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News
#RG20 LookBack: 20 years after Grand Rapids bet on a new generation – Rapid Growth
4+ day, 10+ hour ago (1012+ words) In his 28th #RG20LookBack column celebrating Rapid Growth’s 20th anniversary, Publisher Tommy Allen revisits a 2006 story about former Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalynn Bliss and her start on the City Commission as its youngest woman ever elected. As we once again look back and…...
#RG20 LookBack: Harm reduction's Naloxone is the CPR we never talk about – Rapid Growth
1+ week, 4+ day ago (1811+ words) In his 27th #RG20LookBack column celebrating Rapid Growth’s 20th anniversary, Tommy revisits Heidi Stukkie’s 2012 story about The Red Project and the power of community partnerships to improve public health across West Michigan. For our RG20LookBack story, we want to revisit the timely harm reduction…...
Designer aims to elevate quality of life through accessible housing plans – Rapid Growth
2+ week, 2+ day ago (1099+ words) Disability Advocates and a West Michigan designer create housing plans for safe, independent living. As a teenager working in a nursing home, Jolene De Jong watched older adults struggle with everyday life and wondered whether the spaces around them could…...
How one family instilled children with values of hard work, entrepreneurship – Rapid Growth
2+ week, 2+ day ago (1422+ words) Jackson Befus wasn’t thinking about starting a business as he stood beside his father restoring a 36-foot sailboat. He was focused on getting the paint right. “I was floored by how skilled he already was,” says his father, Michael Befus,…...
#RG20LookBack: A fresh food facelift…timely revisited – Rapid Growth
2+ week, 3+ day ago (1609+ words) In his 26th #RG20LookBack column, Rapid Growth Publisher Tommy Allen revisits his 2013 story about the more than 50 farmers markets and fruit stands that connected West Michiganders with fresh, locally grown food. Back in June 2013, I wrote the story, “A Fresh Food Facelift,…...
Young patient turns hospital stay into gifts for children – Rapid Growth
3+ week, 1+ day ago (689+ words) After surgery at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, a Gaylord girl began knitting comfort gifts for children and families at the hospital and Ronald McDonald House West Michigan. When 11-year-old DeLayna Dubie left Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital after surgery earlier this…...
At KDL's Summer Wonder series, literacy appears disguised as dinosaurs, bubbles, and, most of all, discovery – Rapid Growth
3+ week, 4+ day ago (1576+ words) KDL’s Summer Wonder program turns reading into shared discovery, helping families build curiosity, strengthen relationships, and find community. On a Wednesday morning, with the summer sun overhead at Caledonia’s Community Green Park adjacent to the Kent District Library’s Caledonia Township…...
#RG20LookBack: Can one small garden help grow a community movement? (Yes!) – Rapid Growth
3+ week, 4+ day ago (1771+ words) In his 25th #RG20LookBack column, Rapid Growth Publisher Tommy Allen revisits Matthew Russell’s 2019 story about a GR resident’s rain garden helps protect local waterways. After a week when smoke from Canadian wildfires kept so many of us indoors – or, if we dared…...
#RG20LookBack: Permission to play – Rapid Growth
1+ mon, 23+ hour ago (764+ words) In his 24th #RG20LookBack, Rapid Growth Publisher Tommy Allen revisits his 2011 story about Rob Bliss’ Grand Rapids LipDub video, where he joined hundreds of others in the communitywide production. He reflects on the “Rob Bliss factor.” I wrote Grand Rapids Lipdub Video…...
#RG20LookBack: People have the power…to change – Rapid Growth
1+ mon, 1+ week ago (1889+ words) In his 23rd #RG20LookBack, Rapid Growth Publisher Tommy Allen revisits his 2014 story, “Let’s Break Some Laws & Eggs Together,” a cheeky look at two ordinances that no longer fit the Grand Rapids many envisioned. A decade ago, I walked into City Hall dressed,…...