Lake Superior Community Partnership - Moving Forward Negaunee

Communities and their econo­mies are “ecosystems” made up of businesses, government, health care, service providers, infrastruc­ture, schools, and, of course, people. A healthy economy requires strong partnerships between all different parts of the community, and success­ful communities are those that work together with partners to strengthen all parts of the ecosystem, by invest­ing in the infrastructure, environ­ment, services, and people that make a community a desirable place to live and do business.

The Lake Superior Community Part­nership (LSCP) is a private-public partnership in Marquette County that works to facilitate those connec­tions. With a mission to promote and advance economic and community development, the LSCP has served a business resource in Marquette County since 1998, working with part­ners to create jobs, retain existing business, and attract new businesses to our region.

The LSCP works closely with local governments to support econom­ic development and investment. City staff and officials are important leaders in economic development, providing the support and invest­ment in community infrastructure that’s needed to support and grow business. The City of Negaunee has been an especially active champion for economic development, investing in the community, developing action plans for growth, and building strong relationships with partners to expand its capacity.

LSCP works to share information not just with residents, but local officials as well. The City’s relationship with the LSCP brings important updates and resources, including weekly newsletters and legislative updates, along with data and research ser­vices like wage studies, economic im­pact studies, and marketing analyses – critical components of any business planning, whether it’s for a start-up or expansion. These resources are available on request, and can sup­port both City and business decisions about the local market, workforce changes, and more.

Even as the pandemic rocked our old assumptions and expectations, the solid foundation for economic devel­opment and investment in Negaunee paid off: new businesses are open­ing, property owners are investing in the downtown, and businesses and developers are taking a keen inter­est in the opportunities available in Negaunee. The LSCP is proud to be a partner in this success, and looks for­ward to continuing to work with the City as it “moves forward” into greater economic prosperity.

 “We know that these and other economic develop­ment efforts on the part of

the City, LSCP, and oth­er partners are successful when businesses grow and thrive –

and all indications are that growth is happening in Negaunee.”  ~ Sarah Lucas

Together, the City of Negaunee and the LSCP have been working to im­plement the City’s economic develop­ment strategy, known as Moving For­ward. LSCP’s marketing staff works with the City of Negaunee to create marketing products and campaigns to communicate with residents about how their tax dollars have been, and will be, used in infrastructure proj­ects and other activities. These com­munications are critical in building an understanding of local govern­ment spending and community im­provements, and the transparency in spending and planning enhances community engagement, participa­tion in, and support of local invest­ments and activities.

LSCP also provides business re­tention and expansion support to Negaunee businesses – an especial­ly important service in the time of COVID-19 and its ripple effects. In 2020, the pandemic upended all of our business models, forcing many to change services, offer new prod­ucts, close temporarily or perma­nently, and adhere to new safety re­quirements and guidelines; and the economic fallout brought a flood of new government programs to pro­vide financial support for struggling businesses. To make sure businesses have the resources and support they need to adapt and take advantage of new programs and resources, the LSCP team has been working to share information on funding opportuni­ties, changing requirements, and new tools to help businesses. Throughout 2020 and into 2021, the LSCP was a key point person for businesses that needed support or were working to access resources. In 2020 the LSCP served 95 businesses in the City of Negaunee.