September 30, 2019
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Street Talk: Alexa, find me a job
It looks like James Berg and Steve Stephan will have some AI competition in the hiring sector. Berg, managing partner of Essence Restaurant Group, and Stephan, owner of several West Michigan Culver’s franchises, lament the lack of bodies to fill positions in the restaurant industry for a story on page 1 of today’s Business Journal. […]
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Public Record
BANKRUPTCY 19-03421 – BERNIER, Michael C., 1315 Leonard NE, John D. Dodson (Ch. 7) 19-03422 – CARRILLO, Karlene S., 3732 Boone SW, Wyoming, Tiffany A. Eisenga (Ch. 7) 19-03441 – BOLDEN, Willie B. II, 244 Union SE, Jacob T. Tighe (Ch. 7) 19-03442 – VAZQUEZ, Krystal M., 3345 Canal SW, Stephen C. Watt (Ch. 7) […]
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Change Ups: GRCC chef receives French medal
Grand Rapids Community College chef Gilles Renusson, professor with the Secchia Institute for Culinary Education, recently was awarded the Chevalier du Merite Agricole medal during a private ceremony. Guillaume Lacroix, general consul of France in Chicago, awarded Renusson the Order of Agricultural Merit for outstanding services to agriculture. The medal, created in 1883, is second […]
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Stay covered while you travel for work
Many health insurance companies offer different options for their members while traveling — from coverage options for doctor or urgent care visits to additional travel assistance and virtual care services. Know what choices are available to you when you’re on the road for work. Summer vacations are sadly behind us and end-of-year business goals are […]
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State touts new recycling marketplace
The market for hard-to-recycle post-industrial and post-consumer products just got a little bigger, thanks to a new online tool. The Austin, Texas-based U.S. Business Council for Sustainable Development (US BCSD) — with funding from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) — in June 2018 […]
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Cities join ‘organic parks’ movement
It turns out a whole lot of people care about preventing the further use of pesticides and herbicides in public spaces. A number of organizations near and far partnered recently to help the cities of Grand Rapids and East Grand Rapids eliminate the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers and switch to safe and sustainable […]
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Whitewater nears fundraising goal
Nearly 85% of the fundraising goal has been met for the project to restore the Grand River’s rapids downtown. Grand Rapids Whitewater, the nonprofit spearheading the $44.6 million project, is in the private phase of The Living Grand fundraising campaign and has about $7.5 million left to raise, said Matt Chapman, GRWW project manager. He […]
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City loses another director
The city of Grand Rapids is saying goodbye to another mover and shaker in the community. Kara Wood, managing director of economic development services for the city of Grand Rapids, will join Western Michigan University as its new associate vice president for community partnerships, according to WMU. Her first day on the job will be […]
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Inside Track: Dad’s advice spurs business
Winsome Kirton is her own boss. The 30-year-old is the co-founder of Pack Elephant, a business-to-business gifting platform that allows artisans and entrepreneurs to sell and market their products to different businesses. She started her own business a year ago after moving with her husband to Grand Rapids in 2017. Since Pack Elephant was started, […]
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Volunteer group addresses area’s chronic homelessness
Women are the most vulnerable population as chronic homelessness worsens in Grand Rapids, so a newly formed group of women volunteers is working to give them the extra help they need. Chronic homelessness — when someone has been homeless for over a year or has had four episodes of homelessness in the last three years […]
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Holland Home offers ballet classes to residents
(As seen on WZZM TV 13) Residents at a senior living nonprofit will be putting on their dancing shoes. Holland Home is partnering with the Grand Rapids Ballet School to offer ballet classes at its Raybrook campus starting in October, once per week, over the course of the next year. The 45-minute “Moving with Parkinson’s” […]
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Elimination of refugee resettlement concerns area leaders
Employers in Grand Rapids are partnering with Bethany Christian Services to assist refugees. A total of 36 West Michigan employers, who are a part of a network of roughly 500 employers that partner with Bethany’s Refugee Employment program, signed a letter that underlines the importance of refugees in the region and the contributions they have […]
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Grand Haven sees rebirth of iconic catwalk
When Erin Turrell got the call in 2015 from the mayor that the Grand Haven south pier’s catwalk was in trouble, she agreed to help. The Army Corps of Engineers had informed the city of some work that needed to be done on the federally owned Grand Haven pier, and the group planned to dispose […]
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Restaurants work to counter talent crunch
With the Grand Rapids-area unemployment rate at 3.9% as of July, local restaurateurs are pouring their energy into finding ways to attract and retain workers. The shortage of workers is nationwide and cuts across all industries, with the national unemployment rate hovering at 3.7%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. But for the […]
