Congressman Fred Upton tours Southwest Michigan developments

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BENTON HARBOR, Mich. – As Congressman Fred Upton winds down his 35 years as a Michigan state representative, he’s spending the week touring through his district, to get a look at some of the projects he helped get off the ground.

Yesterday, he toured the site of a new health and wellness center in Benton Harbor.

“It’s going to not only be preventative health, but really take care of people that are under-served, maybe without insurance,” said Upton. “They’re going to see it right on Main Street in Benton Harbor.”

Today he visited Cassopolis to see the site of a new aluminum recycling plant, which aims to create seventy full-time jobs in the village.

“This project is gonna be the number one job project ever in Cass County,” he said.

He helped cut the ribbon at a new pier in Benton Harbor, where he helped bring free Wi-Fi to the arts district, and hopes to bring to the rest of Benton Harbor, in partnership with Cornerstone Alliance.

Benton Harbor Mayor Marcus Muhammad said “We have to have the broadband, we have to have the internet for people who walk down the street—people can eat at Bread+Bar, people can eat at Babe’s, and have access to the world right here from Riverview.”

“The list of things you’ve done for this community, Fred, is immeasurable. So thank you very much for everything you’ve done,” said Cornerstone Alliance President Rob Cleveland.

While Upton’s tenure as a congressman may be coming to a close, he said there’s still more to be done, and he’s thankful for the years he’s given to Michigan’s sixth district.

“I’ve been so blessed to have a district that’s supported policy over politics, and have been blessed with a really good staff over all these years,” said Upton. “We’re working for all the folks we represent.”

Upton added he has not planned what he’ll do when he retires, but he told me he’s going to try to take some time off to go skiing.

Upton will finish his tour on Wednesday in Kalamazoo.


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