 billion tribal economy, is hosting the first-ever Great Lakes Tribal Economic Summit on Oct. 6.

LANSING — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is turning to a veteran law enforcement professional to run the Cannabis Regulatory Agency as the state embarks on a national search to select a permanent executive director.

Here is the MiBiz Growth Report for September 12, 2022:

ZEELAND — Symbiote Inc., a designer and engineer of laboratory furniture for high-tech environments, has experienced a wave of changes since August 2019, and not entirely because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

GRAND RAPIDS — The passion and soul that Mercedes Lopez puts into the food served at El Granjero Mexican Grill in Grand Rapids is evident to customers and the close-knit staff, which includes much of Lopez’s own family. 

GRAND RAPIDS — A meeting over coffee between the leaders of a pair of family-owned businesses in West Michigan ultimately led to a new collaboration involving their companies. 

A survey this year of hundreds of U.S. family-owned businesses showed that owners prioritized keeping employees on the payroll even as the pandemic disrupted their business and that most regularly give to local charities.

Grand Rapids, Muskegon and Berrien County will receive large chunks of funding to regrant to various housing projects that the state approved Wednesday through the Revitalization and Placemaking Program. 

GRAND RAPIDS — Mutually Human LLC, a Grand Rapids-based digital transformation and software consultant, acquired Mirrorlytics LLC, a respected data and business analytics firm also based in Grand Rapids.

Public projects across Kent, Barry, Mason and Oceana counties will receive a funding boost following today’s approval of more than $3.4 million in state funding from the Revitalization and Placemaking Program. 

Here is the MiBiz Growth Report for August 29, 2022:

Like virtually every other sector, Michigan’s life sciences industry faces a key obstacle in trying to attract and retain talent, many of whom are leaving for opportunities out of state. 

Ateam of Grand Valley State University researchers has set out to catalog and measure the economic effects of more than $300 million in federal COVID-19 relief funding being dispersed across four West Michigan counties.

Successful exits from West Michigan-based craft breweries are allowing company founders and investors to put their proceeds to work in new ways that reinforce the region’s entrepreneurial culture. 

HART — Backed by a new federal grant, the city of Hart in Oceana County plans to upgrade its wastewater treatment infrastructure to support the lakeshore region’s growing cluster of food processing companies. 

Seven Native American tribes and tribal entities in Michigan have received more than $1 million in U.S. Department of Labor funding to provide workforce development services to low-income adults and youth.

Linda Palmatier recently closed her Kalamazoo cannabis testing facility, The Spott Laboratory, hoping state regulators create what she sees as a more level playing field for business owners.

Land use changes driven by population growth and habitat loss and degradation continue to stress the health of the Great Lakes, according to a recent report jointly issued by federal environmental agencies in the U.S. and Canada.

GRAND RAPIDS — Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist announced today in Grand Rapids that an additional $6 million in grant funding will be available to qualifying students in the Michigan Reconnect program to cover unexpected costs to help students complete their education. 

GRAND RAPIDS — Dr. Paul King is returning to his hometown of Grand Rapids to open the state’s first Black-owned cannabis safety compliance facility.

The cycling event that Bob Hughes co-founded nearly a decade ago returns in 2023 with a new name and under management by a Grand Rapids company that’s built a portfolio of endurance athletic events in Michigan.

HOLLAND — City of Holland voters narrowly approved a $30 million proposal to build out a publicly owned, fiber broadband internet network. 

Here is the MiBiz Growth Report for August 1, 2022:

GRAND RAPIDS — Attorneys are disputing whether a Thursday Michigan Supreme Court ruling banning discrimination based on sexual orientation still allows a Grand Rapids wedding venue to not host same-sex marriages.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer earlier this month signed three pieces of legislation into law that begin to roll back workplace protections for both employers and employees before eliminating them entirely by July of 2023.

State laws enacted early in the COVID-19 pandemic that shielded employers from liability — and required employees to stay home if they got sick — end in a year.

Muskegon Heights’ downtown revitalization plan has received a $250,000 boost from the Consumers Energy Foundation.

Statewide business advocacy groups are raising alarms over a Tuesday court ruling that determined state lawmakers in 2018 illegally watered down ballot initiatives that would have strengthened the state’s minimum wage and paid sick leave requirements.