March 9, 2020

  • Inside Track: Entrepreneurship is in Schulze’s DNA

    Hanna Schulze had some big shoes to fill when Elissa Sangalli left Local First in January, but as interim director, she is leveraging her experience with diversity and passion for building equity to promote a vibrant local business community in Grand Rapids. Schulze has entrepreneurship in her DNA. Not only did her family own their […]

  • Hello West Michigan tallies milestones

    Hello West Michigan was born a decade ago out of a collective need to promote the region as a place “where business thrives and people want to live and work.” In 2007, members of the Chief Information Officers Council of The Right Place and a number of community partners realized they all had the same […]

  • Mayor says much left to be done

    In her fifth state of the city address, Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalynn Bliss touted the accomplishments of last year and brought to light the challenges that lie ahead. Bliss began by lauding Grand Rapids for achieving realtor.com’s “hottest ZIP code” in America, which the Business Journal covered in an earlier report. “With a booming real […]

  • State directs efforts toward census count

    As a result, state government officials, Census Director Kerry Ebersole Singh and the Michigan Nonprofit Association launched the Be Counted campaign. The campaign aims to achieve an increase in the participation rate from 78% to 82%, which was the highest participation rate in the country in 2010. That was achieved by Wisconsin. Michigan had the […]

  • USDA is aiming to bump up food production while limiting pollution

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture rolled out an agenda it believes will benefit both agriculture and the environment in the long run. The department recently unveiled its “Agriculture Innovation Agenda,” which is focused on increasing U.S. agricultural production by 40% while cutting the environmental footprint of U.S. agriculture in half by 2050. “This initiative is […]

  • Employers hiring seasonal guest workers may get visa cap relief

    (As seen on WZZM TV 13) More seasonal guest workers may be coming to the United States. According to Kim Clarke, partner and immigration attorney for Varnum LLP, the Department of Homeland Security authorized an additional 35,000 supplemental H-2B visas for temporary non-agricultural workers to come to this country. The cap for H-2B visas was […]

  • We must get students on the fast track ASAP

    By and large, across Michigan and the country, community college completion rates are quite low. The good news is we are learning what it takes to substantially improve completion rates. The gold standard is CUNY’s Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP). The CUNY program was so successful that MDRC, a nonprofit, nonpartisan education and social […]

  • We need all careers to make this country shine

    I don’t envy high school students today. They have tough choices to make, and there isn’t a clear answer as to which is the best path. Not too long ago I was at a United Way function where the speaker was a school superintendent from a disadvantaged area outside of Detroit. The school superintendent was […]

  • Change-Ups: Brame named to 2020 Leaders in the Law Class

    Western Michigan University Cooley Law School’s Grand Rapids Associate Dean and Professor Tracey Brame has been named to Michigan Lawyers Weekly’s Leaders in the Law Class of 2020. Brame is passionate about criminal law and defense cases, and has a strong disposition for advocacy work. She believes far too many African Americans are in prison […]

  • Public Record

    BANKRUPTCY 20-00354 – BARNES, Lisa, 850 Reynard SE, Rebecca L. Johnson-Ellis (Ch. 13) 20-00360 – PRANGE, Wendy L., 6837 Hammond SE, Greg J. Ekdahl (Ch. 13) 20-00371 – MCCRORY, Rayqua S., 823 Blackburn SW, Wyoming, Maureen B. VanHoven (Ch. 7) 20-00372 – SCHOLTEN, Gregory M., 3827 Yorkland NW, Comstock Park, Jeremy Shephard (Ch. 7) 20-00374 […]

  • Hot jobs include the trades

    LANSING — Skilled trades may offer an alternative to many people who don’t want the pressure of college debt and want to do practical work right out of high school, according to Ryan Bennett, the business manager of United Association Local 174 for plumbers, pipefitters and service trades in Coopersville. Jobs for plumbers and electricians […]

  • Street Talk: Disaster preparedness

    The Federal Reserve last week announced a 50-basis-point cut to its target rate as an emergency response to economic concerns stemming from the coronavirus. This is the Fed’s first emergency rate cut since 2008 and the fourth cut overall since the start of 2019. The personal finance website WalletHub projects the rate cut means APRs […]

  • Leaders emphasize need for rising income

    A large group of economic and community development leaders from around Michigan are urging economic policymakers and practitioners to make rising income for all a state economic priority. The leaders who authored this call to action came together because of a common concern that despite a strong Michigan economic recovery, far too many are struggling […]

  • Grand Action is back in action

    After a nearly two-year hiatus, the organization behind several catalytic projects downtown is re-launching. Announced today, Grand Action 2.0 is the next iteration of the organization behind a portfolio of major projects — the Van Andel Arena, DeVos Convention Center and Downtown Market — that have spurred billions of dollars in economic development. The nonprofit’s […]

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