Tuesday. March 19, 2024

Community

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Kalamazoo News Monitor has suspended its weekly aggregation of local news and information. We’ve found some forms of success, and the experiment has provided valuable insights, but current resources do not enable us to achieve effective distribution.

Therefore, we’re stepping back and will look for modified approaches to using the KNM website to provide local value and for different ways to help with the dissemination of information in our town.

Published: May 09, 2019

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You are one of thousands of people from Kalamazoo who have visited Kalamazoo News Monitor once, twice, sixteen, thirty, or fifty+ times in the last three months. (Thank you, Google Analytics.)

If you value what KNM provides, we could use your support in a very simple way: Every time you visit KNM and learn something new about Kalamazoo, promote a link to the site on your favorite social media channel. That’s the only way KNM will reach more people in Kalamazoo, because we have no paid advertising of any kind. 

Published: April 30, 2019

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https://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/2019/04/kalamazoo-teacher-in-the-running-for-michigan-teacher-of-the-year-award.html
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MLive

Doug Duncan, art teacher at Indian Prairie and Prairie Ridge elementary schools was awarded the 2019-20 teacher of the year award for the region and is in the running for Michigan Teacher of the Year. “Art is one subject area where self-expression and creativity are still valued, and I want to make sure that every student I teach understands the importance of both,” Duncan said. “In an era where more testing is being mandated, it is essential that we keep the arts available to students not only as a critical creative outlet but as a way to foster creative thinking."

Published: April 29, 2019

MLive
https://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/2019/04/kalamazoo-area-seniors-awarded-for-excellence-in-education.html
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MLive

Excellence in Education awarded 46 of Kalamazoo-area’s top-achieving high school seniors with $1,000 scholarships. Among the recipients are six seniors from Kalamazoo Central High School and six seniors from Loy Norrix High School. The program also awarded eight Educator Incentive Grants, which provide funding for teachers and administrators in Kalamazoo County schools. The Excellence in Education program is the result of collaboration among all Kalamazoo County public and non-public schools and local foundations, education groups and the business community. See all the winners at the link. 

Published: April 29, 2019

MLive
https://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/2019/04/ywca-announces-kalamazoos-2019-women-of-achievement-award-recipients.html
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MLive

The YWCA will celebrate Kalamazoo-area women and their contributions to the community at the 2019 Women of Achievement Awards, Thursday, May 9, at the Radisson Plaza Hotel, 100 West Michigan Ave. Pamela Enslen is the YWCA 2019 Lifetime Woman of Achievement Awardee.  Josephine Brown is the 2019 Dorothy I. Height Social Justice Innovation Awardee. Recipients of the 2019 Women of Achievement Award include Shirley Lampman Johnson, Alisa Parker, Lisa Rodriguez, Judy Sivak and Cori Terry. Learn more about these women and tickets for the event at the link. 

Published: April 29, 2019

MLive
https://www.wmuk.org/post/how-attract-and-keep-good-jobs
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WMUK

Michelle Miller-Adams says when local communities are struggling economically, leaders look to attract an employer that will bring lots of jobs. But the Senior Researcher for the Kalamazoo-based Upjohn Institute for Employment Research says “that is a very low percentage strategy.” The Upjohn Institute launched a project last year on how communities can attract and keep good jobs. Miller-Adams is one of the co-authors of a report called "Building Shared Prosperity: How Communities Can Create Good Jobs For All." The report brings together a number of topics, such as place based scholarships, job training and economic development. Get an overview or read the repot at the link.

Published: April 29, 2019

WMUK
http://www.secondwavemedia.com/southwest-michigan/features/Ben-Brown-s-Eastside-tiny-house-experiment-paves-the-way-for-future-Kalamazoo-small-homes-0425.aspx
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2nd Wave

Someone had to do it. Ben Brown was thrilled to be that person. After 40 years of living with others in rooms that were smaller than his current 250-square foot house, Brown began exploring ways to build his own tiny dream home. When the plans finally came together in 2017, with the help of Habitat for Humanity, Brown’s house became the first legal tiny house built in Kalamazoo County. Meet Brown and look inside his tiny house on Second Wave.

Published: April 29, 2019

2nd Wave
https://www.kalamazoocity.org/news/432-kalamazoo-resident-feedback-sought-through-community-survey
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City

The City of Kalamazoo is asking residents to participate in a city-wide survey to evaluate how city government is serving residents, to gauge perceptions of the city, and to make comparisons with peer cities.  A random and scientific sample of 1,700 households will receive invitations in the mail to participate in the National Community Survey (NCS). The survey includes questions about quality of life in the community, local policies, demographics, rating of local government services and resident use of services. Survey responses are weighted to reflect the characteristics of the entire community.

 

Published: April 29, 2019

City
https://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/2019/04/critics-question-plans-for-president-lincoln-statue-in-kalamazoo.html
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MLive

Kalamazoo’s school board last week discussed support and opposition to plans to erect a statue in Bronson Park honoring Abraham Lincoln, hearing from some residents with concerns about the idea. Lincoln visited Kalamazoo prior to his presidency and a group of supporters have been working for years to build a statue in his honor and create educational opportunities around his visit to the city. Critics point out that Lincoln was no friend to Native Americans (link), and the city only recently removed the racist sculpture in the park depicting European subjugation of Native Americans. Supporters agreed that his legacy is complicated, but suggested the positives outweigh the negatives. 

Published: April 29, 2019

MLive
https://www.kalamazoocity.org/news/428-first-match-e-be-nash-she-wish-pottawatomi-reservation-boundary-sign-to-be-unveiled-april-22
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City

The heart of the city of Kalamazoo is built on land taken from the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians in 1827. They had been given the land by the U.S. government in 1821 in exchange for other land. The band successfully resisted 1827 relocation to Indiana or present-day Kansas, instead moving north moved north. By 1838, they had established a permanent settlement in Bradley, Michigan, near Gun Lake. New street signs will mark the boundaries of the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish land. The first was unveiled on Monday, April 22, with representatives of the band, the City of Kalamazoo, and local officials.

Published: April 29, 2019

City
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Welcome to another review of recent Kalamazoo news and selected upcoming events. There were quite a few city and county government developments this week, which we’ve rolled up into omnibus articles. Several stories also bear on the future of natural features and historic buildings in Kalamazoo. Happy Spring weather to all!

Published: April 21, 2019

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https://www.woodtv.com/news/kalamazoo-and-battle-creek/war-widow-meets-one-time-enemy-who-helped-kill-husband/1921793738
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WOOD

The photograph is the only one taken of the moment Hattie Ford met the man who played a role in killing her husband 50 years ago during the Vietnam War. It was taken in a clearing, on the spot where her husband died. The man in blue was the enemy back on Jan. 15, 1969, the day Ford's first husband died. "Everybody seems to expect that I would be overcome with emotion, that I would be distraught, that I would feel angry perhaps at this man, and I didn't at all," Ford said. "That war was a big mistake on the part of our government. And I guess if there was anybody I would be angry at, it would be our own government for getting involved in something like that, to take the life of these fine young men."

Published: April 20, 2019

WOOD
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As of this week, KNM has been bringing together Kalamazoo news and information for three months. As the weeks accumulate on KNM, we’re pleased to see the website becoming a trail of breadcrumbs that make it easier to see some of the ongoing areas of need, focus, and good news in Kalamazoo.

Published: April 15, 2019

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http://www.wmuk.org/post/lots-kps-grads-start-college-promise-why-arent-more-them-finishing
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WMUK

The vast majority of eligible KPS grads start college or vocational school on the Promise. But a lot fewer of them graduate – at least, that’s what the numbers show for the classes whose time to use the Promise is up. And one analysis found that black and Hispanic Promise students were the least likely to finish a bachelor’s degree, even though black students make up the majority of KPS’ students. On average, 47 percent of white Promise-eligible students finished college. The rate for Hispanic and Latino students was just 15 percent. For black students, who make up the majority of the district, it was 14 percent.

Published: April 15, 2019

WMUK
https://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/2019/04/free-std-testing-offered-at-pop-up-clinics-in-kalamazoo.html
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MLive

Kalamazoo County has the second highest rates of infection for gonorrhea and chlamydia in Michigan. Kalamazoo County Health and Community Services is partnering with Community AIDS Resource and Education Services to provide free HIV and STD testing at five clinics in Kalamazoo in April. There is no residency requirement for those looking to get tested. The pop-up clinics will be easy to access and will provide referral and linkage to treatment. Food, condoms, personal lubricant and other personal care items will be available. Results from HIV testing are available in about 20 minutes. STD results are available within seven to 10 days,

Published: April 15, 2019

MLive