We Love Where You Live

This week’s chat is a whirlwind tour, guided by our State and Federal Affairs team, of all that's gone down in Lansing in recent days. We do a deep dive into the “interesting” place we’re at in the budget process, eight days out from a government shutdown. We also have a conversation about election legislation bills, the status on tipping fees to curb out-of-state waste, and the Revenue Sharing Trust Fund. Finally, thoughts on last week’s Convention in Grand Rapids.

On this very special edition of Live with the League, we talk all things related to the $76 billion state budget that finally passed on Friday. John LaMacchia breaks down its effect on road funding, revenue sharing, the MI Home Program, and more. 

Testing new ideas—especially an entire framework of thinking—isn’t without risk and discomfort. But that’s just what the League has been working on over the past year. We’ve designed and refined tools to help Michigan’s local officials break out of silos and move their conversations and communities forward toward a shared vision. Herasanna Richards shares what two pilot facilitations of the thriving communities framework revealed to local leaders. 

No one wants to live in a place without stories. One source of stories? Architecture. Beautiful, historic buildings provide communities with important connection points, both physical and emotional. These are the places that make your town or city more than just a point on a map—they make it your home. Jack Brady explores some recent examples of Michigan communities preserving, revitalizing, and honoring their historic architecture.

The League’s own Murph, Policy Research Labs program manager, reflects on the lovely treescape of Grand Rapids’ Monroe Center Street.

In the final entry in our series about the 2025 Community Excellence Award submissions, we take a look at three Michigan cities in the process of tackling one of the biggest projects of all: reviving and reimagining their downtowns. 

In our series on the 2025 Community Excellence Award applicants, we visit two Michigan communities brightening their neighborhoods—and their spirits—with creativity. The City of Hart’s resident-let “community spirit initiative” is growing its regional reputation as a destination for public art, and the City of Portage is bringing competitive holiday cheer with its annual Tricked Out and Decked Out holiday home decoration contests.

In our series on the 2025 Community Excellence Award applicants, we take a look at three Michigan communities making the world just a little bit more sustainable and environmentally friendly. The Village of Roscommon and the City of Southfield created beautiful, educational spaces celebrating important wildlife, and the City of Birmingham developed an all-encompassing sustainability and public health plan for the years ahead.

We begin this week’s show with a wide-ranging conversation with Clare City Manager Jeremy Howard and Mayor Patrick Humphrey about the city’s downtown revitalization efforts, creative placemaking projects, municipal partnerships, and more. We then turn to our legislative update to discuss our new MI Home Program proposal—a set of tools to address the state’s housing crisis.

In our series on the 2025 Community Excellence Award applicants, we visit three Michigan municipalities that strengthened community bonds through revitalized third spaces. Big Rapids and Milford breathed new life into aging downtown parks, and Mt. Pleasant turned an unpopular parking lot into a thriving new town square.