Dan Gilmartin and Natalie Burg talk about aging in place on the Prosperity Agenda radio show.

From now until 2030, AARP predicts all 50 states will see a “rapid acceleration in growth” in their elderly populations as baby boomers turn 65.

During this month’s Prosperity Agenda radio show on News/Talk 760 WJR the Michigan Municipal League's Dan Gilmartin and guests talk about retiring baby boomers and the unprecedented opportunity they bring to cities and downtowns ready to accommodate them.

Several Michigan communities, such as Marquette, Holland and Howell, are already recognized for meeting this challenge and becoming thriving environments for retirees. The show airs 7 p.m. Wednesday on News/Talk 760 WJR, but you can listen to the show anytime here on our website or by podcast here. You can register now for the Age-Friendly Communities Conference coming Feb 28 to UM-Ann Arbor.

The host of the show is League CEO Dan Gilmartin and his co-host for this first show of 2013 is Natalie Burg, a writer and owner of Vial Half Full Communications. Natalie is a former Downtown Development Director in Owosso and now writes about cities, placemaking and downtowns for numerous outlets including Metromode and Ann Arbor’s Concentrate. Our other guests are Marquette City Manager Bill Vajda, Barbara Spreitzer-Berent, an urban planner and gerontologist who serves as volunteer state coordinator for health and supportive services for AARP Michigan; and Joe Borgstrom, director of downtown and community services division for the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA). The Prosperity Agenda is a monthly radio show that challenges listeners to help make Michigan a better place to live, work and play by creating vibrant and prosperous local communities. It airs on News/Talk 760 WJR on the fourth Wednesday of each month.

Matt Bach is director of media relations for the Michigan Municipal League. He can be reached at (734) 669-6317 or mbach@mml.org.

The League is again partnering with the MSU Land Policy Institute, Michigan Funders for Sustainable Regions and the Michigan State Housing Development Authority to hold the 2012 Michigan Land and Prosperity Summit.

This year's event, "Moving Michigan Forward: People, Places and Progress", will take place on Friday April 20th at the Kellogg Center in East Lansing. The conference will explore and showcase those public, private and nonprofit organizations that are working to move the state forward and reinvent Michigan.  

More information on the event and registration visit the summit website.

Arnold Weinfeld is Director of Strategic Initiatives and Federal Affairs for the Michigan Municipal League. He can be reached at 517-908-0304 or by e-mail.

League President and Hamtramck Mayor Karen Majewski and Bizarre Foods America Host Andrew Zimmern.

DETROIT, Michigan - If you want to be inspired by the many great things taking place in Michigan you need look no further than the Feb. 20, 2012, episode of "Bizarre Foods America: Detroit" on the Travel Channel that included Michigan Municipal League President and Hamtramck Mayor Karen Majewski.

Yes, the show was about host Andrew Zimmern tasting all the unique foods found in the Detroit area - from smoked pig's head in Detroit to a pljeskavica burger in Hamtramck to a break-the-fast Ramadan family feast in Dearborn. But it also shined a bright light on the Detroit area discussing the diversity and rich cultural heritage in southeast Michigan. It even included a great segment on the Detroit Mower Gang, a group of people making a difference in Detroit by mowing and maintaining parks that the city can no longer afford to maintain. The group cooks up raccoon among other things for Zimmern.

Prominently featured in the episode was Majewski. Majewski and Zimmern visit several restaurants in Hamtramck trying out a variety of foods in the highly cultural diverse Hamtramck. Majewski said she spent five hours with Zimmern and took him to Srodek's Quality Sausage, Sheeba's (Yemeni), Amar Pizza (Bangladeshi), and Palma Restaurant (Bosnian). The Palma segment is viewable only online.

"We really appreciated being included in this show that featured Detroit-area restaurants, markets, and other food venues," Majewski said. "Clearly, a whole series could be focused on the Detroit area alone. Hamtramck is well known for its variety of great food options, and the city shone in all its diversity and vibrancy. Andrew Zimmern couldn't have been more gracious, and his crew more fun to work with, during the five hours it took to shoot what ended up being a 15-minute segment. We hope he'll come back for more great food, and we hope other visitors will take the cue and eat their way around the world right here in Hamtramck."

The full show does a great job highlighting some of the "placemaking" assets the Michigan Municipal League believes make up great 21st Century Communities, including multiculturalism and diversity; cultural economic development and civic engagement.

In case you missed the show, there are several video clips of it on the Travel Channel's website. Here are some video and other links related to the show:

- Bizarre Foods America: Detroit summary
- Top 5 Moments in Detroit (includes footage of League President and Hamtramck Mayor Karen Majewski)
- Detroit Mower Gang Contest
- Cafe D'Mongo's Speakeasy
- Bosnian Food in Detroit (includes footage of League President and Hamtramck Mayor Karen Majewski)
- Photos of Bizarre Foods visit in Detroit
- Detroit Free Press article about the episode

Matt Bach is director of communications for the Michigan Municipal League. He can be reached at mbach@mml.org and (734) 669-6317. 

A new report by the Immigration Policy Center shows Michigan's immigrant population growing, excelling educationally and contributing to the state's economy.

Using the latest census data, the report shows that in 2010, immigrants made up 6 percent of the state's population or 587,747 persons.  This compares to 1990 when the figure was 3.8%.

Educationally, 36.8% of Michigan's foreign born population age 25 or older held a bachelor's degree or higher in 2009. This compares with 23.6% of native born persons age 25 and older.

Governor Snyder has already called for changes to allow for educated immigrant populations to enter and remain in the United States. And, one of the assets of vibrant 21st Century communities according to the MML "Center for 21st Century Communities" program is multiculturalism.

Arnold Weinfeld is Director of Strategic Initiatives and Federal Affairs for the Michigan Municipal League. He can be reached at 517-908-0304 or by e-mail.