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.
When it comes to thinking about the next economy and how to move cities and regions forward, Bruce Katz knows what he is talking about. Natalie Burg talks with him to solicit ideas on where Michigan should be heading.
Kalamazoo has really good dirt, perfect dirt for BMX riders. Second Wave's Kathy Jennings talks to pro-level rider Jeremy Ball about these bikers with college degrees who have built a community and a series of trails that most locals know nothing about.
The ivy league look of Kalamazoo College's quad and WMU's East Campus were just what Matthew and Jeffrey Fine were looking for when they imagined the setting of their film "Cherry". Guest contributor Dave Krieger talks about the incentives that brought the Fines here and why they are good for the state.
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