Lajanae Smith: Local artist and filmmaker
Grand Rapids is full of talented young people from all fields. It can be difficult to get around the Beer City USA moniker that we have found for ourselves, but […]
NW
Why do loyal residents often say the west side is the best side? Maybe because the area just across the Grand River from downtown Grand Rapids is filled with a thriving museum district, the John Ball Zoo, neighborhood corner pubs, beloved Polish meat markets, and beautiful cathedrals. Encompassing the Stockbridge neighborhood and the West Fulton business district, among others, the northwest side skews working class and is filled with residents and businesses who are investing aggressively in building urban community.
UIX: Essential Needs Task Force is rethinking the way Kent County addresses poverty
When families have to choose between paying utility bills and affording food, it's hard to find hope. For the many faced with that decision in Kent County, the Essential Needs Task Force is a crucially supportive resource.
Making Grand Rapids more affordable, inclusive and equitable: Our city’s hopes for 2016
As we bid adieu to 2015 and welcome another turn around the sun, Grand Rapidians who are changing and shaping our city share what they hope will happen in 2016.
UIX: Lis Bokt and The Geek Group combine inspiration, innovation, and perspiration
Whether it's engineering know-how, mechanical prowess, educational opportunities, or simply making creative ideas manifest, The Geek Group and executive director Lisa Bokt excel at facilitating manufacturing through the creative process in many different ways.
G-Sync: What have you been watching this summer?
Are we ready as a city for the changes coming in the next 15 years? Rapid Growth's Publisher and Lifestyle Editor Tommy Allen discovers a few local organizations banding together to ensure the answer is "yes" for all.
G-Sync: Making a new list
In 1997 Apple asked us to "Think Different" and it became one of their most discussed ad campaigns. Publisher and Lifestyle Editor Tommy Allen looks to the economic fabric of our city and wonders what we will have in the near future if we "build different" now.
G-Sync: STEAM energy is the answer
The world has been engaged in a talent and innovation battle for decades and STEM education has been the weapon of choice. But this is all about to change...that is, if we are willing to make the change. Lifestyle Editor Tommy Allen comes out about the silent "A" and our new weapon of change: STEAM.
G-Sync: New Year’s revolution
Lifestyle Editor Tommy Allen's G-Sync is talking about how to create the city we want now in his New Year's Revolution. With seven suggestions for both personal and community improvement, surely at least one will be right up your alley in 2015. Are you in?
G-Sync: Pop songs and progress
G-Sync's Lifestyle Editor Tommy Allen took the weekend off from attending local events and stepped into the streets of Washington, DC. Now he shares his view from the nation's capital and his hopes for 2015.
G-Sync: DisArming stereotypes with art
Grand Rapids has often been referred to as a "beta city," transforming our reputation in the process. Lifestyle Editor Tommy Allen discovers how the Grand Rapids debut of the DisArt Festival in 2015 will once again capture the nation's attention.
