We often talk about the importance of having great communities in our state. Communities can and should be the economic drivers of Michigan. A strong community encourages innovation and attracts residents, visitors, businesses and jobs. But every community is only as good as its people.

It takes people to make decisions and choices that make communities great. Sometimes these are not easy or even popular decisions. This takes leadership.

On this month’s Prosperity Agenda radio show on News/Talk 760 WJR we talk to some of those leaders and key people working to make Michigan’s communities great. Some of them were recently honored in Lansing as more than 400 local leaders from throughout the state went to the state’s capital for the Michigan Municipal League’s annual legislative conference (March 22-23, 2016).

My co-host for this show is the Kevin Elsenheimer, executive director of the Michigan State Housing Development Authority, which is also co-sponsor of our show. Our guests are Dearborn Mayor and Michigan Municipal League President Jack O’Reilly; Grand Rapids Mayor and Michigan Municipal League Vice President Rosalynn Bliss; former Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell; Marja Winters Farrow, of Benton Harbor and Detroit; and Ypsilanti Mayor Pro Tem Lois Allen Richardson.

The Michigan Prosperity Agenda is a monthly radio show that challenges listeners to help make Michigan a better place to live, work and play by creating vibrant and prosperous local communities. It has aired on News/Talk 760 WJR since 2010. The hour-long radio program is hosted by me, Dan Gilmartin, CEO of the League. The show is sponsored by the League and the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA). The show aired March 23, 2016, on News/Talk 760 WJR, but you can listen anytime at the League’s website or by subscribing to the FREE iTunes podcast. Learn more about the League’s placemaking work here on this blog.