Archives

Three industrial roofs collapse in West Michigan

Two industrial facility roofs near the lakeshore and one in Kentwood suffered partial collapse recently as the snow kept piling up, but a structural...

Grand Rapids firm blazes drone trail for aerial perspective

Imagine pulling on a harness, latching yourself to a wire and zip-lining through the treetops while a flying camera captures your wild ride on...

Minimum wage hike is maximum stupidity

President Barack Obama’s State of the Union speech last week was little more than rhetorical practice, and the Business Journal might have ignored a...

Can I get a drink here? New liquor rules make it easier

Almost every Michigan hotel or restaurant operator has confronted the daunting process of procuring or transferring a Michigan liquor license. Buyers and sellers of...

Coppess cops Newsmaker Award

It’s been said it takes a village to nurture something through to completion, but in the case of Derek Coppess, it’s more like a...

Smith Haughey COO notes law firm’s expansion

Lori Gibson recently celebrated her one-year anniversary with law firm Smith Haughey Rice & Roegge, and she’s already racked up quite a few successes. In...

Learning how to deal (and coexist) with difficult people

I am admittedly more patient than most in weighing someone’s “positives” against their “negatives.” As long as an individual contributes more good than bad, I...

Wolverine steps up to help young builders

Earlier this winter, Gideon Sanders watched as students loaded into buses wearing sweatshirts, baseball caps and sneakers. The Grand Rapids Public Schools director of innovative...

C.D. Barnes marks 60 years by staying lean and conservative

C.D. Barnes Construction is celebrating its 60th anniversary by honoring its legacy and keeping an eye on the future. Specifically, that means the Grand Rapids-based...

Industry assembles Construction Workforce Development Alliance

What do you do when work-force development challenges, a negative image and overall economic peril knock at your industry’s door? You form an alliance. A new...

Inside Track: Charting a path for the future of Opera Grand Rapids

Anne Berquist joined Opera Grand Rapids in December as executive director following the nonprofit’s national search to replace outgoing executive director Michael Havlicek, who...

Rockford Brewing embroiled in suit over name

When Seth Rivard and his partners began thinking about opening a brewery in Rockford, they considered calling the company Rogue River Brewing. But the trio...

Computer, phone scams plague West Michigan

Several large-scale scams have recently hit the West Michigan area. Both the “473/767 One-Ring” and “Fix Your Computer” scams have hit homes in the area,...

Airport says ‘thanks again’ with rewards program

Travelers at Gerald R. Ford International Airport can now receive frequent flyer miles or hotel points for nearly all of their airport transactions. The airport...

Inforum West Michigan plots next three years

This past fall Inforum Center for Leadership published a discouraging report regarding the progress of women at the executive level of Michigan’s public companies. “A...

GR votes May 6 on income tax for street repair

When this brutal winter ends, Grand Rapids city streets may be in a classic state of disrepair, and if the city voters still see...

Michigan’s first Winter Games on tap next week

A week after the Winter Olympics begin in Sochi, Russia, more than 2,000 athletes will come to Grand Rapids from across Michigan for the...

Health officials gear up for new threats from climate change

LANSING — State health officials are struggling to anticipate new health threats posed by a changing climate. The Michigan Department of Community Health has put...

Street Talk: Local bankers won’t comment, but the credit union does

Bankers across the nation were mighty peeved Jan. 22 when the National Retail Federation, responding to data breaches involving credit cards used at Target...

Mirror, mirror, on the wall, are you the best salesperson of all?

What makes a “top performer” a top performer? If you hold interviews with the most successful salespeople in the world and ask them, “Why are...