Kim Palmer

Cleveland

Reporter at Crain's Cleveland Business

Journalist from Ohio, Cleveland native. Politics & Policy Reporter at Crain's Cleveland.

Articles

HUD delays mean City Council faces critical CDC funding decision

1 week ago | crainscleveland.com | Kim Palmer

Extended delays in federal grant funding are putting pressure on Cleveland's City Council to move forward with a measure, introduced in January, that would change how Cleveland funds more than a dozen Community Development Corporations (CDCs) across the city. Cleveland’s 18 CDCs depend on the nearly $9 million in annual funding provided by the city from more than $3 billion in HUD Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) program.
Cleveland's booming tourism industry gets a boost from civic pride

1 week ago | crainscleveland.com | Kim Palmer

That 10-year spike in positive perception is a direct result of the 2014 launch of the “the Cleveland brand,” Destination Cleveland’s President and CEO David Gilbert told attendees Wednesday, April 15, during the group’s annual meeting at the Huntington Convention Center. “The perception of Cleveland has changed in so many ways,” said Gilbert in an interview with Crain’s.
West Side Market clinches final funding for $53 million first phase of renovation project

1 week ago | crainscleveland.com | Kim Palmer

The project adds a $2 million loan from the Community Development Financial Institution’s (CDFI) Healthy Food Financing Initiative and $6 million in Federal Historic Tax Credits. The total financial package is made up of a “complex set of funding tools," explains Rosemary Mudry, CPMC executive director. “We are incredibly grateful and thrilled that the Market is receiving the largest investment financing package that CDA has made,” Mudry said in a statement.
Maurer, vocal opponent of redrawn ward map, running in new Ward 5

1 week ago | crainscleveland.com | Kim Palmer

Councilman Starr told Crain’s he is going to run to represent Ward 5 for a third term and will officially launch his campaign in the next few weeks. Starr said that he wishes Maurer “luck” but added that he looks forward to representing the new ward. “I plan to develop a relationship with the new residents in Ward 5 and to represent the city of Cleveland to the best of my ability,” Starr told Crain’s.
Lorain County turns to AI to digitize old records

2 weeks ago | crainscleveland.com | Kim Palmer

Microfiche, for those of a certain age, is a film containing a scaled-down reproduction of a document that is read by a machine that enlarges the image. But the ongoing digitization of archives and 30 years of internet adoption mean it's an outdated format. As of 2025, few microfiche manufacturers are left and one of the remaining vendors, Fujifilm, plans to discontinue production in 2026.
GCP, city spurn federal anti-DEI push in affirming support for construction equity programs

2 weeks ago | crainscleveland.com | Kim Palmer

When a city is as diverse as Cleveland, City Council President Blaine Griffin explained, inclusion and equity are about residents getting a good return on investment from their tax dollars. “I don't call it DEI anymore. I call it a return on investment in this community,” Griffin said. “In the City of Cleveland, we are approximately 48% African-American, 13% Hispanic and 55% female.
Ohio’s solar supply chain is strong but faces federal funding challenges

2 weeks ago | crainscleveland.com | Kim Palmer

Solar energy generation and battery storage accounted for 84% of all the new capacity added to the nation’s grid in 2024. And Ohio is a major part of both solar modules and battery storage production. The state’s solar manufacturing ranks No. 1 in the country, based on the number of companies involved in the manufacturing of solar systems, according to the U.S. Solar Market Insight 2024 Year in Review report commissioned by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).
Ohio leaders anxious as Trump cuts manufacturing center funding in 10 other states

3 weeks ago | crainscleveland.com | Kim Palmer

Ten states received surprising news from the Trump administration that $175 million in previously appropriated funding dedicated to supporting small and midsize manufacturers will not be dispersed. The states and some members of Congress were informed by the Department of Commerce on Tuesday, April 1, that “as a part of President Trump’s program to reduce the size and cost of the federal government” annual funding from Manufacturing Extension Partnership’s (MEP) program would not be renewed.
As new tariffs loom, SBA leadership rolls out Made in America strategy

3 weeks ago | crainscleveland.com | Kim Palmer

As the manufacturing sector awaits details about international retaliatory tariffs set to come out of Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, April 2, officials from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) have rolled out a Made in America initiative designed to jump-start the domestic industry.
Tax credit boosts global lighting company's HQ move to Solon

3 weeks ago | crainscleveland.com | Kim Palmer

The relocation of a global residential lighting manufacturer and distributor’s North American headquarters to Solon was one of four projects newly approved by the Ohio Tax Credit Authority (TCA). Statewide, the projects approved by the TCA board on Monday, March 31, are expected to create 384 new jobs and more than $28 million in new payroll spurring about $131 million in investments. In Cuyahoga County, EGLO USA Inc.