rural policy

State & Hill

25 years of CLOSUP

Apr 11, 2026

When the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission faced a tidal wave of public input—more than 30,000 comments—the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP) and Ford School students stepped in. Their analysis helped the commiss...

News

Stephanie Leiser named director of the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP) as center marks 25th anniversary

Aug 28, 2025

Stephanie Leiser, an expert in public finance and local government fiscal health, has been appointed the next director of the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP) at the University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. H...

Stephanie Leiser: Helping local goverments in Michigan become healthier and more resilient

MPPS in the news

Biden Wants to Send Billions to Rural America, but This Must Happen First

May 26, 2024 The New York Times

President Biden regularly emphasizes how the major pieces of legislation he has signed — the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the CHIPS and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act — expand opportunities for Americans. This is especially tr...

MPPS in the news

Rural Prosperity Summit 2024 Recap

May 23, 2024 MI Office of Rural Prosperity

Over 275 attendees representing 91 rural Michigan communities attended the first-ever Michigan Rural Prosperity Summit on May 20, 2024. The Summit, hosted by the Michigan Office of Rural Prosperity, featured 19 speakers and panelists over 10 sessions...

MPPS in the news

Local Government Officials’ Assessments of Community Poverty in the Upper Peninsula

May 15, 2024 Rural Insights

Local government leaders in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (U.P.) are more likely to report significant unmet needs among their residents for anti-poverty resources compared with local leaders in the Lower Peninsula. U.P. leaders are also more likely to ...

In the Media

Ford School hosts talk on uplifting rural communities

Nov 16, 2023 The Michigan Daily

About 60 University of Michigan students and Ann Arbor community members gathered in Weill Hall Wednesday evening to listen to a conversation about rural communities and sustainability in the United States. Hosted by the Center for Local, State, and ...

CLOSUP Lecture Series

Rural Resilience: Stories of Hope and Innovation

Nov 15, 2023, 6:00-7:00 pm EST

Weill Hall, Betty Ford Classroom 1110

Join us for an intimate conversation between two leading voices for rural prosperity as they share experiences visiting rural communities across the country, and highlight inspiring stories from within the state of Michigan.

Case Studies

Rural Economic Diversification and Fiscal Stability: A Case Study of Lake County, MI

September 12, 2025

Yu-Yu Lin, Steve Kraft

This case study provides an in-depth analysis of the fiscal health and economic condition of Lake County, a rural Michigan community with a tourism-based economy. The county government’s fiscal position is stable in the short term, characterized by s...

MPPS

Close Up on the U.P.

September 2023

Debra Horner, Courtney Argall, Mia Brodeur, Joseph Hubert, Katelyn Jasmin, Tristin Smith

CLOSUP has partnered with the University of Michigan UP Scholars program and the online newsletter Rural Insights to use results from the Michigan Public Policy Survey to understand the unique experiences of local governments in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

MPPS

Close Up on Shiawassee

September 2026

Debra Horner, Laurie Platner

CLOSUP has partnered with the University of Michigan's Cook Scholars program and the Shiawassee County news "The Argus-Press" to use results from the Michigan Public Policy Survey to understand the unique experiences of local governments in Shiawassee County and across mid-Michigan.The "Close Up on Shiawassee" project works with data collected through the Michigan Public Policy Survey (MPPS), a census survey conducted since 2009 among all 1,856 local jurisdictions across Michigan, with a particular emphasis on the responses from local governments in Michigan's Shiawassee County and in mid-Mich...