Second Wave

The platform is expected to launch in early 2027. Michigan has invested heavily in expanding access to early childhood education. Now, through a new partnership with Wonderschool, state leaders hope to make finding and enrolling in preschool programs easier for families.

Editor’s Note: Welcome to Curtain Call — your front-row seat to the unique, lively, and memorable performances shaping Kalamazoo’s arts scene. Supported by the I.S. Gilmore Foundation, this series highlights the creativity and community that make each show something special. Biribá Union performed at Bell’s Brewery on Sept. 24.

Editor’s Note: This story is part of Momentum: The people and companies shaping what’s next, a weekly series that explores new ventures, founder support, and the resources powering entrepreneurship and small businesses across seven counties in Southwest Michigan. This project is sponsored by Southwest Michigan First. Steele and Sadie Evans are the new owners of the pumpkin farm. Photo: Fran Dwight Few things say October quite like a field filled with bright orange pumpkins.

Sharing iPads with law enforcement, courts, EMS, and hospitals has reinforced connections. In 2022, Sanilac County Community Mental Health (CMH) provided iPads to law enforcement. When officers encounter a person in a mental health crisis, they can connect the person with real-time mental health support via video chat. “It is 24/7 accessibility,” says Sanilac County CMH Chief Executive Officer Wil Morris. “Collaboration with law enforcement and courts is crucial for effective mental health services.

Editor’s note: This story is part of Southwest Michigan Second Wave’s On the Ground Battle Creek series. Noriyuki Shimizu is in the pink shirt on the left, and Brisa Hernandez Velasco is in the hat with the Lakeview T-shirt. Photo: Courtesy A Sister City exchange between Battle Creek and Takasaki, Japan, created a lasting friendship between two students who continue to connect across thousands of miles and cultural differences.

Editor’s Note: Even the most cautious of fraud-wary and fact-checking journalists can get hooked by an email scam. We offer this account so you can beware of the level of sophistication and nuance these schemes can employ, along with a few tips on how to protect yourself. Online scams happen when technology is used to trick, harm, or steal money and/or personal information. This can happen in various ways, like through emails, texts, phone calls, websites, or software.

BONNIE JO CAMPBELL Editor’s note: This tribute first appeared in Bonnie Jo Campbell’s Substack “What’s a Writer to Do?!” and is reprinted here with her permission. Kalamazoo’s Grand Dame is no more. RIP, Lori Moore. Lori Moore took on cancer twice and triumphed, but this third time she must’ve been blindsided. Lori Moore has been Kalamazoo’s own Dolly, part Dolly Parton, part Dolly Gallagher-Levi, from Hello Dolly in which she starred at Kalamazoo Civic Theatre’s 2018 season opener.

Editor’s Note: This story is part of Momentum: The people and companies shaping what’s next, a weekly series that explores new ventures, founder support, and the resources powering entrepreneurship and small businesses across seven counties in Southwest Michigan. This project is sponsored by Southwest Michigan First. Lucinda Stinson, center, stands with Kalamazoo NAACP President Wendy Fields and members of the civil rights organization after being named a winner of its 2025 Humanitarian Award.

Blue Horizon Real Estate had its official launch on July 1. Realtor Marissa Harrington is the lead broker. Photo: Courtesy Blue Horizon Real Estate Kalamazoo needs to have difficult conversations and break down the walls of information silos in the housing sector, Realtor Marissa Harrington says. Harrington is the lead broker at Blue Horizon Real Estate, a “client-centered and community-focused” agency, as stated on its website. Blue Horizon had its official launch on July 1.

Taniah Ingram and her daughter. Photo by Kaitlyn Moorhead. Taniah Ingram is a doula who teaches prenatal classes and hosts a breastfeeding support group in Grand Rapids. She sees firsthand the challenges young families are facing. Parents rarely have paid family leave when a new baby comes along, finding quality child care is extremely difficult, and rushing through the workday routine leaves little room for quality family time.