Featured Stories

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Michigan After School Partnership

This year IMG teamed up with the Michigan After School Partnership (MASP) to elevate youth perspectives on the value of after-school programs through our Voices of Youth program. MASP advocates for statewide access to quality and equitable after-school programs, to ensure that all children and youth succeed. The year-long series has included youth voices in multiple IMG communities, including Southwest Michigan’s Second Wave, Rapid Growth, and Concentrate.  Articles have focused on a wide range of after-school programs, including youth advisory councils, climate change events, and clubs focused on entrepreneurship. 

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Freedom School

This summer, Concentrate hosted a special "Freedom School" edition of the Voices of Youth program in partnership with the Washtenaw Intermediate School District and Washtenaw My Brother's Keeper. Project Editor Aaron Foley and mentor Jaishree Drepaul worked with a group of about 10 young people in Ypsilanti twice a week for six weeks. The youth learned the basics of journalism, discussing how a newsroom works, how to construct a story, how to conduct interviews, and more. Participating youth were paid for completed work, which included a story and photography about video games' impact on young people and video of an interview the young people conducted.

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Interact for Health

In Soapbox Cincinnati, the Amplifying Youth Voices series raises awareness about youth mental health by reporting on community-based solutions. Stories and videos feature youth-serving grantees plus medical, nonprofit, education and philanthropic leaders. Grantees empowered youth to create change through projects and experiences providing them a voice that was seen, heard, and valued during a fast-paced timeline to initiate solutions. Amplifying Youth Voices is a pilot program from Interact for Health, a foundation serving a 20-county region to advance health justice. More healthcare organizations are coming together to respond to this challenge, testing with solutions-based processes and gathering data to determine a wider 10-year strategy. Solutions journalism reporting is an ideal match to explain, in a clear-eyed way, how local people are working together to solve a shared problem. Read the Amplifying Youth Voices series here. 

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The Importance of Parks

IMG launched a new series highlighting how Southeast Michigan parks are an engine of exploration, education, and play for all.  Underscoring the importance of parks for everyone, the series is called Equity in Our Parks, and is published regularly in Model D, Metromode, and Concentrate!

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People, Parks, Power

Historically, communities of color and low-income neighborhoods have not had equal access to green spaces. People, Parks, Power, a collaborative Partner Content series with The Conscious Connect, highlights people and organizations working to change that in Springfield, Ohio.

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Embracing Outdoor Recreation

IMG and our partners are not the only ones promoting the outdoors and nature. The Michigan Office of Outdoor Recreation is helping in that mission, supporting our efforts to write stories of innovation in the outdoor recreation industry.

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Sacred Earth

Sacred Earth is a year-long series focused on the intersection of climate change, sustainability, earth care. Sponsored by the Fetzer Institute, the series encourages readers to examine how they view their home planet, their beliefs, and values and encourages them to use their eco-imagination to forge a stronger relationship with the earth.

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A Space for Nonprofits to Share Their Stories

In partnership with the Michigan Nonprofit Association and Co.Act Detroit, we launched the Nonprofit Journal Project in 2020. The series was designed to lift up the voices of nonprofits.

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How Health Nonprofits are Weathering Workforce Challenges

The Nonprofit Journal Project has evolved to highlight various points of focus, and most recently we partnered with the Michigan Health Endowment Fund to shine a spotlight on health nonprofits working to solve workforce shortages and related challenges.

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United for Good

Route demonstrates its role in fulfilling the United Way mission with a tag, United for Good.

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Meals on Wheels

One of the most pressing issues facing Memphis is food insecurity among seniors.  To shed light on this issue and offer possible solutions, IMG’s High Ground has partnered with the Metropolitan Inter-Faith Association (MIFA).

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A Creative Midwest Media Cohort

Input Fort Wayne joins the inaugural Creative Midwest Media Cohort, collaborating with nine other publications to showcase emerging artists in northeast Indiana, particularly focusing on Black, Indigenous, and rural creatives.

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Art in Rural Places

Art plays a vital role in rural areas, fostering community bonds and revitalizing spaces. Small communities across Michigan have created art alleys, art and sculpture gardens, put up statues, and painted murals on buildings, streets and even basketball courts.  Across Michigan, towns embrace art to beautify and create a sense of belonging, supported by various organizations like Michigan State University Extension.

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A Coalition for Arts Supporters

In Concentrate, a coalition of funders, including major county art institutions and local philanthropists Larry and Lucie Nisson, supports dialogue and awareness of Washtenaw County’s arts scene, including a freeform electronic music night and a photo essay chronicling the colorful annual FestiFools parade.

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Social Practice Art

Southwest Michigan Second Wave explores a unique arts angle, focusing on solutions and connecting with local artist Maya James, delving into "social practice art" and featuring Nicole Lee's story.    

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Equity in Our Parks

We're thrilled to share the launch of Equity in Our Parks, a new series highlighting how Southeast Michigan parks are an engine of exploration, education, and play for all.

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Amplifying Youth Voices

 Amplifying Youth Voices in Soapbox Cincinnati raises awareness of youth mental health challenges and sharing community-based solutions responding to the dilemma.

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IMG Continues to Grow

We often talk about the decline of news — however, the story across IMG’s publications is one of growth. Our partners supporting local journalism across our network continue to feel the value and impact of our work together.

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Measuring Our Impact

IMG’s journalism not only informs and engages local residents, but it also tells the stories of changemakers and leaders making things better in a neighborhood, city, or region.

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Voices of Youth

For the past three years, our Voices of Youth series has helped amplify the voices of young residents -- and it continues to grow.

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