Michigan Chamber of Commerce will be launching a statewide private health insurance marketplace; Chamber news: Des Moines #1, Omaha #3 on Forbes - America's 15 Best Cities For Young Professionals; Chamber issue: The Cost of Losing the Ex-Im Bank: Manufacturing Jobs in Illinois; U.S. Chamber affordability ranking: Students from around the world study in Oklahoma; Chamber of Commerce report: Indiana needs to better manage water supplies to meet future needs; Chamber news: Faribault, Minnesota community weighs in on tourism board; Chamber Joint Venture: Why North Dakota is doing caviar right; Wisconsin state rep Steineke receives award from chamber of commerce; Famous Chamber of Commerce Quotation (Attitude): Zig Ziglar

The Michigan Chamber of Commerce will be launching a statewide private health insurance marketplace – Michigan's Insurance Marketplace at www.MiChamberMarketplace.org – on September 1, 2014.  The marketplace was created to meet the growing needs of employers as they try to comply with health care reform and offer the best coverage available for their employees.

"Starting September 1^st, individuals and employers across Michigan, who can work with their licensed insurance agent of choice, will have a single source, multi-carrier, insurance solution for comparing and accessing available medical, dental, vision and supplemental insurance plans, as well as a wide range of other non-insurance related products," said Barry Robinson, Vice President of Chamber Services & Membership Development for the Michigan Chamber. "Also available in the marketplace are calculators to help determine federal subsidy eligibility and potential tax consequences for failing to enroll in qualified health plans." For more information: Michigan's Insurance Marketplace

Chamber news: Des Moines #1, Omaha #3 on Forbes - America's 15 Best Cities For Young Professionals

The American economy has pumped out more than 200,000 jobs a month for six months running, as of the latest (July) numbers. Still, more than 2 million college-educated workers age 25 or older are unemployed, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Workers age 25 to 34 face a 6.6% unemployment rate—the highest of any group other than the one encompassing new grads (ages 20-24).
But in Omaha, Neb., the situation is considerably better. Nebraska’s most populous city has an overall unemployment rate of just 4.1% (projected 2014, by Moody's MCO +0.71%), helping it to land the No. 3 spot on our list of America’s Best Cities for Young Professionals. It boasts a strong presence of large businesses (1 for every 810 residents) as well as small-to-medium ones (1 for every 52 residents). Warren Buffett’s hometown is headquarters to the Fab Five,  a group of Fortune 500 companies that includes Berkshire Hathaway , Union Pacific UNP +0.27% Corp., ConAgra Foods CAG +0.41%, Kiewit Corporation and Mutual of Omaha. San Jose-based PayPal chose to put its operations center there.Read more: Forbes

Chamber issue: The Cost of Losing the Ex-Im Bank: Manufacturing Jobs in Illinois

Ahead of the midterm elections, Members of Congress know that their constituents care about one thing above all others: jobs. With the effects of the Great Recession still lingering, America needs jobs more than ever. Nowhere will jobs and economic issues be more important than Illinois, one of the nation’s leading manufacturing hubs, making the fate of the Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) a top priority for the state. Franklin Roosevelt created the Ex-Im Bank in 1934 to help America move out of the Great Depression. The idea was simple: by financing the sales of American exports when the private market would not, high-paying jobs could be created and sustained.
Ex-Im has certainly helped Illinois, supporting 36,873 jobs in the state since 2007 by financing more than $5.7 billion of exports. Amazingly, it did this while returning over $1 billion to the U.S. treasury in 2013. However, Ex-Im’s charter expires on September 30^th, and without Congressional reauthorization, many manufacturing jobs in Illinois will be put at risk. Read more: U.S. Chamber

U.S. Chamber affordability ranking: Students from around the world study in Oklahoma

Officials with Oklahoma State University and the University of Oklahoma expect each campus will have about 2,000 students from other countries for the fall semester. A growing number of international students who arrived on the East and West Coasts are making their way inland to study in Oklahoma. Officials with Oklahoma State University and the University of Oklahoma expect each campus will have about 2,000 students from other countries for the fall semester, which begins Monday.
Cost is a big factor, said Tim Huff, manager of international students and scholars at OSU.
“We’re extremely competitive,” Huff said. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce ranks Oklahoma higher education No. 7 in affordability. Read more: NewsOK.com

Chamber of Commerce report: Indiana needs to better manage water supplies to meet future needs

Indiana needs more money — and a single, state-level planning entity — to better manage its water supplies to ensure businesses and communities have ample water in the decades ahead, a report released Friday by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce concludes. Bloomington-based geoscientist Jack Wittman, who analyzed the state's water supplies and water use trends for the business group, said that unlike some water-hungry states west of the Mississippi River, Indiana's water is plentiful — in rivers, streams, reservoirs and underground aquifers. But the lack of detailed data on its aquifers' reserves and the absence of a statewide water-management plan put Indiana at a disadvantage when competing with other states to woo new water-dependent businesses, Wittman said. 

"There's enough water, but we need to change and be smart about how we optimize these resources," he said at a news conference. Indiana Chamber of Commerce President Kevin Brinegar noted that a University of Michigan study released last year found that Indiana's manufacturing-intensive economy is more dependent than any other state on abundant water supplies. Read more: The Republic

Chamber news: Faribault, Minnesota community weighs in on tourism board

In what Mayor John Jasinski and members of the Faribault City Council believe is the most public comments made during a council meeting, one thing was clear on Tuesday evening: The majority of Faribaultians stand behind the Faribault Area Chamber of Commerce and Tourism’s tourism efforts.
“I’m confident in their efforts to support our entire community,” said Todd Markman, president of Reliance Bank. Read more: Faribault Daily News


Chamber Joint Venture: Why North Dakota is doing caviar right

Thanks to the Bakken fracking boom, North Dakota boasts the fastest-growing wages in the United States by a long shot. It’s only appropriate that the state take its rightful spot in the nation’s swag echelon by producing its own caviar.

:
North Star Caviar, a joint venture between nonprofit organizations Friends of Fort Union and Williston Chamber of Commerce, harvests eggs from local paddlefish. Read more: Grist 

Wisconsin state rep Steineke receives award from chamber of commerce

Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, the state’s chamber of commerce, recently honored state Rep. Jim Steineke with the “Working for Wisconsin” Award at Expera Specialty Solutions LLC in Kaukauna.
The award is given to legislators who stand up for jobs and improve the state’s business climate by voting 80 percent or greater in support of the pro-jobs position on the WMC legislative scorecard. Read more: PostCrescent.com

Famous Chamber of Commerce Quotations (Attitude): 


“Winners Evaluate Themselves In A Positive Manner And Look For Their Strengths As They Work To Overcome Weaknesses.”  ― Zig Ziglar

 www.goodreads.com