State lawmakers have steered another $846.1 million into a state fund to support major economic development projects in Michigan.

ZEELAND — Despite strong sales in recent months, MillerKnoll Inc. executives forecast slower sales growth in the months ahead and are taking several measures to generate up to $35 million in cost savings.

GRAND RAPIDS TWP. — BHSH Spectrum Health West Michigan plans to break ground today on a new orthopedic outpatient surgery and care center in Grand Rapids Township.

The W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research in Kalamazoo and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago will host a conference this week in Greenville and Grand Rapids focused on rural economic development. Scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, the conference will discuss the “challenges and opportunities facing rural economic development.” Among the scheduled speakers is Martin Lavelle, a business economist with the Detroit branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. He spoke with MiBiz on the issues the conference will address, including access to housing and how the pandemic and the rise of remote work has changed the equation.

GRAND HAVEN — In deciding to merge into the large Trinity Health ecosystem, North Ottawa Community Health System potentially stands to reap one immediate benefit: a greater ability to attract physicians.

GRAND RAPIDS — Steelcase Inc.’s plan to eliminate up to 180 salaried positions this fall comes as the economy faces what CFO and Senior Vice President Dave Sylvester calls “dark clouds” and as the office furniture maker has experienced reduced incoming orders in recent weeks.

GRAND RAPIDS — Citing a 20-percent decline in incoming orders during the first few weeks of its current quarter, Steelcase Inc. plans to cut up to 180 salaried positions and has reduced its quarterly dividend.

GRAND HAVEN — North Ottawa Community Health System will become part of Trinity Health Michigan on Oct. 1 when the two health care systems close their planned merger.

GRAND RAPIDS — The Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce today launched a new initiative that intends to create greater economic diversity and inclusion.

GRAND RAPIDS — After selling the church management software company he started in 2014, Jon VerLee decided to put his money into assisting other entrepreneurs get their businesses off the ground.

GRAND RAPIDS — Strong interest from investors led Michigan Capital Network to expand the size of its new venture capital fund, the organization’s fourth since its inception.

Amid its many strains on companies, the COVID-19 pandemic appears to have prompted more owners to think about the future and eventually pass a family business down to the next generation.

A survey this year of hundreds of U.S. family-owned businesses showed that owners prioritized keeping employees on the payroll even as the pandemic disrupted their business and that most regularly give to local charities.

GRAND RAPIDS — KeyBank intends to plant a flag in the West Michigan market with the opening of a downtown Grand Rapids office later this year or in early 2023.

GRAND RAPIDS — BHSH System has eliminated 400 positions across the state in a move to address rising costs that have been hitting the health care industry hard this year. 

ST. JOSEPH — BHSH Spectrum Health Lakeland has cut nearly two dozen leadership positions in Southwest Michigan.

Job growth in Michigan will ease through 2023 as the U.S. economy slows as a result of rising interest rates intended to tame inflation.

The number of health care jobs in Michigan declined in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, worsening an existing staffing shortage that — if not reversed — could eventually affect access to care.

The second investment by the New Community Transformation Fund — a recently formed Grand Rapids investment fund for minority entrepreneurs — went to a Texas fintech that relocated its headquarters to downtown Grand Rapids.

The trade group representing nurse practitioners in Michigan hopes updated state data showing high industry growth through the decade will spur action to expand the profession’s scope of practice.

The world’s attention focused on Southwest Michigan in late 2020 as the region began producing the first COVID-19 vaccines.

David and Rae Green started Sanford Behavioral Health seven years ago in a historic home in Grand Rapids’ Heritage Hill neighborhood.

Economic development organization Lakeshore Advantage Corp. is seeking proposals for using a portion of federal American Rescue Plan Act funding to support local businesses.

GRAND RAPIDS — Blackford Capital recorded another exit with the sale of Hastings-based Quality Aluminum Products Inc. to a publicly traded manufacturer and service provider for the renewable energy, residential, agricultural technology and infrastructure markets.

University of Michigan economists expect the U.S. economy to experience a “very mild decline” the rest of this year before slowing to near zero growth in 2023.

The state has begun the process to dispense nearly $237 million in federal funding to support small businesses.

First half revenues fell well below BHSH System’s projections as major losses in Southeast Michigan were offset by gains in West Michigan. 

That’s according to a new quarterly report that sheds light on the finances of the largest in-state health care provider created by the merger of Beaumont Health and Spectrum Health earlier this year.

Ascension Michigan has named Dr. Thomas Rohs as president and CEO of the health system’s southwest region, overseeing hospitals in Kalamazoo, Plainwell, Allegan and Dowagiac, as well as other care centers across the market.

GRAND RAPIDS — BHSH System Spectrum Health West Michigan began work today on a new $37 million rehabilitation and nursing center in Grand Rapids.

KALAMAZOO — Advia Credit Union has named longtime Chief Financial Officer Jeff Fielder as its next president and CEO.