‘The Michigan Poem’ gets a warm response for Kinetic Affect
A Michigan poem had been on the list of what to write for the spoken word duo Kinetic Affect for a long time. When the W.K. Kellogg Foundation commissioned Gabriel […]
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.
Painted ladies and gentlemen a seasonal boost for local body artists
As Halloween approaches, Art and Body Studios is about to enter its busiest time of year. Anna Wilinski and Santiago Massano talk to Jane Parikh about the face and body painting business they are growing in Kalamazoo.
Business grows as customers become educated about solar
Solar power is something Mike Linsea has believed in for 30 years. He decided to make it his business three years ago. Kathy Jennings catches up with the owner of Solar Winds Power Systems at one of the largest the solar arrays his company has installed in Kalamazoo.
