NowKalamazoo

2 weeks ago | nowkalamazoo.org | Aidan Ralko

The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League had a brief history in Kalamazoo, but it’s inspired a wide-ranging collection of memorabilia. That collection is on display through the end of May 2025 at the Vicksburg District Library. The Kalamazoo Lassies played from 1950-1954, becoming the league champions right before the league went defunct. The collection is the passion project of Kalamazoo native Leigh Fitzgerald.

2 weeks ago | nowkalamazoo.org | Aidan Ralko

Aidan Ralko is a senior at Western Michigan University majoring in film, video, and media studies with a minor in advertisement and promotion. He has been a member of the school’s newspaper, the Western Herald, for the past three years. With the Herald, Aidan served as the assistant photo editor and multimedia editor in his second and third years respectively. He is excited to continue practicing his video skills in his role as the Videography Intern.

3 weeks ago | nowkalamazoo.org | Kristen Aguirre

Even if you can’t smell the food when you pull up to the intersection of Portage and Washington in Kalamazoo’s Edison neighborhood, you’ll surely spot Tacos El Jefe’s bright red food truck: It represents the dream of immigrant Clado Velaques. “It feels good to be an owner and moving forward,” said Valaques, 45, of his business, which is only a year old. Velaques moved to the U.S. from Mexico nearly two decades ago, making a living by working in Mexican restaurants.

3 weeks ago | nowkalamazoo.org | Andrew Minegar

Public parks are quite literally for everyone – but let’s face it: it’s the kids’ opinion that really matters. The quality of parks has a major impact on young people’s health, according to a 2020 study by researchers from Duke University and the University of California at San Francisco, which concluded that children who had access to parks were less likely to suffer from obesity, depression, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

2 months ago | nowkalamazoo.org | Ben Lando |Launched NowKalamazoo

On this block nearly a half-century ago, a bakery’s recipes and neighborly ethos made it a household name. “At that time people said, ‘Oh, you can’t have a business north of Michigan Avenue.’ Of course, you know, ‘It’s too close to the north side.’ And so we said, ‘Looks okay to us,’” said Judy Sarkozy, co-founder and co-owner of Sarkozy’s Bakery. “It was hard working at the time but the neighborhood really helped out.”Sarkozy’s first full-time employee found his calling there, too.