The Rural Insights Podcast

In this episode, David Haynes talks with Sara Cambensy, State Representative for Michigan's 109th District. Prior to her election to the state legislature, Cambensy served on the Marquette City Commission, Marquette Planning Commission and was the director of adult and continuing education for Marquette Community Schools.
David and Rep. Cambensy talk about issues affecting the U.P. that both she and the legislature will be looking at in the current legislative session, including Federal infrastructure funding and getting funding into programming like schools and mental health, a bill to help communities capture more revenue from transient housing driven by tourism, and how people in rural parts of the state--especially the U.P.--can have a bigger voice in Lansing when decisions are being made that affect these rural areas.

This video features our conversion with Brian Chapman, City Manager of Sault Ste. Marie and David Haynes, the Director and Editor of our Rural Insights Institute. He talks about current issues facing the Soo and future developments for the Soo.
The Soo is one of Michigan’s border communities with Canada, making it a truly an international city. The Soo is also home to a large federal workforce involved with the expanding Soo Locks and also home to a major hospital, War Memorial and to Lake Superior State University. This is a very interesting conversation with one of our major cities in the UP.

In this episode of the Rural Insights Podcast, David Haynes sits down with Dan Truckey, Director and Curator of the Beaumier UP Heritage Center at Northern Michigan University.
Topics discussed include Truckey's involvement at the Beaumier Center, career paths for students interested in history and heritage preservation, the legacy of Dr. John Beaumier, and what we can expect at this year's Sonderegger Symposium.
The Beaumier UP Heritage Center is a historical museum and educational facility that serves to promote and preserve the history and culture of the Upper Peninsula through an active slate of exhibitions and engaging public programs for the whole region. The center also collects and preserves artifacts related to the history of Northern Michigan University.

Before returning to his alma mater, Truckey served as executive director of the Grand Traverse Heritage Center in Traverse City. Previous employers included the Sioux City Public Museum in Iowa, Noah Webster House, the Connecticut Historical Society and the former Catskills Entertainment Hall of Fame.

Truckey is a folk singer-songwriter, and also enjoys downhill skiing, biking, hiking, playing tennis and spending time with his wife, Leigh Barry ('90)—whom he met at NMU—and their two kids, Thomas and Josie.

This episode features Dirk Wierenga, director of Route 2 Elsewhere, a documentary which “tells the story of challenges that face rural America communities adapting to a changing economy, from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to Montana” and his colleague Paul Sturgul who helped promote the film.
In this episode, David talks with Dirk and Paul about the documentary, their backgrounds, and aspects of rural culture and rural living as it pertains to the Upper Peninsula.

David Haynes sits down with Dr. Coby Fletcher, Superintendent of the Escanaba Area Public School District. His district--one of the largest in the Upper Peninsula--encompasses a kindergarten center, lower elementary school, upper elementary school, junior high school, and senior high school, which combine for a total enrollment of 2,150 students, a staff of 280, and a $24 million budget.

Dr. Fletcher discusses what led to him eventually becoming Superintendent of a UP school district, shares details on Escanaba's early middle college program, the initiatives they are taking to prevent high school dropout, initiatives to help improve students' mental health, and much more!