Stories

Feature Story GL

Local collaboration makes COVID-19 saliva testing available at the school-level

Godfrey-Lee School District and the Kent County Health Department partnered to launch a COVID-19 rapid saliva testing pilot program at the school district as part of the county's ongoing COVID-19 relief and recovery efforts and the spending of federal CARES dollars.

Feature Story Rapid 1

COVID-19 increases transportation challenges for the working-class, promotes community collaboration

COVID-19 has stunted economies across the globe and continues to create massive challenges. For individuals considered ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed), increased hardship has prompted community organizations to seek collaborative solutions. 

Development News GRABB

Local Black businesses GRABB and go

It's a busy month for Grand Rapids Area Black Businesses. GRABB is providing grants to Black businesses impacted by the pandemic’s economic downturn; hosting the 4th Annual GRABB Black Business Awards November 19 and, on November 21, holding its 7th Annual #TheShift conference.


Longform Prescriptions

Here's how Michigan health care experts are reducing risks of medication overload

Those taking five or more prescriptions, over-the-counter medications, or supplements concurrently can be at risk for serious combined side effects.

Partner Content Produce from the Buckley Community Garden.

Bountiful community garden helps reduce food insecurity in Northwest Michigan

A simple conversation between a Buckley Community Schools principal and Traverse Bay Area ISD officials planted the seeds for a farm to school initiative that combined nutrition education with a new community garden at the school. 

Longform Palmer-Park

Making parks and green spaces easier to access for Detroiters

If you have a park that doesn't look great and hasn't been renovated in many decades, that can be the thing that drags down the entire feeling of the neighborhood. Here's how the city is fighting against time to maintain the city's parks.

Development News B corp

Bills will help B-corps do more good

A comprehensive four-bill package introduced on October 14 will allow legal recognition of certified benefit corporations (B-corps) in Michigan. B-corps balance purpose and profit by considering their workers, customers, suppliers, community, and the environment as well as financial success.

Feature Story MSU Extension

MSU Extension Center Uses Digital Resources to Ensure Community Health

Reaching out to local Kent County residents is at the heart of Michigan State University’s Extension Center (MSUE). District 7 Director Erin Moore says that help is not only available, but resources are more accessible than ever to residents in Kent, Ottawa, Allegan, and Barry counties.

Feature Story K Connect

Addressing housing stability in Kent County means redefining the issue

Redefining the Path Home: System Building for Housing Stability in Kent County,” was released in summer 2020 by the Housing Stability Alliance, in partnership with KConnect.The plan to address housing stability is the result of nearly 2 years of discussions and research by cross sector stakeholders in the community.

Innovation News terrapin

Grand Rapids’ Terrapin expands to recreational marijuana production

Terrapin’s production facility in Grand Rapids is expanding beyond medical marijuana to include recreational marijuana production, bringing additional jobs and products. 

Longform Marsh-View-Park-

Parks for all: How Michigan communities are making their outdoor spaces safe and accessible

Wheelchair-accessible paths and boardwalks, ADA-compliant restroom facilities, and universally accessible kayak launches are just a few development projects that can bring new visitors to parks.

Longform pumphouse

The big view: Saving Holland's Mt. Pisgah for future visitors

Hollan's Mt. Pisgah sand dune was loved a little too well -- its visitors were causing severe erosion. Then the local community and state partnered to help preserve it for future generations.

Longform Eastern Market staff load food boxes that were ordered online.

COVID-19 prompts many Michigan farmers and farmers markets to offer online sales for the first time

The COVID-19 pandemic has posed many health challenges, but it's also made it easier than ever for Michiganders to get healthy, local food, as many farmers and farmers markets have started reaching customers online.

Feature Story Alita Kelly

Fueling the future she wants to see: A Q&A with South East Market co-founder Alita Kelly

Alita Kelly is passionate about food justice, education, and empowerment. Through her recently launched business, the South East Market, she is working to serve her community and improve people’s quality of life, as well as foster new dialogues about the food system.

Partner Content Students toss a healthy kale salad.

Healthy Habits Start Now through collaboration between Livingston and Washtenaw counties

Livingston Educational Service Agency's Healthy Habits Start Now (HHSN) program helps families understand the importance of eating more fruits and vegetables every day and the benefits of being more physically active. 

Longform Bete-Grise-Beach

Way up north: Preserving the majesty of Michigan’s Tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula

Keweenaw County is Michigan's least populous county and is defined by sprawling, diverse wilderness.

Feature Story Six 2020 Discover Manufacturing Week scholarships, valued at $500 each, are available to high school seniors pursuing a manufacturing-related career in Michigan.

Career awareness event to highlight creativity, innovation in manufacturing

Discover Manufacturing Week, which celebrates the manufacturing industry, will feature West Michigan manufacturers taking part in interactive virtual experiences for high school students. These virtual block parties will highlight the creativity, technology, and innovation of modern manufacturing.

Longform Grand Rapids resident Yvonne Woodard has had several low birth weight children and grandchildren.

As awareness of racism's role in infant mortality grows, Michigan takes action

For Black infants, racism's impacts begin at birth – and may be deadly. But practitioners across Michigan are coming together to address it through a proposed expansion of the state's Healthy Moms Healthy Babies program.

Feature Story Lucia Rios with her mail-in ballot.

How COVID-19 changed voting for people with disabilities

Lucia Rios shares how people with disabilities have struggled for years to participate in voting -- and how accessibility changed for the better this year. 

Feature Story Aleprize

Local artists collaborate in Day of the Dead installation

Amidst the uncertainty of COVID-19 and a presidential election year, Grand Rapids artists Alynn Guerra and Carlos Aceves collaborated on a piece that celebrates their Mexican heritage and allows them to display their art to the world. Together they created a fabric art installation for Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, as part of October's Aleprize.