November 13, 2018
Engagement letters are vital part of doing business
What is an hour of someone’s time worth? Most small business owners are not paid an hourly wage. Their pay is the profits of the business. In other words, their pay is commensurate with their skills and effort. Sounds fair to me. There is much that can be unfair in paying for hours that have […]
What baseball stats can teach us about standardized tests
As I was reading Keith Law's book “Smart Baseball,” it struck me that this is why we at Michigan Future Inc. have turned against standardized tests as the measure of school, educator and student performance. I'm sure many of you are asking, "What do baseball statistics have to do with standardized tests?" The subtitle of […]
It’s never too early to think about retirement
Congratulations to the 40 Under 40 class of 2018! You are leaders in our community with a bright future ahead of you. As a member of the 40 Under 40 class of 2011, I can say with confidence and from experience that the next decade of your lives will fly by. It will be busy […]
-
Change Ups: God’s Roamin’ Kitchen will focus on rural areas
Catholic Charities West Michigan’s God’s Kitchen Food & Pantry Programming has a new outreach: a food truck named God's Roamin' Kitchen. The truck’s focus is rural communities around Grand Rapids, providing free meals to individuals and families who need a hot meal and may not be able to come to Catholic Charities West Michigan and other […]
Street Talk: Scholarships for all
Ferris State University has extended its Now & Always campaign goal by $35 million over an additional three years. The campaign’s new goal is to raise $115 million through June 30, 2022. Publicly launched in November 2017, FSU’s first-ever comprehensive campaign had raised $78 million of the original $80-million goal and still had seven months […]
Public Record
MORTGAGES Selected mortgages filed with Kent County Register of Deeds HIMMELEIN, Doug et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Gaines Twp., 30-5-11, $264,000 JIM TIBBE HOMES LLC, Macatawa Bank, Condo-Hidden Ridge Condominiums, $253,459 PARKSIDE HOMES LLC, Vandermeulen, Beverly Hills, Lot 18, $650,000 BABCOCK, Bradley et al, AmeriFirst Financial Corp., Lowell Twp., 8-6-9, $248,735 VANHOVEN, Randal J. […]
Muskegon considers solar project
A large-scale solar project in Muskegon County may come to light within the next couple of years. Kansas-based Tradewind Energy Inc. negotiated terms with Consumers Energy in Jackson to purchase land lease options on the Muskegon County wastewater management site in Moorland Township, south of Apple Avenue. Tradewind and Consumers have estimated a solar plant […]
Marijuana implementation may take years
Michigan became the 10th state in the country, and the first in the Midwest, to legalize the use of recreational marijuana, but don’t celebrate just yet. Although residents voted Nov. 6 in favor of recreational marijuana, it may take weeks before Michiganders can actually use it and years before recreational marijuana businesses can begin selling […]
Priority Health, BCBS, others receive failing grades
A recent Emory University study scored Michigan private and public health plans based on access to medicine coverage for patients with five autoimmune diseases. Let MI Doctors Decide, an initiative of the Eastpointe-based American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association and the group that commissioned the study, then used the scores to “grade” health plans and their […]
Rail service could link GR, Holland
(As seen on WZZM TV 13) A commuter train service could be in West Michigan’s future. A recent study showed a large number of workers commute along I-196 between Grand Rapids and Holland, and a team of stakeholders is determining the best way to improve commutes and draw talent to the region. The city of […]
-
Inside Track: Goorhouse secures CEO dream at 27
Mike Goorhouse landed his dream job at age 27. When he was a sophomore in college, he decided his career goal was to lead a community foundation, figuring he would reach that goal near the end of his career. But Goorhouse’s dream came true when the Community Foundation of the Holland/Zeeland Area board interviewed him […]
-
Hotel occupancy rates continue gradual rise
The hotel occupancy rate in Kent County has been increasing slowly in recent years. There are about 80 hotels with more than 8,100 hotel rooms in the county this year, according to Doug Small, president and CEO of Experience Grand Rapids. So far this year, the hotel occupancy rate is 68.9 percent. The rate mirrors […]
-
Soldadera primed for growth spurt
Soldadera’s “coffee with a purpose” is soldiering on in the West Michigan beverage market, and owners Mario and Gabriela Rodriguez have made several key moves for their previously online-exclusive cold-brew brand that would serve as a springboard for continued growth into 2019. The first big step for the small startup coffee company is moving its […]
-
GR leaders foresee river edge benefit
Decades of ideas and plans about the role the Grand River could have in Grand Rapids are finally on the horizon. Countless hours of planning have gone into transforming the formerly abused river into what community leaders have realized could be a valuable social gathering place. From when the river was used to transport lumber […]
