Governor Snyder laid out his vision for Michigan in tonight's State of the State Address.We sat down with the chairmen for the Republican and Democratic parties in Marquette County, Dan Adamini and Ben Bohnsack as they watched the speech.
Governor Snyder began his speech by highlighting all of the positive things that the state of Michigan accomplished this year.
He was satisfied with the state having the lowest unemployment rate of 9.3% in three years, the booming auto industry, and the agricultural industry.
"Our unemployment rate in the last twelve months has dropped from 11.1% to 9.3%. In November, we dropped below 10% for the first time in three years," Governor Snyder said.
However, Governor Snyder said was disappointed with the quality of education students are receiving.
He said 17% of students are not college-ready by the end of high school.
The governor also added that he is working with legislators to re-vamp the mining and timber industry, which hits home with people living in the UP.
"I was glad that he seems to be a believer, in our Michigan 1.0 as he would have referred to it. You know, timber and mining are still a very important part of our culture up here, and its one of the great resources we got for the economy," Republican Chairman Dan Adamini said.
"New mining in the Upper Peninsula is very important to our economic development, and there's a bill that's been going through the state legislative process, which could erode very much the ability of the UP to benefit that development," Democratic Chairman Ben Bohnsack said.
For 2012, Governor Snyder wants to focus on improving public safety, the local environment and preserving the great lakes, and creating more lobbying and campaigning laws.
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