Forbes says Kalamazoo part of Midwest comeback

A new brand of realism is part of a Midwest comeback, reports Forbes magazine.

The story attributes the push for educational reform and economic diversification by nonpartisan business and civic leaders in Kalamazoo as part of a shift that will bring the Midwest back.

Excerpt:

Kalamazoo entrepreneurs tend to understand that the key to Midwestern renewal lies with the region’s core competencies and attractions. David Zimmermann, founder of Kalexsyn, a flourishing biotech company, identifies these assets:  Michigan’s resident pool of skilled labor, a low cost of living and a generally community-oriented, family-friendly atmosphere.

Zimmermann says his company, which now employs 30 workers and has revenues of $5.4 million, has surprisingly little trouble attracting younger skilled workers. The median age at the company, he notes, is only 36, and many have come to Kalamazoo from traditional coastal biotech hot spots. This includes several researchers some who originally left the Midwest in their teens and twenties.

For more on what Forbes calls a comeback, read the rest of the story.

Source: Forbes