As Thanksgiving 2024 approached, the City of Battle Creek bade farewell to its longest-serving city manager, Rebecca Fleury, who served 10 years in the position. While preparing this year-end look back at the final Community Matters visit with Fleury from August 2024,...
In his first long form interview after his defeat in the November 2024 election, Michigan House 44th District Rep. Jim Haadsma (D-Battle Creek) speaks with Community Matters about the post-election process to confirm the vote. A recount and canvass determined Haadsma...
In her first interview since beginning as the human resources director at the BlueOval Battery Park Michigan in Marshall, Amy Helner joins Community Matters to talk about the status of hiring employees at the plant. The battery production facility is expected to begin...
Come February 21, 2025, all Michigan businesses will be required to convert to a sick time accrual system for their employees. An associated bill in Lansing would also change the pay scale for tipped-wage employees. Both have the Small Business Association of Michigan...
The Kellogg Community College entrepreneurship program, of course, is seeking participants who want to realize a dream to own their own business. Now, the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp is offering a chance for some who meet income guidelines to get started at no cost. The...
An online survey for Battle Creek residents is active until December 27, 2024, seeking input about future community development and housing. The city is also planning listening sessions for December 12, 2024 at the Kool Family Center Valentine Room. In this episode,...
Even though the hazards of lead have resulted in years of education and remediation, cities with homes built before 1978 were commonly painted with lead paint. Leaded gas in the 1970s also had an effect that is still causing illness, particularly in young children....
Battle Creek's Cereal City Concert Band is full-speed-ahead with its Christmas concert and fundraising activities with six months to go until its big European trip. The band has been invited to perform at the 2025 Mid-Europe Wind Band Music Festival in Schladming,...
Battle Creek's Small Business Development Office is not something you see in many towns: A local investment to help potential small business owners navigate the sometimes-complicated process of starting a business. That's what we hear in this episode of Community...
Joe Timmer and his wife are not unfamiliar with parenthood. With three biological children, they felt a calling toward foster care and adoption. Just before Thanksgiving 2024, the Timmer's were back in a Calhoun County courtroom to officially welcome two more children...
