Hosting the Three Things call-in show - L-R Morning Edition Host Christina Shockley, John Bebow of The Center for Michigan, and Jennifer Goulet of Art Serve Michigan.

Every Michigan resident is familiar with the economic challenges facing the state. From job losses to foreclosures. The challenges we face are daunting. No single person can fix all the broken pieces of the state. But Michigan Radio has been on a quest this year to learn about the little things each of us can do to make a difference.

All this year, Michigan Radio’s Morning Edition Host Christina Shockley has been talking to people from across the state about ways to improve Michigan. We call it the Three Things Series because we asked each person for three ways that ordinary Michiganders could help the state.

The response has been amazing, generating hundreds of ideas for each of us to consider and act upon. From recycling to community organizing to drinking more Michigan beer, the ideas we’ve received have been a diverse collection of potential ways to improve both the state and our attitudes towards it.

We concluded the Three Things Series with an hour-long call-in show. You can hear it here:

To download this MP3 or listen on a smartphone that doesn’t allow flash, click here:
Three Things Call-In Show

When we first started the series earlier this year, one of our first guests for the Three Things Series was Michigan-born actor and musician Jeff Daniels. He quickly voiced an idea that was echoed by many of our guests:

“When you have some money, spend it locally. You can go to the big chain stores that really are just looking at a whole national, maybe even international, picture when you’re buying a hammer. But I would suggest you go to that local hardware store There are people that were really hit hard, and they’re still keeping their doors open.”

Throughout the Three Things Series, we often heard guests calling for Michigan residents to inform themselves more rigorously about the state’s political, economic, and environmental issues.

Thomas Lynch, a Michigan author, poet, and undertaker, had an interesting twist on this idea, calling on Michiganders to turn off the television:

“I think we should make every effort to be better citizens. For me, I think that means swearing off of the TV from five o’clock in the evening until ten o’clock at night when I’m usually safely asleep in the chair, and spending that time going to other sources for our news and information.”

Some people turned to the environment for inspiration.

Matt Dunstone, a filmmaker from Michigan urged Michigan residents to visit locations in the state that have been damaged by environmental degradation or disaster:

“Immerse yourself in the bounty of Michigan’s incredible natural environment, but, each time you search out the most beautiful parts, also take a little time to search out those sites near you with some scenic shortcomings or even physical damage and learn about them. We need to somehow learn to love these places the same way we do the lakeshore and trails.”

Whether it’s learning to appreciate every inch of Michigan’s landscape or spending more money locally, we’ve heard a wide array of ideas this year, and we thank you!

In 2011, we look ahead. Be sure to listen and watch for our series on what things are working in our state.

And if you have some ideas about what’s working, let us know!

All this year, Michigan Radio’s Morning Edition host Christina Shockley has been asking people from across Michigan for the their ideas on how to improve things. The series is called 3 Things and today, we hear from Jack Kresnak, President and CEO of Michigan’s Children.

Mr. Kresnak begins by encouraging Michigan to focus more on the development of children during the first few years of their lives. He says, “We cannot start talking about a bright future for Michigan without including the children who will be our future.”

Unfortunately, Kresnak says that one out of every four children in Michigan currently live below the poverty line. “Those earliest years in life are the most critical for these kids,” Kresnak continues, “Certainly families living in poverty are at a high risk of having a toxic environment for these children.”

As to how individuals in the state can help children living in poverty, Kresnak says, “We need advocates. We need people to speak up on behalf of our children and our future workforce.”

With a new governor set to take over in Lansing, Kresnak is optimistic about the possibility of child well-being becoming a major priority in the state. “For every dollar invested in quality early childcare and early-childhood education programs, the State saves seventeen dollars,” says Kresnak, adding, “In 2009, the state saved 1.1 billion dollars with its investments in early childhood. We could save a lot more.”

Mr. Kresnak focuses on increasing access to health care for children for his second idea. While there are doctors and pediatricians who accept Medicaid in Michigan, their numbers are decreasing rapidly. “The State continues to cut the rates for reimbursements for those physicians,” says Kresnak, “In 2005, because of budget problems, they cut four percent in the reimbursement rate for pediatricians. In 2010, they cut another eight percent in reimbursement rates, and this means that fewer and fewer physicians are willing to accept Medicaid patients.”

To illustrate this problem, Kresnak points to the current situation in Detroit. He says, “There are only five pediatricians in the city of Detroit to handle well over 100,000 children. So, many of those kids have Medicaid, but they don’t have access to a physician willing to accept Medicaid.”

Meanwhile, Kresnak says that politicians in Lansing are passing up federal funds aimed at helping states provide access to health care. “There’s 100,000,000 dollars of federal money that Michigan has let go. But because we can’t afford or we won’t pay for the twenty-five percent match, we’re letting other states get that money.”

Since children aren’t likely to contact Lansing about the scarcity of physicians who accept Medicaid in their area, Kresnak says Michigan citizens must speak up for them. “This is a critical need,” says Kresnak, “The future of our state cannot be healthy if our children are not healthy.”

For his final idea, Kresnak says Michigan needs to develop a “cradle-to-career vision” for its children. He says that Michigan’s problems with education cannot be solved without focusing on the very earliest stages of childhood development. “Without the investments in young children, the state’s attempts to improve schools will not succeed,” he says, “And without investments in these same young people who struggle to stay engaged with school, or who have already become disengaged, the state’s attempts to expand access to higher education and modernize our economy will not work.”

Rather than having educational policies aimed at certain segments of childhood development, Kresnak argues for a more holistic approach. “Our problem is we have too many silos of funding and policies that affect certain segments of children aged zero to twenty,” says Kresnak, “If we had, for example, a P-20 council in our state, like thirty other states do, we could better coordinate the services and target those vulnerable children who need the help.”

- Eliot Johnson

To start, Ms. MacDonald encourages Michigan residents to make commitments to their communities. Rather than limiting the idea of community to geographically bound areas, MacDonald considers all communal relationships as forms of community, beginning with the family. On her trip from Detroit to Toledo, MacDonald met with many people who had deep relationships with where they lived and where they came from based on family history.

MacDonald says that having a connection to a physical location or to a place in time allows people to feel a sense of belonging. “If you feel a part of something, you’re going to care more than if you feel more transient,” says MacDonald, “Whether you feel transient where you live or your feel transient where you fall in history, you’re not going to have that commitment to wanting to invest yourself and your energies into a place.”

For her second idea, Ms. MacDonald urges everyone to develop a passion. On her trip, MacDonald says she met people with various passions and witnessed the positive impact that pursuing those passions had on their lives.

At Fort Wayne, MacDonald met with volunteers who were fixing up the historic fort because they shared a passion in its history. “They’ve turned their passion into making a difference,” says MacDonald, adding that if you develop a passion and pursue it, “you’ll become excited about what you do, you’ll talk to people about what you do, and they become excited, too.”

MacDonald’s final idea is to promote communication through the creative process. On her trip to Toledo, MacDonald and her group of artists invited local residents to an art show featuring art inspired by the communities they travelled through.

At one point, a woman approached a painting done by Ms. MacDonald and proceeded to tell her a story about the location featured in the work and what the painting was communicating. MacDonald says that while the woman interpreted the painting in a way that wasn’t intended, the fact that she had a connection to the piece is what’s important. “What I discovered is that if you leave your creative endeavors out there, people bring their stories,” says MacDonald.

Communicating through the creative process could help the state because, in its simplest form, creating art is a way to give back to your community, says MacDonald. Whether it’s a painting, a poem, or a song, by creating art a person can give something to their community that has an untold value. Beyond simply contributing to the artistic culture of a community, MacDonald says that creating art invites dialogue. “Maybe that’s what it is in the end, is that you’re inviting dialogue with people, and by acknowledging your creativity, inviting them to bring their stories,” says MacDonald, “Maybe dialogue is the best thing we can do for the state, and getting us to the next stage, whatever that is.”

- By Eliot Johnson

Ms. Schaller begins by encouraging everyone to exercise regularly. As someone who’s suffered from cystic fibrosis, Schaller says exercise has greatly benefited her health. Not only has running kept her healthier, Schaller says it’s also saved on health care costs. She says, “I noticed, the more running I did, the less hospitalizations I needed, the less courses of antibiotics I needed, so right there’s reducing health care. So if we can get the whole state to get active, you won’t have diabetes, you won’t have pre-diabetes. Let’s get moving and let’s cut health care costs.”

In addition being more physically active, Ms. Schaller wants Michiganders to start eating more healthily. She urges people in the state to eat more fruits and vegetables, especially those grown in Michigan. Schaller says no matter where you are in the state, there is locally grown produce nearby. “In Detroit there’s urban farms,” says Schaller, “And then if I travel to the west side of the state to visit my brother in Grand Rapids, there’s blueberries. You can buy, like, a huge, huge bushel of blueberries for two dollars and it’ll last you two months… Let’s support these guys. Instead of buying an orange from South Africa, let’s buy some blueberries from Grand Rapids or heirloom tomatoes from downtown Detroit.”

For her final idea, Ms. Schaller thinks the state would be better off if more people spent time and money in Detroit. While many people don’t think of Detroit as a great place to shop, Schaller says that Detroit has a lot to offer, especially when it comes to food. “You can go to Eastern Market,” says Schaller, “You can support incredible bakeries. Avalon Bakery is an organic bakery and they use local products… Supino Pizza uses local ingredients. And then there’s Pure Detroit, which is a store of all things Detroit, three locations downtown, and their focus is just getting Detroit out there.”

While Schaller admits, “I’m obsessed with food,” she says there are plenty of other things to be excited about in Detroit. “Detroit is the heartbeat of Michigan” she says, “It’s where the industry started, and obviously we’ve had some problems recently, but if we can get that back on track – bring people down to Detroit – there’s so much development in housing, supermarkets hopefully coming, and kids. I mean, Wayne State has a lot of students… and they are living in Detroit and thriving in Detroit. So, if we get Detroit back on track, it’ll just radiate through Michigan and we’ll be rockin’.”

- By Eliot Johnson

Each week, Morning Edition Host, Christina Shockley, talks with people from around Michigan about what three things residents could do to help improve the state. This week, Christina speaks with Cal Morgan, President and CEO of the Michigan Humane Society.

Mr. Morgan begins by urging Michigan residents to donate to their favorite charity. “If you look at the work that’s done by charitable organizations across every community of our state,” says Morgan, “it’s very clear that there’s a huge value add by all of us getting behind the work of local charities in our communities. We, at the Michigan Humane Society, certainly need people to step forward. We have no government funding coming into our organization. So we rely on truly the generosity of individuals in the community to support us.”

Morgan says it’s not hard to see the potential benefits of better funding for charities across the state. “There’s such a gap between what government can provide for people and what the needs are in every local community,” says Morgan, “You can take a thousand examples across the state and look at the work that’s being done for the improved health of our community – looking at services to children, services to families, in our particular case, services to families and their animals and their companion animals, and public safety improvements – all of those kinds of things would be enhanced if charities were in a better financial situation.”

For his second idea, Mr. Morgan encourages people to get involved by donating their time to organizations they support. “Across our country, we have, from our beginnings, had a history in the United States of really volunteering and stepping up and working for a greater cause” says Morgan.

In particular, Mr. Morgan sees an enormous potential in a certain demographic of Americans. He says, “I was reading recently about the fact that seventy-seven million boomers are going to begin turning sixty-five in January of next year, 2011. And the front edge of the boomers will now be moving into those retirement years, and what a fantastic opportunity for people who are ending their working careers to just transition to a volunteer basis. That’s an enormous resource of time and talent.”

Lastly, Mr. Morgan wants people to speak up about whatever issues they are passionate about. “Be more vocal about it,” says Morgan. At the Michigan Humane Society, Morgan says every person involved is an automatic ambassador, responsible for raising awareness about the cause of the organization. He says, “If we can talk to one another in our society, and dialogue, and create awareness about issues, it will help all of us do a better job of both understanding the needs of others in our world, and then challenging ourselves to mobilize to try to do something about it.”

- By Eliot Johnson

All this year, Michigan Radio’s Morning Edition host Christina Shockley has been asking people from across the state for their ideas on how to improve things in Michigan. Today, we hear from filmmaker Adrian Walker.

Mr. Walker begins by urging Michiganders to be proactive about their entrepreneurial ideas. He says that great things can happen when people begin to act upon their dreams and take the first steps towards making them a reality.

Walker uses his own path to becoming a filmmaker as an example. He says he started by recognizing his desire to be a filmmaker, and then realized he had to take action and make an independent film if he was ever going to fulfill his dream.

“The next thing you know, now we have our first feature film completed, and I didn’t come from film school,” says Walker, “So, even though the idea seemed very outlandish to almost everyone I talked to at the time, we’re a year and a half later now with a completed feature film that will be premiering here in Ann Arbor.” If everyone in Michigan took the same type of initiative, Walker says people would discover that they have skills they didn’t even know they had.

Walker’s second idea for Michigan is to support the arts. He believes that the arts will be a major part of Michigan’s resurgence, especially in southeast Michigan. He says, “A lot of people would say, ‘Well, you know what? That’s not sustainable. That’s not a huge industry. It’s not what we’re used to.’ But, when you look at any major city that’s thriving in this country and around the world, they have a very vibrant arts culture. And what that does is it allows people to dream and to really be inspired.”

Walker says that inspiration from a strong arts culture can affect many aspects of a community, including the creation of jobs and a lifting of spirits more generally. As an example of what an emphasis on the arts can do for a region, Walker points to western Michigan, saying, “You can tell they’ve started to do this and take it very seriously. And if you look at their progress over the last five to ten years, I would say that that is directly correlated to that arts culture and supporting the arts.”

For his final idea, Mr. Walker wants Michiganders to recognize the importance of community networking. “Sometimes it’s tough to make the effort to get to know people in your community,” says Walker. But, stressing the need for people to recognize their shared interests and activities, he adds, “When you’re looking at the economic situation in Michigan, that’s how businesses form, that’s how relationships form that can help drive things in the community… I think it’s a lot more crucial than a lot of people give it credit for.”

- By Eliot Johnson

Cathi Duchon is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Ann Arbor YMCA. Today she speaks with Morning Edition Host Christina Shockley about her three ideas to improve the state of Michigan.

Ms. Duchon begins by urging residents to support the development of children in their communities. At the YMCA, Duchon says, “We’re for the development of every child, and finding the positive in them… We are all about encouraging them and giving them positive feedback all the time.”

But Duchon says that everyone should take on the responsibility to provide support and encouragement to the children in their communities. “We all know kids,” says Duchon, “We all see kids very often. And so we can always do the encouraging part. We can always tell them that they’re making a difference… It’s easy, it’s free, and we all have the opportunity every day.”

As to the benefits of encouraging youth development, Ms. Duchon sees supporting younger generations as an investment in the future. She says, “The more we do to bring our youth along, the better our state becomes. Kids will be the future of the state of Michigan.”

Ms. Duchon’s second idea is to promote active and healthy living across the state. As to how to live a more active and healthy life, Ms. Duchon says it’s easy: just move more. “Anyone can add steps to their day,” she says, “They can just take a few extra steps when they’re parked somewhere. They can take the stairs. They can make the choice to just increase their activity level, and that alone increases your health.”

Citing the high rate of obesity in the state, Duchon says it’s important and easy for Michigan residents to be a bit more active. She says some people might be intimidated by the idea of exercising, but that it’s important for them to know that if they simply “increase their walking, walking in ordinary ways and in common ways that they have an opportunity to do every day, they can increase their activity and therefore increase their health.”

For her final idea, Ms. Duchon urges everyone to be socially responsible and give back to their communities. She says social responsibility is an effort that everyone should share in.

As an example of an easy way to be socially responsible, Duchon explains how the Ann Arbor YMCA encourages every child who spends time at the YMCA to pick up three pieces of trash each day. She says, “Doesn’t that make our community a better place? And it teaches the kids that social responsibility is everyone’s job and it’s also very easy.”

Every Monday, we hear from a Michigander who has some ideas about how we can improve things in the state. Today, Michigan Radio’s Morning Edition host Christina Shockley speaks with Phil Johnson, a minister, author, and motivational speaker who lives in Grand Rapids.

Mr. Johnson begins by urging the residents of Michigan to take on a more positive outlook about the state and the economy. He suggests that rather than worrying about the state’s economic survival, we should start focusing on the state’s future with anticipation and pride. Johnson says we need to “reimagine Michigan as being prosperous and thriving.”

One problem, says Johnson, is that people in the state have become obsessed with thinking about their lives in terms of the recession. “People like agony, sometimes,” says Johnson, “I don’t think it’s really conscious, I think that’s the way it is. I think we need to move beyond that, to think in terms of thriving.”

Once we have envisioned a prosperous and thriving future for the state, Johnson says that we then must challenge one another to focus on achieving that future. When Michiganders can come together in efforts of creating the prosperous future they’ve imagined, Johnson says they are then able to “risk on purpose with a common purpose.” He adds, “When we challenge each other to refocus, then we commit with each other to move forward.”

Mr. Johnson thinks that one obstacle to envisioning a thriving future in Michigan is that many people have forgotten what good economic times were like. “Sometimes people have what I call ‘social amnesia,’” says Johnson, “They don’t remember when things were really hopping so they forget that there are good times, that there were good times, and that those good times may come again in different forms.”

For his final suggestion for the state of Michigan, Mr. Johnson says we need to encourage one another to rebuild Michigan. “We need to be good ancestors,” says Johnson, “That means engaging our hearts and minds to cope with what is certainly an uncertain world.”

Regarding the power of one individual to influence the thinking of everyone, Johnson references his work in Kenya, saying, “It’s kind of trite to say that one person can make a difference, but when I’m under a net in Kenya, and there’s one mosquito in the room, I’ll tell you it has quite an influence.”

In closing, Mr. Johnson quotes Ralph Waldo Emerson, saying, “Don’t go where the path may lead, but go instead where there’s no path and leave a trail.” Johnson adds, “I really believe that Michigan has a marvelous chance to come out of this recession blazing a new trail.”

- By Eliot Johnson

Dr. Matthew Davis is the Director of the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health, and he has three important ways for Michigan and its residents to combat the spread of childhood obesity. To begin, Dr. Davis stresses that reducing childhood obesity is a key to reducing adult obesity due to the development of lifelong eating and exercise habits during childhood. He says, “We know the patterns of adult obesity are set in childhood with respect to what you choose to eat, or like to eat, and also how much physical activity you get on a regular basis.”

Davis says that the benefits of reducing obesity figures in the state will work to make us healthier in a few different ways. “If we’re healthier adults we’ll be a healthier state, not just in terms of healthcare, but also in terms of ability to work without being injured, ability to stay healthy while working, and ability to pass on healthy habits to our kids,” says Davis.

As for his three ways to combat childhood obesity, Davis begins by focusing on portion size. He says, “When we go out and even when we eat at home, oftentimes the amount of food we’re putting on our plates is just too much.”

Dr. Davis encourages people to cut their portions in half and save the other half for another meal. He says, “It saves calories, saves fat, saves cholesterol, and oftentimes, saves money by stretching your food dollar a little bit longer.”

Dr. Davis’s second idea to reduce obesity involves reducing the amount of time we spend in front of televisions and computers. Davis says that when people spend time watching a screen, whether it’s the screen of a television, computer, or handheld device, they tend to not only be stationary, burning very few calories, but also to be eating simultaneously. “What we need to do,” says Davis, “is also split our screen time in half by trying to count up the number of hours we spend on the screen each day, and then split that in half and try to meet that as a goal.” He adds, “Instead of watching the screen, be active.”

For his final way to curb childhood obesity, Dr. Davis focuses on the consumption of soda by children. Davis says reducing the amount of soda consumed by children is “likely to be the most effective intervention in terms of what kids can stop eating or stop drinking.”

For a model of reducing soda consumption amongst children, Davis points to efforts aimed at reducing the number of young smokers. Citing a drop in the number of young consumers of tobacco following an increased tax on tobacco, Davis says, “It’s time for Michigan to seriously consider taxing soda pop as a way to try to reduce youth consumption of soda pop and try to generate some revenue, some tax revenue, in the state that the state can use for public health campaigns to help fight obesity in other ways.”

- By Eliot Johnson

With the elections in November nearing, Republican nominee for governor, Rick Snyder, has three promises to make to Michigan citizens. Snyder begins by promising to create jobs in the state. Specifically, Snyder zeroes in on the Michigan Business Tax, calling it “a job killer” and “fundamentally unfair.”

Instead, Snyder wants to replace the Michigan Business Tax with a flat, six-percent corporate income tax. “Let’s get that ‘Open for Business’ sign up,” says Snyder.

Mr. Snyder’s second promise is to restore Michigan’s cities, particularly Detroit. Snyder says the strength of Michigan’s cities is “fundamental” to the state’s success, adding, “We need to have a place, not only for the people living in those cities, so they have good opportunities to have a family life, to have a career there, but we need to open up our cities for our young people… They’re looking for an urban environment and we need to create that environment so they’ll stay here instead of going to Chicago or some other big city.”

As to how he plans to help Michigan cities, Snyder explains, “The role of governor is not to run a city, but it’s to partner with the people in the city and we can do a much better job of that.”

Speaking specifically of Detroit, Snyder says, “I believe Mayor Bing is doing a great job. And we’ve got good leadership there, but they need a partner in the State to be working with them.” Snyder says that the main challenge facing Detroit and other cities is not a problem of understanding what needs to be done. Rather, Snyder says the primary challenge is “the full implementation of the changes and the reforms that need to be made.”

For his third promise, Mr. Snyder draws on his business background, vowing to treat Michigan’s citizens as customers. The government in Lansing should be asking citizens two questions, says Snyder, namely, “How can we help you succeed?” and “How can we get out of your way?”

Snyder continues, “We need to show you value for money. We need to move away from the current bureaucratic model which is about spending billions of dollars on lots of activities, and we actually need to show that there’s some positive return on investment to society when we actually do work.”

“Fundamentally,” says Snyder, “government should be treating its citizens as a customer. That’s just something they deserve from many, many years, and it’s time to have that happen.”

As to the importance of his specific promises, Snyder says, “We need to get our state going. We’re suffering economically and we have a broken government… The role of government isn’t to create jobs. It’s to create an environment where jobs flourish.”

He adds, “If we want to have a flourishing quality of life and great places for our young people, we need to get our cities going.”

- By Eliot Johnson