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.
“It makes me sad that I probably will never experience silence again because I really like silence. I like quiet, and now if I’m out walking in the woods by myself I would like to just be in the quiet."
“The stars are all connected — one big body of untouchable balls of light millions of years old. I wanted people to be able to be stars and know they hold their own potential to shine bright just like our sky when we look up. Hence our motto: 'You Hold the Light.'"
Many are not aware that victims of sextortion are typically males between the ages of 14 to 17, according to the FBI. And due to shame and fear, a vast number of incidents are underreported. Local experts raise awareness about what to look for and who not to trust.
"What you have told us basically is that hope comes from having some action you can take to make things better, either for people close to you or for the world or whatever... You've shown us that hope comes through feeling like you can do something."
"Here in the Midwest, making snowpeople is a quintessential part of childhood, and Kalamazoo youth are not ready to see that tradition end thanks to climate change."
One-ways to two-ways. Bike lanes. Slowed traffic. Taming of stroads (streets acting like roads). Change can be messy, but one local group hopes it's just a few bumps on the road to Kalamazoo becoming a Strong Town.
"I hope the Kalamazoo community takes time to celebrate the life and legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and the many others who will be highlighted in the KSO event and feel compelled to carry on the torches they left behind still lit and leading the way,”
A photograph captures a moment in time — but for a photographer, there's usually so much more to the story. Check out some of Fran Dwight's favorite 2023 photos. She shares a few thoughts about how she connected with the moment the shutter clicked.
Introducing Jennifer Cooley, the new museum education and community engagement director at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts. As the KIA approaches its 100th anniversary, she has a few surprises in store.
Middle school students navigate the daily dramas of early adolescent social life, along with other pressures. When things go south, where can they turn?
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