Mt. Pleasant CVB hands out $115,114 in 2026 grants to 15 projects, from a storybook trail to the Isabella County courthouse cupola

MOUNT PLEASANT — The Mt. Pleasant Area Convention and Visitors Bureau has announced 15 Destination Development grants for 2026, spreading money across ballfields, an ice arena, a historic theater, the county courthouse and a new children’s storybook trail.

The bureau did not publish a total, but the 15 awards it listed add up to $115,114, by The Mitten Daily’s count. The largest is $18,000 for Morey Courts Recreation Center; the smallest is $2,000 for Mount Pleasant Little League.

“These projects help create reasons for people to come here, stay longer, explore our community, and spend money at local businesses,” bureau President and CEO Chris Rowley said in the announcement. “They also improve the quality of place for the people who live here.”

Sports and recreation got the biggest share. Five sports and recreation grants total $49,700, about 43% of the money:

Morey Courts Recreation Center, $18,000 for landscaping and “first impression” improvements; Martin Ice Arena, $13,200 for locker rooms, seating and radiant heaters; Shepherd Cross Country, $11,500 for permanent speakers; Mid Michigan College, $5,000 for volleyball equipment; and Mount Pleasant Little League, $2,000 for two bullpen pitching mounds and turf at Pickens Field 2.

History, arts and a new trail. Six arts, culture and history grants total $43,500: the Isabella County & Middle Michigan Development Foundation, $15,000 to restore the courthouse cupola; the Sleepy Dog Books Foundation, $11,000 for the Mt. Pleasant Storybook Trail; the Broadway Theatre, $5,000 for marquee and façade restoration; Art Reach of Mid-Michigan, $5,000 for Paint the Pavement; the Mt. Pleasant Discovery Museum, $5,000 to restore its water table; and Market for the Arts, $2,500 for event support.

Events, parking and the airport. The last four total $21,914: the Chippewa Watershed Conservancy, $7,500 to build a parking lot at Hubscher Preserve off M-20; Mt. Pleasant Parks & Recreation, $7,114 for crowd-control barriers for downtown events; Mt. Pleasant Regional Airport, $4,300 for LED lighting; and the Mt. Pleasant Chamber of Commerce Foundation, $3,000 for new banners along Mission Street, with Central Michigan University and other partners.

The bureau says it has put more than $630,000 back into Isabella County through these projects since 2019. Separately, in June it pledged $100,000 to Mid Michigan College’s new Morey Event Center, paid at $20,000 a year for five years, the college said.

Groups planning 2027 requests can contact Rowley at Chris@meetmtp.com.

Sources:
West Michigan Tourist Association (bureau announcement), “Mt. Pleasant Area CVB Announces 2026 Destination Development Grant Recipients,” Oct. 26, 2026 (all 15 grants, Rowley quote, $630,000 since 2019, 2027 contact), https://www.wmta.org/articles/post/mt-pleasant-area-cvb-announces-2026-destination-development-grant-recipients/
Mid Michigan College, “Mt. Pleasant Area Convention & Visitors Bureau Awards $100,000 Destination Development Grant to Mid Michigan College for New Morey Event Center,” June 2026, https://midmich.edu/news/2026/06/mt-pleasant-area-convention-visitors-bureau-awards-100,000-destination-development-grant-to-mid-michigan-college-for-new-morey-event-center
Totals and category shares: The Mitten Daily calculation from the bureau’s list.
Photo: Dan Gaken, “Quiet Downtown (49738386971).jpg,” April 2, 2020, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0, cropped and color-adjusted, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Quiet_Downtown_(49738386971).jpg

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Tags: Mount Pleasant · Isabella County · Tourism · Grants · Martin Ice Arena · Broadway Theatre