Visit Michigan’s Thumb

LANSING – State Representative Terry Brown (D-Pigeon) today hailed the news that the villages of Gagetown and Millington have received nearly $950,000 in federal grants for road, water and sewer improvement projects that will create local jobs and stimulate economic development.

“Investing in our infrastructure will help create jobs and give our local economy a much-needed boost,” Brown said. “Making improvements to our roads, sewers and overall infrastructure sends a message to businesses that Tuscola County is a great place to set up shop. In order to turn the economy around, we’ve got to attract job providers to our community and get people back to work.”

The village of Gagetown will receive $520,000 in funding, while contributing $130,000 of its own money for street improvements. The village of Millington was awarded $428,200, and will contribute nearly $50,000 to make water and sewer improvements.

The grants are part of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Infrastructure Capacity Enhancement (ICE) program, which is designed to accelerate economic development and assist communities in making necessary improvements or upgrades to existing public infrastructure.

The Thumb Chapter of the Blue Star Mother’s of America, Inc. (BSMA) will celebrate their sixth year of service to local military families, veterans and soldiers on Veteran’s Day 2009.

The organization was chartered on Veteran’s Day 2004 with help from mothers and dads of then currently serving military men and women from the Huron County area. The group was designed to serve families in the Huron, Tuscola and Sanilac county areas.

Since the first initial meeting one important function remains part of every Blue Star Mother meeting…soldier updates. In this portion of the meeting, mothers and family members of soldiers give an update as to where their soldier is stationed, when they last heard from the soldier, what their job is, deployment information, and soldier stories.

The “moms” share special events like upcoming weddings, soldier leave (vacation) dates, graduation and or special training education, and the arrival of grandchildren.

The Thumb Chapter of the Blue Star Mothers of America, Inc. can be reached by e-mailing Kramer@speednetllc.com or by mailing: BSMA Thumb Chapter #178, PO Box 64, Bad Axe, MI 48413.

AWS Truewind has developed wind energy resource maps for the Energy Office and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory with financial support from the U.S. Department of Energy.  Wind energy resource maps are estimates of wind resources and are based primarily upon computer modeling.  They are intended to be suggestive of areas within Michigan that may be suitable for wind generators.  Values represented for any geographic location may differ from actual conditions at the same location.  Although the maps are believed to represent an accurate overall picture of the wind energy resource, estimates at any location should be confirmed by measurement before purchase or installation of any wind power systems.

The maps have been produced by AWS Truewind using the MesoMap system.  The MesoMap system consists of an integrated set of atmospheric simulation models, databases, and computers and storage systems.  At the core of MesoMap is MASS (Mesoscale Atmospheric Simulation System), a numerical weather model, which simulates the physics of the atmosphere.  MASS is coupled to a wind flow model, WindMap, which is used to refine the spatial resolution of MASS and account for localized effects of terrain and surface roughness.  The 50 meters map was validated by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory using data from over 90 measurement stations, e.g. 35 airports and 20 Coast Guard stations.

The wind speed maps show the predicted mean wind speed in Michigan at heights of 30 meters, 50 meters, 70 meters, and 100 meters above the effective ground level. Four maps were produced because wind speeds are greater at higher heights.  A typical tower height for the current generation of large utility-scale wind turbines of 750 KW (kilowatt) to 2 MW (megawatt) rated capacity is 70 meters. A typical height for small turbines of up to 50 KW rated capacity is 30 meters, which is consistent with on-farm or residential use. 

The 50-meter wind power density map shows the predicted mean wind power density (amount of wind energy) at a 50-meter height in the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL) standard wind resource classes. The mean speed and power density describe different aspects of the wind resource. The mean speed is the easiest for most people to understand. Some experts regard the mean wind power, which depends on the air density and the cube of the wind speed, as a more accurate indicator of the wind resource when assessing wind project sites.

Tourism Industry Needs a Piece of the Stimulus Pie

While debate rages over distribution of Michigan’s piece of the federal stimulous package, state tourism leaders have been quietly and diligently making their case in a behind-the-legislative-scenes letter-writing campaign for the industry’s piece of the pie.

These tourism leaders comprise a coalition called TIME, which stands for Tourism Improving Michigan’s Economy. Members include not just the usual suspects in the world of tourism-related associations like CVBs, RV dealerships, campgrounds, lodgings, canoe liveries, ski resorts and the like. Members also include the Tourism Industry Coalition of Michigan, Small Business Association of Michigan, Michigan State Chamber of Commerce and even the Michigan Retailers Association. ML2L is also a member.

TIME’s volunteer co-chairs are Dan Musser of the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island; Stephen Kercher, head of Boyne Properties; and Larry Alexander, executive director of the Detroit Metropolitan CVB. Steve Yencich, president/CEO of the Michigan Lodging and Tourism Association (formerly MHMRA), serves as the coalition’s staff.