MARQUETTE — Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist spent time over the weekend in the Marquette area, where he attended community events and spread the word about new economic developments in the region.

Gilchrist was touting the state’s new Michigan Office of Rural Development and speaking about new financial opportunities for the Upper Peninsula provided by that office, as well as more than $100 million secured for the state by the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Gilchrist discussed with The Mining Journal several of the new policies and what they will mean for the U.P. and the state as a whole.

Earlier this month, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive directive creating the Michigan Office of Rural Development. The new office focuses on a wide range of issues, including sustainability, high-speed broadband in rural communities and affordable housing developments.

The office, as part of the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, has the opportunity to play a big role in the economic future of the U.P., Gilchrist explained.

“These small business programs are about protecting jobs and encouraging people with ideas to put those ideas into the world and make them real here in the U.P.,” Gilchrist said. “It’s about creating more pathways to jobs and opportunities in rural communities in Michigan.”

Another major issue in the U.P. and across rural areas of the state is a lack of access to high-speed internet. This mirrors the national situation, as according to the Federal Communications Commission, around 19 million Americans lack access to high-speed broadband, with nearly 15 million of those citizens living in rural areas.

“I’ve been this administration’s lead in expanding access to high-speed and high-quality internet. That office (of Rural Development) will be working a lot on that issue, as I think that is one of the key opportunities for growth and investment across rural Michigan and the Upper Peninsula,” Gilchrist said. “Companies like Highline are making deep investments in high-speed and high-quality gigabit internet services in the U.P.

“They have been a really interesting example of leveraging federal resources to get to do that. We’re expecting a lot more of that with the $100-plus million we are getting from the Infrastructure Investment Jobs Act that the president signed in November.”

Highline Internet is an internet service provider that works to bring internet access to rural areas around the country. Last week it announced that it finished installing over 200 miles of fiber-optic cable — which supports broadband — in Delta County.

Last week, U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Hills, and U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, announced that $479 million of funding will be appropriated for the Army Corps of Engineers to complete the building of a new lock at the Soo Locks, a project that has been in the works since 1986.

“The Soo Locks is an amazing feat of engineering. It is the definition of critical infrastructure,” Gilchrist said. “This funding for the completion and expansion of the Soo Locks is more than one generation in the making. I’m so excited to see this happen and I’m proud that this administration has got this across the finish line. It’s going to be a game-changer for our economy and the resilience of our economy.”

Sustainability is also a focus of the new office.

“Strengthening our state’s response to the changes happening to our climate is a big priority for us. It needs to be a big priority for everyone, frankly,” Gilchrist said. “We have an opportunity to slow what’s happening and change our relationship to what’s happening. This is about controlling what we can control.

“Making the choices that we can make when it comes to our energy mix, when it comes to the investment and employment decisions we are making at the state (level.) It’s providing access to alternate energy sources and having a grid that can distribute the energy produced by those sources, in the U.P. and other parts of Michigan. That will require investment, but that investment, I think, will pay off.”

He said he recognizes the value — and vulnerability — of the region’s climate and resources.

“We are such a resource-rich state that has some unique vulnerabilities when it comes to the changes that are happening in the climate,” Gilchrist said. “God made us stewards of this land and these waters. The folks in the U.P. have a unique understanding of that responsibility and that stewardship.”

Gilchrist also spoke about the administration’s goals this year.

“The governor and I have been really consistent. We wanted to make an impact on access to jobs and the economy. So we want to continue to build on that. Last year we added 145,000 jobs to the economy here in Michigan,” Gilchrist said. “We’re going to build on that, expand on that. Expand access to opportunities and position people for success.”

According to Gilchrist, this is his sixth time since holding office that he has visited the U.P. and repeatedly expressed a reverence and appreciation for the area.

“This is Michigan. I have a responsibility to serve the entirety of our big, beautiful state. Spending time here in the U.P. is very important to me.”