Eaton Rapids : Innovation & Job News

All Photographs © Dave Trumpie

Lansing-based Granger Energy Services has added five landfill gas utilization projects this year and is looking to add at least two more by the end of the year.

The landfill gas utilization projects allow Granger to generate electricity by using engine generators set to recover methane gas produced by the landfill. The generated renewable energy is then sold to a local utility.

The Michigan-based projects that went online this year include the Wood Road Generating Station, South Kent Generating Station and White Feather Generating Station. Granger also brought the Conestoga Landfill Gas Recovery Project in Pennsylvania and the Trans-Jordan Generating Station in Utah online.

"We believe this type of renewable energy is the most reliable form of renewable energy because all plants are online 98 or 99 percent of the time," says Granger Chief Executive Officer Keith Granger. "Other sources of renewable energy, such as wind and solar, may only remain online less than 20 percent of the time."

Granger also builds "direct-use" fuel partnerships with landfills across the nation. These partnerships allow Granger to pipe the landfill gas fuel to nearby industrial users.

Combined, Granger has 14 direct use and landfill gas-to-electric projects online in six states. Granger is looking to add more sites as demand requires.

Granger was the first company in Michigan to sell landfill gas and is one of the few such companies that also develops these projects.

Source: Tonia Olson, Granger

Ivy Hughes is the managing editor of Capital Gains and can be reached here. 

All Photographs © Dave Trumpie

Photographer Terri Shaver is using her art to help local families through the grieving process.

Shaver is the founder of The Oldham Project, a nonprofit photography effort that ensures families take family portraits before a loved one dies.

“Everyone talks about having a family portrait done, but they never make the time to do it,” she says. “Not until someone in the family passes away that they say, ‘I wish we would have done that.’”

Hospice of Lansing and Ele’s Place refer families to Shaver who photographs them in their homes or in her studio.

“The response has been so positive from those agencies,” she says.

Before starting The Oldham Project, Shaver volunteered with the Denver-based non-profit Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep where she photographed still born babies and babies that died while at the hospital.

“It occurred to me that there was nothing in place like that for older people or even for children,” she says. Shaver says she wants to make the experience as pleasant and as easy for the families as possible, which is why she is willing to travel to take the photos and does not charge for her services.  

Source: Terri Shaver, The Oldham Project

Ivy Hughes is the managing editor of Capital Gains and can be reached here.

The Lansing Economic Area Partnership (LEAP) released a 10- year regional strategic plan that outlines a plan to improve the region by attracting and retaining talent, supporting business and entrepreneurship and creating a sense of place, among other things.

LEAP started working with the Michigan State University (MSU) Land Policy Institute on the assessment in January, first gathering and analyzing economic trends from across the country. Capital region assets were then assessed and compared to more than 50 other regions.

“This really came from the beginning of LEAP,” says Denyse Ferguson, LEAP president and CEO. “The idea was to get all of the different players in the region working together toward specific strategic objectives.”

The “Greater Lansing Next,” plan illustrates specific strategies for making the region more friendly to businesses and entrepreneurs; creating attractive live-and-work spaces; enhancing core assets; and strengthening regional cooperation.

“We will take all of the research and will work with self-selected leaders in each of the strategic priority areas and sector areas,” she says, adding that anyone is invited to participate in carrying out the plan.

Source: Denyse Ferguson, LEAP

Ivy Hughes is the managing editor of Capital Gains and can be reached here.

Lansing-based Prima Civitas is using its second $200,000 Mott Foundation grant to continue three programs designed to foster entrepreneurship in the region.

The grant funds three specific areas that fall under the Moving Ideas to Market (MI2M) initiative. The first, IGNITE (not to get confused with IgniteLansing!), focuses on integrating entrepreneurship into the K-12 education system.

“It also looks at components (projects) that are fun that can get kids interested in entrepreneurship,” says Holly Hetzner, special projects administrator and legal affairs specialist for Prima Civitas.

The second piece, EnGen, works toward creating entrepreneurial opportunities for college students.

“We’re building a network that universities can use to collaborate and feel free to talk about the programs going on in their host communities,” she says.

The last component, Jumpstart is “for everyone else.”

“This is for everyone who is not a child or a college student and wants to learn how to pitch before a venture capitalist,” she says.

All three of the teams are comprised of 20-25 volunteers. A MI2M conference is being held during Global Entrepreneurship Week starting at 9:30 a.m., Nov. 17 at the Lexington Hotel in Lansing. The event is open to the public and will feature each group. To RSVP by Nov. 13, click here.

Source: Holly Hetzner, Prima Civitas Foundation

Ivy Hughes is the managing editor of Capital Gains and can be reached here.

The inaugural Lansing Fall Film Exhibition (LFFE) is set to launch from 8 to 11 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 26 at Celebration Cinema in Lansing.

LFFE Founder and Director Autumn “Bri” Lloyd says this is the first 90 minute Michigan and Lansing-based film exhibition in the Capital region.

“We just came up with this idea because there’s so many filmmakers between here and Detroit and they’re trying to get their foot in the door, and it would be nice to showcase Michigan filmmakers,” she says.

The Capital region has other film fests that draw on local talent, but also include international talent.

So far, Lloyd’s nailed down an underwriter and received four entries that include an eight-minute science fiction short and an 18-minute comedy/drama. Each submission must be less than 20 minutes. Lloyd says she still needs about 40-50 minutes of film and is hoping to fill all 270 seats at Celebration Cinema by the time the festival opens.

“One of my friends said we need to make Lansing weird, that we need to make it more like Austin,” she says. “Austin has a huge film festival and this is just one step closer to making Lansing weird.”

Lloyd is working with local t-shirt printers and other local suppliers to keep the project as home grown as possible.

Source: Bri Lloyd, LFFE

Ivy Hughes is the managing editor of Capital Gains and can be reached here.

Calling all Capital region employers: time is short to enroll in Job Shadow Day 2009. The deadline is Feb. 20 to sign up to do your part to introduce college and university students to what you do all day, and hopefully pique the interest of the creative class in the Capital region’s growth as a cultural and entertainment destination.

Job Shadow Day is Tuesday, March 10.

The program is a collaboration of the Career Services Network at Michigan State University, Lansing’s Economic Development Corporation (LEDC), and Capital Area Michigan Works. In its first effort, 135 students visited 25 businesses.

Job Shadow Day is just one offering of the LEDC in its efforts to engage university students, recent graduates and young entrepreneurial visionaries.

Networking mixers have been organized and the Entertainment Express Trolley does its part, running back and forth between East Lansing and Lansing. Launched more than two years ago, the trolley runs Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, racking up 10,000 riders so far, and averaging 21 per weekend, according to the LEDC.

Contact Andrea Ragan here, or click the city's Web site to learn more.

Source: LEDC

Gretchen Cochran, Innovation & Jobs editor, may be reached here.

So you want to cut those high heating bills with some alternative energy gizmos, letting the sun or the wind take some of the load? You’ve been eyeing a solar heating system, or even a windmill? The state may be able to help.

Under an enhanced Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) program, homeowners and landlords can now get help financing alternative energy improvements to their properties.

“MSHDA has always provided low-interest loans to Michigan residents for a variety of traditional energy saving home improvements,” says Keith Molin, executive director. But now the agency has added a way to allow Capital region homeowners to be better stewards of the earth’s resources while reducing monthly energy costs, he says.

Income-eligible homeowners may now borrow up to $50,000 to make the improvements through MSHDA’s Property Improvement Program. Items covered by the expanded program include geothermal furnaces, indoor fireplaces, permanently installed radiators, and solar rooms permanently installed for use as a sunroom or family room.

Landlords with eligible rent limits can borrow up to $100,000 or $25,000 per rental unit, and eligible homeowners may have household incomes of up to $74,500 depending on the location of the home. Those interested can get help from designated lenders or community agents.

The PIP lender list includes Huntington National Bank in Ingham and Clinton Counties. Community agents may also be called for assistance: Teresa Frassetto at the City of Lansing Development Office, 517-483-4056; Steven Wagner at the City of St. Johns, 989-224-8944; or Brian Reed at the City of Eaton Rapids, 517-663-8118.

Source: Keith Molin, MSHDA

Gretchen Cochran, Innovations & Jobs editor, may be contacted here.

Buckueroux recently retired from Michigan State University's (MSU) School of Journalism and now focuses on sustainable farming. But one of her first interviews was with two members of the Church of Latter Day Saints that she saw making calls on a local street.

Castanier left the Michigan Department of Economic Development (MEDC) five years ago, and has positioned himself as a literary journalist, offering daily posts and regular podcasts on his MittenLit.com blog. In the latest show, Castanier interviews Gary Hoppenstand of MSU’s Department of Writing, Rhetoric and Popular Culture about Poe’s impact on the modern detective novel.

A section of the show included The Clementine's, who anchor a discussion about the challenge of finding fresh fruit here in winter.

Included in the site are Twitter updates on local news, archived program podcasts and blogs.

Source: Bill Castanier, "Wednesday's at One with Bonnie and Bill"

Gretchen Cochran is the Innovations and Jobs editor. Contact her here.

The Arts Council of Greater Lansing has roughly $25,000 in grant money to hand out to local artists.

“This is the first program that we’ve developed from the sale of the Center of the Arts,” says Arts Council of Greater Lansing Executive Director Leslie Donaldson. “We’re taking the interest that we get off the sale each year to grant individual artists funding.”

The Arts Council of Greater Lansing recently sold the building to the city. Donaldson says the amount of interest earned on the building will change each year, but she hopes that eventually, the Arts Council of Greater Lansing will be able to disperse $40,000 a year.

Individual grants of $1,000 each will be granted to qualifying artists. To apply for a grant, artists need to be members of the Art Council, a $25 membership. Artists in Ingham, Eaton, Clinton and Shiawassee Counties are eligible. All mediums are accepted. Artists can apply as emerging or established artists. Emerging artists have to have less than a five-year history of art shows and sales.

“I’m pretty excited about the program,” Donaldson says. “Not only is this the first ever individual artist program that will hopefully help them professionally, but it also provides an education component that we’re seeking to expand.”

The application deadline is Jan. 30.

Source: Leslie Donaldson, Arts Council of Greater Lansing

Ivy Hughes is the managing editor of Capital Gains and can be reached here.