MEDC pressed to better inspect grant expenses before doling out more money

Lansing — When the Republican-led Michigan Legislature and Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2022 handed out roughly $1 billion in pet project funding, one of the few strings attached to the money was a requirement that the grant recipients submit quarterly reports to the state to show how the money was being spent.

For close to three years, more than a hundred 2022 grantees have been submitting those reports to the Michigan Economic Development Corp. Some will do so for a year or more longer until their grants reach expiration dates in September 2026 that the state could decide to extend.