Business

MACKINAC ISLAND, Mich. (AP) - The owner of Michigan's most famous summer hotel has died. R.D. "Dan" Musser Jr. was 80.

Musser owned the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island. In a statement, the hotel says he died Saturday of congestive health failure at a Lansing hospital.

Musser started working at the hotel when he was in college in 1951. It was owned at the time by his uncle, W. Stewart Woodfill. Musser became president in 1960 and purchased the hotel, with wife Amelia, in 1979.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Michigan Lt. Gov. Brian Calley is leading a delegation of state and local officials, business people and economic development experts on a six-day investment trip to the Netherlands.

The group leaves today and returns next Friday. Other participants include Michigan House Speaker House Jase Bolger, state Sen. Arlan Meekhof and Michigan agriculture Director Jamie Clover Adams.

The lieutenant governor says Michigan's long-standing ties with Dutch companies have brought jobs to the state.

The Natural Resources Defense Council has recruited eight craft breweries in Michigan for a new campaign to promote clean water by supporting strengthening federal regulations like the Clean Water Act.

“When you talk about beer you have to talk about water,” said Jason Spaulding, co-owner of Brewery Vivant in Grand Rapids. “It’s not as sexy as talking about malt or hops or things like that.”

Spaulding says about 90-percent of beer is made up of water. He says if you want a great locally brewed lager, IPA or pilsner; you need clean water.

“Doesn’t matter how many hops or how much malt you put in it, if your water is not good your beer is not going to be good,” Spaulding said.

Michigan’s home builders are optimistic about the year ahead.

The recession walloped Michigan’s home building industry. Many builders went out of business. Others merged and focused on home remodeling.

But a new survey shows Michigan’s home builders are optimistic about getting back into the business of building new homes. They say pent up consumer demand, especially for more expensive homes ($200,000 to $800,000), is pushing up the Michigan Housing Index.

DETROIT (AP) - Marathon Petroleum Corp. has bought two-thirds of the homes in an area of southwest Detroit where the oil company is carrying out a $2.2 billion expansion.

The company announced in November 2011 that it wanted to create a buffer area between its growing refinery operation and residential areas.

The Detroit News reported Sunday that Marathon has bought 205 homes so far. The company began with a list of 296 homeowners, and 265 of them agreed to discuss terms for a possible sale.

The company made offers to 258 of them.

HOPKINS, Mich. (AP) - The U.S. Department of Agriculture says Michigan has dropped from 7th to 9th in honey production.

According to the agency, 2012 honey production in the state fell 8.5 percent from the year before. Yields from Michigan's 76,000 colonies producing honey averaged 57 pounds in 2012, compared with 64 pounds the previous year.

State apiary inspector Mike Hansen says beekeepers are participating in a survey this month to get a clearer picture of what's going on with Michigan's bee population.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Some Michigan residents saw lower heating bills this winter because of reduced natural gas prices and milder temperatures.

The Michigan Public Service Commission announced Friday that households that use natural gas for heating received lower heating bills. Nearly 80 percent of all Michigan households use natural gas to heat their homes.

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. (AP) - The Soaring Eagle Casino is planning a new website that won't take bets for money unless Congress changes restrictions on online gambling.

The casino's marketing director Raul Venegas tells the Morning Sun of Mount Pleasant that the website will be for marketing and fun.

Venegas says the casino has "no intentions to offer real money gaming online, but people can play for free."

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Michigan says the new corporate income tax returns it's processing are much shorter in length than other business tax returns.

The state Department of Treasury says the returns submitted to date average 17 pages. That's 41 fewer pages than the average Michigan Business Tax return.

The Corporate Income Tax approved in 2011 took effect for the 2012 tax year. Some businesses still file an MBT return because they qualify for certain tax credits.

The state says some MBT returns are longer than 1,000 pages.