Fran Dwight
Fran Dwight

New leader of Battle Creek’s Burma Center talks challenges and opportunities Read Article

John Grap

Starr Commonwealth broadens its reach through partnership with GVSU's Omni initiative Read Article

Fran Dwight

Weekend pedal: A Kalamazooan tours Detroit at the 'speed of bike' Read Article

Fran Dwight

Family fun will be in focus at Kalamazoo’s 4th Annual Anti-gun Violence Community Carnival Read Article

Fran Dwight

City and County are strategizing for better housing in Kalamazoo area Read Article

Members of the Kalamazoo City Commission voted on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024 to work with Kalamazoo County to fund new strategies for housing.
Photo: Members of the Kalamazoo City Commission voted on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024 to work with Kalamazoo County to fund new strategies for housing.

As teens experience mental health crisis, music therapy is one way they are finding help Read Article

Adolescentes en crisis mental encuentran alivio en musicoterapia Read Article

Fourth Estate Acquires Issue Media Group Read Article

Features

Feature Story Kids Count Kids and Education

Kids Count focuses on childhood and early learning in Battle Creek, Calhoun County, and beyond

Jane ParikhThursday, September 5, 2024
“It’s often more expensive to pay for childcare than it is to pay rent or a mortgage which makes it hard for families to want to grow. There’s more that we can be doing so families have access to paid or medical leave. When employees are not guaranteed paid time off it makes it harder.”
Feature Story Sacred Earth Sustainability

How to offer hope to earth's youngest stewards about climate change

Zinta AistarsThursday, September 5, 2024
“You can’t save a place you don’t love. You can’t love a place you don’t know. And you can’t know a place you haven’t learned.” – Baba Dioum, a Senegalese environmentalist
Feature Story Gilmore Car Museum Transportation

Day Tripper: The Gilmore Car Museum is a jaunty trip down memory lane — car person or not

Theresa Coty O'NeilThursday, September 5, 2024
Whether you come from Kalamazoo or Battle Creek, the Gilmore Car Museum delivers on a scenic, country drive and a rewarding destination. The 90-acre campus features over 400 pristine, well-cared-for automobiles, affordable diner fare, and to top off the visit, a choice of ice creams — custard or Plainwell.
Feature Story Ripple Effects Equity

New Community Inclusion Center in Portage creating Ripple Effects

Mike WenningerThursday, August 29, 2024
"We don’t get to choose how other people parent because we don’t know their child or their child’s needs so really it’s a place where you be the family that you are and we want to encourage you, pat you on the back, let you know to keep going."
Feature Story DoubleTree Economic Development

DoubleTree Hotel in BC to offer premier hospitality for guests, hands-on learning for students

Jane ParikhThursday, August 29, 2024
Battle Creek welcomes DoubleTree Hotel by Hilton in September. As part of a unique community partnership, the hotel will feature luxury accommodations and a hospitality training center, the first 'training hotel' in Southwest Michigan.
Longform Manufactured Homes Housing Solutions Community Development

New manufactured homes at Sugarloaf Park part of the mix of housing for low-income county families

Mark WedelThursday, August 29, 2024
Ten manufactured homes will be going to ten families with school-aged children, families who've experienced homelessness and are at 60% area median income.
Feature Story ALICE Sustainability

United Way of South Central Michigan putting a focus on ALICE in Battle Creek and Calhoun County

Jane ParikhThursday, August 29, 2024
"A four-person family needs $10,952 monthly, or $65.71 an hour, to be financially stable. Yet nearly three-quarters of the top 20 occupations in Michigan pay less than $20 an hour. That means thousands of people in our communities are working full-time but don’t earn enough to make ends meet."
Feature Story Detroit Pedal Transportation

Part Two, Weekend Pedal: Touring Detroit at the 'speed of bike'

Mark WedelThursday, August 29, 2024
What's it like to take a midnight pedal through the city with the Marauders, one of Detroit's many bike clubs? Read on to find out about a Kalamazoo bicyclist's urban adventures!
Longform Hope for the Planet Arts and Culture

Kalamazoo Lyceum: Hope for the Planet inspired by creating relationship with the earth

Mark WedelThursday, August 29, 2024
A youth climate activist, an eco-spiritually focused Catholic nun, and a sustainability and tiny home advocate had a lively discussion at a recent Kalamazoo Lyceum. The upshot: Engage frequently with nature and welcome inconveniences that benefit the earth.
Longform Danielle Atkinson, founder and national director of Mothering Justice, has been instrumental in advocating for paid leave in Michigan. Second Wave - MichiganHealthy Communities

Paid sick leave and family leave are moving forward in Michigan. Here's what's next.

Estelle SlootmakerThursday, August 29, 2024
For more than a decade, Michigan advocacy groups and some legislators have been working to expand paid leave from work for Michiganders – and this year, their efforts are paying off in two major ways.
Feature Story Aces SWMi Journalism Collaborative Second Wave - MichiganHealthy Communities

Comprender las experiencias adversas: un paso hacia la recuperación infantil

Jane ParikhThursday, August 29, 2024
El método de puntuación ACE está iluminando la relación entre el estrés que enfrentan los niños y que conduce a problemas de salud pública en el futuro. La conciencia de esas conexiones está creciendo en Battle Creek y en otras partes del condado de Calhoun.
Feature Story ACES Southwest Michigan Journalism Collab youth mental health Healthy Communities

Uncovering Adverse Childhood Experiences and trauma-informed care intervention helps children thrive

Jane ParikhThursday, August 29, 2024
The ACE scoring method is illuminating the relationship between stresses that children face that lead to public health problems later in life. Awareness of those connections is growing in Battle Creek and elsewhere in Calhoun County.
Feature Story A high jumper competes in the 2024 Hartford Nationals. Equity

West Michigan to Host 2025 and 2026 National Adaptive Sports Championship

Shandra MartinezWednesday, August 28, 2024
Grand Rapids will host the 2025 and 2026 Hartford Nationals, showcasing adaptive athletes and highlighting the city’s commitment to accessibility, inclusivity, and world-class sporting events.
Feature Story PHN-Sinan-Mikhael-administers -MMR-VaccineLIST Second Wave - MichiganHealthy Communities

Immunizations have long spared Michiganders from disease and death

Rylee BarnsdaleTuesday, August 27, 2024
In March 2024, Michigan experienced its first confirmed case of measles since 2019, reporting five unrelated cases throughout the state as of April 10. These cases were only some of many throughout sixteen other states, leading public health officials across Michigan to quickly respond.
Longform Burma Center Community Development

New leader of Battle Creek’s Burma Center talks challenges and opportunities

Jane ParikhThursday, August 22, 2024
“My biggest passion and mission for the Burma Center is to empower our people and make these people valued in this community and make sure that their voices are heard so that they can thrive alongside other people here so they can be successful like other families."
Feature Story Detroit Pedal Transportation

Weekend pedal: A Kalamazooan tours Detroit at the 'speed of bike'

Mark WedelThursday, August 22, 2024
What better way to visit Detroit than by bike? Writer Mark Wedel, an avid cyclist, decided to test his pedal mettle in the Motor City. He discovered a bicyclist's urban nirvana.
Feature Story Anti-gun Violence Carnival Safe Communities

Family fun will be in focus at Kalamazoo’s 4th Annual Anti-gun Violence Community Carnival

Al JonesThursday, August 22, 2024
Rev. Lenzy Bell, Vice President of the Northside Ministerial Alliance, speaks on the importance of community involvement to change the tide of the epidemic of gun violence among youth. A day of family fun, he says, lets youth and city leaders see the joy and community spirit.
Feature Story Starr Commonwealth Kids and Education

Starr Commonwealth broadens its reach through partnership with GVSU's Omni initiative

Jane ParikhThursday, August 22, 2024
Starr Commonwealth in Albion is partnering with Grand Valley State University in its Omni initiative to provide adults with the knowledge and tools they need to work with children who experience trauma.
Feature Story Housing funding Housing Solutions Community Development

City and County are strategizing for better housing in Kalamazoo area

Al JonesThursday, August 22, 2024
The City of Kalamazoo is working with Kalamazoo County to develop strategies to fund projects to help struggling families to find good housing. The intent is to use $1.2 million in federal funding to connect and amplify existing community resources, and to inspire additional investment in them in order to help struggling families to find good housing.  
Longform Music Therapy Youth Mental Health SWMi Journalism Collab Healthy Communities

As teens experience mental health crisis, music therapy is one way they are finding help

Julie RiddleThursday, August 22, 2024
With its nonthreatening familiarity and connection to the human brain, music gives therapists a door into teens’ emotions. Music therapy helps teens identify, verbalize, and study their emotions, empowering them to change the way they act and feel. 
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Battle Creek

Battle Creek's Washington Heights reaching new heights in affordable housing stock

“We have demonstrated that we’ll do what we say we’re going to do. Some of the barriers we’ve had to overcome we’ve looked at as opportunities. These new homes will be an opportunity for residents to create generational wealth and go from renter-ship to homeownership.” For the full story, click here. For more stories, please visit here.
 

Kalamazoo

Beyond belief: How faith communities are lighting the way on climate change

In this first installment of our Sacred Earth series, we speak with Dr. Cybelle Shattuck, whose combined interests in sustainability and religion have helped her identify how faith institutions engage, support, and undertake earth care. Read the full story here. Read more stories here.
 

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