Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer joins us on Flashpoint this episode to discuss the development of Michigan Central near Downtown Detroit, and the impact it will have on the state, its workforce and its future in mobility.

As Michigan slowly reopens, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer rolled out a plan to use the Federal COVID Relief funding.

Michigan's governor is holding a news conference Thursday about the state's economy.

(Photo by INA FASSBENDER/AFP via Getty Images)LANSING, Mich. – The state of Michigan announced Wednesday that $52.5 million will be given to nearly 6,000 small businesses across the state that have been hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic. The money will come from the Michigan Small Business Survival Grant program, Gov. “The Michigan Small Business Survival Grant Program provides crucial support to Michigan’s small businesses hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Whitmer said. “These grants, combined with additional business relief efforts offered by the MEDC, will create a strong foundation for Michigan’s long-term economic recovery.”The Michigan Small Business Survival Grant Program allocated $55 million to provide support to Michigan small businesses hurt most by COVID-19 safety orders. Was not a live music and entertainment venue eligible for the Michigan Stage Survival grant program.

Gretchen Whitmer submitted her third budget for the state of Michigan Thursday. Whitmer looks to draw down on the Michigan General Fund by $11.5 billion and the School Aid Fund by $14.7 billion. “This is a restrained budget,” Whitmer said. Whitmer wants $360 million to keep in place the $2 an hour wage increase for direct care workers and wants another $38 million to help nursing homes. $300 million has been planned for bridge repair and she wants to help Michigan cities with a $175 million budget stabilization for COVID response.

If it’s money that talks in politics, then Michigan businesses are speaking loudly. On Thursday, the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce announced its political action committee (PAC) is reevaluating who it gives its money too. In 2020, the chamber gave more than $20,000 in donations to candidates on both sides of the aisle, including Rep. Lisa McClain, voted to object the election results in Pennsylvania and Arizona. All of the companies rethinking their donations don’t contribute on their own, rather through action committees or other subsidiaries, but it is their voice in politics. Other major Michigan companies like Lear, Whirlpool and Kellogg’s have not said whether they’ll be suspending donations or changing how they spend their political dollars, but pressure is on.

Gretchen Whitmer revealed a massive plan to help jumpstart Michigan’s economy and ultimately end the COVID-19 pandemic. Vaccine distributionWhitmer’s plan is to use $90 million in federal funding toward vaccine distribution in the state. Michigan Microenterprise Support Initiative: Will give small businesses with less than nine employees greater access to support. Food assistanceWhitmer said her plan will give more support to families who need help putting food on the table during the pandemic. Whitmer said her plan will allocate this federal funding to help more Michiganders stay in their homes.

Gretchen Whitmer outlined her plan Tuesday to jumpstart the state’s economy and help end the COVID-19 pandemic. “This is a plan to help our economy recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and help Michigan compete. The MI COVID Recovery Plan will help us jumpstart our economy. Whitmer’s plan is to use that federal funding to ramp up distribution in the state and climb closer to the goal of administering 50,000 vaccinations per day. Whitmer said her plan will allocate this federal funding to help more Michiganders stay in their homes.

Gretchen Whitmer held a live discussion Tuesday to address Michigan’s economy and how to get back on track by defeating COVID-19. Whitmer was joined by State Budget Director David Massaron and State Treasurer Rachel Eubanks. Michigan announced 1,738 new cases of COVID-19 and 41 additional deaths Tuesday, bringing the state totals to 540,115 cases and 13,865 deaths since the start of the pandemic. On Sunday, state officials confirmed the first case of the new COVID-19 variant had been found in Michigan. Restaurants are still closed for indoor dining, and entertainment venues aren’t allowed to serve food and drink concessions.

A new study on the Michigan economy shows that while jobs are available, they do not pay enough to make ends meet, and the coronavirus pandemic is making it worse. Michigan Future Founder Lou Glazer puts a good paying job at $20 an hour and he cites research claiming 60% of Michigan jobs pay less than that. “At the point where construction companies don’t have enough carpenters, you would think the wages for carpenters would go up,” he said. “They’re more likely to lose their jobs and then if they lose the job, they’re less likely that job will come back anytime soon,” he said. At the Detroit Economic Club, University of Michigan economist Gabriel Erlich believes people are going to see a two-tiered COVID recession and recovery.

Gretchen Whitmer is reflecting on 2020, touching on the COVID-19 pandemic, Michigan roads, the economic crisis, dam failures, a domestic terror plot and protests over racial injustice. “As I think about 2020, the phrase annus horribilis comes to mind, which means a horrible year. But it wasn’t all horrible, cause some really good things happened this year and there are sources of inspiration no matter where you look,” Whitmer said. In this video, Whitmer goes all the way back to the first cases of COVID-19 in Michigan, which were confirmed March 10. It covers the domestic terror plot targeting Whitmer and ends with a look ahead to 2021.

Results from a survey of Michigan voters at the beginning of December suggest residents are terribly concerned about the state’s economy with the COVID-19 pandemic affecting their household finances. The Detroit Regional Chamber (DRC) said it conducted this statewide survey of 600 registered Michigan voters between Nov. 30 and Dec. 4, 2020. 58% of Michigan voters say that COVID-19 is affecting their household finances. Gretchen Whitmer:63.3% of Michigan voters believe Gov. On Michigan Legislature:29.0% of Michigan voters say the state’s legislative leaders are doing everything they can to get the pandemic under control.

Gretchen Whitmer -- 63.3% of Michigan voters believe Whitmer is aggressively working on getting the pandemic under control and protecting public health, according to the survey results. The Detroit Regional Chamber (DRC) said it conducted this statewide survey of 600 registered Michigan voters between Nov. 30 and Dec. 4, 2020. 60.3% believe the threat of COVID-19 has been balanced or downplayed, compared to 33.8% who believe the threat has been exaggerated. On the economy:83.7% of Michigan voters believe the state’s economy is worse now than before the pandemic hit. Gretchen Whitmer:63.3% of Michigan voters believe Gov.

DETROIT – Small Business Saturday is here and the stakes are higher than ever for local businesses in the pandemic. He’s gearing up for small business Saturday, but he knows this year things will be different. “Sales online are higher than normal.”“More than 40% of Black Small Businesses shutdown this year due to COVID-19,” said Marketing Manager Racheal Hawk with Facebook. “Knowing that, we felt compelled to help.”That’s why they started the Buy Black Friday Campaign, which urges people to ‘Buy Black’ and ‘Buy Small’ every Friday in November, but they’re extending that initiative to Small Business Saturday. It’s been a tough year for local businesses, so let’s rally together to #SupportLocal this holiday season.

DETROIT – As small businesses in Metro Detroit struggle through the coronavirus pandemic, owners want people in the area to think small this year while shopping for the holidays. After a lengthy shutdown and continuing as the pandemic stretches on, small businesses around the world are struggling to keep their doors open. Saturday is “Small Business Saturday,” and it’s on everyone to do their part to help. Kathy Hamlin Gay has owned Strictly Sportswear on Seven Mile Road in Detroit for 35 years. Like so many small businesses, the pandemic has taken a huge toll on profits, but by shopping at local businesses Saturday, residents can help make sure those shops continue to thrive.

When it comes to this election, should we worry about the winner tanking the stock market? A look back at historic market records for more than a century shows that under Democrats, the stock market returned an 11% return. So for everything presidential candidates do to make the other side cringe, when it comes to money, the winner doesn’t matter as much as people fear. “People were predicting if Obama got reelected the market would crash,” said Nathan Larsen, of Executive Wealth Management in Brighton. It went up.”Larsen said history tells us no single president causes a market crash merely by getting elected.

Gretchen Whitmer is touting that the state’s economy has rebounded since the start of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, but the outlook might not be as positive as she claims. Whitmer believes the economy is rebounding and prospering as a result of how effective her COVID-19 restrictions have been. It doesn’t take much searching to see signs of the economy struggling, such as a retail outlet going out of business. “I worked in prison systems, all sorts of things, and have never been scared,” Silverman said. There’s another side of the argument that says Michigan’s economy has shown positive signs.

Gretchen Whitmer is touting that the state’s economy has rebounded since the start of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and some trends support that claim. Whitmer quoted a CNN Moody’s analytics report saying Michigan’s economy has rebounded 87% since March. Local 4 did a deep dive Wednesday and found that there are some promising signs in terms of the economy. “Nobody knows how to navigate this, and I completely understand it, but we have to figure out, ‘How do we get open?’” Munster said. “Not when or if -- it’s how?”There’s another side of the argument that says Michigan’s economy still has a long way to go.

WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. The federal governments $600 per week coronavirus (COVID-19) unemployment bonus is set to expire by the end of the month, but will it be extended before then? Michigans economy is in a strange place, as businesses that have reopened are having a hard time finding workers who are making more money through unemployment. PREVIOUS: Will extra COVID-19 unemployment benefits be extended or replaced by back-to-work bonus? Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (D) got emotional Thursday while talking about the number of unemployed people across Michigan and the country. Part of the program extended benefits to many who otherwise wouldnt qualify, especially small business owners.

DETROIT In a new study from the University of Michigans COVID-19 survey in their Detroit Metro Area Communities study, the unemployment rate in Detroit is 45%. "The unemployment rate in the city of Detroit remains alarmingly high and has not changed very much in the past month. According to the survey, about 41% of working Detroiters say theyve lost their jobs because of COVID-19. Though many Detroit households continue to face difficult economic conditions brought on by the pandemic, survey results suggest that residents perceive the pandemic to be less serious now than in previous months. About 65% of Detroiters say the pandemic is very serious for them personally, compared to three-quarters of respondents in the previous survey wave.

NOVI, Mich. When major manufacturers shut down in March, many smaller producers in limbo. The small shop repairs and maintains manufacturing spindles, the parts that make the parts in some of Michigans largest plants and factories, including the Big Three Automakers. Through the pandemic weve had to do furlough, so weve gone down to as low as 50 percent of our workforce, Tom Hogan is Setcos director of North American sales said. On a tour of the shop, Hogan said once manufacturing reopened the back log of work was daunting. A problem faced by many other small producers which makes the recent rise in cases both in Michigan and across the country a looming threat.

MSCOMB COUNTY, Mich. – Small businesses have until June 24 to submit an application for Macomb County’s Small Business Sustainability Grant. “The business community in Macomb County has helped us respond to this public health crisis in so many ways,” Hackel said. “Our small business sustainability grant will aid us in reacting to the economic crisis we now face. Our objective is to inject much needed resources into our economy by supporting local companies.”The small business sustainability grant program and application process is currently open. The grants are part of the Macomb County CARES for Small Business Program, a $70 million initiative made possible through the county’s $152 million allocation of federal CARES Act funding.

Gretchen Whitmer announced a dramatic loosening of statewide coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions on Monday, but some popular businesses will remain closed. MORE FROM ROD MELONI: Broad takeaways from Whitmer lifting state’s stay-at-home orderThe stay-at-home order, which was originally announced in March, has been lifted. Monday’s changes could mean a lot of money staying in Michigan instead of going to other states. Michiganders near the border have started going to Indiana and Ohio for services such as nail and hair salons. Gyms, exercise studios, fitness centers, spas, hair salons and movie theaters are among the businesses that will remain closed.