The industrial Midwest is undergoing massive economic transformation. Changing Gears is a collaborative reporting project created to document this change. Our reporters in Michigan, Ohio and Illinois have spanned the region to bring you stories of the people driving and experiencing this sea change.

In this encore, we’re looking back at some of our best stories that aired earlier this year. In three parts, you’ll hear stories of magic bullets that are supposed to save our economy, innovative ways people are filling empty places and we’ll take out onto to a few factory floors.

First, magic bullets. When you talk about saving our economy, people love to bring up magic bullets – that’s those quick tickets to jobs and economic prosperity. Think autos in Michigan, for example. But most of them just don’t pan out. We took a closer look with our magic bullets series.

When you think about empty places in the Midwest, many look to that abandoned property next door. Vacant industrial buildings dot the Midwest and swallow up chunks of some neighborhoods. The cost to city governments alone in lost tax revenue can to the billions of dollars. But in Detroit, some residents are using that emptiness to quietly reshape their neighborhoods. As Kate Davidson reports, they’re not squatters…

In this last segment, we take you to the factory floor in a series of stories that show how much modern factory life has changed. In this story, imagine punching out at night while a machine keeps doing your job. That’s the basic idea behind a trend in manufacturing called “lights out machining.” It’s a way to make a lot more product with a lot fewer people … and fewer jobs. Kate Davidson has this story of two Michigan companies that are trying to stay competitive by turning out the lights and going home.

Changing Gears will continue to follow the story of the Midwest’s economic transformation. In the coming months, we’ll be reporting on the role of immigrants, how the public sector is shaping the region’s economic future and the fundamental ways the economy has changed our lives. You can check out these stories and more at: www.changinggears.info.