As artificial intelligence evolves faster than most people can keep up, Tim Haines is trying to help others keep pace. “I just believe very strongly that the change that’s occurring is being driven at ...

The 2025 C.R. Evenson Foundation Fellows are Sergio Cira-Reyes, David Fraker, and Anna Crooks. At Earthly Refillery, clear canisters of dry goods line the walls. There’s an assortment of nuts with ...

Andrew Stepanovich earned statewide recognition as an inaugural member of the Coaches Who Care Mental Health Hall of Fame. For Andrew Stepanovich, the most important victories don’t show up on a ...

As Rapid Growth looks back on nearly two decades of documenting the people and ideas shaping West Michigan, we are resharing our Aug. 17, 2022, story by Enrique Olmos, “Harnessing the power of the ...

Stress balls come with personal messages like this one from Odyssey of the Mind students. A group of students in West Michigan is trying to make a big difference with something simple that not a lot ...

Tara DeGroot is the assistant director of Jubilee House, a day shelter and outreach ministry in Traverse City. The Traverse City area has become a popular place for tourists and retirees from across ...

Gina Bivins received the Kutsche Office of Local History’s Gordon Olson Award. In her 37 years working at the Grand Rapids Public Museum, Gina Bivins demonstrated that history isn’t confined to ...

Kevin Sellon works for Disability Advocates of Kent County as an ADA employment advocate. When Molly Fuller’s sister was asked by her employer to volunteer at a nonprofit food-packing site, the ...

In 2008, Rapid Growth ran the story “A river runs through Green Grand Rapids” by our then Development Editor Deborah Johnson Wood, which, looking back, reads like an early spark for everything we’re ...

Walker Mayor Gary Carey sees the KDL Library as a space where everyone is welcome and can explore when it opens in Fall 2026. Mayor Gary Carey Jr. understands the impact of access to a library because ...

Katie learns valuable skills from dough creation to mold making to packaging, using precision scales for Beer City Dog Biscuits. Every Thursday morning, Jan Stack and her daughter Katie make the drive ...

Parents of special needs children shared what their children need when it comes to early literacy. Left to right, Monique Vasquez, Brittany Franks, Cara Sutliff, and Seth Torkelson-Regan. On Feb. 20, ...