Key indexes for industrial activity across West Michigan recorded big declines for October that economist Brian Long partly attributes to the lengthy United Auto Workers strike again General Motors.

MUSKEGON — The origin of HyVIDA Brands Inc. goes back six or seven years when Rick Smith took a taste of sparkling water.

Michigan’s economic growth “slowed down considerably” during the spring and summer, although University of Michigan economists doubt the state is on track for a downtown in the next two years.

Diversity, equity and inclusion have been foremost in the minds of people who work in Michigan’s nonprofit and philanthropic sectors.

Two years before Craig Wassenaar stepped into the role as president and CFO of Skytron LLC, a Cascade Township-based medical device company owned by the Mehney family, the plan for his next role with the business was already well underway. 

GRAND RAPIDS — Securing patent protection boosts the chances of a startup company to land the financing needed to commercialize a physical therapy medical device that was developed at Spectrum Health.

A monthly index of West Michigan’s economy returned to “moderate growth” in August after taking what economist Brian Long calls a “substantial dip” a month earlier.

As U.S. economic growth slows, so too does Michigan’s economy.

When doctors in Wisconsin wanted to put Bonnie Demos on a morphine pump for pain, she decided instead to move to Michigan and grow her own medicine.

GRAND RAPIDS — The ability of many nonprofits to successfully meet their missions can be directly tied to those who sit on their boards.