By Hannah Sanderson, Business Attraction & Growth Looking for some additional funding for your startup? Pitch your business plan and compete to win startup dollars at one of our five Northern Michigan Pitch Night competitions throughout… read more

Proposed boundary for new Commercial Development Districts By Jessica Lovay, Office Manager/Grant Administrator The City of Cheboygan has taken the first step to opening an economic window of opportunity within the Downtown Development… read more

Elk Rapids DDA Business Development Sub Committee Members Kathy Wittbrodt, Brian Scram, and Karen Simpson presented award checks to the 2018 Mini Façade Grant recipients, Tamara Jones (Java Jones,) Andy LaPointe (Traverse Bay Farms,)… read more

By Andy Atkinson & Isabel Hess, NLEA Summer Interns We are excited to announce that the Entrepreneurial Toolkit is just over a month from being released! Don’t know where to look when you want to start a business? Download this toolkit… read more

By Hannah Sanderson Business Attraction & Growth Have you ever needed to look up demographic data for a specific area and began with the ol’ Google Search?  We are all guilty of it. Today I have for you a credible source to find… read more

By Andy Hayes NLEA President It’s tough doing business in a rural area far from the marketplace; keeping jobs in our area is a big part of what the NLEA’s economic development program is all about. Think about it… for every job… read more

By Janet Koch Community Development Every organization—village governments, large manufacturers, county governments, small retail shops, and everything in between—has the ability to reap tremendous benefits from press… read more

By Andy Atkinson and Isabel Hess NLEA Summer Interns Over the last few weeks we have begun to see our vision for our entrepreneurial toolkit turn into a reality. We have met with numerous professionals and experts serving Northern Michigan… read more

River Street in Elk Rapids features an inviting array of floral displays for the summer. By Amanda Baker Downtown Development Coordinator When it comes to building up a downtown district, there is an endless list of projects to work on and new… read more

Four downtown Elk Rapids buildings are under construction receiving face-lifts with owner investments and matching grants. By Jessica Lovay Office Manager/Grant Administrator Last year at this time we announced that the Village of Elk… read more