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Morning Buzz: 5 things to know for Feb. 7

Posted at 10:28 AM, Feb 07, 2018
and last updated 2018-02-07 10:28:19-05

1. The Boy Scouts of America are now accepting girls, including one in West Michigan, who just refuses to fit the mold.

Steven Boyer of Kent County has been a scout all his life, and says his daughter, Allie, always wanted to be a boy scout too, but couldn't join because it was just for boys. Then, this year, the organization decided to let girls join, for the first time in its 100 year history.

The girls in troop 32-83 will have their work cut out for them, the boys have been working towards their new ranks since September, but the girls will have to do the same amount of work, having only started this month.

2. Lots of jobs could be on their way to southwest Michigan! After 40 years of the non-profit called "Battle Creek Unlimited" working to lure businesses and create jobs, they've finally got some to come to the mitten.

Three companies all have plans to invest a compiled $50 million in the city, that includes Prairie Farms, Duncan Aviation, and Dowers Aluminum.

The organization is also trying to lure a brewery to the downtown area in the hopes that it will increase foot traffic, which in turn will attract more businesses.

3. Hop Cat is once again expanding outside of Michigan.

Bar Fly Adventures, the parent company of Hop Cat, announced that the new location will be in Port St. Lucie, Florida. The new bar is in the final stages of development, and next week, a hiring center will open up to fill about 100 positions.

The bar is set to open on March 31, and will be the first one in Florida, and the 15th location across the country.

4. Ice cream lovers looking to watch their calories can rejoice, Ben and Jerry's announce they will launch a low calorie, low sugar ice cream.

The company hopes to compete with Halo Top, which offers pints that have fewer than 400 calories.

Ben and Jerry's Healthier option will be called Moo-Phoria, and is set to be released this month.

Although it will have less calories and cut sugar, fear not as the ice cream will still contain cookies and dough.

5. Starbucks is rolling out a special Valentine's Day menu.

Starting today until February 14, people can get their hands on the Cherry Mocha. It has hot espresso, mocha sauce, cherry syrup and is topped with whipped cream and Valentine's Day sprinkles. The latte can be ordered hot, cold, or blended.

Starbucks is also offering new bakery items, which include heart covered cake pops and sugar cookies topped with pink icing.