Nine days after a social media announcement that it would leave the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce over a controversial endorsement of Bill Schuette, Founders Brewing Co. has changed its mind.

Dockless electric scooters could soon become available on the streets in Michigan’s second-largest city.

As the new President and CEO of Grand Rapids-area Interurban Transit Partnership, known as The Rapid, Andrew Johnson hopes to leverage existing business support to grow the operation. Having previously served as the COO of the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District in central Illinois, Johnson views West Michigan’s “diversified” economy as a perfect place to start in working toward better transit service. He spoke with MiBiz about the future of The Rapid and how bus service fits into mobility in West Michigan.

As transportation advocates and urban planners push new mobility strategies, they’re also working to see how new tools may affect the future of traditional mass transit.

Contractors and operating engineers have found a temporary solution to a labor dispute that’s affected more than 150 road construction projects around the state — and three in the greater Grand Rapids area.

Michigan GOP gubernatorial candidate Bill Schuette on Monday morning signaled further willingness to expand the state’s civil rights law following an endorsement controversy last week.

The backlash against the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce over its controversial endorsement of GOP Michigan gubernatorial candidate Bill Schuette continues to percolate.

Over the last several years, the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce has sought to make diversity and inclusion a key part of its mission and culture.

ROCKFORD — Just months after rebranding its downtown Rockford location as Rockford Riverside Grille, Essence Restaurant Group has announced it will cease restaurant operations and reopen temporarily next month as an events and banquet facility.

The acquisition this month of Gemini Corp.’s assets by a Southeast Michigan publisher comes amid a broader consolidation trend in the media industry.

The West Michigan chapter of the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) held its 32nd annual Excellence in Construction Awards on Thursday evening.

The Hinman Co.’s scaled-back hotel project in the city’s central business district received a financial boost this morning.

GRAND RAPIDS — HopCat’s 17th location overall — and its second in Grand Rapids — comes as an “experiment” of sorts for the growing chain of craft beer-focused restaurants.

GRAND RAPIDS — The first thing you should know about me is that I really dislike heights. I didn’t make it 200 feet into an attempt to walk across the Golden Gate Bridge and I once nearly had a nervous breakdown on an outdoor patio of a 36th-floor condo.

A Southeast Michigan publisher has acquired the Grand Rapids Business Journal, Grand Rapids Magazine and other titles from Gemini Corp.

As a veteran attorney representing Michigan cities, townships and villages, Mark Nettleton says his clients mostly find themselves on solid fiscal footing these days. The Mika Meyers PLC attorney believes the state’s municipalities have learned the lessons of the Great Recession and are now investing conservatively in large infrastructure projects and working to ensure they’re complying with increased state mandates around the proper funding of legacy benefits. He spoke with MiBiz about the fiscal health of the state’s many local units of government.

While Detroit’s record-setting municipal bankruptcy may be a distant memory, many business leaders around the state still view the financial health of Michigan’s municipalities as a potential ticking time bomb.

A recent investment in a Grand Rapids office complex could serve as the template for what executives hope will become a new platform for West Michigan real estate investment.

GRAND RAPIDS — A development group hopes that a small mixed-use project will fill a long-time hole in the city’s Heartside neighborhood south of downtown, MiBiz has learned.

At the opening today of Bridge Street Market, Meijer Inc.’s first foray in decades into smaller, neighborhood grocery stores, company executives say they’re “bullish” on the format and plan more similar stores, including in Michigan.

One of downtown Grand Rapids’ signature skyscrapers will be given a new look in the coming years.

PLAINFIELD TOWNSHIP — West Michigan’s retail sector continues to attract investment from outside the state amid an active real estate market.

GRANDVILLE –– Amid an apartment building boom across West Michigan, the Grand Castle stands out in ways few other projects do.

The number of companies that relocate or expand in a specific area because of economic development incentives is largely “exaggerated.” That’s according to a new report from Tim Bartik, senior economist with the Upjohn Institute in Kalamazoo.

WALKER — City planners hope to encourage downtown-style urbanism in the years ahead along a key suburban commercial corridor northwest of Grand Rapids.

With extremely limited inventory for growing manufacturing and industrial users in West Michigan, developers increasingly are focusing on new construction.

The dissolution this week of a proposed mega-merger between two media giants means the local Fox affiliate will remain under its existing corporate ownership, at least for now.

A new report by Lansing-based research firm Public Sector Consultants Inc. determined that Michigan consumers sent $18.5 billion out of state with their growing use of e-commerce. The report, commissioned by the Michigan Retailers Association, was released in conjunction with the debut of the group’s Buy Nearby campaign that aims to educate consumers on the benefits of shopping locally. The PSC report found that if consumers switched just one out of every 10 purchases to a local retailer, Michigan would stand to gain $1.2 billion annually in increased economic activity and 10,600 new jobs in the retail industry, which already employs one in five Michiganders. MRA President and CEO James Hallan spoke with MiBiz about the trade group’s focus on the benefits of shopping locally. 

Spurred on by changing consumer shopping habits, West Michigan grocery retailers want to make the task of shopping less of a “chore” by leveraging new technology-driven initiatives.

The rising price of steel and other building materials might cause sticker shock for some developers, but the costs are doing little to curb building activity around West Michigan.