Michigan handed out more than $1.6 million in Rural Development Fund grants on September 9, and eight of the nineteen projects went to the Upper Peninsula. The money in that fund comes from taxes collected on mines, under Public Act 411 of 2012. Iron country pays in, and this round iron country took back about 40 percent of it.
The awards were announced together by the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, whose directors are Susan Corbin and Tim Boring.
The eight
Forsyth Forward, in Gwinn, took $100,000 to develop a regional non-motorized trail network. Black Pearl Estate in Paradise took $97,413 to turn an underused building into a hub for local producers. The Soo Locks Children’s Museum in Sault Ste. Marie took $92,830 to finish the interior work it needs before it can occupy the building.
The Cogswell Foley Group took $100,000 for a multi-season campground in Mass City. Watersmeet Township took $100,000 to install modern residential water meters. Kinross Charter Township took $56,000 to replace the fairgrounds grandstand and upgrade water and sewer.
Pickford Utility Authority took $48,058 to replace aging sewer equipment. The Negaunee Holdings took $40,000 for heating and fire suppression work at a new café. Add them up and the Upper Peninsula’s share is $634,301.
Most coverage counted seven
Regional reports put the U.P. total at seven projects and $534,301. The one left out is the Mass City campground, and Mass City is not a borderline case. It sits in Greenland Township, Ontonagon County, in the foothills of the Porcupine Mountains.
Eight projects, $634,301. It matters because the fund exists to send mine money back to rural places, and the running total is how anyone judges whether that is happening.
What the Gwinn grant actually buys
Planning, not trail. The grant pays Forsyth Forward to design a network, and WLUC reports the plan covers 10 to 15 miles of foot and bicycle path connecting Little Lake, Gwinn and Sawyer, with the planning work finished by spring 2027 and development starting after that.
Executive director Alan Cook told the station the project will be a “non-motorized multi-use trail.” No route has been published, and no construction money is attached to this award. Those are the two things to watch for between now and spring.
Who Forsyth Forward is
Forsyth Forward is new. WLUC covered its launch in January 2025 as an organization set up to help residents and businesses in the township, and it has since opened an office in Gwinn and joined Travel Marquette’s Junior Explorer program. A $100,000 state planning grant is a large piece of work for an organization that age.
That is not a knock. It is the reason spring 2027 is the date to hold the project to.
Why a mine tax pays for sewer pipe in Pickford
The Rural Development Fund was created by Public Act 411 of 2012 and is financed by tax revenue collected from mines. Eleven of this round’s nineteen awards came in at exactly $100,000. The money goes to rural projects across the state, not only to the counties the ore came out of.
That is the trade the U.P. made. The mines pay, and the fund spends the money on grandstands, water meters, campgrounds and trails in towns that would not otherwise be building any of it.
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How this story was reported
Editorial methodAnalysis
Last verifiedSep. 12, 2026
Corrections statusNo material correction note is recorded on this article.
AI assistanceResearched and drafted with AI tools. Reviewed and approved by editor Keegan O’Brien.
Verification note: Written 2026-09-12 from the state's own award announcement. The eight U.P. recipients and their amounts are taken line by line from the LEO and MDARD release, and the U.P. total of $634,301 is our own addition of those eight lines. Regional coverage counted seven projects and $534,301, leaving out the Mass City campground; Mass City is in Greenland Township, Ontonagon County, so the correction stands. The Forsyth trail specifics (10 to 15 miles, foot and bicycle, Little Lake to Gwinn to Sawyer, planning complete by spring 2027, the Alan Cook quote) come from WLUC and are attributed in the copy. Refused: any grant cap, since the release does not state one, and any route or construction cost, since neither has been published. Firsthand slot left open for a photo or a quote from one of the eight recipients.
Primary sources
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LEO, MDARD announce Rural Development Fund grant recipients promoting land sustainability and rural infrastructure — Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity and MDARD
Featured image record. Published Sep. 9, 2026. Accessed Sep. 12, 2026.
Additional reporting
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State grant helps fund Forsyth Township trail network — WLUC TV6
Featured image record. Published Sep. 11, 2026. Accessed Sep. 12, 2026.
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Seven U.P. Projects Awarded State Development Grants — Radio Results Network
Featured image record. Published Sep. 9, 2026. Accessed Sep. 12, 2026.
Supports: The count this piece corrects: seven U.P. projects totalling $534,301, omitting the Mass City award.
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Mass City, Michigan — Wikipedia
Featured image record. Accessed Sep. 12, 2026. CC BY-SA 4.0.
Supports: Mass City is in Greenland Township, Ontonagon County, in the Upper Peninsula.
Photo and media credits
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Gwinn Model Town Historic District 2009c.jpg (featured) — Andrew Jameson, via Wikimedia Commons
Featured image record. Accessed Sep. 12, 2026. CC BY-SA 3.0.
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ISS067-E-174345 Tilden and Empire mines — NASA, via Wikimedia Commons
Featured image record. Accessed Sep. 12, 2026. Public domain.
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Soo Locks (East) – panoramio.jpg — Bohao Zhao, via Wikimedia Commons
Featured image record. Accessed Sep. 12, 2026. CC BY 3.0.
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