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Morning Buzz: 5 things to know for March 5

Posted at 10:26 AM, Mar 05, 2018
and last updated 2018-03-05 10:26:24-05

1. A new study says Grand Rapids is one of the best places in the country to start a small business.

Lending Tree did a study, and says that Grand Rapids is actually the second best place, behind Sacramento, California. Lending Tree says that banks in West Michigan are more likely to offer business loans because the economy is so strong, which actually helped boost the city's rating.

In fact, according to the study, some businesses in Grand Rapids reported that they were profitable more often than businesses in Sacramento.

Lending Tree says it also looked at the growth of a city as the biggest factor for rankings.

2. People from around West Michigan joined the fight against cancer by shaving their heads.

On Sunday more than 100 volunteers came out to 84th Street Pub and Grille in Byron Center to shave their heads to raise awareness and money for childhood cancer.

The Saint Baldrick's Foundation puts on the fundraiser every year. This year the goal was to raise more than $110,000, to beat last year's total of $103,000.

Organizers say it'll be a couple of days before they know how much money they raised, but all the money will go toward cancer research.

3. An ice cream shop on the east side of the state is coming out with a special deal for drivers dealing with potholes.

Farmhouse Coffee and Ice Cream in Franklin says that if drivers have had their car repaired in February because of a pothole, they can get a free single of their Michigan Pothole Ice Cream.

Just show the receipt, and get a free scoop. The deal ends on March 25.

4. Kohl's is taking in its first Tenant, Aldi. The retailer plans to bring Aldi into as many as 10 of its stores in a pilot test this year.

The move comes as Kohl's downsizes and creates more space to lease out.

Aside from grocers and convenience stores, Kohl's CEO says it could also partner with fitness centers. On top of all that, Kohl's also wants to deepen its relationship with Amazon.

The store currently has kiosks in a handful of its locations that sell Amazon devices.

5. Tech experts say that Instagram plans to launch audio and video calling within its direct messaging system.

According to online reports, there are files hidden on the app for Android, that contain icons for phone and video calls. Plus according to Elle Magazine, the hacker who found the files is just 14-years-old.

Rival app, Snapchat, launched video calling back in 2014.