Jail Expansion
Duration – 5:16
For many years, Kalamazoo County has needed to send prisoners out to other county jails because of a lack of space. But now, after more than a decade of planning, the jail expansion is finally completed! Connect takes you inside this new facility.

Summer Road Construction Overview
Duration – 7:22
Every summer, road crews work hard to patch up the damage caused by our winter weather. It’s also the time to improve our roads. Here’s a preview of some of the projects you’ll see as you’re driving around in the next few months.

May Election Preparations
Duration – 2:33
On Tuesday, May 7th, Kalamazoo County voters will go to the polls to vote on renewing the Kalamazoo County Transportation Authority millage. We visited Kalamazoo County Clerk and Register of Deeds Timothy Snow to find out what preparations are being made for the election.

Walking & Biking Clubs
Duration – 7:17
Are you looking for a way to see some beautiful scenery while exercising? Wouldn’t it be even better if you could do it for free and meet new people? A great option is one of the walking or biking clubs sponsored by the Kalamazoo River Valley Trail!

Recycled Art in the Park
Duration – 2:27
An exciting new event this spring is the first ever Recycled Art in the Park competition sponsored by the City of Portage! Artists are creating sculptures using one hundred percent recycled materials, and you will get to vote for a winner during the first week of May.

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Mock Trial Tournament
Duration – 7:44
Local teens can experience being an attorney or a witness in the Mock Trial competitions sponsored by the Michigan Center for Civic Education. Connect attended a school performance by the Kalamazoo Central High School Mock Trial team to see how they argue a case.

Portage Senior Center
Duration – 3:05
Senior Citizens in our area don’t need to be lonely or bored, thanks to many programs geared to their needs. We visited the Portage Senior Center to see their renovations and find out what activities are available there.

Roundabout Update
Duration – 6:49
Connect sits down with local Roundabout experts, Chris Barnes from the City of Portage; and Nick Schirripa from the Michigan Department of Transportation to talk about the roundabout at Milham, Texas Dr & 12th Street, and also about other roundabouts coming to the area.

Red Cross Project Hero Day
Duration – 2:57
From time to time, everyone dreams of being a superhero. Forget the superpowers, though — we have heroes right in our own community. In March, the Red Cross sponsored an event called “Project Hero.”

Comstock Community Garden
Duration – 3:13
In southwest Michigan, we’re blessed with many beautiful and productive gardens. What do you do if you want to have a garden but can’t plant where you live? A community garden just may be the answer. Comstock Township is taking applications to be a part of theirs.

Parchment Stars Dance 2013
Duration – 1:40
Now in its sixth year, “Parchment Stars Dance!” pairs professional dancers and Parchment celebrities for an awesome evening with a wide variety of dancing. Connect watched the stars come out to support Parchment’s summer arts program.

You may have noticed over the past several days that PMN’s normally scheduled programming has not been playing. This has been due to the failure of our switching router which allows us to link the diverse array of programming and playback sources (live feeds, satellite, tape decks, DVD players, etc. ) to our 5 television channels.  PMN has still been able to provide programming, in part, because we had already begun the transition to a server-based model for content delivery.  After an unsuccessful attempt to get the router operational again, the decision was made to accelerate the transition (from several months down to a few weeks) to a full file server-based playback system.

We ask you to bear with us, as we make the switch. PMN will continue to provide alternate programming, although a growing percentage of it should resemble our normal schedule as incoming programming gets converted (to electronic files) and our server capabilities are expanded.

We thank you for your understanding and for your continued support of community media.  And we hope that you are as eager as we are to get the full line-up of Public Media Network programming back on line.

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This Month on Connect:

FIRST Robotics
Duration – 7:17
During the gray days of January and February, some local teens spent time building robots to climb and throw flying discs. In March, they get to see the results of their work. Connect visited three local teams to get an idea of what FIRST Robotics is all about.

Spring Break Activities
Duration – 3:00
When school’s out for spring break, area libraries and museums step in to keep children learning while having fun.

2013 Tax Info
Duration – 7:41
Connect sat down to talk with tax preparation volunteers about this upcoming tax season.

Teen Film Fest
Duration – 1:57
Now in it’s 10th year the annual Teen Filmmaker Festival is bigger than ever and Connect was on the Red Carpet for this years big screen premiere.

Jumprope For Heart
Duration – 2:43
According to the American Heart Association, thousands of children are born every year with hearts that need help in order to work right. For more than a decade one Portage elementary school has been jumping at the opportunity to help raise money for this cause. Connect caught up with the students at Lake Center Elementary as they skipped their way to helping others.

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In this special edition of Connect, we bring you our favorite and most inspiring stories of 2012.
 

Get on the Bus
Duration – 6:18
The Mobility Management and Travel Training program in Kalamazoo can help you get around on the Metro Transit system.

New Land Preserve Open
Duration – 5:20
In Oshtemo Township the Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy is looking at how to best present one of its newest preserves – a 70-acre plot donated by a Western Michigan University professor. The KL Avenue Natural Preserve is home to vestiges of ak savanna and oak woodland, which the land conservancy hopes to restore along with the flora and fauna that thrive there. The Connect team recently went out to take a look.

Local Fishing
Duration – 5:36
Kalamazoo is rife with lakes and lakes have fish. Michigan is particularly blessed with sport fish and just outside the city limits is Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery where they raise fish from eggs in the wild and release them back in lakes, rivers and streams to entice the anglers among us.

Up on the Roof
Duration – 5:40
Usually when you see colorful flowers, they’re in the ground, in planters or hanging baskets. But at Kalamazoo City Hall, 55 hundred square feet of flowers are up on the roof.

Betcha Didn’t Know…Steve Lawrence
Duration – 5:22
Watercolor is said to be the most difficult medium to paint with, Animal Control Director Steve Lawrence tells us how he does it.