MARQUETTE, Mich. (WJMN) – The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced Tuesday that Innovate Marquette SmartZone (Innovate Marquette), as well as three project partners in Northern Michigan University (NMU), Lake Superior Community Partnership (LSCP), and Michigan Works!, have been awarded a $700,000 Rural Innovation Stronger Economy (RISE) grant. The grant funds will be used to support the creation and management of the Marquette Outdoor Venture (MOV) Innovation Center.
Innovate Marquette included the following about plans for the MOV Innovation Center in a release:
The MOV Innovation Center will exist as an ecosystem of support to diversify and strengthen the rural regional economy by leveraging assets, increasing collaboration, and accelerating the growth of small businesses and jobs in the emerging industry cluster of outdoor recreation…