Kalamazoo’s name is so distinctive strangers around the world have been known to break into song at hearing the name. With such a recognizable moniker you’d think Kalamazoo wouldn’t need nicknames, but through the years changing names have reflected the city’s refusal to stand still. The Zoo, Celery City and the Mall City are a few. The innovative thinking that brought downtown K’zoo the nation’s first pedestrian mall in 1959 continues to work today. Innovators have developed thriving life sciences, biotechnology and pharmaceutical firms. They build on the expertise of Kalamazoo’s universities. Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo College, Kalamazoo Valley Community College and Davenport College all are centers of research, development and technology. They surround a downtown vibrating with condos, apartments and homegrown, top-notch restaurants. The universities are woven into the city’s social fabric and contribute to a cultural scene that Kalamazooans love to boast about. The Kalamazoo Symphony, Kalamazoo Institute of Art and a vibrant local theater community are a few of the offerings. Locals also love their festivals that fill the air with music and the scents of ethnic foods wafting over the Arcadia Festival grounds and the Kalamazoo River. Outdoor activities from biking on the Kal-Haven trail to disc golf and standard golf on a nationally-acclaimed course in Milham Park are the start of the city’s leisure side. Sports fans have competitive college teams, minor league baseball and hockey to follow. And it all comes with a Promise. All high school graduates who live in Kalamazoo qualify for a scholarship that pays 100 percent of their tuition at any public university or community college.
YWCA is continuing to plan for the opening of the YWCA Edison Children’s Center, a 24-hour drop-in center that will provide affordable child care for infants to 3-year-olds as well as second- and third-shift childcare for children up to age 12.
Public Media Network's 2020 voter guide and candidate statements provides a platform for candidates to reach voters without having to pay for commercial air time, and in formats that allow them to discuss issues in more detail.
Giving residents more ways to engage with one another is the mission behind Milwood’s first-ever website.
One half of Kinetic Affect. The co-founder of Speak It Forward. A best friend. Father to Ethan. A man who listened. An inspiration to many. Kalamazoo will say goodbye this weekend.
The self-guided online program invites you to learn more about historical race-centered inequities in national, state, and local systems and institutions and how they came about. It's sponsored by the United Way of the Battle Creek and Kalamazoo Region.
A small number of people drive the violent crime in Kalamazoo. Police are seeking the community's help in finding them.
“I just didn’t want to see teachers have to pay for things out of their own pockets,” Angee McCormick McCormick said. That's why she scaled up a project she started at Parkwood Elementary to cover the whole school district. The KPS Supply Closet.
“As an art teacher, I want to provide as many resources and exposure opportunities as possible to my students," says Mandy Clearwaters, head of the KPS art department. That's why she writes grants to bolster funding for arts programs.
For 26 years the Neighborhood Watch has been helping to keep Milwood safe. Now it's also evolving into traditional community-building services.
YOU MyCity summer program where students learn about life in the real world of work makes adjustments for COVID-19 realities.
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