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.
Sybrina Fulton, mother of Trayvon Martin, the unarmed 17-year-old Florida youth shot by a neighborhood watch coordinator, will be the keynote speaker at the annual speaker series presented by WMU's Lee Honor College.
The escape room craze spreads to downtown Kalamazoo.
Technology adds a level of precision to farming that has not been seen before.
The Clemens family has a reason for the seasonings they make--keeping memories alive.
Paper with nanoparticles in it can kill viruses and bacteria in water that passes through it.
Three neighborhoods have a place to share through renovations of historic public safety station.
Her momma drove a 1940 Pontiac.
The community has the opportunity to come together again to learn about local social justice needs and decide who has the best idea for addressing those needs.
Monarchs are on the minds of those who care about growing plants. Here is what some local folks are doing about the butterfly's decline.
Tyler Stewart, an attorney focused on business law, appeals, and estate planning is the latest to join Levine & Levine, a Kalamazoo-based law firm.
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