The effects of climate change continue to dominate this summer’s headlines with record breaking heat waves, floods, and wildfires. In the Southwest, Phoenix broke its record…

More Articles

NMU and MTU Bounce Up, 2023 UP Pasty Fest, Housing Shortages Continue in the UP, UP Senator Introduces Transparency Bill, & From the World Around Us

NMU and MTU Bounce Up, 2023 UP Pasty Fest, Housing Shortages Continue in the UP, UP Senator Introduces Transparency Bill, & From the World Around Us. Read this week’s Rural Whispers, Noise & Rumors.

Read More

Michigan Public Policy Survey: UP Local Government Leaders Most Likely to Report Housing Shortages

The Michigan Public Policy Survey recently published a UP-focused piece on housing shortages, based on data from their September 2023 survey.

Read More

Rural Voices

Rural Voices: Don Wotruba

In the latest Rural Voices column, Upper Peninsula Native Don Wotruba gives an account of how his small-town upbringing in Carney-Nadeau provided a valuable foundation that has served him well in the years since he left the UP.

Read More

Gender and Factory Work in the Upper Peninsula – Part Two

In Part Two of this two-part series, Dr. Russell Magnaghi explores gender and employment jobs during the industrial development of the Upper Peninsula’s mining regions: the Marquette, Menominee, and Gogebic Iron Ranges, as well as the Copper Country.

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

History Behind the Fence: The Marquette General Hospital Complex

Dr. Russell Magnaghi gives a fascinating overview of the history of Marquette’s early hospitals and how Marquette General Hospital came to be.

Read More

Never, Ever Forget, From the World Around Us, Child Care in the UP, Lifepoint Corporate Leaders to Visit UP, and UP Gets Some Earmark Funds

Never, Ever Forget, From the World Around Us, Child Care in the UP, Lifepoint Corporate Leaders to Visit UP, and UP Gets Some Earmark Funds. Read this week’s Rural Whispers, Noise & Rumors by David Haynes.

Read More

Tourists, Tourists, and More Tourists, Governor’s Growth Commission, Baraga County Veteran Services, Back to School in the UP, New Education Department, & More

Tourists, Tourists, and More Tourists, Governor’s Growth Commission, Baraga County Veteran Services, Back to School in the UP, New Education Department, & More. Read this week’s Rural Whispers, Noise & Rumors by David Haynes.

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