Steve Scott launched his small-engine repair business from the garage behind his home in 2008. Full story »

Economists say the state's abundant natural resource base can readily be parlayed into a strong economic engine with a long-term payback. Full story »

April Fool's Day is coming up and I'm in desperate need of some fresh pranks for family and friends. A search in the iTunes store revealed hundreds of options for iPhone owners with a trickster streak. Here's a rundown of some that caught my eye. Full story »

Financial • Greg Brewington, a licensed financial advisor with Ameriprise Financial, has joined practices with Smojver and Associates and George G. Smojver of Ameriprise Financial. Brewington specializes in retirement, investment and estate planning. Accounting • Leah Baldwin, of Lawton, has been promoted to senior accountant at Yeo & Yeo PC CPAs. Baldwin, who holds a bachelor of arts degree... Full story »

Finance class set for Monday SPONSOR: The Michigan Small Business & Technology Development Center. WHAT: “Fundamentals of Finance.” Learn the basics of financial management. WHEN: 6 to 9 p.m. Monday. WHERE: Western Michigan University, Haworth College of Business, Schneider Hall. COST: $30. MORE INFORMATION and REGISTRATION: Call (269) 387-6004 or register online at www.misbtdc.org or by e-mailing sbtdc-kzoo@wmich.edu. Leadership... Full story »

WORTH PRAISE • The Ron Ekema Team, with Re/Max Advantage of Portage, has received the 2009 Rex/Max Platinum Club award, which honors successful Realtors. COMMUNITY MINDED • Kalamazoo County State Bank announced that it is celebrating 102 years in business. The independently-owned and operated community bank has offices in Schoolcraft, Mattawan and Vicksburg. Throughout March, KCSB employees will be... Full story »

In business for himself for more than 20 years, Robert Brackel says he understands charging for services. So when the personal checking account that he used once or twice a month to pay for personal items was overdrawn in mid-October, he said he was prepared to pay an overdraft fee. The 58-year-old Martin man said he wondered how the... Full story »

The newsroom at Business Review buzzed when we got the announcement a couple weeks ago that Dick and Betsy DeVos — Grand Rapids royalty — would be coming to Kalamazoo for a press conference. Huh? Not to imply that the DeVoses aren’t well-traveled, but a business visit to Kalamazoo seemed, well, about 30 miles south of normal. Turns out... Full story »

Linda Vail Buzas, director of the Kalamazoo County Health and Community Services Department, came to Kalamazoo in 1986 to work for the Upjohn Co. as a research scientist. Eight years ago she joined the department as the Public Health Emergency Preparedness Coordinator, and in 2006 became the deputy director of the department. In 2007, Buzas was named director. Buzas... Full story »

“Sustainability is huge right now — we’ve seen a dramatic increase in sales of seeds, vegetable plants and fruit trees," said Andy Wedel, 46, who co-owns Wedel's with several relatives. Full story »

She knows something about creativity, determination and resilience.  Full story »

Access to mentors, resources -- and most importantly -- financing is needed. Full story »

What images of Grand Rapids would you send to Google to prove we're Fiber-worthy? Full story »

Rick Glasser joined Izzy-Plus as vice president of marketing and product management. Full story »

More than 500 speech-language pathologists, researchers and vendors from across the state are expected to visit Kalamazoo for the Michigan Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s annual conference Thursday through Saturday. Full story »