By SHAINA STERNHELL
Capital News Service
LANSING – In the latest round of its grantmaking, Michigan’s Rural Development Fund has received nearly $11.5 million in requests and awarded $1.6 million to 19 projects that seek to meet the economic development needs of rural communities.
There were 120 applications for the program, according to Sarah Lucas, the director of the Michigan Office of Rural Prosperity.
The grants fund varied projects such as workforce development, childcare, food processing, infrastructure upgrades and recreation facilities that are aimed at attracting residents and visitors.
“The Rural Development Fund grants are designed to be flexible in order to support the full range of needs that rural communities are experiencing,” Lucas said.
Lucas said the state measures immediate project benefits and recognizes that community partnerships and development experience can have long-term benefits as well, Lucas said.
Projects can also create broader community benefits, including stronger partnerships among local, regional and state organizations and more experience navigating grant opportunities and complex development projects, according to Lucas.
For example, Laura Percival, the director of Michigan Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (MiSTEM) Region 12, said a $69,544 grant helped sustain career exploration camps and pre-apprenticeship programs for middle and high school students in Northeast Michigan after state funding was eliminated.
The region covers 11 counties: Alpena, Alcona, Montmorency, Crawford, Presque Isle, Otsego, Cheboygan, Oscoda, Ogemaw, Iosco and Roscommon.
Percival said some intermediate school districts in Northeast Michigan lack money for career and technical education.
The programs provide free career exploration camps and six-week academies, including ones in construction, welding and computer numerical control machining. In 2026, the camps and pre-apprenticeship academies in the region recorded 458 student registrations and resulted in 219 industry certifications, according to Percival.
One student started attending camps and then started a welding academy when he was 15. As a high school senior, he still takes machine shop classes, has an internship with a local business and is thinking about going into welding or machining, Percival said.
About 100 business and community partners participated in the programs last summer, she said.
“If they don’t know it exists – how can they pursue it?” Percival said. “If we want kids to stay and work in Michigan, we need to show them the opportunities. It must start early.”
In Shiawassee County, a $100,000 grant to Owosso Public Schools enabled the district to qualify for more grants and donations to build a barn to host its Future Farmers of America program, said Jessica Thompson, the district’s communications director.
Last spring, the district broke ground on a 40 x 60-foot building, which is scheduled to be completed next year. Students in agriscience courses will raise small animals in the barn, Thompson said.
The barn will be used to bolster career and technical education programs, enhance career readiness and increase hands-on learning for younger students, Thompson said.
There are nearly 100 Owosso High School students enrolled in agriscience classes, Thompson said. The district also expanded an agriscience elective to middle school students, who started an FFA program this fall.
In Hastings, Mill Street Market is developing a facility to connect local farmers with customers and give food entrepreneurs access to commercial equipment, said Allison Hinton, the organization’s president and CEO.
The grant will pay for a refrigerated cargo van, technology and security systems. It was purchased with $35,000 of its $84,087 grant and will be used to collect products from local farms and increase distribution opportunities, Hinton said.
The market will also provide farmers with year-round retail space and commercial kitchens for entrepreneurs who cannot afford their own facilities.
“Our goal is not simply to sell local food. We want to help farmers and entrepreneurs build stronger, more profitable businesses that can grow and remain successful in our community,” Hinton said.
Construction of the 10,730-square-foot building is coming along, and the organization hopes to occupy it in late November. The opening will be a phased process, Hinton said, with the first phase expected to happen in late 2026 or early 2027.
The market will be located on Mill Street in the heart of the community, offering jobs for about 30 people, both full- and part-time, and will have a connection with over 50 local farmers and producers in its first year. The project will also feature a childcare center for up to 60 children, including 24 spots for babies and young toddlers, Hinton said.
The Soo Locks Children’s Museum in Sault Ste. Marie received $92,830 to renovate its interior, said Raquel Fernandez-Earns, the board president of the museum.
Construction started in April 2025 and the first phase, which involved drywall, paint and flooring, is finished, Fernandez-Earns said. There is still more work to do inside the museum, as well as interactive exhibits before it can open. The organization aims for the fall of 2027.
“The museum will provide hands-on, STEAM-based learning experiences for children ages 2–12 and their families throughout the Eastern Upper Peninsula,” Fernandez-Earns said.
“Located downtown, just one block from the Soo Locks, the museum will also add a year-round family attraction that complements our tourism economy and encourages visitors to explore local businesses and other downtown amenities,” Fernandez-Earns said.
The group is still raising money for exhibits and necessary resources for the opening, she said.
The next round of Rural Development Fund grants will provide $4 million in funding, with letters of intent due Nov. 2 and full applications due Feb. 17, 2027.