Derek Francis, FOX  17

Derek Francis

FOX 17

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Recent:
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Past:
  • FOX 17

Past articles by Derek:

Tick app helping researchers and those who love the outdoors

Dr. Jean Tsao, Ph.D and associate professor at Michigan State University realizes many people are re-introducing themselves to the outdoors since the pandemic hit, so she and some colleagues from the University of Wisconsin and Columbia University have created “The Tick App.” → Read More

Davenport offers free class to help unemployed land work

Davenport University is offering a free communications class next month for anyone who lost their full-time job after March 1, 2020. → Read More

Job staffing agency brings back 'Walk-in Wednesdays' for job seekers

Express Employment Professionals Holland-Muskegon is bringing back something they used to offer before COVID. → Read More

West Michigan woman changes careers to help animals get affordable veteranarian care

One west Michigan woman is making it her life’s work to help animals who otherwise might not get a happy ending → Read More

Job fair Saturday could have new hires starting Monday

Cascade Engineering is hiring on the spot at its job fair Saturday, March 6, with prospective employees starting 48 hours later if they choose. → Read More

Griffins and Whitecaps react to newest orders by Governor

Governor Whitmer’s newest Executive Order announcement on Tuesday affects both the Griffins and Whitecaps. → Read More

Rebound-Local organization helps to get more women of color into technology field

Joanna Udo says while both getting her education and now in her career in technology, she quickly noticed she was an anomaly as an African American woman. → Read More

Influenza at record low in US

In August when FOX 17 spoke with Dr. Liam Sullivan D.O. of Infectious Disease at Spectrum Health about the upcoming influenza season, he was hopeful that more people would get the vaccine to give an already stressed health system, due the COVID pandemic, a break. → Read More

Heating company Pays-It-Forward to family of man on hospice

Dealing with a sick loved one is tough enough, but when Jamie Helton got an overnight call from her mother Yvonne this past weekend from Ionia, she knew things had gotten worse. → Read More

West Michigan real estate sees a first

We have heard a lot about west Michigan’s booming real estate market over the past few years, but what it saw in the second half of 2020, according to one local broker, was a first. → Read More

Grand Rapids company holds job fair every Wednesday in January

Grand Rapids company Prologistix is holding a job fair every Wednesday this month and applicants could start work as early as the next week. → Read More

Hudsonville family asking for return of snowman family yard display

A Hudsonville family of seven had the air taken out of their holiday when a key part of their lawn display was stolen just days before Christmas. → Read More

Expert in black sports history weighs-in on Negro League being elevated to major league status

On Wednesday, MLB announced that it was designating baseball’s Negro Leagues to major league status. → Read More

Rebound: Entrepreneurship expert sees light at the end of the tunnel for businesses

In what has been predicted to be dark winter by health experts due to COVID-19, a light could soon shine on businesses and in turn, hopefully job seekers as well. → Read More

Examining the west Michigan industrial market

Brian Long is the director of Supply Management Research at Grand Valley State’s Seidman College of Business and has been taking the pulse of the west Michigan economy for more than a decade, as part of a survey that’s four decades old. → Read More

Sable Homes helping buyers work from home

Sable Homes was just entering its busiest time of year when the Governor’s Executive Orders forced them to shut down for seven weeks, and when they started back up, they found material was very low according to Sable General Manager Bryan Burnham. → Read More

Spraying to battle Triple E set to begin this week

In 2019, Michigan had more human cases of Eastern Equine Encephalitis than the previous decade combined with ten cases and six fatalities. → Read More

How to get over pandemic fears as businesses and schools open

As more businesses open up, along with schools and colleges, there are still some hurdles many people need to get over when it comes to fears associated with Covid 19. → Read More

Herd immunity not currently an option in battle against COVID-19

There has been a lot of talk, mostly on social media, about establishing herd immunity in the fight against COVID-19. → Read More

Makeshift parade visits Grand Rapids Home for Veterans 4 times a month

Four times a month, two mornings and two evenings, a parade of cars with honking horns and flags waving drives by the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans. → Read More