Bay Mills Community College Gets Record Gift, NMU Student Leader Program Wins State Award, Michigan Constitution Change Opportunity, & Michigan Suicide Rates Higher Than National Average. Read this week’s Rural Whispers, Noise & Rumors by David Haynes.

More Articles

Belated Happy Thanksgiving, Housing the Homeless, and Line 5 in the UP

Belated Happy Thanksgiving, Housing the Homeless, Line 5 in the UP. Read this week’s Rural Whispers, Noise & Rumors by David Haynes.

Read More

Home Ownership and the American Dream in the Upper Peninsula

Rising housing costs and limited supply are making the American Dream of homeownership harder to reach for young people in the U.P.

Read More

Rural Voices

Global Service from Upper Peninsula Roots: Talking to Karen Ogle About Her Foreign Service Career

In the latest episode of the Rural Insights Podcast, David Haynes sits down with Karen Ogle, a Marquette native who has carved out a distinguished career in the U.S. State Department’s Foreign Service.

Read More

Diplomatic Paths: From Marquette to the World with Robert Hilton

In the latest episode of the Rural Insights Podcast, David Haynes sits down with Robert Hilton, Foreign Policy Advisor to the Chief of Staff of the Army and a Marquette native with a storied international career.

Read More

rural-insights-logo-white-large

We are the primary source for economic and policy research and information in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and beyond, working to ensure that our citizens and policymakers alike have the information they need to make informed decisions.

 

We believe that Truth + Knowledge equals Power, and that the people in rural areas deserve access to these tools just as much as anyone else.

The Issues

More From Our Articles

‘Marquette Ending Hunger’ Group Schedules Events, Thinking About SNAP Benefits, and a Welcome to NMU’s New President

Marquette ‘Ending Hunger’ Group Schedules Events, Thinking About SNAP Benefits, and a Welcome to NMU’s New President. Read this week’s Rural Whispers, Noise & Rumors by David Haynes.

Read More

Recent Changes in U.P. Employment and Unemployment

Tourism remains the U.P.’s economic lifeline, but rising unemployment and slowing job growth show how vulnerable the region is to national and global shifts.

Read More

Balancing Tradition and Technology

In Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, small-town policing is finding a balance between tradition and technology. From body cameras to drones, U.P. law enforcement agencies have rapidly adopted new tools over the past decade–boosting safety and accountability while navigating questions about privacy, cost, and community trust. Tristin Smith explores how these innovations are reshaping rural policing and what it means for the close-knit communities that define the U.P.

Read More

Research

Assessing Socioeconomic Trends and Disparities in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula: A County-by-County Analysis

We occasionally publish research by NMU students, and this article is an…

Read More

Earned Income Tax Credit: Max Steele’s Analysis

Rural areas have several demographic components that lend themselves to having a…

Read More

Recent Population Changes in the U.P. Amidst the Pandemic

The population dynamics of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula are well documented. Its population,…

Read More

Boom and Bust: Calumet and Keweenaw National Historical Park 30 Years On

Many communities throughout the Upper Peninsula have developed their sense of place…

Read More

Survey Shows Diversity of NMU’s Student Veterans

Diversity is something that members of America’s armed forces inadvertently come to…

Read More