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MichMash: Frankenmuth is Thriving, Against the Odds

Podcast MichMash. Each week, WDET's Jake Neher and Michigan Public Radio's Cheyna Roth un-jumble Michigan issues and talk about how statewide news stories affect you.
WDET
Podcast MichMash. Each week, WDET's Jake Neher and Michigan Public Radio's Cheyna Roth un-jumble Michigan issues and talk about how statewide news stories affect you.

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit businesses of all sizes very hard across the state, especially in areas that depend on tourism. But there's one town in Michigan that has bucked the trend. In this episode, Cheyna Roth talks with Bridge Michigan's Paula Gardner about how the town of Frankenmuth has managed to beat the odds, despite public health, inflation, and staffing issues that the hospitality industry is facing. Plus, what Alpena, MI tells us about Michigan's housing crisis.

Before becoming the newest Capitol reporter for the Michigan Public Radio Network, Cheyna Roth was an attorney. She spent her days fighting it out in court as an assistant prosecuting attorney for Ionia County. Eventually, Cheyna took her investigative and interview skills and moved on to journalism. She got her masters at Michigan State University and was a documentary filmmaker, podcaster, and freelance writer before finding her home with NPR. Very soon after joining MPRN, Cheyna started covering the 2016 presidential election, chasing after Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and all their surrogates as they duked it out for Michigan. Cheyna also focuses on the Legislature and criminal justice issues for MPRN. Cheyna is obsessively curious, a passionate storyteller, and an occasional backpacker. Follow her on Twitter at @Cheyna_R