North Michigan News

Rep. Jack Bergman has addressed the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) and the Michigan Arts and Culture Council (MACC) regarding their decision to disqualify the National Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame and Museum in Ishpeming from receiving state grant funding. The museum, which has been a significant part of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula tourism for nearly 75 years, was excluded due to a discrepancy in its Unique Entity Identifier (UEI).

In his letter, Rep. Bergman highlighted the importance of the museum, saying, “Located in Ishpeming – the birthplace of organized skiing in America – the Museum has, for nearly 75 years, contributed to the cultural and economic vitality of Michigan through its preservation of our state’s rich snowsports heritage and its promotion of tourism to the Upper Peninsula.”

The issue arose when the museum's UEI was submitted incorrectly as ‘W1KCYK2JBAH6’ instead of ‘W1KCYKZJBAH6’, due to a minor clerical error where a 'Z' was recorded as a '2'. This error led to the disqualification of their grant application.

Rep. Bergman urged MACC and MEDC to reconsider this decision. He stated, “Given the unique and irreplaceable role the Museum plays in preserving and promoting Michigan’s snowsports heritage — and the fact that other entities with similar clerical discrepancies reportedly received successful appeals — I urge both MACC and MEDC to reassess the Museum’s application and explore every possible option to provide support."

He suggested potential solutions such as grant reconsideration or finding alternative funding sources.