Welcome New LSSU President, Disturbing News from Rural K-12 Schools, Important State Supreme Court Seats, Tourist Tax, and Big Box Store Loophole

– INFORMED BREVITY –

This Week in Rural Insights

It’ll just be Whispers this week, but next week on Wednesday we will be publishing “The Upper Peninsula’s Tourist Economy” by Michael Broadway, that looks at trends in tourism in the UP and its effects on our economy.

From Our Readers

We receive emails, texts and other social media comments from our readers. Please continue to send them to us. Some post on our website, some prefer other methods of communication. Just keep those comments coming to us. We read and appreciate them all.

Our friend and regular reader David W. sent the following to us: “As children go back to school, let people know the red flashers on school buses are not a suggestion to stop, but mandatory. Most bus routes are set up so the children are entering the bus from the right side curb and not having to cross either the road or highway.” Some good advice and advice we should heed. Let’s keep our kids safe out there!!

From our reader Ann, writing to us about our post on the minimum wage and tipped workers: “I hope you want to hear from tipped workers about the changes, not just the employers.” Ann, the answer is ABSOLUTELY YES! We want to hear from tipped workers and employers and everyone else on this issue.

Welcome to New President at LSSU

A huge Upper Peninsula welcome to Lake Superior State University’s new president, Dr. David Travis. Dr. Travis is a dual citizen of the United States and Canada. Should be helpful to him, as LSSU sits on the border between the two countries.

For the past 24 years he has been in positions at University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and University of Wisconsin-River Falls.

A local educator has been named the new superintendent of Calumet, Laurium, and Keweenaw (CLK) Public Schools:

Joel Asiala is the new Superintendent. He is an alumnus of Northern Michigan University. He has spent his distinguished career in serving schools in the Upper Peninsula.

An Upper Peninsula welcome to him.

Disturbing News from Michigan’s Rural K-12 Schools

According to new state data Michigan’s rural schools student enrollment is down 11% over the past decade, “surpassing an overall decline in public school enrollment.” These are rural school districts in the Upper and Lower Peninsula.

Fall Election Includes Important State Supreme Court Seats

There will be two spots on the Michigan Supreme Court on our November 5th General election ballot. One of those spots is due to an incumbent justice retiring, and one incumbent justice up for reelection.

These positions show up on the non-partisan part of the ballot, but are nominated at partisan political conventions.

Important to remember to vote for these Supreme Court positions. Their decisions have a huge impact on all of our daily lives.

Tourist Tax

We had a lot of comments from readers about our post on adding local revenue to our communities by taxing tourists as they are welcomed into our communities. This idea is being used by downstate communities to add revenue for local projects without adding to local taxpayers the burden of increased property taxes.

This tax could be applied in a number of different ways. We will have more on this in the coming weeks.

Speaking of Fair Taxation and Tax Burdens

Around the Upper Peninsula we have read of how big box stores are using a state tax loophole to greatly lower or eliminate taxes on their stores in our communities. While local small businesses and home owners are bearing a big property tax burden, these big box stores have had huge advantages with this loophole.

We have written about this issue and past legislation in past years in this column. Well, the legislation has been reintroduced and is being considered again in the legislature. Ask your legislator about it. More to come.

Quotes That Make Us Go Hmmm

“A living community is a community that finds things worth fighting over. When we cease to fight, we begin to die.” Josuha Leifer.

Books Recommended by Our Readers

Autocracy Inc. Anne Appplebaum. 2024. – “From a Pulitzer Prize winning author, an alarming account of how autocracies work together to undermine the democratic world and how we should organize to defeat them.” NY Times.

Talk To Us

Keep your raves, laurels, rants and darts coming. Send them to us at david@ruralinsights.org. We love to read them.

About Us

Rural Insights connects policy, information, news and culture to raise topics and stories/information you might have not seen or overlooked. We bring you original writing from Rural Insights and other researchers, change makers, and storytellers, as well as our latest research and analysis.

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