Stories

Feature Story RCcarlos

RapidChat: Carlos Sanchez

Feeling energized after the recent announcement of their $150,000 grant from the Grand Rapids Community Foundation, Executive Director of the Latino Business and Economic Development Center Carlos Sanchez and his team are ready to put the foundation's 'Fund for Community Good' to good work.

Feature Story DonRhoades

The innovative people making GR a city for entrepreneurs

“Making It In Grand Rapids” is a series about local entrepreneurs and the issues that matter in building a sustainable startup-friendly community.

Feature Story FT Kick Ass Mothers Day

'Kick its ass': Memorial exhibit showcases outsider art, volunteerism at Heartside Ministries

A retrospective of the incredible milieu of outsider artists Heartside Galleries has nourished over the last decade and a half, "A Heartside Art Collector's Preview" is a celebration of rare talent, raw human experience, and the healing properties of art made without ego.

Feature Story Kids

West Michigan invites you outside: 5 #puremichigan ways to celebrate spring

Finally...spring. Throw off the shackles of winter and check to these 5 ways to enjoy West Michigan.

Feature Story May March

Marching without fear: Movimiento Cosecha GR seeks licenses for all on May Day

The annual May Day demonstration, organized by Movimiento Cosecha GR, cut through many neighborhoods on Tuesday, May 1, and marked the launch of a statewide campaign to win licenses for all so that immigrants in Michigan can “drive without fear.”

Innovation News INlead

May LEAD training targets 18 to 24 year-olds: $800 stipends for youth from "neighborhoods of focus"

City of Grand Rapids’ Leadership and Employment, Achievement and Direction (LEAD) program trains youth in civic engagement, leadership, and employment skills. Free and open to residents ages 15 to 24 and those attending college in the greater Grand Rapids area. From May 1 through 15, the first of two cohorts will target youth at the upper end of the age spectrum, ages 18 through 24.

Development News DNlongroad4

Long Road Distillers enlists new partner to distribute liquid assets

Grand Rapids-based Long Road Distillers announced that their locally crafted spirits will  be distributed exclusively by Imperial Beverage throughout the state of Michigan.

Feature Story Healthy Communities

Building Healthy Communities program aims to surround Michigan school children with healthy living

During the last nine years, more than 260 elementary schools across Michigan have participated in the Building Healthy Communities to prevent and reduce childhood obesity, prevent chronic health conditions, and improve academic achievement. Positive results are pouring in.

Feature Story easthills

Catch up with Neighborhoods of GR

Over the past 11 months, Rapid Growth has featured the places and spaces of GR in our Neighborhoods of GR series. Catch up with the amazing people, nonprofits, and businesses that have graced our pages.

Feature Story Bartender

All hail the bartender! Veteran West Michigan drink-slingers tell their tales

The bartender is a fixture in dives and restaurants and often serves as a sounding board for life's concerns. To celebrate the profession, four veteran bartenders took a moment to open their lives and careers, expressing the heart of bartending in West Michigan. Here are their stories, so raise a glass.

Development News freebed

Mary Free Bed expansion makes rooms at "The Inn"

As the final phase of its $66.4 million expansion and renovation project, Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital recently opened 10 additional new rooms at the Inn at Mary Free Bed, a lodging alternative that provides a practical solution to two challenges facing Mary Free Bed’s longer-term rehabilitation patients. One, the Inn provides a home away from home for their family members. Two, patients who no longer need nursing care but aren’t ready to go home can stay with their families at the Inn as they continue rehabilitation. In 2017, more than 3,700 people stayed at the Inn. Mary Free Bed plans on adding another six rooms to the Inn, for a total of 22 rooms.


Innovation News Klask at Odd Side Ales in Grand Haven.

Klask!: "Silly wooden game" proving addictive in West Michigan breweries

Invented in 2013, Klask was featured on Danish national TV in 2014 and named "Danish Game of the Year." Soon after, the World Klask Foundation and national Klask associations formed. In September 2018, the Klask World Championship will take place in England—a West Michigan player will compete. 

Feature Story Zoe Carmichael

RapidChat: Zoe Carmichael on leading conversations with confidence

What goes into a good speech? Step back and let Zoe Carmichael, seven-year owner and speaker coach at Zoe Carmichael Consulting, advise you.  

Feature Story lm4

Defining Division: Maintaining and building community identity

Faced by the potential of future development, community members of South Division and Burton Heights share their insights on the strength of their community's identity. 

Feature Story CherryHealthClinic

UIX: Groundbreaking healthcare is all about clear communication

The healthcare industry experiences innovation at an astounding rate, but not all innovation is defined by the latest technology or the smallest tools. Interpersonal communication, and interprofessional practice, is the new face of healthcare innovation, and care professionals in West Michigan are helping this trend grow.

Development News blueprint

The Blueprint Collaborative takes coworking to an entrepreneurial level

The Blueprint Collaborative, 859 West Fulton, is a coworking and incubator space for entrepreneurs and small businesses in the construction, design, and real estate industry.

Feature Story Bill

Local deaf-blind adventurer partners with nonprofits to transcend barriers

When you’re legally deaf and blind, climbing the seventh highest mountain in the world may seem foolhardy. Foolhardy that is, unless you’re Bill Barkeley, local adventurer who partners with nonprofits to provide hope and possibility for all.

Feature Story ftconstruction066

Construction paves the way for a growing Grand Rapids

Every time you look outside your window, it's clear: GR continues to grow. Catch up on the many ways construction impacts our community.

Feature Story MNL Voices

Weirdly wonderfulness: Life with the "Geek Disorder"

Life with Asperger Syndrome isn't simple an straightforward. It's a collection of colors and experiences, and each person with the Syndrome is unique. In this VOICES essay, sixth grader Nora Standish describes her experience with Asperger's, shattering every stereotype about the Syndrome and inviting you into her world.

Feature Story Matthew Clayson

Game over: Enough excuses from Detroit to Grand Rapids

This Rapid Blog comes to us from Matt Clayson, who leads, launches, and scales outcome driven organizations and initiatives. Clayson explores bottom-up solutions for communities across the state, including coming together to solve common problems.