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.
What do an "unhinged" taco-buying customer, a spoken word duo, and dancers from Move with Joy have in common? They all recently came together to raise awareness and funds for down payment assistance for Edison neighborhood homebuyers.
Republicans and Democrats agree that expensive campaigns, disinformation, and 'dark money' are all threats to fair elections. Citizens Rising, a nonpartisan Kalamazoo group, hosted a recent forum on protecting democracy.
Tsugi Ogane's recent visit to Kalamazoo, her sister city, rekindled memories of visits past, including Mike Morrison's stories shared by his grandfather, former Kalamazoo Mayor Paul Morrison, regarding his visit to Numazu, Japan in 1963.
“I think it’s that balance between outreach and enforcement that is what’s working. . .The outreach folks are talking to the enforcement folks and vice-versa. I think that’s what’s really got a handle on our shootings and homicides.”
"The vision for Kalamazoo after the success of the program is a community that knows how to self-regulate, not only when traumatic experiences happen, but in their daily lives."
“We understand that traditional businesses are often being funded and started by traditional white males. The new fund answers the question: “So how do we support people outside of that group?”
Women are helping harness wind as a renewable energy source thanks to Kalamazoo Valley Community College's nationally-recognized Wind Turbine Training Academy.
Thanks to the vision and hard work of the building's neighbors, a charming one-room schoolhouse in Cooper Township now hosts small events that celebrate important milestones — and more.
"Some days it doesn't feel real." That's the reaction David Harris has when he surveys the house that he now calls his own after years of being unhoused.
La terapia asistida por caballos, en la que un terapeuta de salud mental tiene formación adicional para usar caballos como parte del plan de tratamiento, es una modalidad que parece estar en expansión por todo el país. Esto es particularmente cierto en la era post-Covid, ya que el número de niños diagnosticados con ansiedad, depresión o ambas ha aumentado considerablemente.
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