Author

Tommy Allen

Tommy Allen's Latest Articles

From ‘Unseen Oceans’ to GVSU, exploring the Great Lakes anew

Grand Rapids Public Museum's Unseen Oceans reveals the hidden wonders of the sea, while Grand Valley State University's Water Resources Institute, just 40 miles away, brings that exploration closer to home on the Great Lakes.

Charting a way through: Mindfulness, medicine and the relationships that help us heal

A Michigan State University med student and part-time psychotherapist believes medicine works best when it treats the whole person — and he's testing that idea four minutes at a time.

#RG20LookBack: What Burritotown taught us about lowering the cost of experimentation

In his 30th #RG20LookBack column celebrating Rapid Growth’s 20th anniversary, Publisher Tommy Allen revisits his 2012 story about the worker-owned restaurant, Burritotown.

#RG20LookBack: Young voices given room to grow

In his 29th #RG20LookBack column celebrating Rapid Growth’s 20th anniversary, Publisher Tommy Allen celebrates the work of student journalists in the Voice of Youth series.

#RG20LookBack: 20 years after Grand Rapids bet on a new generation

In his 28th #RG20LookBack column celebrating Rapid Growth’s 20th anniversary, Publisher Tommy Allen revisits a 2006 story about former Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalynn Bliss and her start on the City Commission as its youngest woman ever elected.

#RG20LookBack: Harm reduction’s Naloxone is the CPR we never talk about

In his 27th #RG20LookBack column celebrating Rapid Growth's 20th anniversary, Publisher Tommy Allen revisits Heidi Stukkie's 2012 story about The Red Project and the power of community partnerships to improve public health across West Michigan.

Passing it forward: At GRPM, volunteers of all ages teach history and get taught right back

With 46% of its volunteers under 50, the Grand Rapids Public Museum is challenging assumptions about who volunteers and showing how interaction across generations transforms objects into shared understanding.

#RG20LookBack: A fresh food facelift…timely revisited

In his 26th #RG20LookBack column, Rapid Growth Publisher Tommy Allen revisits his 2013 story about the more than 50 farmers markets and fruit stands that connected West Michiganders with fresh, locally grown food.

At KDL’s Summer Wonder series, literacy appears disguised as dinosaurs, bubbles, and, most of all, discovery

KDL’s Summer Wonder program turns reading into shared discovery, helping families build curiosity, strengthen relationships, and find community.

#RG20LookBack: Can one small garden help grow a community movement? (Yes!)

In his 25th #RG20LookBack column, Rapid Growth Publisher Tommy Allen revisits Matthew Russell's 2019 story about a GR resident's rain garden helps protect local waterways.

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