Grand Rapids Business Journal

A vibrant city life promises a return to Grand Rapids in 2021 with April 13’s city commission decision to authorize dozens of special events between April and December.

LANSING — After leading the nation’s COVID-19 daily case rate for weeks, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Sunday that Michigan could be seeing a drop in infections.

The Grand Rapids City Commission approved a contract with the Grand Rapids Pride Center for an in-person training program for all sworn members of the Grand Rapids police and fire departments.

School districts in the region are looking to the future by exposing their students to a familiar profession.

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation recently committed $9 million to programs that it said will address short- and long-term workforce needs in the state.

After taking a break during the craziness that was 2020, Transformando West Michigan returned this year with a new round of classes for its participants.

While workers in the Grand Rapids-Wyoming metro area have seen their wages grow by 5.2% over the past six years, the area’s average sale price for a single-family home has increased 64.5% during the same period.

Nearly a year since his appointment as Grand Rapids’ economic development director, Jeremiah Gracia reported his office has made great strides in leading the city’s equitable economic development plan, adopted in January 2020, including a commitment from two developers to invest more than $1 million in minority contractors.

LANSING — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Thursday announced changes in the state’s contracting process to ensure construction and other companies are not rewarded with government money for payroll fraud such as misclassifying workers as independent contractors.

The Grand Rapids City Commission advanced its work to eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in housing in Grand Rapids and increase housing supply, as it discussed next steps in the formation of the Grand Rapids Housing Fund.

The city of Grand Rapids will begin the fiscal year 2022 budget adoption process this month.

NILES — A city in southwestern Michigan is considering a buzz-and-beats summer festival.

The Michigan State Housing Development Authority launched an online tool to help streamline the application process for renters and landlords seeking COVID Emergency Rental Assistance.

LANSING — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's administration on Tuesday extended workplace coronavirus restrictions for an additional six months, including a requirement that Michigan employers prohibit office work if employees' jobs can feasibly be done remotely.

The city of Grand Rapids and Spin are launching Spin Community Pass in Grand Rapids.

DETROIT — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer vowed Sunday to keep pushing the White House for more vaccines as Michigan sees a COVID-19 spike.

LANSING — Faced with the country’s highest rate of new coronavirus infections, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Friday urged a two-week suspension of in-person high school classes, all youth sports and indoor restaurant dining.

LANSING — The U.S. Department of Education on Tuesday denied Michigan’s request to waive standardized testing for this school year, meaning students who have had a “brutally difficult” year learning amid the COIVD-19 pandemic must take tests this spring, according the Michigan Department of Education.

The Kentwood Police Department is inviting high school students to apply for its youth academy, set to take place July 26-29.

DETROIT — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration is focusing on getting more people vaccinated, not imposing new restrictions on the economy, despite a wave of COVID-19 cases and crowded hospitals, Michigan’s health director said Wednesday.

Friends of Grand Rapids Parks is partnering with the Grand Rapids Parks and Recreation Department to clean up public greenspaces.

Nearly half of new coronavirus infections nationwide are in just five states — a situation that is putting pressure on the federal government to consider changing how it distributes vaccines by sending more doses to hot spots.

The Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce, city of Grand Rapids, Experience Grand Rapids, Downtown Grand Rapids Inc. and SweatNET Grand Rapids, among others, are teaming up to launch Grand Rapids Fitness Fest from April 30-May 9.

Two West Michigan farms are among seven in the state that will be permanently preserved for agricultural use, courtesy of Michigan’s agricultural preservation fund grants that total $1.8 million.

West Michigan’s medical professionals agree, despite warnings of more COVID-19 cases, the vaccines are working and are necessary to help the region and the country come out of the pandemic.