Looking back over the past 15 years, what stands out is the people — the ones who have the next big idea for the communities we cover, the ones who are making a difference, the ones who are making Kalamazoo and Battle Creek better places to live.
Many of these stories reflect what is happening in the community at large. Others are covered as part of a specific reporting project. We’re proud to have worked with community partners to raise up people and issues that are important to our community. Here are some of our favorite ongoing and former projects:
On the Ground Kalamazoo was the first-of-its-kind local editorial series that embedded reporters and photographers in the four urban core neighborhoods (Northside, Eastside, Edison, and Vine) to cover the stories that residents shared were undercovered but important to them. This ongoing project helped us develop close relationships and keep our ears to the ground for stories that resonated with residents. We believe (and were told) that our coverage helped change narratives for the better.
Ricky Thrash picks out just the right color.
The Edison Neighborhood is looking to clear out and stop illegally dumped trash
Edison: Where helping your neighbor is what people do and diversity is a matter of pride
From hammer to clipper: The evolution of Ennovy’s Beauty Bar, a model for Northside entrepreneurs
Developers of new $18M Kalamazoo project say it takes many partners to build more affordable housing
Eastside Sunrise Plaza becomes sign of East Main Street revitalization
Artist Conrad Kaufman lays some final tiles at the Eastside Sunrise Plaza.
Take a walk on the Eastside with one of its own, Kalamazoo Mayor Bobby J. Hopewell
Riding the concrete wave: How a skate plaza changed an unused space into a Vine gathering spot
Kalamazoo’s AllyKat, a body art, lash and brow salon, helps LGBTQIA + feel at home in Vine
On the Ground Battle Creek launched six years ago, following the success of On the Ground Kalamazoo. This project is going strong, providing two in-depth stories a week by OTG Project Editor Jane Parikh who has a devoted following in the Battle Creek community.
As Native American women go missing and are murdered, who is keeping track?
Washington Heights Entrepreneurial Fund will help businesses get funds they need to start or grow
Sacred Conversations: This Battle Creek book group tackles race and healing through words and action
The Napkin Lady: 50,000 and counting for a Calhoun County collector
Suipi is enthusiastic about cooking.
B.C. City Commissioners explain $8 million ARPA funding decision after criticism on Facebook live
Burmese Americans find a home in Battle Creek
Congolese refugees find opportunities in Battle Creek. They hope for broader recognition locally.
Non-traditional casting for BCSO’s ‘Guys and Dolls’ a first step in more equitable roles for actors
Battle Creek Bearcats receive key college advantage
Battle Creek’s Washington Heights reaching new heights with affordable housing stock
Community Contributor Training was an integral part of the On the Ground projects. We helped train more than 15 residents who became community journalists. We’ve watched many of these early contributors go on to launch successful careers or pursue further education, like Patrese Griffin, a Northside contributor who later became Vice Mayor and is now ED of Continuum of Care, and Caroline Bissonette, who later decided to pursue a dual-degree masters in Journalism and Public Policy at the prestigious Columbia University.
Sign of the times: How No Stopping, Standing, or Parking signs disrupt Northside neighborhood
Edison: A neighborhood where creativity inspires community
Chris Broadbent Is shown on a bicycle he uses to collect solid food waste for composting. The collection route for his year-old business requires him to pedal anywhere from five to 14 miles per day.
The activists next door: A new generation of activists lift Black voices and community in Kalamazoo
Community composting trial in Vine leads the way for Kalamazoo’s neighborhoods
Voices of Youth: With the success of the community contributors program, we launched Voices of Youth, a journalism training program that helps youth write about issues that matter to them with the support of professional journalism mentors. Not only do the youth publish their stories, but they are paid for both the training and the publication. We have seen youth go on to study journalism in college, get involved in youth advisory groups and government, and even receive a commission for an article that is now being included in a middle school language arts textbook. Above all, we have been privileged to work with hundreds of youths and to watch them grow in their writing confidence and artistic expression.
VOY Kalamazoo: With the generous support of the Stryker Johnston Foundation and early support from the Irving S. Gilmore Foundation, this program is now in its fifth year. Thanks to an early partnership and support from KydNet, and an ongoing partnership with the Maple Street YMCA, we have helped to lift up the voices of more than 100 youth who are mentored by professional journalists and artists.
VOY KZ youths have written and illustrated stories on climate change, mental health, the impact of social media on teenagers, trans athletes, gun violence, and why there are so few BIPOC youth in AP classes. These stories have enlightened readers on subjects that interest teens written with a teen perspective. Their work is often celebrated at an annual Art Hop.
Voices of Youth: Meet Darrin Slade, the tough new superintendent of Kalamazoo Public Schools
Voices of Youth: Classroom ‘cozy corner’ lets teens relax
Voices of Youth: Access to smoking makes it tough for teens to avoid the smoke
VOY Battle Creek: Shortly after launching VOY Kalamazoo, some Battle Creek funders stepped up to support a Battle Creek cohort. Those generous partners include the BINDA Foundation, City of Battle Creek, Battle Creek Community Foundation, Michigan Organization on Adolescent Sexual Health, and Michigan After School Partnership. One Battle Creek story about why teens reach for energy drinks has been in our Top 10 overall stories since it was published in January of 2024. Another VOY BC writer and costume designer wrote a story about fast fashion and designed a dress entirely of packaging material. An editor requested permission to include this story in a middle school language arts textbook — and also paid a commission to the writer, who served for two years as our social media coordinator.
Artist/Designer: Mahdi Hassnawi. Please see Artist’s Statement below.
Voices of Youth: Why do so many teens reach for energy drinks?
Voices of Youth: Fast fashion’s environmental impacts inspired teens’ ‘Packing Dress’
Voices of Youth: Breaking free from the mirror and understanding body dysmorphic disorder
Rural and Urban Exchange: Often in the local and national news, when issues in rural communities come up, we are treated to a focus on cultural/political divisions. Rarely do we get stories about people trying to solve issues in rural communities — if we get coverage of rural communities at all. This series was borne of our thinking about the possibility that both rural and urban areas experience the same problems. And both might benefit by discussing solutions being explored in their unique communities. As part of this series, Second Wave held discussions between people working on issues affecting both rural and urban Kalamazoo County. It tackled issues identified in our listening session conducted as part of the series. Some of the stories:
Let’s talk: Overcoming roadblocks to transportation in rural and urban communities
Idea exchange: Rural and urban folks work to create and preserve green spaces
Lack of affordable housing means more are living in the woods and encampments. What can be done?
A Way Home: Housing Solutions, guided by Project Editor Kathy Jennings, has produced nearly 80 stories detailing the work being done thanks to the passing of Kalamazoo’s historic Housing Millage, and guided by a desire to cover all sides of the issues related to the local experience of the national housing crisis the series looks at:
Solutions being undertaken by Kalamazoo County and the City of Kalamazoo:
New manufactured homes at Sugarloaf Park part of the mix of housing for low-income county families
Persistence and prayer make senior housing a reality in Kalamazoo’s Northside Neighborhood
The series explores the work of advocates for the unhoused:
Kalamazoo Housing Advocates helps people navigate barriers to housing using ‘that corny love thing’
Bikes give Dignity in Motion for Kalamazoo unhoused
He’s known as Pops because unsheltered people are “my family,” he says.
And profiles of those who have experienced being unhoused:
They call him ‘Pops’: Helping others and keeping the peace among the unsheltered earns their respect
From unhoused to homeowner: David Harris says connection makes the difference
Faith in Action, sponsored by the Fetzer Institute, was a two-year series that ran from 2022 to 2024 and featured local stories related to faith-based responses to social and environmental issues. During this series, we partnered with the Kalamazoo Lyceum, participating in the formulation of the 2024 Lyceum’s based on the theme of hope.
Kalamazoo Pride takes place in June.
At 40 years and 40 churches, Kalamazoo’s Northside Ministerial Alliance bridges faith and community
Befriending the Great Mystery with death doulas
What’s behind the big red doors? Sanctuary in the city
OutFront’s Faith Alliance: An allyship sailing in Kalamazoo
Sacred Earth, also sponsored by the Fetzer Institute, was a successful and well-received series about the intersection between faith, culture, psychology, art, philosophy, and climate change. The series culminated in a well-attended Kalamazoo Lyceum at the Kalamazoo Public Library. The theme was Hope for the Planet. An additional highlight of this series was the beautiful artwork created by Second Wave’s Taylor Scamehorn specifically for this project.
Photographs taken at Mountain Home Cemetery in Kalamazoo, using a long swath of donated white cloth dyed red and pink to connect the graves as a way of reflecting many faiths’ belief that we are all truly interconnected and equal in death.
Green Burial: An eco-friendly option embraced by families and faith communities
Refugia: Creating places of shelter during the climate crisis
Local churches and synagogues rewilding to welcome migratory flocks and other creatures
Kalamazoo Lyceum: Hope for the Planet inspired by creating relationship with the earth
The Southwest Michigan Journalism Collaborative was formed in 2019 as local media organizations recognized a need to work together as the national picture for journalism becomes increasingly grim. From a peak of 20,000 newspapers nationally, there are now slightly fewer than 5,600. Reportedly, an average of 2.5 newspapers a week shut down in 2023. In this environment, the Southwest Michigan Journalism Collaborative came together to support one another. Today, 12 local news organizations, including representatives from Western Michigan University, work together to develop stories that individually we might not be able to report. The culture of competition built into journalism’s scoop mentality has given way to collaboration. We share ideas, stories, reporting, and editing resources.
Kalamazoo embraces pre-approved plans, zoning reform to turn vacant lots into homes
Peer Support work serves as an innovative and vital part of mental health recovery
Kalamazoo School officials say they’re ready to help Hispanic youngsters get back to classes
These projects have been supported by many community groups and foundations over the years. We started with funding from Borgess Hospital and the Kalamazoo Community Foundation, which has been a supporter throughout our history All In Michigan, Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo, Battle Creek Community Foundation, BC Unlimited, Binda Foundation, Calhoun County, Calhoun County Visitors Bureau, City of Battle Creek, City of Kalamazoo, Disability Network Southwest Michigan, ENNA Foundation, Fetzer Institute, Harold and Grace Upjohn Foundation, I.S. Gilmore Foundation, Kalamazoo County, Kalamazoo Foundation for Excellence, Kalamazoo Land Bank, LISC Kalamazoo, Michigan After School Partnerships, Michigan Organization for Adolescent Sexual Health, Miller Foundation, Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi, Stryker Johnston Foundation, Summit Pointe, United Way of South Central Michigan, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and WMUK. Supporters come and go as specific projects are completed. We are grateful to all those who support stories that uplift the communities we cover.
Related Articles
Fewer options, fuller ERs: The behavioral health fallout of Medicaid cuts
MHA advocates for state funding that preserves behavioral health care and keeps rural hospitals open.
Kalamazoo Cookie Exchange to celebrate Women’s History Month and support Black women-owned businesses
Community members will gather March 28 at Urban Exposure Garden for the Kalamazoo Cookie Exchange, a Women’s History Month event celebrating baking, neighborhood connection and three Black women-owned local businesses.
Battle Creek turns housing into a benefit for early childhood educators
A new initiative in Battle Creek will provide rent-free housing and a pathway to homeownership for early childhood educators, aiming to boost compensation, stabilize the workforce, and address the financial challenges facing one of the lowest-paid professions.
