Changing Gears: Remaking the Manufacturing Belt

Series produced by Changing Gears

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Changing Gears explores the economic transformation of the industrial Midwest, through the stories of people driving and experiencing this change.

Changing Gears: Remaking the Manufacturing Belt is a multi-year project that will look at the future of the industrial Midwest, with a two fold mission: journalism and public engagement.

Changing Gears is a product of the Upper Midwest Local Journalism Center, created through a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Its host stations are Michigan Radio in Ann Arbor, Chicago Public Radio and ideastream in Cleveland.


37 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
Caption: Sears on State Street, Chicago, Credit: Niala Boodhoo
Sears & Roebuck has been a dominant retailer in the Midwest since it was founded in Chicago almost a 120 years ago. It’s hung on while other brands...

  • Added: Jun 03, 2011
  • Length: 04:02
Caption: People line up outside the Dim and Den Sum food truck for gourmet tacos and kimchi mac and cheese.
Food trucks have become all the rage in big cities like L.A., New York, and Boston. They’re transforming the way people think about street food and...

Bought by Vocalo.org and New Hampshire Public Radio


  • Added: Jun 03, 2011
  • Length: 03:30
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: Zachariah, left, and Craig Boyd, Saturday morning regulars at Gary Public Libary's main branch. , Credit: Niala Boodhoo
What happens when your local library shuts its doors? That’s a question Midwestern towns from Evanston, Ill., to Troy, Mich., are asking as local l...

  • Added: Jun 03, 2011
  • Length: 04:06
Caption: Hard to Count: The Barbara in Southwest Detroit
Imagine trying to prove that thousands of people exist, when you have no idea who they are. That’s the dilemma facing officials who think their co...

Bought by New Hampshire Public Radio


  • Added: Jun 03, 2011
  • Length: 03:55
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: Behind the register at Moveable Feast Geneva , Credit: Niala Boodhoo
Over the years, the Oprah Winfrey show and its famous host have influenced politics, literacy - and hundreds of small businesses – who have been se...

  • Added: Jun 03, 2011
  • Length: 04:48
Caption: Brothers Justin and Derick Jewell, 22 and 24 years old. Justin is a two-tier worker and makes $16 an hour. As a traditional worker, Derick makes $28 an hour.
The American Dream is that each generation will do better than the last. But the families of auto workers no longer have that expectation. As Detro...

  • Added: Jun 07, 2011
  • Length: 06:15
Caption: This is a view of a brownfield across the street from Exelon City Solar. The plant cleaned up about half the brownfield space in Chicago's 34th Ward.
Long-abandoned factories have scarred the Midwest landscape for generations. Tens of thousands sit vacant across the region, the tally growing by ...

  • Added: Jun 07, 2011
  • Length: 06:27
Caption: Tom Malvetis, owner Unicorn Tavern. , Credit: Kyle Leppek
The number of older Americans working full time has been rising steadily for years. Many work because they have to. Some work because they want to ...

Bought by New Hampshire Public Radio


  • Added: Jun 07, 2011
  • Length: 03:50
  • Purchases: 1
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By now, you’ve probably heard of the Chevrolet Volt. That plug-in hybrid has been promoted for years as a sign that General Motors can still innova...

  • Added: Jun 07, 2011
  • Length: 03:56
Caption: Little Village business owner Jesus Davila in front of one of his four businesses, Davila's Restaurant, in Chicago..
Cities across the Midwest are full of immigrant stories. Previous generations filled the factories, building cars, furniture and steel. Now that th...

Bought by WAMC Northeast Public Radio


  • Added: Jun 16, 2011
  • Length: 04:01
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: Rincon Park and Cupid's Span in the Embarcadero. , Credit: Dewet. Used under GNU Free Documentation License.
How did you get to work this morning? Did you take a freeway into a city? What if it weren’t there? It’s a distinct possibility. Half a century aft...

  • Added: Jun 16, 2011
  • Length: 04:04
Caption: Students in the Everyday Digital Literacy class, at the Greater Auburn Gresham Community Development Corp.'s Family Net Center , Credit: Niala Boodhoo
When you talk about a digital divide, you’re probably thinking of inner city kids who don’t have ready access to the Internet. But there’s another ...

  • Added: Jun 17, 2011
  • Length: 04:24
Caption: Second year nursing students Travis Pierce, Shelby Feldpausch, Staci Pierson (kneeling), Jennifer Meaton, Ashley Neybert and Jamie Hill. And of course, Mr. Pointer, center. , Credit: Kate Davidson
The country is facing a nursing shortage. But schools in our region can’t keep up with the demand for nursing education. Changing Gears is a projec...

  • Added: Jun 17, 2011
  • Length: 03:42
Caption: Training the next generation of care providers becomes increasingly important as the population ages. , Credit: Kate Davidson
Nursing is a hot career. The federal government says it will create more new jobs than any other profession in the coming years … almost 600,000 jo...

  • Added: Jun 17, 2011
  • Length: 03:36
Caption: Dylan Baldi of Cloud Nothings at the store Music Saves, as he celebrates the release of his new album. , Credit: Dan Bobkoff
Austin, Texas markets itself as the live music capital of the world. Nashville calls itself the music city and it’s become more than just country. ...

Bought by New Hampshire Public Radio


  • Added: Jun 17, 2011
  • Length: 03:44
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: Laid off from Caterpillar, Javier Galvez is opening up a pizza shop in Aurora to cater to growing Latino families ., Credit: Niala Boodhoo
Recent census reports show Midwestern cities are shrinking and people are moving out. But one group is actually growing - the Hispanic population. ...

Bought by KBCS 91.3 FM Community Radio and Vocalo.org


  • Added: Jun 17, 2011
  • Length: 06:33
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: Mayor Michael Bell's office is adorned with Chinese gifts like this screen.
The Midwest is used to thinking of China as the source of many of our problems: it’s where many jobs and factories went. But in Toledo, China is no...

  • Added: Jun 24, 2011
  • Length: 05:15
Caption: Amelia Cummings celebrates her new room ... and four months clean. , Credit: Kate Davidson
Non-profits are a vibrant part of the regional economy. They employ many people and the need for their services has grown. But charities that contr...

  • Added: Jun 24, 2011
  • Length: 03:56
Caption: Open Books program director Anna Piepmeyer and second grader Jayla Mercado. , Credit: Niala Boodhoo
Some nonprofits in the region that rely on government funding are in trouble. As a result, many are now looking at how they can get other sources o...

  • Added: Jun 24, 2011
  • Length: 03:14
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Changing Gears reporters spent a week on the road, traveling to places throughout the Midwest where local economies and town cultures revolve aroun...

  • Added: Dec 14, 2011
  • Length: 20:12