February 28, 2026

The Michigan Crisis: Ideology Not Intelligence

by Keith Schneider2

  Late on the Friday night before the Memorial Day weekend, Republican and Democratic lawmakers in Michigan reached agreement with Democratic Governor Jennifer M. Granholm on a very temporary fix to close an $800 million state budget deficit. The deficit, for those who might be unfamiliar, is what happens when what the state earns in tax revenue doesn’t keep up with what it spends on programs. Next fall the crisis worsens when lawmakers look down the raw throat of …

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Why Cities Are Thriving

by Keith Schneider1

  Packaged Facts, a useful site for keeping track of demographic and economic trends, just published an analysis of US Census figures that concludes singles now head the largest number of American households. For years demographers have documented the declining size of the US household and the rising number of total American households. Now we find that the single person is the majority.   Packaged Facts found that “America’s 89.6 million singles head over half of America’s households — 50.3%, …

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Pangea’s Biodegradable Package; Just Plant and Grow

by Keith Schneider1

Here’s a name worth paying attention to in the space where sustainable business practices and the non-profit sector cross. He is Joshua Scott Onysko, a 30-year-old native of Rhode Island who turned a bonding experience with his mother making organic soap into Pangea Organics, a very successful Boulder-based manufacturer of organic body and skin care products. I first learned of Onysko and Pangea Organics from a friend in Saugatuck who was as enthusastic about the company’s all …

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At $5 A Gallon, Gas Prices Will Be The Issue In 2008 Campaign

by Keith Schneider6

Remember in the 2004 presidential campaign when George W. Bush and John Kerry briefly sparred over the price of gas? Democrats predictably blamed “Big Oil” and promised Congressional investigations. Republicans blamed Democrats and environmentalists for blocking efforts to build more refineries and drill for more oil, especially in Alaska. The tussle failed to attract more than the attention of a couple of political reporters. Why? Gas prices nationally were $1.80 a gallon, and only in California did they …

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On Her 100th Birthday: Big Green’s Silent Spring For Rachel Carson

by Keith Schneider3

Across the country this weekend, and especially today, thousands of Americans honored Rachel Carson, the author of “Silent Spring,” who was born 100 years ago on a 65-acre farm in Springdale, Pennsylvania, northeast of Pittsburgh. Carson’s legacy was extolled by grassroots activists, lauded by newspaper writers, and commemorated by institutions. She also was villified as a cause of global genocide by conservative free market critics, and a Congressional resolution honoring the centennial of her birth was blocked by …

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Cities Punch Above Their Weight Economically

by Keith Schneider1

  Here are two more reasons why Michigan and the American Midwest are slipping to backwater status in the United States, and why we can’t give up on the capacity of our governor and state lawmakers to help work Michigan out of its economic mess.  Fact one, according to a new analysis by the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution: Six of the 80 old industrial cities lagging far behind in economic performance, population growth, job creation, and business development are …

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Inc. Magazine Hot Cities: Not One in Upper Midwest

by Keith Schneider3

The annual tally of American “Boom Towns” in the May issue of Inc. Magazine includes not one – repeat, not a single large, midsize, or small city in the Great Lakes region that qualifies among the nation’s top generators of new jobs. If the entire Midwest is considered, the only two cities that sneak onto the list are Springfield, Missouri (ranked # 20 among midsize cities) and Dubuque, Iowa (#15 among small cities).  The list does include some of our favorite Mode Shift …

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Flip: Take Me To The River

by Keith Schneider2

If you’re  plugged into Google Earth then check out how the Jane Goodall Institute blogs. Talk about moving people towards a subject. Just click on the “blog entry” link to each post. This is a terrific application of online reporting and experiential graphics. We’re looking into how to emulate it here at Mode Shift.

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Circle of Blue

by Keith Schneider5

Not long after he earned a graduate degree in journalism from Northwestern University Carl Ganter made a name for himself here in Traverse City, his hometown, as a young writer and photojournalist with an unerring grasp for great stories, and a superb eye for color, light, character, and drama. He could make an ordinary windmill, its blades lit against a dramatic dawn sky, look like the most exotic piece of energy technology ever invented. His wife, Eileen Ganter, …

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Fly By Curb Appeal

by Keith Schneider0

This part of Michigan, where sable sand and blue water meet, is rich in people of intelligence and talent who came from someplace else.  Texas and Ohio, New York and Arizona, Pennsylvania and Indiana and Missouri. They all have a story about how they got here.   And then there’s the story told by Jerry Linenger (see pix), a retired physician and astronaut who was raised in Eastpointe, just outside Detroit, and decided to settle in Leelanau County …

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