In our hyperconnected, digital age, people hunger for real stories. In Cleveland and across the country, storytelling nights are growing thanks to the popularity of The Moth, This American Life and other programs that elevate life into art.

Young people born in Cleveland in the 90s don't feel a sense of nostalgia for the city's heyday. Instead, they see an increasingly vibrant city as a place of opportunity, provided we stay on our current path.

The premier healthcare gathering in the country takes place this week at the Cleveland Convention Center. Here are four Cleveland healthcare innovators being featured at the conference.

Using the local food scene as a launch pad, craft food startups are growing quickly. We caught up with a fresh batch to learn the recipes behind their success.

The Shark Tank style competition, now in its second year, is designed to give new businesses financial assistance and expert advice to get off the ground.

In September, innovators from around the country convened in Detroit to exchange their ideas for building better cities and stronger communities. For three days, Detroit was transformed into a marketplace for ideas for cities.

EveryKey, creator of a high-tech wristband that wirelessly syncs with various electronic devices, was the winner of the Incubator at MAGNET's first product-focused pitch contest.

EveryKey was pitted against five other hardware-creating entrepreneurs during the ProtoTech competition held Oct. 21 at the Ariel International Center in Cleveland. The nascent Case Western Reserve University-based company took home $12,000, funds that will be sunk into an invention that holds all of the wearer's online passwords and is designed to lock and unlock doors.

Chris Wentz, CEO of EveryKey, was thankful for the opportunity to put his product before a panel of investors, development specialists and peers interested in supporting physical technology. Now that the contest is over, the startup will concentrate on its Kickstarter campaign, set to launch Oct. 29.

"This competition meant so much to us," says Wentz, 23. "There were a lot of great companies here with some great ideas."
The ProtoTech pitch contest, co-sponsored by NASA Glenn Research Center, concentrated on tech-driven wares and the startups aiming to bring those products to market. The competition was introduced in July by MAGNET executive director Dave Crain with the intention of highlighting manufactured creations rather than IT or service-based ventures.

ProtoTech's second-place winner was RoboNail, designer of an app-operated robotic roofing installation machine.

The other ProtoTech finalists were:

* Advanced BioSensors-Ohio, creator of a "Continuous Glucose Monitor" for diabetic patients.

* Axenic, maker of non-toxic liquid-based solutions that clean organic waste.

* FGC Plasma Solutions, creator of a fuel nozzle designed to save money and reduce emissions.
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* Real Time Imaging Technologies, designer of a low-dose dental x-ray imaging system.
 

With fireworks and smoke machines, and science experiments galore, CWRU officials on Thursday officially broke ground on the new home to thinkbox, a collaboration and innovation center housed in the former Lincoln Storage Building, now known as the Richey-Mixon Building.
 
The CWRU board of trustees voted unanimously last Sunday, October 12 to approve the renovations with the $25 million out of a $30 million goal. Phase I is due to be completed in August 2015.
 
Phase I includes renovations to the first four floors. A glass skyway will connect the athletic center to the thinkbox entrance. The first floor will be a community floor with a bike station. “It will be a younger-feeling creative space that suits our students’ lifestyle,” explains thinkbox manager Ian Charnas. “The second floor will be the ideation floor with amenities such as whiteboards and meeting rooms modeled after Stanford d. School in California.”
 
Floors three and four are dedicated to some real hands-on innovation. Three will house a prototyping floor and a small metal shop, will offer tools for nearly every metal project conceivable. “We’re sending an email out, saying 'come enjoy several thousand square feel to do your projects and get messy.'”
 
Charnas expects thinkbox to both attract and retain innovative thinkers to Cleveland. “This is helping to build industry in the region,” he says. “Most of our students are recruited from outside of Cleveland, and even Ohio. This is a big golden carrot to keep these folks in the area.”
 
The announcement was made during Case’s homecoming celebration. Case president Barbara Snyder was accompanied by the major donors to make the announcement amid smoke machines and fireworks displays on monitors. Instead of a ribbon-cutting, the group flipped a giant old-fashioned power switch.
 
Students dressed in white lab coats embroidered with thinkbox and blue hard hats made commemorative chocolate coins using liquid nitrogen, with the help of Sweet Designs Chocolatier and Piccadilly Creamery. A laminar flow fountain – the kind where the liquid leaps about – dispensed punch that shot from a white display case into guests’ glasses.
 
Charnas says they hope to raise the remaining funds in the next year and shoot straight into phase II renovations, which will include the remaining top three floors.
 
 

When it comes to the new Zagster bike share system, the excitement is only just beginning. Three more stations are being rolled out before the end of October, a crowdfunding campaign is underway, and organizers say the system could expand further in the spring.

Low-income workers often lack the basic skills needed to find a good job. To bridge the gap, experts says it's essential to invest in training. Yet despite millions of people out of work, programs are hard to find.

After a decade of standing still, the Flats are on the move. Check out some of the newest developments changing this mixed-use neighborhood, from the Lake Link Trail to plans for a new boathouse on the Cuyahoga River.