Battle Creek

With an economic development organization that is the envy of many communities, Battle Creek is a city building on its food industry roots and the land that makes it the state’s third largest city. For fun, each year the Cereal City, world headquarters to the Kellogg Co., celebrates the significance of the most important meal of the day with the World’s Longest Breakfast table. Bikers, cyclers and joggers take in the parks, forests and streams linked by a 24-mile linear park. Campers and outdoor lovers visit Fort Custer Recreation area for fishing, hiking, cross country skiing and boating. For animal lovers, African creatures, like giraffes, and Asian animals, like snow leopards, make the Binder Park Zoo a must. The Battle Creek Art Center and Battle Creek Symphony stoke the city’s cultural offerings and the new Firekeepers Casino adds to the city’s fun side. B.C’s Math and Science Center is acclaimed and secondary education needs are accommodated by Kellogg Community College, Robert B. Miller College and a branch of Western Michigan University. And Sojourner Truth, who lived here, watches over downtown from the memorial in her honor.

Voices of Youth: CnE podcast focuses on social media and mental health

By Cordell Barnes and Elisha Wilson

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Community Development

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May 11, 2023

Voices of Youth Battle Creek participants, Elisha Willis and Cordell Barnes, listen to a lot of podcasts and wanted to try one of their own. They decided to focus on social media and its impact on teen mental health. In this conversational format, Elisha and Cordell, with their mentor Gerald King, touch on negative and positive impacts of social media and how to keep it all real. Listen to the CnE Podcast to get the real scoop on social media and teens today.

Agreement between KCC and GVSU eases transfer concerns for students

By Jane Parikh

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General

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May 4, 2023

Kellogg Community College is strengthening its bridge from associates to bachelors degrees at Grand Valley State University. Credit alignment, programming, and pre-transfer support are part of the collaborative effort. "Our advisors will be coming to KCC to work with these students," says Al Shiflett, Director of Community Engagement with GVSU's BC Regional Outreach Center. "They’ll be Lakers from day one even if they’re not at GVSU yet."

Voices of Youth: Through words and art, Battle Creek youth share what matters to them

By Jane Parikh

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General

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May 4, 2023

Southwest Michigan Second Wave is thrilled to launch its third cohort of stories from Voices of Youth Battle Creek, a student-paid journalism-training program. Over the next four weeks, we will be publishing the students' passionate stories and artwork that reflect on issues that matter most to them. Read on to learn more.

Voices of Youth Battle Creek: Pandemic-related impact on teen mental health

By Lauren Davis

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Community Development

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May 4, 2023

The pandemic's long-term shutdowns may be over, we all hope, but there's been some collateral impact among adolescents who were forced into isolation at one of the most social times of their high school lives. Voices of Youth writer Lauren Davis, a senior at Lakeview High School, speaks with peers and experts about these lingering effects and what can be done to help.

Learning Tool or Teaching Threat: Students and educators talk ChatGPT

By Jane Parikh

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General

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April 27, 2023

Since its November launch, ChatGPT has created a stir of controversy. Some local teachers and students can see both its benefits and drawbacks. One Lakeview High School senior says she can see how the AI tool could help with generating essay ideas, but as far as using it in place of her own writing, she says, “It would create an interesting perspective, but it would never be your own work."

Battle Creek’s Litter Ladies and Lads make a difference one piece of trash at a time

By Jane Parikh

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General

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April 27, 2023

On the first publicly-celebrated Earth Day since the pandemic, Southwest Michiganders gathered to plant, weed, and beautify. For the Litter Ladies and Lads in Battle Creek who pick up trash year-round to protect humans and wildlife, every day is Earth Day.

Tribal Governance focus of new graduate certificate at Western Michigan University

By Jane Parikh

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General

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April 20, 2023

Southwest Michigan Native American Tribal leaders and Western Michigan University are inauagarting a long-desired Graduate Certificate in Tribal Governance. “This program is not only for Native citizens but also for people who don’t have any affiliation with Tribal Communities,” says Ben Brenner, member of the Gun Lake Tribal Council. “I hope it will be the spark that guides people back home to their Tribes."

New Arts Collaborative supports and boosts Battle Creek’s creatives

By Jane Parikh

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General

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April 13, 2023

Exciting things are happening in Battle Creek's art scene. The new Arts and Culture Collaborative of Battle Creek will provide resources, support, space to create, and possibilities for creative collaboration, with a specific focus on helping marginalized artists. "Without creative careers, a city will fail," says Vania Word, ACCBC Executive Director.

Depression, anxiety on the rise for youth: Local approaches aim to address their mental health needs

By Julie Mack, Southwest Michigan Journalism Collaborative

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General

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April 12, 2023

The Southwest Michigan Journalism Collaborative, through its Mental Wellness Project, is profiling six approaches that address growing concerns about mental health issues experienced by young people in its new solutions-focused reporting series, A Way Through: Strategies for Youth Mental Health.

School-based clinic offers convenient mental-health care for Battle Creek Central students

By Nicole Morehouse, New/Nueva Opinion

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Arts & Culture

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April 10, 2023

As mental-health concerns for youth rise, behavioral health consultants provide onsite counseling services to students in schools across Calhoun County. The social workers there have a high level of expertise and experience in conditions such as stress, anxiety, grief, and depression.