The city of Bessemer is putting public/private partnership into action to help sponsor a valuable economic development tool to help in the community’s placemaking efforts.

City officials want to promote Bessemer with a promotional video to be featured on a series narrated by sports commentator Terry Bradshaw that would air in various markets around the country.

The city needs to raise $19,800 for the production, which would appear on “Rediscover America” in 19 regional airings on various ABC and Fox stations, in a segment called “Best Places to Live, Work and Play.” The city would own the video after it has aired and could then use it for further promotion.

The city council has approved spending $10,000 on the project and is reaching out to various community organizations and businesses for help with the balance.

Bessemer’s placemaking video  initiative includes a questionnaire sent out to officials asking about the city’s challenges and opportunities, what key message the show should convey to viewers, and the best locations and subjects to interview.

The city is also looking to tie into the state’s Pure Michigan campaign via its “Wilds of Michigan” theme (www.wildsofmichigan.com) which features the Porcupine Mountains and the old growth forests of the Ottawa National Forest among other Upper Peninsula attractions.

Bessemer City Manager Michael Uskiewicz has said that the region has long promoted outdoor recreation but this new initiative will be more focused, consistent and visible.

The Great Lakes Fishery Trust (GLFT) is now accepting grant proposals under its Access to the Great Lakes Fishery funding category. Proposals can be submitted online at www.glft.org and are due by Thursday, August 23, 2012.

The GLFT’s Access to the Great Lakes Fishery grant category focuses on significantly increasing access to the Great Lakes fishery for shore-based angling and tribal fishing. Up to $500,000 is available for access projects.

The key intended outcomes for access grants to be awarded under this RFP are to:

• Increase awareness of the GLFT as an access funder and increase the number of high-quality proposals received by the GLFT
• Enhance shore-based Great Lakes recreational and tribal angling opportunities through capital improvements where conditions are appropriate
• Ensure that all jurisdictions on Lake Michigan with suitable site conditions have a public access site
• Build consensus and knowledge among key stakeholders about the barriers to tribal access site development
• Create and implement plans to address barriers to the expansion of tribal access site development

The GLFT’s For detailed information on funding priorities and requirements, and to submit a proposal, visit the GLFT website at www.glft.org. The Great Lakes Fishery Trust will only accept proposals submitted online on or before 5:00 PM, August 23, 2012. If you intend to submit a proposal, contact the GLFT by e-mail (glft@glft.org) for a user name and password to access the new online system.  If you have questions regarding the grant category, please contact Jonathon Beard, Grant Manager, at (517) 371-7468.

What supports more than 6.5 million jobs and contributes $730 billion to the U.S. economy every year? Recreation.

Yep, that’s right. Here at home, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources reports that more than 22 million people visit our state parks and recreation areas each year, with Michigan State Park operations contributing $640 million annually to local economies.

And that isn't even touching on the vast variety of local parks and recreation facilities and programs found within our cities, villages and urban townships, and the civic engagement that's created and nurtured by the awareness that people care about and will support and work for the things that make their lives better and more enjoyable. Thankfully, more and more of us are realizing the value of all this to a community’s quality of life and its bottom line. As you thumb through this issue of The Review, you’ll find articles on successful park millages, how to market community events, recreation authorities, grant writing, and more that show the placemaking power of parks and recreation.

Civic engagement can be built around all kinds of ideas. Click here to read a powerful and inspiring story about civic engagement in Ypsilanti that is nurturing entrepreneurship to revitalize the city's historic downtown.

Click here to get started reading the whole issue online!

LANSING - The League held its first-ever Twitter Talk on transportation today at the Lansing office. Using new communication tools was a great way not only to spread the message, but to encourage participants to also think about the topic itself in new and innovative ways.

The dialogue was fast and furious, and was being echoed across the state in "real time" on Twitter. Much of the focus was on the need to develop a new dialogue that looks not only at how much we're spending, but on how and where we're spending it, at a time when people are re-designing their relationships to work and community.

Interesting fodder came from all the panelists, on topics like making sure public transit actually connects people to their jobs, and how safety and efficiency must be cornerstones to any successful transportation system. Some of the organizations tweeting and retweeting today included the Project for Public Spaces (an international nonprofit); Transport 4 America, a nationwide coalition focused on creating a national transportation program for the 21st century; Rustwire; Friends of Transit; and League of Michigan Bicyclists.

Hopefully the ripple effect will reach to the governor's office and beyond, showing that Michigan is engaged and energized on the subject of creating a new vision for Michigan's transportation system.

 Read more about the Michigan's Transportation Vision: A Twitter Talk on Twitter @letsavemich and @mmleague and the hashtag #mitransvision and here on this website.