September 16, 2019

  • City studies options for solar energy

    (As seen on WZZM TV 13) Grand Rapids is exploring the potential for solar installations at seven city-owned sites, as well as reviving a failed solar attempt at Butterworth Landfill in its ambitious goal to offset 100% of electricity consumed with renewable sources over the next six years. Alison Waske Sutter, sustainability and performance management […]

  • Lawmakers propose additional insurance reform

    A trio of Michigan legislators last week introduced three bills they say would eliminate redlining in the auto insurance system, increase transparency in the premium-setting process and aid consumers in comparison shopping. Sen. Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, Sen. Betty Jean Alexander, D-Detroit, and Sen. Jeremy Moss, D-Southfield, announced the bills — which are amendments of […]

  • Street Talk: Never too early

    Organizers say the first round of funding from the Ready by Five Early Childhood Millage will help thousands of families in Kent County connect to programs that improve the health and school readiness of young children. The initial funding is dedicated to navigation and outreach services that will help families know what is available in […]

  • Horizon Bancorp introduces stock repurchase program

    A financial institution has created a new program for its shareholders.  Horizon Bancorp Inc. (HBNC), the holding company for Horizon Bank, created a stock repurchase program.  The holding company’s board of directors, which is made up of 11 shareholders, agreed to repurchase up to 2,250,000, or 5%, of its shares on the open market.  “This […]

  • Support for telehealth services throughout state is rekindled

    Someday, radar might be used to detect when you fall in your home by measuring your heart and breathing rates. “The fall is a really big problem in health care,” said Kevin Lasser, the chief executive officer of JEMS Technology, a Troy-based health care technology company. Indeed, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports […]

  • Kent officials planning positions for $1.4M

    Kent County officials are planning to add multiple positions that will cost a total of $1.4 million. The Kent County Board of Commissioners soon will vote to approve several positions that will begin Oct. 1. The positions include an indigent defense administrator/attorney for $156,161; an account clerk at the friend of the court for $62,014; […]

  • Tree damage can be thorny issue for neighbors

    An old philosophical question asks, “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” But a more practical question today might be: “If your neighbor’s tree falls on your roof, who is responsible for the damage?” A new House bill tries to answer that […]

  • Marginal growth returns for West Michigan economy

    After last month’s substantial dip, the pace of the West Michigan industrial economy has returned to a very modest growth rate. According to the data collected in mid-August, New Orders, our closely watched index of business improvement, recovered to 3, up substantially from July’s minus-13. In a similar move, August’s Production index bounced up to […]

  • Change Ups: Baer named to Forbes’ Top 250 Wealth Advisors list

    Michael Baer, senior vice president and wealth management advisor for Merrill in Portage, was named to Forbes’ 2019 Top 250 Next-Gen Wealth Advisors list. Baer joined Merrill in 2000. His areas of specialty include retirement planning and analysis, cash management strategies and employee stock options. 2019 is the second straight year he has been named […]

  • Walker to hold final open house for master plan

    The final of four open house events to guide the formation of Walker’s 2040 Master Plan is scheduled for this week. The northwest corner of Walker covers roughly 10 square miles, stretching from Bristol Avenue and Pannell Street on the east end to Kenowa Avenue/Ottawa County on the west end, and from Four Mile Road […]

  • Public Record

    BANKRUPTCY 19-03152 – FOREMAN, Duane G., 1521 Edward SE, Ryan F. Beach (Ch. 7) 19-03165 – MUNOZ, Julia, 4134 Oak Park SE, David C. Andersen (Ch. 7) 19-03166 – REMELTS, Theresa M., 3799 South Johnson Road, Gowen, Ralph M. Reisinger (Ch. 7) 19-03170 – CLARK, Monica L., 301 Spencer NE, Michael M. Malinowski (Ch. 7) […]

  • Gov. Whitmer promises she won’t be deterred

    Gov. Gretchen Whitmer stopped in town Sept. 9 to speak to the Economic Club of Grand Rapids on her fiscal priorities amid ongoing state budget negotiations. Her talk at the JW Marriott in downtown Grand Rapids focused largely on what she sees as the state’s most pressing issues — clean water, infrastructure, and K-12 and […]

  • Lowell puts road-repair funding on ballot

    Lowell residents will be asked to consider a Nov. 5 ballot proposal allowing the city to collect an income tax in order to repair roads. The Lowell City Council reviewed other options before approving a ballot proposal to collect income tax of 1% of adjusted gross income from residents and businesses and 0.5% of adjusted […]

  • GRPD initiates new immigrant-contact policy

    The Grand Rapids Police Department is looking to build trust with the immigrant community. The department has established a foreign national policy that prohibits any member of the Grand Rapids Police Department from inquiring about a resident’s citizenship or immigration status, except during a criminal investigation.  According to Grand Rapids Police Chief Eric Payne, GRPD […]

  • Inside Track: Mantella challenges convention

    When Philomena Mantella started attending college, she said she originally planned to stay on the narrow track that was expected of women at that time. But after she got a social work degree and began working, Mantella realized her interests and abilities encompassed more than solely what was expected of her. This is what led […]

  • Apple season means heavy agritourism for region

    According to the Michigan Apple Committee (MAC), Michigan is the third largest apple producer in the United States. Yet, apple season in West Michigan is more than just selling, processing and shipping apples to states, countries, retailers, farmers markets and cider mills. It is also a time when agritourism sees tourists visit the Fruit Ridge […]

  • Downtown Muskegon gets boost with $8M hotel

    Parkland Properties recently put the finishing touches on an $8 million renovation of a former Holiday Inn in Muskegon. The newly designed hotel is part of a multimillion-dollar investment into a revitalized downtown Muskegon, which includes plans for a new convention center. The hotel at 939 Third St. was renovated into a Delta by Marriott, […]

  • An industry with a view

    Downtown Grand Rapids pedestrians soon will be given a window into advanced machining and robotics projects at a $3 million lab that opened last year. Movers brought in several large pieces of equipment on Sept. 3 and 4 to the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership Lab at Western Michigan University, or AMP Lab @ WMU. The machines […]

  • Couple debuts their own cord management tool

    A local husband-and-wife team is saying “I do” to a business venture 30 years into their marriage. Michael and Sherryl Despres founded GCK Products LLC in 2015, and after four years of prototyping, they have brought the product Michael Despres invented — the GadgetKlip — to market. GadgetKlip, designed with cord and cable management in […]

  • ‘Solid backing’ puts Holland’s Motus on growth path

    Strictly speaking, Motus Integrated Technologies is a new venture, but its West Michigan origins and “solid backing” by an East Coast private equity firm have already propelled it to profitability. The Holland-based automotive supplier was formed after Greenwich, Connecticut-based $5 billion private investment firm Atlas Holdings recruited Shannon White in 2013 to analyze the viability […]

  • Downtown apartment occupancy remains high

    Downtown Grand Rapids’ apartment market continues to gain significant momentum, according to a recent report by Colliers International West Michigan. The report was produced by Colliers’ in-house multifamily team, which recorded data from 17 downtown apartments for the report. Information included number of units, occupancy, rent per square foot, amenities and parking accommodations. Across the […]

  • Planners create vision for South Division

    Residents and business owners in the South Division corridor now have an official vision for the area’s future. After months of planning, meetings and input involving dozens of residents, developers, officials and organizations, the plan by the city of Grand Rapids lays out the key priorities residents and leaders want to see in an improved […]

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