RETENTION AND EXPANSION ISSUES AND CONCERNS OF RURAL BUSINESSES: SOME FINDINGS FROM SURVEYS IN THE WESTERN UPPER PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN

This paper is part of a series of reports of the activities conducted under a grant from the Fund for Rural America, U.S. Department of Agriculture. Funds for the grant entitled "Enhancing Rural Economies Through Comprehensive Extension, Research & Partnering Approaches Using Multi-County Clusters in Michigan With Application to National Rural Settings" were received by Michigan State University's Department of Agricultural Economics in March, 1998. The major goal of the grant is to increase economic development activity in four clusters of rural counties in Michigan through the utilization of the resources of the Michigan State University Extension Service, Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station, and other resources of Michigan State University. Various local, state, and federal public partners as well as the private sector are co-sponsors of projects in the counties. This paper focuses on Business Retention and Expansion (BR&E) programs that have been conducted in the Western Upper Peninsula (WUP) of Michigan. The paper highlights and assesses major achievements and performances of the programs with respect to identifying issues, problems, and opportunities impacting the local economies. The data include information from BR&E visitation programs supported by the project and two other surveys in the WUP region