Battle Creek's Free Hub Cycle Club
Battle Creek's Free Hub Cycle Club John Grap
Battle Creek's Free Hub Cycle Club
Battle Creek's Free Hub Cycle Club John Grap
John Grap

Building trust, alleviating fear: A bold plan to transform Black healthcare in Battle Creek Read Article

Voices of Youth: The pros and cons of high school sports Read Article

Battle Creek's Free Hub Cycle Club
Photo: Battle Creek's Free Hub Cycle Club John Grap

ALICE Report: Rising number of households struggling to make ends meet Read Article

Battle Creek's Free Hub Cycle Club
Photo: Battle Creek's Free Hub Cycle Club John Grap

Features

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Feature Story Kalamazoo Friends of Recreation Kids and Education

Kalamazoo Friends of Recreation helps fund youth for summer fun

Mark WedelThursday, July 6, 2023
School's out for the summer and some youth may be feeling restless. Why not enroll in a Kalamazoo Park Recreation program, Kik Pool, WMU eSports, or Camp Kzoo? For free! Thanks to the Kalamazoo Friends of Recreation.
Feature Story Since being diagnosed with dementia, Monica Downer (center, being interviewed) has become an activist for awareness of her disease. Second Wave - MichiganHealthy Communities

PODCAST: Dementia disparities in communities of color

Patrick DunnWednesday, July 5, 2023
Dementia is challenging for everyone, but it takes a particularly heavy toll in communities of color. Here's how people living with dementia, researchers, and activists are working to change that in Michigan.
Longform MRC artWorks Community Development

Kalamazoo's MRC Industries cultivates ability in people with disabilities

Mark WedelThursday, June 29, 2023
Downtown art patrons are familiar with MRC artWorks and its colorful storefront. For 54 years, MRC Industries has been cultivating the artist in people with disabilities while preparing them through job and living skills training to lead full, independent lives. With new CEO Dan Pontius, positive changes are on the horizon.
Longform Karma House Wellness Healthy Communities

Good Karma in Battle Creek

Jane ParikhThursday, June 29, 2023
Did you know there is a Zen Buddhist monastery and affiliated wellness center in Battle Creek? Karma House Wellness Center and the Buddhist Temple Monastery are quietly doing their part to support the community by offering trauma-informed yoga, mindfulness classes, and sliding-scale therapy through Senshu, LLC.
Feature Story Kalamazoo Black Arts Festival Arts and Culture

Kalamazoo Black Arts Festival features local talent and R&B legend

Al JonesThursday, June 29, 2023
The 37th Annual Kalamazoo Black Arts Festival on Saturday, July 8, promises to be the best yet with dozens of local performers and artists, delicious food, informational vendors, and a very special well-known guest who will cap the festivities. Not to be missed!
Feature Story Trail Tales Healthy Communities

Trail Tales: Five underrated Southwest Michigan nature trails make the travel worthwhile

Sam KappThursday, June 29, 2023
Embark on an awe-inspiring journey to unveil the lesser-known properties under Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy’s stewardship, as the remarkable biodiversity and natural beauty of these places are revealed close to your own backyard.
Longform Students run a farm stand as part of Partridge Creek Farm's farm to school program in Ishpeming. Second Wave - MichiganHealthy Communities

Michigan programs empower kids to be community health leaders

Estelle SlootmakerThursday, June 29, 2023
When kids take the reins, health and wellness programs take off in new and wonderful directions that the adults in charge would never have anticipated. 
Feature Story Cyndy Hund, pictured here with her husband Mike, quit her job due to her dementia symptoms – but it still took her another four years to get a diagnosis. Second Wave - MichiganHealthy Communities

PODCAST: No more "diagnose and adios": Rethinking dementia diagnosis

Patrick DunnWednesday, June 28, 2023
Getting a dementia diagnosis can be a challenging, years-long process. Here's how Michiganders living with dementia and those who care for them are working to change that.
Longform ALICE 2023 Equity

ALICE households increase in Calhoun County

Jane ParikhThursday, June 22, 2023
Over 15,000 Calhoun County residents are living above the poverty line but below the "survival income" line, an area known as the Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed (ALICE) threshold. "It's real people and so many people," says Alyssa Stewart of UWSCM. "Tens of thousands. . .are carrying an invisible weight and saying, 'I'm on the razor's edge.'"
Feature Story Turn2 Foundation Kids and Education

Kalamazoo Central athletic fields get major renovation care of Derek Jeter's Turn 2 Foundation

Al JonesThursday, June 22, 2023
A long-anticipated $5.2 million renovation of Kalamazoo Central High School's baseball and athletic fields is taking place this summer, which means next year's teams will get to debut the fields. All thanks to a generous donation from KC famous alumnus and Hall of Famer Derek Jeter and his Turn2 Foundation. Play ball!
Feature Story HEARTS Safe Communities

Hands Extended Among Randomly Taken Souls from gun violence in Battle Creek

Jane ParikhThursday, June 22, 2023
In her grief, one Battle Creek woman seeks to support others whose loved ones have also been victims of gun violence. A life-taking bullet creates a hole that makes emotional closure difficult. HEARTS is there to help share and ease the pain.
Longform Summer in the City Arts and Culture

Photo Essay: Kalamazoo springs into celebration before summer even starts

Fran DwightThursday, June 22, 2023
Kalamazoo knows how to have fun. Even before summer's official start on Wednesday, the city has been celebrating the sunny season: Kalamazoo Art Fair, Do-Dah Parade, Food Truck Fridays, Pride, Juneteenth, Queer the Block, and music everywhere! Our roving photographer extraordinaire Fran Dwight captured a few images of Kalamazoo charging with exuberance out of Covid hibernation. Enjoy!
Longform A Way Home: Tamika Williams Building Communities

Nine months of searching for housing proves frustrating for a mom with three children

Mark WedelWednesday, June 21, 2023
The search for housing can be its own form of trauma. For Tamika Williams a $1,215 unpaid rent payment has been standing between her and a place to stay for her and her two children as she has visited agency after agency since September of 2022. But there appears to be help on the horizon.
Feature Story SOH Podcast Ep 1 Second Wave - MichiganHealthy Communities

PODCAST: Dementia is not a death sentence

Patrick DunnWednesday, June 21, 2023
As we kick off the second season of the Michigan's State of Health podcast, we'll introduce you to some of the Michiganders who are working to reframe dementia – including people who are living with dementia themselves.
Feature Story A Way Home: County Millage 2023 Building Communities

Kalamazoo County OKs $6.2 million for affordable housing and assistance. Here's where it's going.

Al JonesWednesday, June 21, 2023
Kalamazoo County continues to move ahead with spending for affordable housing and programs to assist both would-be-homeowners and those struggling to stay in their homes. For 2023, the County Board has approved the allocation of $6.2 million in funds from the countywide millage known as 'Housing for All.'
Partner Content AAoM GR staff Second Wave - Michigan

West Michigan welcomes Autism Alliance of Michigan to new office in Grand Rapids area

Estelle SlootmakerTuesday, June 20, 2023
Autism Alliance of Michigan is opening a new office in the Grand Rapids area.
Feature Story Lucia Rios has been honored as the 2023 Media Person of the Year by the WMPRSA for her work as co-editor of the Disability Inclusion series. Equity

Disability Inclusion editor Lucia Rios named Media Person of the Year

Shandra MartinezTuesday, June 20, 2023
Lucia Rios has been honored as the 2023 Media Person of the Year by the WMPRSA for her work as co-editor of the Disability Inclusion series. This multi-year series runs in The Lakeshore WM, Rapid Growth and Second Wave Southwest Michigan.  
Feature Story Megan and Andrew Howe enjoy the great outdoors. Equity

Accountant with hearing loss advocates for her success

Kym ReinstadlerFriday, June 16, 2023
Hungerford Nichols accountant Megan Howe talks about navigating her personal and professional life with hearing loss.
Feature Story Los Artistas Arts and Culture

Los Artistas of the Great Lakes: Latinx art show debuts in Battle Creek

Jane ParikhThursday, June 15, 2023
In healing colors, five Michigan-based Latinx artists display their work at Commerce Pointe in Downtown Battle Creek until the end of July. “If you have something within you that you want to express I tell people to take it out of yourself and put it into art,” says Fausto Fernandez, a Battle Creek participating artist.
Feature Story Kalamazoo Dry Goods Entrepreneurship

Kalamazoo Dry Goods and DRUE Salon are two downtown businesses that celebrate year-round Pride

Casey GrootenThursday, June 15, 2023
It's Pride Month, and in downtown Kalamazoo, flags are flying and crosswalks are rainbowed. Southwest Michigan Second Wave Writer Casey Grooten speaks to two LGBTQ+ allied business owners — one new and one that's been around for a decade — about their Kalamazoo Pride and concerns they share about a changing climate for LGBTQ+ folks.
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Battle Creek

Former local shelter transforms into lifeline for Southwest Michigan Veterans

“We are the only Veterans organization in Southwest Michigan doing what we’re doing. I like to call us a neutral spot. We don’t care what branch of the service you were in or what your discharge status is. People I’ve talked to have said it’s about time." For more On the Ground Battle Creek stories, please visit here.
 

Kalamazoo

Helping Vets in Kalamazoo who were 'smoked by life'


In 2024, 32,882 veterans experienced homelessness in the United States, and 68 of those were in Kalamazoo County, though local officials say they are sure that number has since increased. Many unhoused veterans don’t know there are benefits and programs that can help. Here’s how to get connected.Read the full story here. Read more stories here.
 

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