MARQUETTE, Mich. (WLUC) – As we look back at 2024, we can see it was not a banner year for the Upper Michigan economy, but there were some positive developments to consider.
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Tourism is a major economic contributor and one of the key negative factors this year was the winter that never really arrived, The lack of snow reduced the number of snowmobilers who usually flock to the area and also led to the cancellation of many winter events. The impact was so severe that federal funding was available to help the affected businesses.
But there was a silver lining for the travel industry. According to Tom Nemacheck, Executive Director of the Upper Peninsula Travel and Recreation Association, the early spring and warm weather into late fall led to a very strong showing by the industry for the year overall.
The forest products industry saw one of the biggest disappointments of the year. There was major excitement when the State of Michigan approved a $200 million grant to be used as part of a $1 billion investment by Billerud Paper Company in its Escanaba mill. But it turned to disappointment when the company decided in May that it would not go forward with the project.
But there was also a silver lining to that story. In December, the company announced it would be investing $125 million in the Escanaba and Quinnesec paper mills. The largest project involves modernizing and rebuilding the Escanaba Mill woodyard.
Among the major investments in the future of the U.P. economy was the U.S. Department of Energy $145 million award to Revex Technologies to partner with Eagle Mine to extract nickel in new ways. Michigan Tech will play a major part in that project.
Health care continues to be a key employer in Upper Michigan and while major investments were made in some areas, one county saw a major cutback in services. Aspirus Health ended hospital and emergency services in Ontonagon. The loss of emergency services was especially devastating since the nearest emergency room is now at least 45 minutes away.
The possibility of a new copper mine in the western Upper Peninsula continues to be one of the big questions for the future. The project is dependent on a $50 million state grant, which was approved by the House Appropriations Committee but remains bottled up in the Senate committee.
Upper Michigan continues to have an interesting role in aerospace with more than 30 companies here now playing some role in that endeavor. Among the players in that industry are Kall Morris, which focuses on cleaning up space debris. The company successfully docked its REACCH capture package with the International Space Station in November.
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