Millie’s Farms
A loan to Millie’s Farms, a woman-owned family farm in Big Prairie Township near Newaygo, put Northern Initiatives over the $100 million mark in loans made since its founding 30…
Fox and Hen Vineyards
Wil Malski was pretty excited when he planted his first grapes in 2014. The heartbreak was equally strong when he had to rip them out five years later. It turned…
Tastefull Vegan
Kalene McElveen grew up on the east side of Detroit in a food desert. “Our closest grocery store was a liquor store,” she says. There wasn’t access to fruits and…
Nisu Bakery and Cafe
It made perfect sense to Irma Boyd to settle in the Keweenaw. She’s Finnish and so is 35% of the rest of the population. Then she realized no one in…
Suipi’s East End Eatery
Za Nei Thuai knows her gift is feeding people. “God gave me the talent to cook,” says the 49-year-old Burmese refugee known as Suipi (Swee-Pee). She was only 4 when…
Evart Daycare and Learning Center
Brittany Magnusson knows how vital day care is. If Evart Daycare and Learning Center closes for just one day, there’s a domino effect: parents miss work and school, employers scramble,…
Four Leaf Brewing
The whistle of trains mixes with the clop-clop of horses pulling buggies in downtown Clare. Outside of Four Leaf Brewing, it also mixes with the sound of Irish music. Amy…
RJ’s Printing
Sean Hollins knows all too well the challenges of being a Black business owner – the search for funding, the wealth disparities, the lack of access to materials at a…
