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New spa and salon in St. Joseph is more than $100,000 investment

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Economic Development

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April 22, 2010

The Reva' Salon & Spa in St. Joseph opened a little more than month ago, and the investment the owners made to pay for gutting and renovating an old building is paying off.Three new stylists and three receptionists have been hired, bringing to 21 the total number of Reva' employees, said Kristy Sandmann, a resident of nearby Baroda who owns Reva' with her husband John Sandmann.John Sandmann, his father and brothers are in the hair-cutting business too. They work in a barber shop behind Reva'. Sandmanns, a  separate business with its own entrance, is a family barber shop started by his grandfather 55 years ago.The Sandmanns have invested at least $100,000 on the interior of the Reva' Salon & Spa alone, Kristy Sandmann estimates.Much more than that was invested in building an addition, property for a parking lot behind the barber business and other renovations. While Sandmanns barber shop is old school, Reva' is about the latest in beauty.The spa, which is located in a customized addition off of the existing building at 2036 Washington Ave., offers massages, pedicures, manicures, facials and waxing and also steam therapy for detox treatments such as mud wraps.The salon, which is about 1,900 square feet, was designed with separate cutting rooms, coloring rooms and washing rooms, Kristy Sandmann says. "It's been so exciting," she says.Regina Ciaravino of the Cornerstone Chamber of Commerce shares the excitement. "This is a great business for the city," she says.The chamber plans to celebrate the new business in town with a ribbon cutting at 11:30 May 10.Source: Kristy Sandmann, Reva' Salon & SpaSource: Regina Ciaravino, Chamber Development, Cornerstone Chamber of Commerce

New way to treat diabetes makes Kalamazoo firm a company to watch

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Economic Development

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April 22, 2010

Metabolic Solutions Development Company made this year's 50 Companies to Watch list. The distinction comes from Michigan Celebrates Small Business program of the Edward Lowe Foundation. MSDC is developing novel medicines for type 2 diabetes and other metabolic diseases using pharmaceuticals designed to more effectively treat type 2 diabetes without the side effects of current therapies. The award, which will be handed out April 29 at a ceremony in Lansing, recognizes companies deemed to embody the entrepreneurial spirit of Michigan. Winners are companies that have persevered through the initial startup stage and emerged as leaders. The judges are based in Michigan and come from the banking, economic development, entrepreneurship development and venture capital communities. "Our success is a direct result of the extensive experience of our founders, the insight of our investors, the extraordinary talent and hard work of our employees, and the wide-ranging network of outstanding business partners that we have brought together," says Robert Beardsley, CEO of MSDC. "This award is a special honor. Michigan has a great history in developing innovative metabolic disease therapies and we are proud to carry on that tradition here." PNC Bank is the lead underwriter for Michigan Celebrates Small Business, with additional underwriting support from Clark Hill PLC, Michigan Economic Development Corp., Michigan Certified Development Corporation, Accident Fund Insurance Company of America, Comcast Business Class, Comcast Spotlight and Dynamic Edge. Michigan Celebrates Small Business is presented in association with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Michigan Small Business & Technology Development Center, Small Business Association of Michigan, the U.S. Small Business Administration -- Michigan, and the Edward Lowe Foundation. Information about the 2010 Michigan 50 Companies to Watch program can be found at its Web site.  For more information about Michigan Celebrates Small Business, visit its Web site. Writer: Kim North Shine Source: Nick Wasmiller, Seyferth & Assoc.

WMU students support sustainability with their pocketbooks

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Economic Development

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April 22, 2010

Western Michigan University Students have volunteered to pay for something important to them: a campus culture focused on sustainability.Students led the way, asking for a referendum and then voting to approve a new $8 per-semester fee. The fee will generate an estimated $440,000 annually. It will be used to fund student-designed and student-led sustainability initiatives. It also will support a Sustainability Office, a green jobs program for students and student research.Details and logistics for distributing the funds have not yet been determined. To decide the best way to allocate the funds, a committee made up primarily of students will work with the President John Dunn's University-wide Sustainability Committee and Diane Anderson, the vice president for student affairs. The fee referendum appeared on a ballot in a March 15-19 general election sponsored by the school's elected student government organization, Western Student Association.Of those voting, 60 percent -- 1,002 students -- supported the fee, while 40 percent -- 662 students -- opposed it. Western Michigan University trustees have now gone on to give final approval. Writer: Kathy JenningsSource: Cheryl Roland, WMU

Benton Harbor, Berrien County Land Bank work to turn around neighborhoods

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General

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April 22, 2010

Blighted houses and vacant property in parts of Benton Harbor will be removed and improved under a three-year plan that uses economic stimulus money from the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, reports the Herald-Palladium. The residential revamping of parts of the city was formally approved April 8 by the Berrien County Board of Commissioners. The board agreed to accept $6.82 million in grant money. The agreement lets the county's Land Bank work with the city on rehabilitating homes, demolishing blighted property to turn them into new residences, the Herald Palladium reports. It goes on to say that Michigan received $263 million in economic stimulus money for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, and the Michigan Housing Development Authority approved the grant request. This project was approved as part of one grant request for 12 cities and nine county land banks. A total of $15.43 million was allocated for the project, including $13.89 million for the work being performed by the city and Land Bank, the story continues. Excerpt: The three targeted areas for project funds include the southern part of the city where housing is generally in better condition, official said.The second area is bounded by Colfax Avenue, Pipestone Street, Main Street and Empire Avenue, and the third is the Morton Hill area. The city aims to buy and rehabilitate 69 houses at a total cost of about $7.45 million. Purchasers will receive $10,000 in home-buyer assistance to reduce mortgage payments, and financial counseling. For more on the program, read the entire story.Source: Herald-Palladium

Business mushrooms for man with roots in Paw Paw

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Environment & Sustainability

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April 22, 2010

A former Paw Paw resident has found his niche as an entrepreneur in a sustainable agriculture business, reports the Courier-Leader.Alex Velez graduated from University of California at Berkeley in May of 2009. Right away, he and his business partner, Nikhil Arora, founded a 100 percent sustainable urban mushroom farm called BTTR (Back to the Roots, pronounced better). Excerpt:"It's not work when you're loving what you're doing," said Velez, who puts in more than 100 hours working seven days per week.BTTR grows gourmet oyster mushrooms on recycled coffee grounds, an idea that percolated for Velez and Arora in an ethics class at UC Berkeley.During the lecture, they learned mushrooms grow well in hard woods and that the main component of hard woods is cellulose. Similarly, coffee has a lot of cellulose."We started brainstorming," said Velez.According to Velez, getting the business under way took about six months of research. After successfully growing their first mushroom, they didn't waste any time."We went to Whole Foods with our mushroom in a little Ace Hardware bucket," he said.The story goes on to say the natural and organic food giant quickly recognized BTTR's potential. Three weeks later Velez and Arora received an e-mail from the Whole Foods President for Northern California Floral and Produce Department. January marked BTTR's first major delivery of oyster mushrooms to Whole Foods Northern California stores — totaling 30 stores in all. The story also reports BTTR has sold 7,500 pounds of mushrooms to date. Now Whole Foods is purchasing 500 pounds per week.To find out about the celebrity chefs who are using the oyster mushrooms in their cooking read the rest of the story.Source: Courier-Leader

Derek Jeter devoted to Kalamazoo

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Education

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April 22, 2010

A recent USA Today story tells of Derek Jeter's commitment to his former hometown. Almost as famous for his good looks as his skills on the diamond, the New York Yankees captain and celebrity formed Turn 2 Foundation, which promotes positive lifestyles in kids and is run by his family, according to the story. Excerpt: Jeter's foundation focuses its efforts in New York, Tampa ... and Kalamazoo. It maintains a satellite office on the Western Michigan University campus and has awarded more than $3.5 million in grants in the area since its 1996 inception. "I don't care if I'm playing and living somewhere else," Jeter says at the Yankees spring training base in Tampa. "Michigan is where I grew up, and it's where I had my first foundation event. It's where I'll continue to keep the foundation going." Jeter, 35, comes to town about once a year, and his father, Turn 2 vice chairman Charles Jeter, tends to foundation business in town every couple of months. The 10-time All-Star surprised about 250 children when he showed up at the Turn 2 holiday party in December. Later, he and girlfriend Minka Kelly, a 29-year-old actress, dropped by his alma mater, Kalamazoo Central High School, to say hello to former teachers. Jeter said he usually makes a point to drive by his old home, a modest split-level that backs up to the school's athletic fields.For more on Jeter's foundation, including comments from Kalamazooans, read the entire story. Source: USA Today

Stryker Corp. strikes $3-million deal with a Missouri company

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Technology & Innovation

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April 22, 2010

Under an agreement reached with a Missouri company, Stryker Corp. of Kalamazoo will purchase neurosurgery devices and microsurgery tools, the Kalamazoo Gazette reports. The $3 million agreement was announced by Synergetics USA Inc., which the story says has agreed to sell Stryker its Omni line of products. Excerpt: "We believe the new strategic agreement with Stryker will be an important part in expanding our neurosurgery device sales," said David Hable, Synergetics' president and chief executive officer. Synergetics, a supplier of precision microsurgery instrumentation, has also said that it expects to increase its business with Stryker. For more on the deal, read the entire story. Source: Kalamazoo Gazette

New business picture calls for new way of thinking

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Technology & Innovation

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April 15, 2010

Collaboration is bringing out the best of two area businesses, the Kalamazoo Gazette reports.Evan Eichhorn's Kalamazoo Screw Products is working with Pinto Products' owner Matthew Pinto to produce parts for a tank that holds disinfectant used to fog large areas, such as class rooms or hospital rooms. The tank design itself was developed by Altapure Health LLC, based in Carmel, Ind.One reason the collaboration works is small manufacturers like Kalamazoo Screw Products and Pinto Products can produce specialized parts quickly, a huge advantage for both, Eichhorn says in the story.Excerpt:Pinto said he signed on with Eichhorn because they have a relationship built on trust.He said he remembers a time when manufacturing companies didn't need to do anything special or out of the box to turn a profit. But, he said the downturn in the automotive industry shook up that sense of complacency and paved the way for an era of cooperation among businesses of all sizes."The fact that things are tight makes it a no-brainer and we're doing whatever we can to survive," Pinto said. "If we get this (Altapure business) it will see us through the next couple of months."Eichhorn said he lost about $2.5 million "almost overnight" when production of Volvo and Lincoln automobiles went overseas. He said his staff of 19 has decreased to six within the last three years.For more on how the businesses are collaborating, read the entire story.Source: Kalamazoo Gazette

Kalamazoo’s Larry Bell gets a cheer from his peers

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Economic Development

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April 15, 2010

The Brewers Association has recognized Larry Bell of Bell's Brewery for his dedication and service to the industry, reports Draft Magazine. The magazine that ranks the best beers of the year says the industry recognition came at the opening session of the Brewers Association's annual Craft Brewers Conference April 7 in Boulder, Colo. Excerpt: The Brewers Association Recognition Award went to Larry Bell, Founder and Owner of Bell's Brewery, Inc. Bell started the Kalamazoo Brewing Company and Bell's Brewery, Inc. in Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1985, the earliest craft brewery in the eastern half of the United States. Larry's dedication to the industry includes serving as a former chair of the Brewers Association's predecessor organization and acting as a driving force with current Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper for the creation of American Beer Month (which evolved into American Craft Beer Week). "Larry is a leader in our industry known for his innovative beers and the passion he brings to craft brewing," said Brewers Association Board of Directors Chair Nick Matt, CEO of Matt Brewing Company. Mountain West Brewery Supply's David Edgar noted in documents supporting Bell's nomination that "Larry is continually pushing the envelope with experimenting with different grains, different yeast strains and plenty of hops." For a look a who else was recognized, read the entire story. Source: Draft magazine

Think of them as highways for bikes

By Newsroom

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Environment & Sustainability

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April 15, 2010

Plans are under way to put more miles of bikeways along Lake Michigan's shoreline, reports the Allegan County News.Already, the paths are in place to take bikers from South Haven to Saugatuck. With the bike routes proposed, bikers, hikers, runners and rollerbladers will be able to trek from Saugatuck city limits more than 37 miles northward on paved trails -- and plans are under way for a southern option.Excerpt:A Saugatuck-South Haven Bike Trail Committee is studying right-of-ways, routes and funding for a 23-mile trail from where the current path ends to downtown South Haven, Southwest Michigan Planning Commission program assistant Suzann Flowers said."This, in turn, is part of an AASHTO (American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials) long-range plan for a nationwide set of corridors to be developed as U.S. bike routes," Flowers added."One of these is U.S. Bicycle Route 35, a 50-mile band which would follow the shore of Lake Michigan from New Buffalo to the Mackinac Bridge, then north to Sault Ste. Marie," she said.The story goes on to say the Van Buren County portion of the path, consisting of one mile in the City of South Haven and 2.36 miles in South Haven Township, would involve a 4-foot-wide bike lane extension of the existing Blue Star Highway, costing $15,000 to $20,000 per mile to construct.Blue Star's extra-wide Allegan County right-of-ways make possible a 10-foot path separate from the roadway, costing $150,000 to $300,000 per mile depending on the need to acquire land, price of asphalt, tree removal, engineering and more factors.Funding sources still are being worked out, but federal transportaion dollars through the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) Improvement Program and Michigan Department of Transportation are among those being pursued.For more on the proposals, read the rest of the story.Source: Allegan County News