Gov. Jennifer Granholm visits the Upper Peninsula, touts growth, investment, innovation

Governor Jennifer Granholm made her last visit to the Upper Peninsula as the state's leader a big one.

She spend two days visiting the cities of Kingsford, Marquette, Escanaba, Manistique and Sault Ste. Marie before heading back downstate to lead her state through the final months of her administration.

"This is my last year as governor, and I hope that I will still be invited back," says Granholm, speaking before a crowd of people during the Governor's Luncheon at the U.P. State Fair last Friday. "I really have appreciated the welcoming spirit that I have felt in coming to the U.P. every year. I am grateful to the many friends that I have made throughout the years. I know that this has been a tough period of time, and I know that I may not have always made decisions that you agree with, but I just want you to know that whatever the decisions were, whatever the actions are that I took, it was all because I so deeply love this state and this region. It's been a privilege continuing to be your friend."

There was a sincerity in her words. While every governor has their supporters and their opponents, Granholm has always shown that she held the U.P. in a special place in her administration. She rarely hedged at making a trip north of the Mackinac Bridge.

Her trip this time around found her spending two days talking to the people of the U.P. and admiring the work that has been done to forward the progress in a day and age when the entire state is struggling economically and looking for a way to push onward.

"This project represents exactly what we as a state are trying to move into-economic diversity," says Granholm while helping break ground on a new $5 million facility coming to Kingsford and being built by the Oldenburg Group.

And that wasn't the only financial commitment to the area Granholm attended. She took a flight out of Manistique and landed in Sault Ste. Marie in time to be present at the ribbon cutting of the new War Memorial Medical Office Building--a structure that took less than a year to build with an investment of $9.6 million.

"This transformational project in Sault Ste. Marie was a real team effort and shows what public-private partnerships can accomplish," Granholm says. "Not only will this project create new jobs today, it will serve as a magnet to attract additional investment and jobs to the community tomorrow."

And that's the key to the survival of the Upper Peninsula, and the rest of the state, Granholm says. Investment, diversification and keeping the young professionals who are attending and graduating from the state's colleges and universities.

She went on to say that Michigan can no longer be an economical leader by relying on the "low-skill" jobs, such as those that are completely repetitive in nature.

"We can't keep the kind of businesses that are low-skilled business; the sort of repetitive motions kind of jobs that have left," she says. "We can't delude ourselves into thinking that those are all going to come back in a global economy, because they aren't. What we can do is compete for the kinds of jobs that we know we can do. High-end manufacturing jobs. Jobs that require a level of skill and a level of quality that manufacturers aren't going to find, necessarily, in third-world countries or low-wage countries."

The key, she repeated at several of her stops, is diversity. She used battery companies that have moved to Michigan in the past few years for a piece of the up-and-coming electric car development as an example. She ran off stage in Marquette and grabbed her cell phone, revealing the lithium battery beneath the casing.

She explained the U.S. doesn't want to depend on foreign oil, so companies are focusing on building cars that can run on batteries. In the past year, she says, 16 companies in the battery business have moved to the state and are expected to create approximately 62,000 jobs.

Several times, Gov. Granholm showed her emotions during her trip to the U.P. At the State Fair, she choked up slightly while talking about her time as governor over the past eight years. In Marquette, emotions welled up as she talked about how much she cares about Michigan as a whole.

"And whether you've agreed or disagreed with the decisions that I've made, I just want you to know I've made them purely out of love for this great state," she says.

She's going to be missed by many, even those who have struggled with her over budget issues and challenged her throughout her two terms in the governor's seat.

"It's been a great eight years with Jennifer," said Sen. Mike Prusi. "There have been some difficult times and tough decisions, but I wouldn't have wanted to have gone through it with anyone else. I'm going to miss her."

Sam Eggleston is the managing editor of the U.P. Second Wave and a full-time freelance writer. He was born and raised in the Upper Peninsula. He can be reached via email.