WMU brings med school dean candidates to campus
The three men who want to be the founding dean of Western Michigan University’s School of Medicine will visit campus and make public presentations in coming weeks. They were chosen […]
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.
From shanties to shelters, company wants to help
Getting people out of tents and into permanent shelters is the goal of a new company with ties to Kalamazoo. Second Wave Editor Kathy Jennings reports a story of how snap-together construction could making life better in places where housing is hard to find.
Growing the local economy with locally grown food
Almost everyone knows buying local fruit and vegetables means you eat better. But it's just as tasty for the local economy. And it's easy to do in Michigan, the state second only to California in agricultural diversity. Writer Zinta Aistars talks to those in the know on the local food scene about all the benefits.
