Amanda Toy, VP of Membership and Partnerships for the Michigan Chamber, is joined by Jane Hagen, Senior VP & Director of Retirement Plans at Tri-Star Trust - a Michigan-based wealth management firm, to give a rundown on retirement savings – a topic that affects us all even if we don’t want to think about it. We discuss the latest investment market outlook, new federal policy changes for 401(k)s, and tools that can help both employers and employees!

Jim Holcomb, the Michigan Chamber’s president & CEO, takes a ‘behind the scenes’ look at a survey that’s the talk of Michigan’s capital city this time of the year – the MIRS/EPIC-MRA Insiders Survey.

Jim is joined by two great guests who put it together every two years:

• John Reurink, the publisher and co-owner of the Michigan Information & Research Service, otherwise known as MIRS - an in-depth capital news service.
• Bernie Porn, the founding principal and president of EPIC-MRA - a full-service survey research firm based in Lansing.

Sara Wurfel, the Michigan Chamber’s Chief Communications & Marketing Officer, takes a closer look at a host of pending legislation and how it might affect Michigan’s business climate and efforts underway to grow our Great Lakes State’s population. It’s the wonky concept of repealing local preemption laws which is another way of saying that Michigan’s 1,800+ local units of government could EACH set their own rules and regulations.

Joining Sara in the conversation are three special guests who are working every day on these issues and they are:

• Wendy Block, Senior VP of Business Advocacy & Member Engagement for the Michigan Chamber
• Amy Drumm, Senior VP of Government Affairs for the Michigan Retailers
• Marcus Keech, the Director of Governmental Affairs for the Grand Rapids Area Chamber

We’re going international! Jim Holcomb, President & CEO of the Michigan Chamber, is joined by Earl Provost, the Ontario Agent General, to discuss Michigan and Canada’s close relationship and some key projects between our two countries.

Jim Holcomb, President & CEO of the Michigan Chamber, is joined by Pete Sheffield, the Chief Sustainability Officer or CSO for Enbridge Energy, and Mike Alaimo, Director of Environmental & Energy Affairs of the Michigan Chamber to discuss our Energy Transition and how we can move forward in a way that’s realistic and works. This is an issue that’s increasingly front and center due to climate mitigation conversations along with policy proposals and actions at the state, federal, and global levels!

In this episode, hosted by Jim Holcomb, President & CEO of the Michigan Chamber, we'll be talking about one of the most important (and most discussed) pieces of infrastructure in our state – Line 5 and the proposed Great Lakes Tunnel.

Joining Jim in the conversation are two professionals who are in the know and have been on the front lines of this issue: Anna Mooney, Government Affairs Manager for Enbridge Energy, and Katie Berglind of the Michigan Laborers District Council for the Laborers’ International Union of North America – or what’s often known as LIUNA. They’ll help us work through all the latest information and what’s next!

The 2023 legislative session – historic in many ways – has been one of the busiest in modern times. Sara Wurfel, the Michigan Chamber’s Chief Communications & Marketing Officer, is joined by the core Michigan Chamber Business Advocacy Team: Wendy Block, Mike Alaimo, and Leah Robinson to help unpack a bit of what’s happened and what’s on the horizon – and how that may impact our state’s job providers and business climate!

In this episode, hosted by Jim Holcomb, President & CEO of the Michigan Chamber, we’re going to be talking about fixing our damn roads and bridges in Michigan – but by tackling one of the key challenges right now that may not be well understood: aggregate cost and supply.

Joining Jim in the conversation are two experts who work in these industries and on these issues every day: Doug Needham, Executive Director for the Michigan Aggregates Association and Kelly Kuiper who holds a unique perspective – she’s the Director of Business Development for Great Lakes Excavating Services AND is a Georgetown Township Planning Commissioner in Ottawa Co. They’ll help us break down what’s happening and why, and how we can ensure the bipartisan fix!

Amanda Toy, VP of Membership & Partnerships, Michigan Chamber, is joined by John Melcher, CEO of Crystal Mountain/Crystal Enterprises, and Nick Shelton, Director of Zehnder’s of Frankenmuth, to discuss the travel and tourism outlook in Michigan for the rest of 2023 - including the biggest wins, opportunities and challenges in the industry!

Amanda Toy, VP of Membership & Partnerships, Michigan Chamber, is joined by Dave Lorenz, Vice President of Travel Michigan at the MEDC, to discuss the state’s latest Pure Michigan focus, it's efforts, and to provide a forecast of the peak 2023 tourism season!