Any Cornus sericea, red osier dogwood, will grow just fine in MI, as they're native, and from my experience, have almost no issues. Any cultivar, like the 'cardinal', (Cornus sericea) > (Cornus sericea 'cardinal') are propagated for desirable features, sizes, shapes, disease resistance. The variegated Cornus alba dogwood is not a red osier, and you're correct, not native. Thus it is quite different. 

If you're not finding 'cardinal' in SE MI, it may be because garden centers are getting incentives to sell/market other cultivars, it could be less desirable compared to other cultivars, it could be because they're selling this one and not that one. Often times if you call, and they don't have it, you can ask "are you able to get it for me?", and you may find that they are. 

Otherwise there is always online, and try to go for a bare root one, as they're fairly easy to grow, and easy to ship, but will take longer to establish. Once it's established and growing, you can get a better color from the twigs by removing old canes, allowing for new growth to come up.

Best of luck.