MACKINAC ISLAND, Mich. (WXYZ) — The 2026 Mackinac Policy Conference kicks off Tuesday at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island.
Put on by the Detroit Regional Chamber, the multi-day event brings together some of the biggest leaders across the state and from around the country.
Watch Simon Shaykhet's video report previewing the conference:
7 News Detroit Anchor Simon Shaykhet will be live from the policy conference throughout the week on 7 News Detroit at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m.
This year’s theme is a Quest for Common Ground. That means unity above partisan politics. The chair of this year’s event is Bob Riney, who is also the CEO of Henry Ford Health. He spoke with us about the state’s economy and why Michigan is ranking 40th nationally in income per capita.
“We got to make sure that we accept the fact that for a variety of reasons, we have lost some of our competitiveness. And we’re in a time that we’ve got to fight to get it back,” Riney said.
Riney also discussed topics like education and healthcare, where lawmakers and the business community are here to work out steps toward progress.
“It’s a really bad time for political divisiveness, but look at the result. The result is not getting us where we need to be, so let’s mix it up. We can have debates about ideology," Riney said. "We can have diverging views. But when it comes to really critical issues like education attainment in our state, economic development and population growth, we need a solution. We don’t need a Republican or Democrat solution — we need a solution.”
Below are some of the major events happening during the conference.
Wednesday, May 27
- Opening remarks from Detroit Regional Chamber CEO Sandy Baruah - 10 a.m.
- Keynote Address from Mike Pence - 10:20 a.m.
- Conversation with Pete Buttigieg - 11:20 a.m.
- A conversation with Gary Sinise - 12:10 p.m.
- Mackinac Moment with Rep. Matt Hall - 12:50 p.m.
- Data Center panel - 1 p.m.
Thursday, May 28
- A conversation with Mike Rogers - 9:45 a.m.
- Keynote Address from Cornel West - 10:15 a.m.
- Keynote address from Mary Sheffield - 11:15 a.m.
- A conversation with Chris Sununu and Jon Tester - 11:45 a.m.
- Growing Detroit, Growing Michigan panel - 12:20 p.m.
- Democratic U.S. Senate candidate debate - 2:30 p.m.
- Keynote Address from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer - 4:10 p.m.
