October 5, 2015
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Retailers face most significant change in decades
One of the biggest changes in retailers’ security and checkout systems is now in effect. The age of the EMV chip has arrived. “This fall, retailers are making one of the most significant changes in the past 30 years to the checkout experience for consumers. Not since the ‘mag stripe’ credit card was introduced in […]
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Griffins connect with community
(As seen on WZZM TV 13) Tim Gortsema says he marks time by his children. All three children of the president of the Grand Rapids Griffins have been born since he started with the hockey team in 1995. Now as he and the Griffins look to celebrate the team’s 20th anniversary, Gortsema reflects on the […]
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Fraud cases leading to safeguards
West Michigan is a nice place, a fairly economically successful place, but it’s not a place that’s immune to fraud. A string of West Michigan embezzlement cases hit the news in recent months. The first was the case of Chad James Perleberg, who pled guilty to embezzling more than $100,000 (the total was reportedly about […]
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Concerns with license plate cameras
LANSING — Advanced technology can increase efficiency for law enforcement agencies while helping them protect public safety. Sometimes, however, technology may also threaten public safety. That’s what the American Civil Liberties Union says about the controversial use of automatic license plate scanners. Automatic license plate readers have high-speed cameras that can photograph every passing license […]
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State’s ag exports to China skyrocket
LANSING — In the past five years, more and more of Michigan’s dairy products and prepared fruits and vegetables have been on their way to China, according to export data from Euromonitor International Ltd. From 2010 to 2014, the dollar value of dairy product exports to China skyrocketed 688 percent, according to the London-based economic […]
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Davenport University launches 12-month MBA program
In line with today’s fast-paced business environment, professionals can now earn an MBA within a year. Davenport University announced last week the official launch of its new 12-month Master of Business Administration program during an event at the Peter C. Cook Center at 45 Ottawa Ave. NW in downtown Grand Rapids. The 30-credit, 12-month MBA […]
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Eat, sit and die
Prolonged sitting is a serious condition in America today. During the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce’s 2015 Health Care Summit, keynote speaker Dr. Dean Sienko presented emerging trends and issues influencing health care from a public health perspective to an audience of more than 250 community leaders, business executives and human resource professionals. Sienko, […]
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GRCC hopes to produce class of ‘ethical hackers’
Grand Rapids Community College has become a training ground for digital guardians to keep digital thieves away from your digital treasures. In order to help train the next generation of digital talent to fight off cyber attacks, GRCC recently announced that its computer information systems department has now become the state’s first EC-Council Academic Accredited […]
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Today’s students are the future of human health
New therapies for cancer and other human diseases begin as ideas — ideas conceived by research scientists with creative minds, problem-solving skills, and a deep, resonant understanding of the scientific process. These important skills are often learned in classrooms, by young students who are unafraid to ask questions, work collaboratively and be thoroughly engaged in […]
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Deaf community lacks interpreters and support, advocates say
LANSING — Continued shortages of qualified interpreters and funding mean Michigan’s deaf, deafblind and hard of hearing residents lack access to proper communication and education, and many are unclear of their rights under state law, advocates say. Michigan has a shortage of accessible mental health services, education, employment and legal services for these residents, said […]
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County, hospitals collaborate to extend guardianship program
The Kent County Board of Commissioners made a commitment to vulnerable adults at a recent meeting. Commissioners on Sept. 24 approved a public-private deal with two area hospitals to ensure the Kent County Public Guardianship Program would survive state budget cuts to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. The DHHS cut the Adult […]
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The ‘why’ of sales will lead you to be the wise salesperson
I sat in a Jim Rohn seminar one day in 1995 and heard him say, “Formal education will earn you a living. Self-education will earn you a fortune. You decide how much of a fortune you want to earn by how willing you are to self-educate.” I was frozen in my front-row seat. This stunning […]
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Change Ups: Hot Rod Harley-Davidson marks anniversary
Hot Rod Harley-Davidson, 149 Shoreline Drive in Muskegon, recently marked its 10th anniversary. The original business was launched in 1919 by brothers Dan and Ellis Raymond and was known as Raymond Motor & Cycle Co. In the 1970s, it became Snell’s Harley-Davidson,before it was purchased in 2005 by Hot Rod Harley-Davidson, which now operates from […]
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Nonresidential construction dip no cause for concern
Nonresidential construction employment fell by 700 jobs in August after losing 5,600 jobs in July and 800 jobs in June. Despite the recent slide, nonresidential construction employment is still up 38,800 jobs for the year. Total U.S. construction industry employment inched higher again in August, expanding by a modest 3,000 net new jobs from July, […]
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Public Record
MORTGAGES Selected mortgages filed with Kent County Register of Deeds RANDALL, William Scott et al, Mercantile Bank Of Michigan, Rockford, $216,750 WESTON, Joshua D. et al, AmeriFirst Financial Corp., Sunset Hills Estates No. 2, Lot 46, $237,405 ROHRER, Gabrielle et al, ChoiceOne Bank, Grattan Twp., 8-8-9, $242,250 WARNER, Blaine M. et al, Lake Michigan Credit […]
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Street Talk: Birthday wishes
The Right Place is celebrating its 30th birthday this month. While the playing field may have changed over the last three decades, the one thing that has kept Birgit Klohs at the helm of the organization hasn’t. “It is a relationship business. That is what makes it fun, because you get to know really great people […]
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Succession planning: the first step to transferring ownership
It is no secret the odds are stacked against closely held business owners when it comes to successfully transitioning their businesses from one generation to the next. Many owners are aware of the odds but find it difficult to start the transition process. This is understandable considering the process can be quite overwhelming: the creation […]
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Letter: Behavioral health care: We can do better than this
Editor: Imagine that your 19-year-old son is having an acute mental health crisis that requires hospitalization. He has thoughts of harming himself, or members of your family. His thinking is disturbed so he believes you’re the enemy. He lives in your home. You provide him with health insurance and will pay the bills for his […]
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Legal tech firm continues to grow
In 2004, a technology firm in southeast Michigan that was working mostly with corporate clients took on a job for an attorney that ended up changing the company’s focus entirely. “I had the opportunity to work for a law firm recovering data off of a backup tape,” said Mark St. Peter, managing director and CEO […]
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To continue growth, the foundation of success must be understood
Newcomers and even long-time Grand Rapids residents often react to the city’s growth and new building plans as though these budding community icons simply popped out of the ground — while they were looking or paying attention. One must ask why and how a business owner would wish to invest millions of dollars in projects […]
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Right Place: 30 years of networking
The Right Place Inc. broke the ice when it attracted its first international investment to the area in 1990; now it’s celebrating 30 years of building a network of business relationships in West Michigan. Right Place has provided comprehensive business retention, expansion and attraction services to companies in West Michigan for nearly three decades, which […]
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Mercy restarts $271M medical center project in Muskegon
With the support from its parent company, Mercy Health Muskegon is looking to move forward with its extensive medical center project after announcing a delay in the plans last year. Mercy Health Muskegon announced Sept. 24 its parent company Trinity Health has approved plans to construct a roughly $271 million, 267-bed medical center on the […]
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Q&A: Former Steelcase CEO and Michigan AD Jim Hackett
The University of Michigan Athletic Department is nearing a year with former Steelcase CEO (and Wolverine football player) Jim Hackett at the helm. Hackett has helped turn the football program around with the hiring of head coach Jim Harbaugh, and he continues to grow other sports even as he helped land the richest apparel deal […]
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Inside Track: Hollywood talent uses improv to heal grief
This month marks six years since Bart Sumner’s son died in his arms. David was 10, a healthy boy enjoying football practice while his father cheered him on from the sidelines. But suddenly David collapsed on the field from an acute subdural hematoma. Blood had seeped into his brain from a head injury, possibly from […]
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Owners are ready to open Harmony Hall brewpub
The last two years have been a blur for Jackson Van Dyke. As the rest of the Grand Rapids beer community has waited and wondered when Harmony Hall, in the former Little Mexico restaurant building on Bridge Street and Stocking NW, would open, Van Dyke and his siblings, Barry Van Dyke and Heather Van Dyke […]
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Allegan company reaches new heights
Chances are if you’ve been on a ropes course somewhere in the world it was made in Michigan. Ropes Courses Inc., located in Allegan, has been providing ropes courses and zip lines to amusement and theme parks, camps, educational institutions, cruise lines, resorts and several other industries since 1989. The company has sold more than […]
