Kalamazoo commissioners cancel membership with Southwest Michigan First over CEO selection
Updated Feb 16, 2021;
KALAMAZOO, MI The Kalamazoo City Commission has distanced itself from Southwest Michigan First after the organization hired a new CEO with a high-profile political resume and views that commissioners say they do not agree with.
Former Michigan Speaker of the House Lee Chatfield has been hired as CEO of the economic development nonprofit Southwest Michigan First, the organization announced on Thursday, Feb. 11.
At the Kalamazoo City Commission meeting on Monday, Feb. 15, Commissioner Erin Knott made the motion that the city withdraw from Southwest Michigan First’s Council of 100, which includes other entities such as Western Michigan University, Bronson HealthCare, Millennium Restaurant Group, Greenleaf Trust, Stryker, and others, according to the Southwest Michigan First web site.
Citizens decry violence, police actions in emotional accounts of Kalamazoo summer protests
Updated Jan 11, 2021;
Posted Jan 11, 2021
Protestors stand in a wall of tear gas in downtown Kalamazoo, Michigan on Tuesday, June 2, 2020. After 35 to 40 minutes of reasoning with the police after violating curfew crowds were dispersed using CS gas and mace pellets. The City of Kalamazoo imposed a curfew from 7 p.m. until 5 a.m. on Wednesday, June 3 after late night vandalism.Joel Bissell
Facebook Share
KALAMAZOO, MI During a virtual listening session held Monday, Jan. 11, citizens shared stories and eyewitness accounts of people being tear gassed and pepper sprayed by police officers this summer in Kalamazoo.
2020 was a year of protests, police and change in Kalamazoo
Updated Dec 30, 2020;
Posted Dec 30, 2020
2020 in Kalamazoo was a year marked with protests, change and deeper looks at race, policy and those who lead. (Joel Bissell | MLive)
Facebook Share
KALAMAZOO, MI Kalamazoo in 2020 mirrored much of what was going on across the nation.
The varying affects of the coronavirus pandemic. Protests. A deeper look at racism in America. Contention in the political sphere. And changes in leadership.
After a relatively quiet start to the year, and almost eerie silence on the streets brought on by two months of COVID-driven shutdowns, things changed drastically again after George Floyd was killed May 25 by a Minneapolis police officer as two fellow officers stood by.