By Rick Pluta, Michigan Public Radio Network
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkar/local-wkar-928570.mp3
LANSING, MI –
Governor Granholm says the state should use a windfall in tax revenue to pay for the "Pure Michigan" tourism campaign. As we hear from Michigan Public Radio's Rick Pluta, the ad campaign went silent this season because it ran out of money.
AUDIO:
" This fall, take a deep breath of Pure Michigan "
This radio ad has never aired because the Legislature could not agree on how to pay for the Pure Michigan campaign, despite the fact that it's widely popular. But Governor Granholm says the state's going to end the year with higher-than-expected income tax collections. And that will be more than enough to pay for the ads, and get the campaign back on the air nationwide in time for the tail end of the winter travel season.
"If they don't know about us, then they're not going to visit, and that's the bottom line," she says.
The governor says the state gets back as much as five dollars in economic activity for every dollar spent on "Pure Michigan. But she also says the state can't always count on being this lucky, and called on lawmakers to approve a permanent source of money for the campaign.