Beyond the Headlines in 2024: Journalists reflect on stories that impacted them
A look back at the stories of 2024 through the eyes of your Southwest Michigan Second Wave writers.
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.
Bent Not Broken: Kalamazoo nonprofit empowers families affected by the juvenile justice system
Through participatory defense support and community collaboration, Bent Not Broken aims to disrupt the systemic juvenile injustice cycles in Kalamazoo.
Treading lightly: The ethics and how-tos of reducing our carbon footprints
What is our personal and collective responsibility in reducing our carbon footprint? Learn about the City of Kalamazoo's commitment and what individual residents can do to contribute.
Voices of Youth: Why can’t I wear hoodies and text my friends in Kalamazoo Public Schools?
New rules prohibiting cell phones and hoodies at Kalamazoo Public Schools have some students wondering why. Voices of Youth's Braylon Youker speaks with students and KPS Superintendent Dr. Darrin Slade to find out more.
Voices of Youth: Meet Darrin Slade, the tough, new superintendent of Kalamazoo Public Schools
With a year under his belt, Kalamazoo Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Darrin Slade has instituted some stricter student conduct rules and is pleased with the success. But he says there's still a ways to go.
Can the ‘River of Death’ be tamed? West Main residents, businesses express appetite for ‘road diet’
In Kalamazoo, street calming has helped to decrease accidents by 23 percent. Residents and business owners along West Main, a major artery to downtown, are also requesting changes to slow the hazardous flow of traffic.
‘Tiny’ house project sends a hard-to-place population to the front of the line
Tiny houses, a project that has been years in the making, has celebrated its grand opening in Kalamazoo. Each of the one-story houses – which have about 410 square feet of living space – was built to provide housing for individuals who are trying to improve their lives after being incarcerated or after recovering from substance abuse disorders
For Christmas, this Kalamazoo group is booking hotel rooms for the unhoused
A local advocacy group is working to provide a safe and warm Christmas setting for up to 100 unhoused people in the greater Kalamazoo area. Find out how Kalamazoo Together for the Unhoused is working to raise money, collect contributions, and schedule volunteer efforts for its third annual Heads in Beds for Christmas.
Voices of Youth: How safe is the Kalamazoo River?
Voices of Youth Sophie Baldwin speaks with Doug McLaughlin, executive director of Kalamazoo Watershed Council, to learn more about the pollutants in the Kalamazoo River and what impacts they have.
Voices of Youth: ACLU, YWCA Kalamazoo sue Michigan over Medicaid’s abortion coverage ban
ACLU Kalamazoo and YWCA Kalamazoo are bringing a suit against the State of Michigan because of a ban on funding abortion care for Medicaid recipients.
