News & Editorial from Amy Clickner and Lake Superior Community Partnership, sharing the U.P. Perspective:

We have been quite busy at the LSCP with the many events that take place in the first quarter of the
year. From the UP200 Marquette County Ambassador receptions and the Operation Action U.P. Annual Meeting to the LSCP’s Annual Meeting and Annual Dinner, it is nonstop.

Today I would like to provide you the highlights of our “2019 Year in Review” presented to board members and investors during our Annual Meeting on February 12. You can also find our 2019 Annual Report online at marquette.org/about/annual-report/ for additional details.

As I have mentioned, we provide business development services to companies/nonprofits of all size, all stage and all sectors. In 2019, our staff worked with over 500 clients in Marquette County. Add in the services we provide in Baraga and Dickinson counties and over 700 clients were served! Since 80% of a community’s growth comes from within, the time spent with existing and startup businesses is critical to economic success.

Of these clients, 84% were in retention/expansion, 13% startups and 3% attraction prospects. Since we serve the entire county, client distribution is also measured and falls along the lines of the population in each area. The LSCP served 359 clients in the City of Marquette area, 84 clients in the west end and 40 clients in the southern region of the county. 18 of our clients were considered “non-region specific” meaning they either didn’t choose their location or they’re outside of the county. 

Overall, in the past 5 years, we have served 2,339 clients, 1,900 in retention/expansion, 353 start ups and 86 attraction projects. These companies combined had 3,915 new jobs projected, 267 jobs retained and over 61,000 jobs impacted.

Lastly, if economic development is successful, we must see positive movement in our regional wealth indicators. Since we track these as well I can tell you that over the past five years we have seen a flat population, 6.2% increase in property tax revenue, 13.5% increase in median household income and 8.5% increase in per capita income. Add to that 22.2% increase in median home sale pricing and an 8.5% increase in home sales and you can understand why Marquette County is an attractive place to live and do business. Check out these figures and more on our website dashboard! 

A special thank you to the LSCP Board of Directors and investors who give us the time and resources to make sure these critical business development services are available in our region. We couldn’t do what we do without the support.