communityconversations
Does the Grand Rapids Police Officers Association contract promote police officer misconduct?
by (Lyonel LaGrone II)
Submitted 12-18-2018 under OPINION
A citizen-based analysis of the current state of police-community relations in the City of Grand Rapids has revealed a consistent narrative: there is a clear resistance from the GRPD to accept accountability. The pattern in practice of GRPD...
Happy Cat Cafe encourages visitors to socialize with cats up for adoption
by (Kent Innovation...)
Submitted 12-11-2018 under OPINION
If you’re a cat person, then you may just want to consider paying a visit to Kati Palmurkar’s Happy Cat Cafe in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Being the first official cat cafe in Michigan, the Happy Cat Cafe is a popular feline-themed hangout...
Grand Rapids Symphony's Mary Tuuk ready to make her passion for music her profession as President
by (GRSymphony)
Submitted 11-27-2018 under NONPROFITS
Mary Tuuk has spent a long career in banking for Fifth Third Bank and in retail with Meijer, Inc. Away from the office, the greatest passion for the singer with the Grand Rapids Symphony Chorus has been music. Now, she’s about to make her...
Kids Summit alumni brainstorm with WMCAT direction for 2019 event
by (Erica Soto)
Submitted 10-30-2018 under OPINION
As Kids Summit coordinator for the past two years, I’ve had the awesome privilege to plan a day for our future leaders to learn, play, grow, and be in community with children of many different backgrounds. Coming into the third year of Kids...
Backlash to Cosecha disruption at ArtPrize showcases problem with typical 'West Michigan nice'
by (Movimiento Cose...)
Submitted 09-25-2018 under NONPROFITS
Complicity with ICE by Kent CountyIn the last three months, organizers from Movimiento Cosecha GR and Grand Rapid Rapid Response to ICE have worked in partnership on a campaign to #EndTheContract between Kent County and Immigration and Customs...
Residents use art to encourage civic engagement in their neighborhoods
by (DwellingPlace)
Submitted 09-18-2018 under NONPROFITS
Throughout the summer, Dwelling Place interns from the Community Building and Engagement Department hosted ‘get out the vote’ poster-making at the Herkimer, Reflections, and Weston apartments. Each event allowed residents the freedom to...
Many adoptees have deep pain from trauma of being separated from their first families
by (Adoptees Connect)
Submitted 09-11-2018 under NONPROFITS
My mom, in Grand Rapids, answered the phone to a woman with a thick foreign accent, “Mrs. VanderWell?” “Yes.” she replied. “Elisa will not take her bottle to eat.” “How are you feeding her?”. They were...
Bridge Street Market, the new market for everyone
by (Paola R. Mendivil)
Submitted 09-04-2018 under OPINION
Leer este artículo en español | Read this article in Spanish It was a sunny summer afternoon, my mom, sister and I walked down Bridge Street all the way to the Stocking and visited for the first time the Moctezuma Store, one of the few...
Bridge Street Market, nuevo mercado para todos en la calle Bridge
by (Paola R. Mendivil)
Submitted 09-04-2018 under OPINION
Leer este artículo en inglés | Read this article in English Era una tarde soleada de verano, mi mamá, hermana y yo bajamos caminando por toda la calle Bridge Street hasta llegar a la Stocking y entramos a la Tienda Moctezuma. Unas personas en la...
GRPS board approves moving special education programs to Kent ISD
by (Elizabeth Roger...)
Submitted 08-07-2018 under NEWS
On Monday, August 6, 2018 Grand Rapids Board of Education voted to transfer center-based special needs programs administration over to the Kent Intermediate School District, or KISD. The vote was 7-1 with Dr. José Flores voting no. Over the last...