GRAND RAPIDS - As 2026 approaches, new survey data suggests the West Michigan economy continues to lose momentum, even as parts of Michigan and the broader U.S. economy show signs of stabilization rather than decline. The latest monthly economic survey from Grand Valley State University shows most key indicators for West Michigan remaining in negative
NOVI - Mid-Michigan residents will have a limited but meaningful opportunity this month to shape where a major new high-voltage transmission line may be built. ITC Michigan is hosting a series of community listening sessions in late January and early February to gather local input on preliminary routing for a proposed 345-kilovolt transmission line spanning
ANN ARBOR - Social Security’s financial outlook is worsening, raising the prospect of benefit reductions for tens of millions of Americans — including more than two million Michiganders — unless Congress acts within the next few years. The program’s retirement trust fund is projected to run out of money by 2033, with the disability trust
LANSING — Michigan’s cannabis industry is pressing forward with a constitutional lawsuit against the state’s 24% wholesale marijuana tax, arguing the levy was imposed illegally and is already triggering layoffs, facility closures, and real-world economic pain across the state’s expanding legal marijuana market. The case, filed by the Michigan Cannabis Industry Association (MiCIA) and several
ANN ARBOR - Michigan workers are entering 2026 with a clear and sobering priority: hold on. Across factories, hospitals, offices, and government buildings, employees are increasingly reluctant to change jobs — even when workloads are rising or pay is stagnating. A new national workforce survey shows that fear of layoffs, economic uncertainty, and burnout are
LANSING - On January 1, 2026, Michigan drivers began the new year at the pump with a noticeably different tax structure on gasoline and diesel as part of a sweeping overhaul of how the state funds transportation. Under the new system, the longstanding 6 percent sales tax on fuel has been eliminated and replaced by
ANN ARBOR — The U.S. dollar’s steep decline in 2025—its worst annual performance in nearly a decade—is quietly reshaping the outlook for Michigan businesses as they head into 2026. While the softer dollar is improving global competitiveness for some industries, it is also raising costs and complicating planning for others in a state deeply tied
LANSING — Michigan business owners are entering 2026 facing a new and largely unavoidable cost increase: sharply higher health insurance premiums tied to the expiration of enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies. The federal premium tax credits — expanded during the pandemic and extended through 2025 — lowered monthly insurance costs for hundreds of thousands of
LANSING — Michigan’s cannabis industry is heading into 2026 facing a new cost layer that operators say will further squeeze margins in an already oversupplied market. Beginning Jan. 1, 2026, the state will implement a wholesale cannabis tax on transfers between growers and retailers — a structural shift that moves part of Michigan’s cannabis tax
ANN ARBOR - As 2025 winds down, the U.S. auto market carries over a mix of record pricing, shifting incentives, and inventory dynamics that will shape car buying in 2026. Here’s what buyers and local Michigan tech commuters need to know: 1. New-Car Pricing Is Staying High — But Might Stabilize • Average new-vehicle prices
