(upbeat music) - So we are talking all things population and trying to grow this state's population.

You know, earlier this year, this big report from Citizens Research Council came out.

I think it really grabbed a lot of folks' attention saying Michigan was only second behind West Virginia in population growth.

- Yep.

- So then in May, there's the Mackinac Policy Conference, and you come out and you create the Growing Michigan Together Council.

This idea of trying to grow the state's population, you name the state's first, and actually, I believe she also likes to say the country's first Chief Growth Officer.

- That's right.

- Tell me about this council.

Tell me why, and what are you looking for?

- Well, listen, here's what we know.

In the last census, we saw growth, but it was minuscule and we lost a congressional seat from it.

As we are seeing economic growth happen in Michigan, we need people to do the jobs.

We wanna make sure Michigan's a place where people will come and build their lives or people will stay here and thrive.

And we can get that kind of long-term view and investment.

With climate change, the whole world's gonna be looking to move to the Great Lakes.

That's not a strategic growth initiative.

That's a terrible way to grow your population.

We've gotta combat climate change.

But Michigan's got a powerful story to tell, and we gotta get better at telling it, and make sure that we've got the policies and offerings that talent wants and expects that business needs to thrive, and it's all connected.

And that's why this work's really important.

And it's important to take it out of the legislature and out of the governor's office, 'cause it's not about any one person, it's not about any one party, and the work will not be done in three years, when my term comes to a close.

So we gotta get serious, we've gotta get on the path, and we've gotta make sure that we have a strategy to grow our population in a way that enhances everyone's life here.

- Well let's talk about that strategy.

At that same announcement, you said we need an all of the above approach.

What does that look like to you?

What does that mean?

- Well, I think nothing's off the table.

And that's why I asked John Rakolta and Shirley Stancato, two known leaders, one Republican, one Democratic, one male, one female, one black, one white.

This has gotta be an approach where every person can see a good quality of life in the state of Michigan, can see a path to prosperity where business can see, yeah, we work hard, we've got a great low cost of living and a high quality of life.

That's who we are.

That's hallmarks of what we do.

We're not really good at telling our story.

You know, one of the great things about Michiganders, is we're humble.

We ever met a Texan, oh my God, all they do is brag about the state of Texas, no matter what side of the island they're on.

We gotta get better at telling our story, and make sure that our policies reflect what young talent is looking for, and what business needs in order to be successful.

- I'm curious, sort of what you are hoping to hear from this council.

I mean, you could have a wishlist of, you know, a 100 things depending on who you're talking to.

What are you really looking forward to hearing?

- I'm hopeful is that they throw a blueprint on the table and say this, "These are the things that are important, and this is how we're gonna get there.

This is what we think needs to be done."

So that we can take that work with the legislature, determine where we, whether it's through budget, or it's through policy making, have a role to play.

And we put those things into effect so that people can see, okay, Michigan's serious, this is a place where I can live the life that I want to live.

Michigan is home to 21% of the world's fresh surface waters in these Great Lakes that define this state.

It's a huge asset, but it's also an unparalleled quality of life.

I am always thinking about this company, KLA, whose main headquarters is in Silicon Valley, headquarters too, is in Washtenaw County, Michigan.

They weren't sure, that it would be a great place to recruit too.

They're having great success, because with our higher educational, you know, offerings, and the cutting edge work that is being done here, we got a powerful story to tell, but we've gotta do more to ensure that companies like that see that here, and that all the employees that are attracting to Michigan, we're doing that on a much greater scale.

- Don't wanna be the Debbie Downer here in the room, but governor after governor, it seems like has tried to do this.

- Mmh - How will this time be different?

- Right.

I think you're right, I mean, I was in the legislature when Governor Granholm was - Cool Cities - Right, Richard Florida and it's good stuff, but obviously we had a lot of other challenges during that period of time.

I know that Governor Snyder spoke to, you know, civility and how do we make Michigan a place where people want to live?

But I think right now we've really done a important work of making Michigan policy reflect that this is a state that values all people.

That this is a state where you can come, and you can make it here in Michigan, no matter who you are, where you come from.

Michigan is a melting pot and it's the greatest strength of this state.

It's also gotta be a fundamental of where we're headed.

So when we enact a law that ensures the LGBTQ community has basic civil rights protections the rest of Michiganders do, this generation, expects those fundamental rights to be protected.

Same with a woman's ability to make her own choices about her body, same with the Crown Act, or a state that is leveling the financial barrier that keeps people from getting skills so they can get into good paying jobs.

All of these things are really important.

And so too is our policy when it comes to climate.

Young people are thinking about these issues, and a state that is addressing them, I think is is opening up the conversation.

- So finally, recommendations.

You don't necessarily wanna put a number, right?

On the population growth.

What will success look like?

How are you going to measure success?

- I think success looks like Michigan being a cool place that young people are talking about moving to, that are investigating where we see growth in terms of, you know, movement into the state of Michigan.

I think success is Michigan becoming that state where people are like, you know, there's so much cool stuff happening.

Or if I'm a climate activist, I want to be somewhere where I can enjoy the outdoors and have access to this water.

You know, I think it's starts with buzz.

I think that's what we're building.

- [Reporter] And the governor had a lot more to say.

You can see her entire conversation with Zoe at onedetroitpbs.org.