Commentary and Analysis

Where once there was one Midwest, rising and falling with the industrial era, there are now two Midwests, marching to different economic drummers.

Shayndi Raice and John Austin join Deep Dish to tell a story of the bright spots as well as blights in the Midwest region encompassing all or part of 12 US states.

States like Michigan are feeling the lack of international students and refugees as immigration restrictions cut off the Midwest's economic lifeline.

There are two Midwests now. While the nation was focused on this old Midwest, the new Midwest has taken shape. It’s a Midwest that lives on brains, not brawn. It produces ideas and services, not ingots and autos.

The Midwest possesses huge political and economic power in the United States. Richard C. Longworth explains the five things to know about the Midwest in 2020.

Today the Midwest is neither an economic monolith nor, despite lingering popular misconceptions, a “Rust Belt.” As the region's capital, Chicago can and should be at the center of a great reimagining of the heartland's economy.

There are very tangible things that the next president can do to fuel growth in the Midwest — from increasing Federal R&D in health, energy, water and mobility solutions to focusing that effort through research-university-hubbed Innovation Institutes.

Economic globalization has revitalized many once struggling cities (think New York, Singapore, Shanghai, and London) and created or re-created metropolises like Doha, Dublin, and Frankfurt. 

The Midwest remains undecided, but conflicting trends point alternately toward victory for Trump or his eventual opponent.

Next week the Democratic presidential candidates will debate here in Detroit, the symbol of the industrial Midwest’s rise, fall and fledgling rebirth.