A Storyteller’s Next Chapter
Gabriel Giron has dedicated himself to coaching people through hard times for well over a decade, but he had no way of anticipating the “sledgehammer” that was 2020 or how it would test him. Over and...
View Article‘THE BEST ARMY’
If you’re the 73-year-old leader of a massive company that you have built over more than 50 years, the tendency may be to look back. Not Marc Schupan.
View ArticleHidden Treasures
You may pass by them every day and overlook them. You may stumble upon one accidentally and wonder, “What is this place?” Or you may not know about them at all. Southwest Michigan abounds with unique...
View ArticleHidden in Plain Sight
Did you know Kalamazoo has its own Stonehenge? Or that certain street names are stamped into the sidewalks? Or that there is an active archaeological dig every summer in Niles? What about the area’s...
View ArticleBitten by the Biking Bug
It felt like our reality shifted in so many ways in March 2020. As Covid-19 hit and the world shut down, I decided to ride my bike. This is a normal decision for me every spring, but I felt a little...
View ArticleThis Is How We Roll
Say "cyclist" and it immediately conjures up an image.Maybe it's of an athletic type, somewhat scrawny but with enormous calves, unashamed of their skin-tight jerseys and bibs as they ride an...
View ArticleTypes & Stereotypes of Bike Riders
Road cyclists. They often speak of "watts"— literally, their pedaling power in wattage measured by sensors in their pedals or estimated on GPS-enabled bike computers or apps like Strava. Additional...
View ArticleLive Again At Last
As far as Stephen Lynch is concerned, he doesn’t want to hear the word “Covid” again, and audiences shouldn’t expect the topic to come up much when he begins performing this month for the first time in...
View Article'It's Been Quite a Story'
Even after 36 years in the business, Larry Bell still gets a kick out of seeing his beer as he travels the country.For example, during a six–week trip he took to Arizona earlier this year to coincide...
View ArticlePaula Termuhlen
To say June was a momentous month for Dr. Paula Termuhlen is a bit of an understatement. Just a month earlier, Termuhlen, 58, had taken the helm as only the second dean to lead the Western Michigan...
View ArticleCannabis Country
Off a dirt road in rural Van Buren County, two hoop houses rise from a sea of cornfields, their interiors obscured by a covering of cloudy plastic tarp. Such hoop houses are not an unusual sight in...
View ArticleRevealed 2021
One of the things Encore has become known for is its beautiful photography capturing life in Southwest Michigan. We take so many images for our stories and are often dismayed when we can't share them...
View ArticleDrawing Strength from Superheroes
D ressed in a blue pinstripe suit, blue-and-red bowtie and Kalamazoo Valley Community College lapel pin, KVCC President Dr. L. Marshall Washington selects the large boardroom near his office for a...
View ArticlePicking up the Pieces
On a Tuesday morning, a little before 7:30 and seconds after he walked in the front door of his Kalamazoo business, Tough Coat Custom Powder Coating, Brent Hook was shot five times, including twice in...
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