Students learn the skills employers want in the YOU MyCity Program
YOU MyCity summer program where students learn about life in the real world of work makes adjustments for COVID-19 realities.
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.
Many felons don’t know they can vote in Michigan, says Kalamazoo NAACP
The Metropolitan Kalamazoo Branch of the NAACP wants people to know felons can vote as long as you are not actively serving a sentence. They created a video to get out that message.
Kalamazoo’s Milwood Neighborhood: Everything you could want without leaving the neighborhood
With residential, commercial, and industrial properties Milwood could be a town unto itself.
Grants help give COVID-stressed businesses a restart; lets one Kalamazoo company take a coffee break
Mamaleelu Cold Brew is among 1,434 small businesses in Southwest Michigan that are receiving grants averaging $5,000 as part of the Michigan Small Business Restart Program.
New pastor looks to bring church spirit to young people in Kalamazoo, inspire positive social change
“I want to be a part of a larger movement – of interfaith dialogue and conversation,” says the new pastor of Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church, Rev. Millard Southern III.
Fair housing ordinance passes unanimously in Kalamazoo
"Kalamazoo will be a better city tonight than we were yesterday." Those supporting changes to the city's housing ordinance that make t is easier to obtain housing for those who previously have been shut out of the housing market by a variety of barriers saw the adoption as a new day for the city.
‘Tiny’ houses are set to be a big deal in Kalamazoo’s Northside Neighborhood
Have you heard about the tiny house initiative? Real brick and mortar affordable housing for people who need it.
Plans to ‘calm’ traffic on Kalamazoo’s North Side are facing a (speed) bump in the road
Residents told city officials their original plan to slow down traffic on North Side streets did not seem feasible. Now speed humps are being considered.
Kalamazoo Literacy Council helps parents navigate digital childhood and screen time decisions
Kalamazoo Literacy Council teaches parents to be comfortable with technology and how to work with their children online.
Kalamazoo’s Social District will give customers of restaurants and taverns a chance to be outdoors
During this period of social distancing to slow the spread of COVID-19, people seem to feel more comfortable outdoors. A new Social District, that allows businesses to add outdoor seating to their restaurant or tavern has been put in place to capitalize on that.
