The Next Idea Among small business owners in Michigan, access to capital remains one of the most significant challenges, especially for people in underserved communities. This seems to be true even in places with improving economies, like West Michigan. The area has seen a strong post-recession recovery in recent years, and ranks highly in the prevalence of investors. WalletHub named Grand Rapids #2 in its 2016 rankings of “Best Large Cities to Start a Business,” yet it was ranked 43rd out of

The Next Idea Could the ancient search for the Fountain of Youth lead to Ann Arbor? That's where a company called Forever Labs is working to solve the universal problem of getting old. Its solution: store your stem cells when you're a young adult so you can use them as you age.

The Next Idea There are frequent and spirited discussions about students who aren’t getting what they need to succeed in Michigan’s public schools. Nanette Janecke of Western Michigan University is adding another group of students to that conversation: gifted students. They’re students who could achieve a lot, but who – in most Michigan school districts – aren’t given many tools for success, Janecke said.

The Next Idea There's a halfway decent chance you scraped food into the trash can today. Or maybe you pitched an apple core out the car window on your way to work. If so, then you are contributing to America's food waste problem, and it's a big one. Some $218 billion big. Battle Creek wants to be America's test laboratory and lead the way to zero food waste.

The Next IdeaAround the world, Michigan is known as a state that makes things. And the way we make things is about to undergo a massive shift – so massive, in fact, that experts are calling it the Fourth Industrial Revolution, or Industry 4.0.