April 30, 2018
State’s VC funding looks bleak, but there’s hope
Business Journal reporting on dozens of entrepreneurial startups in the West Michigan region and the uptick in startups by the millennial generation has been sustained. Colleges, universities, 5×5 Night, Start Garden, Grand Rapids Opportunities for Women and several other organizational efforts provide entrepreneurial lessons, opportunity, encouragement and funding. Within that framework, it is disappointing to […]
If everyone else jumps into a cloud, would you?
In the first West Michigan IT Report, Worksighted anonymously surveyed a diverse cross section of IT leaders from dozens of local manufacturers, professional services firms, nonprofits, retailers and others. In addition to taking a pulse on business growth, the survey focused on five prevailing IT topics: security, spending, cloud, business continuity and future trends. In […]
Change Ups: Penning named member of Arthur W. Page Society
Tim Penning, professor of advertising and public relations at Grand Valley State University, was named a member of the Arthur W. Page Society — a professional association for senior public relations and corporate communications executives who seek to improve and support their profession. Penning intends to use his membership in the society to directly benefit […]
Public Record
MORTGAGES Selected mortgages filed with Kent County Register of Deeds COX, Derrick et al, Envoy Mortgage, Chalet Estates East No. 5, Lot 124, $350,000 MILLER, Nancy J. et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Cannon Twp., 15-8-10, $265,500 ARNDT, Richard David et al, JPMorgan Chase Bank, Condo-River Bluffs, $275,600 MCCONE PROPERTIES LLC, Huntington National Bank, Grand […]
Street Talk: Marijuana backers celebrate
Legalizing marijuana for adult use is now on the November ballot. The Michigan State Board of Canvassers on April 26 approved the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol’s petition to place the initiative on the state’s November ballot. The initiative would legalize marijuana possession and consumption for all adults 21 years and older. The possession […]
Avoid unexpected surprises with self-analysis
Historically, when a person or a couple of people started a new business, it was because they identified a need, or they believed they had something special they could offer customers. Often, it was a way for someone to do something they enjoyed or to better utilize a special skill. From these beginnings, the entrepreneur(s), […]
City eyes $586M spending plan
The Grand Rapids City Commission will discuss a proposed fiscal spending plan before it is implemented in July. Interim City Manager Eric DeLong presented the preliminary spending plan for fiscal year 2019 to the city commissioners last week. The proposed $586,593,168 spending plan is geared toward communications, affordable housing, community and police relations, legacy costs, […]
Industrial real estate in ‘historically high demand’
West Michigan’s real estate professionals are anticipating a new wave of industrial construction based on market activity in the first quarter of 2018. According to Colliers International West Michigan’s first-quarter market reports, industrial real estate is in “historically high demand,” with overall occupancy levels nearing 95 percent and an average asking rent of $4.95 per […]
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Kent County bonds at top rate for 20th year
Kent County received the highest possible credit ratings for the 20th consecutive year. The ratings come from agencies S&P Global and Moody’s Investors Service. The long-term bonds were rated AAA, while the short-term notes were rated MIG1 (Moody’s) and SP-1+ (Standard & Poor’s). Kent County is among only 25 counties in the country with these […]
State faces venture capital shortage
A new report shows the state’s 134 venture-backed startups will require $627 million to fund their growth in the next two years — far more than Michigan-based VC funds have available. The 2018 Michigan Venture Capital Association (MVCA) investment report, released April 18, shows the 21 Michigan-based VC firms had a total of $445 million […]
Kent County property values reach all-time high
Kent County’s equalized property values have increased from last year’s all-time high. The state equalization value for a combined total of real and personal property is $27,131,963,621, a 4.7 percent increase from the previous year. This marks the sixth year of increases. There are roughly a quarter-million properties in the county. That total number includes […]
Office leasing activity slows in 1Q
West Michigan’s office market stayed strong in the first quarter of 2018, although rent and vacancy rates are beginning to level off, as Class A tenants either consolidate or leave downtown due to lack of parking. According to JLL’s quarterly office report, leasing activity was a little slower than in previous quarters, with no major […]
Census numbers boost region
(As seen on WZZM TV 13) Kent County’s population grew by nearly 6,500 people in one year, according to newly released U.S. Census Bureau numbers. From 2016 to 2017, the county’s population grew 1 percent to 648,594 people. Comparing numbers of people alone, Kent County saw the highest number of people joining the population during […]
Area’s economy scores with sports teams, fans
Sports can mean many different things to many different people. It can be used as a platform to promote cultural change, such as Jesse Owens’ stance against racial injustice at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, or sports can simply be used as family entertainment. Regardless of the intent, however, there is one common denominator: […]
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Inside Track: Finding his calling
John Glover said his experience growing up in poverty is what propelled him to direct service work for those in a similar position. Living in poverty in the South Bronx during the 1960s and 1970s was as bad as one could imagine, he said. He grew up in public housing, and his family experienced “everything […]
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Hemp business grows global
As the conversation around the legalization and distribution of marijuana heats up, there is one part of the plant that has allowed a local business to flourish. For almost five years, Michigan Herbal Remedies (MHR Brands) has distributed hemp products across the country. Jeff Gallagher, founder of MHR Brands, has been selling hemp-based products, such […]
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Talent development program offers ‘connections’
The Leadership Grand Rapids program appears on the résumés of many a community pillar in West Michigan — but why is that? Ask a graduate — of whom there are nearly 1,200 since the program was established by the Center for Community Leadership at the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce in 1985 — and […]
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Entrepreneurs spread cookie love
The mom-and-pop operators behind Daddy’s Dough say cookies are a universal language, and they are getting fluent. When MarcQus Wright first started baking cookies a few years ago, he took a batch to work and got an enthusiastic reaction from his co-workers — but he wondered if, perhaps, they were just being polite. When he […]
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Millennials embrace entrepreneurship
Recent studies show the time to start a business is now, and one report reveals millennials are taking that to heart. The 2018 Amway Global Entrepreneurship Report published last month surveyed nearly 49,000 men and women ages 14-99 worldwide and found 68 percent of those under 35 had a strong desire to start a business, […]
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Real estate firm empowers women
Hello Homes GR is working to set a model for women professionals. The small residential real estate firm, comprised of six women, recently moved into a new office space to expand its capabilities. “I’m really passionate about empowering other women, so it was important for me to be a woman leader for our industry, so […]
