Finishing the Ride: Kalamazoo cyclists, residents find comfort in camaraderie
One celebrity, 700 bicyclists, and five ghost bikes in a row.
Kalamazoo
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.
Portrait of a Mayor: Bobby Hopewell
In his fifth comic for Southwest Michigan’s Second Wave, artist Simon Kalil Borst follows Kalamazoo Mayor Bobby Hopewell over a couple fast-paced weeks on the job, learning a little about the man behind the office of mayor for a city of about 75,500 people.
Youth summit on racism offers chance to vent and learn
When young people said they didn't have a place to talk about race and racism, SHARE stepped up and offered the middle and high schoolers a summit of their own.
Store dedicated to water paddle sports opens in Benton Harbor
A new store in Benton Harbor is all about those who want to get out on the water in a kayak, stand-up paddleboards, or canoe. Third Coast Paddling recently opened at 241 E. Main Street in the Benton Harbor Arts District.
Activate: Midwest gives audiences first peek at brand new plays
Because new plays are integral to the future of American theater there is Active: Midwest. The Western Michigan University Departments of theater and English will host the event June 16, 17 and 18.
Island Festival to move near Growler Stadium, no longer in it
Island Fest, the reggae and Caribbean music and food festival will be near the Growlers Stadium, on a grassy field at Mayor's Riverfront Park.
Fare Games offers incentives for food business to locate in Washington Square
Free marketing, legal services, interior design and reduced rent are all part of a package designed to entice a business built around food to Washington Square. Competition for the space is called Fare Games.
The Can-Do Kitchen sets up business in a new location
The Can-Do Kitchen helps food businesses go from idea to reality. Now it's got more room to do that.
The streets are alive with slow rollin’ bike riders
How would neighborhoods change if every day was a day you could safely take a slow rollin' bike ride through its streets? In the Vine neighborhood, they are riding together.
How WMU Cooley Law Innocence Project uses DNA, forensic evidence to help the wrongfully imprisoned
When no one else believes they are not guilty, the WMU Cooley Law Innocence Project is helping those wrongly convicted.
