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.
Kalamazoo ingenuity is shining these days. Case in point: a local effort to local effort to produce protective intubation boxes has far-reaching potential.
Officials report inmate count is down by about 50% at Kalamazoo County Jail as the cases of nonviolent, misdemeanor, and low-risk criminal suspects are reviewed to see who must be in jail and whose incarceration can wait for social distancing to ease.
A professional tells us good communication needs to start long before a crisis hits and continue long after.
Two COVID-19 testing sites open Thursday, April 23.
The United Way's Chris Sargent tells us: The Battle Creek and Kalamazoo region is rising up, determined to help every single person and family through this crisis.
A look at how three small businesses in the Kalmaazoo area are faring during the shut down precipitated by the spread of COVID-19.
In this week's blog Executive Director of the Douglass Community Center says he has been able to stay more than positive during this time "because I have faith that this too shall pass."
With 3D technology, WMU is helping to protect medical professionals in the fight to stop the COVID-19 outbreak.
When you are planning one of the region's biggest events it's common to plan for all kinds of contingencies. A novel coronavirus isn't usually one of them. Here's how the Gilmore Keyboard Festival is adjusting to the new reality.
Buying a meal helps a local restaurateur. Serving a meal helps healthcare workers facing down COVID-19. This is the work of Feed the Fight Kalamazoo.
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