Downtown art patrons are familiar with MRC artWorks and its colorful storefront. For 54 years, MRC Industries has been cultivating the artist in people with disabilities while preparing them through job and living skills training to lead full, independent lives. With new CEO Dan Pontius, positive changes are on the horizon.
The search for housing can be its own form of trauma. For Tamika Williams a $1,215 unpaid rent payment has been standing between her and a place to stay for her and her two children as she has visited agency after agency since September of 2022. But there appears to be help on the horizon.
The third Kalamazoo Lyceum convened at the Kalamazoo Nature Center in May to focus on nature and what it means to the community. Protecting wild, urban spaces; cleaning up the Kalamazoo River; and halting pollution of our neighborhoods were just a few of the topics that arose. The general consensus: Hope plus action can equal impactful change.
Expanded trails and added bike lanes have been part of the push for cyclist safety in the Kalamazoo community. Still, getting from Point A to Point B can pose challenges, especially for those who are traveling with children. Avid cyclist and SW Second Wave Writer Mark Wedel speaks to local road-savvy bicyclists and shares some resources for choosing the safest routes.
Kalamazoo's Youth Juvenile Justice Fellowship program supports the development of youth advocates in the community, as well as a vision to create an alternative to youth incarceration in Kalamazoo. Southwest Michigan Second Wave's Mark Wedel speaks to a family who was impacted by an inequitable response when their son was nine, a situation which inspired them to get involved in advocating for juvenile justice reform.
The Kalamazoo Nonprofit Advocacy Coalition has launched an $11 million fundraising campaign to preserve and renovate the 167-year-old First Baptist Church, which it now owns. Started five years ago, KNAC's mission is to create an inclusive, collaborative, affordable space for artists, nonprofits, and start-ups. "I believe a shared story of Kalamazoo is evolving," says KNAC Board Director Dann Sytsma, "and a shared space like KNAC can be an agent for that positive change."
Nainamo bars, poutine, All-Dressed Potato Chips. If you know, you know. Many Canadian delicacies have a unique fusion of flavors. Local chef and Southwest Michigan Second Wave Food Writer Channon Mondoux, a Canadian herself, wants to have a big all-flavors Canadian party for native-born and the 'Canadienvious' so she's bringing the first-ever Canadiana Fest to Kalamazoo.
At Pathway Home potential homeowners will talk about their goals, be enrolled in KNHS financial readiness and homebuyer's education courses, be teamed up with HUD-certified coaches at KNHS, and learn "all the basics on what it means to go from a renter to a homeowner." Learn more about this approach to keeping people housed.
Second Wave's Mark Wedel interviewed a musical cactus. Well, not quite. But he interviewed a local musician who plays the cactus as an instrument – and another who plays music along with music-making aloe vera and even a giant Sequoia. Yes, plants can make music. For upcoming Earth Day (April 22), we celebrate the world as a magical, musical place.
Is trying mead on your bucket list? The world's oldest known alcoholic beverage (not a beer, not a wine) made with honey and yeast is available at Kalamzoo meadery Valhalla, a BYOF, open hall with all the Viking feels – longtables, Runes, and Valkyries serving flights of artisan mead. When you visit Valhalla, Hunter Dodge, CEO of Norse Nector Meadery, says "time stands still." Just ask Second Wave's Mark Wedel.
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