The CDC is celebrating February “Heart Month,” with the Surgeon General’s “Call to Action to Control Hypertension.” This call implores each of us to take charge of our blood pressure because “a healthier heart can lead to a healthier life.”
What increases your risk for high blood pressure? The CDC shares the following:
Unhealthy Diet
Physical Inactivity
Overweight and obesity
Too Much Alcohol. More than one drink a day for women and two drinks a day for men.
Tobacco Use
Family history of high blood pressure combined with unhealthy lifestyle choices.
Age. Because your blood pressure tends to rise as you get older.
Race or ethnicity. Black people, Hispanics, Asians, Pacific Islanders, American Indians, and Alaska Natives are at higher risk for high blood pressure.
The good news is that healthy behaviors can lower your risk for high blood pressure. If you have high blood pressure, you can take action to control it and improve your health. And if you enjoy healthy blood pressure, now is the time to create good habits that will sustain it.
About one out of two adults has high blood pressure (hypertension). High blood pressure puts you at higher risk for heart disease and stroke, two of the leading causes of death, disability, and healthcare expenses.
What is a good target to aim for? The CDC recommends keeping your blood pressure under 130/80 mmHg for most of us. AT the top of the list for bringing high blood pressure down are being more physically active and eating a healthier diet. You can start by taking a daily walk (at the mall if the weather’s bad).
Instead of eliminating unhealthy foods and drinks from your diet, find tasty substitutes. Choose fruits, vegetables, 100% whole grains and chemical-free, free-range meats and eggs instead of foods made with white flour, white rice, sugar, and lots of chemical additives. Enjoy a sparkling water beverage or tea with no sweeteners instead of soda pop. And, if you’re a drinker, cut back on alcohol consumption.
You might want to learn to check your blood pressure at home. Some people’s blood pressure rises whenever they go to a doctor’s or dentist’s office. This is called “White Coat Syndrome.” And it tells you about another contributing factor to high blood pressure: Stress.
If you live a high stress life (and who doesn’t these days) learn how to use deep breathing, mindfulness techniques, and relaxation practices like Yoga Nidra to let some of that stress go. The State of Michigan even provides the online mindfulness resource Headspace to help relieve stress. Check it out!
I know that lifestyle changes don’t come easy. Try to get your family and friends on board. And of course, enlist support from your healthcare providers—including your chiropractor. An aligned spine enables your brain to communicate with all of your organs so that they can function optimally. In other words, a healthy spine supports a healthy heart.
The leaders of three West Michigan nonprofits have joined forced to create a new collaborative initiative that will serve boys and young men of color under a single mission: becoming something they don’t always get the chance to see.
Cole Williams, o the Delta Project
“We Matter Now reflects the importance of seeing positive Black male leadership that will enable boys and young men of color to create positive change in our community” said Cole Williams, of the Delta Project, who is joined by Dondreá Brown of Young Money Finances and Henry Sapp of Better Wiser Stronger. “Boys and young men of color don’t believe they have an opportunity to change their lives because they don’t see enough successful men of color as role models.
“By sharing our lived experienced, We Matter Now strives to provide examples of what boys and young men of color can become.”
With multiyear financial support from Heart of West Michigan United Way, Brown, Sapp, and Williams have joined forces to serve as resource brokers for We Matter Now. The initiative curates its programming from a strengths-based approach, working to empower “at-potential” boys and young men of color and to equip them with the necessary tools to close the gap on education, wellness and financial achievement.
This year, We Matter Now will offer a conference, summer programming, a celebration and ongoing initiatives for approximately 60 at-potential boys and young men of color in grades 9-11. The inaugural We Matter Now conference will be held Friday, April 22 at Grand Valley State University’s Eberhard Center in downtown Grand Rapids, gathering 60 Black and Brown youth for a day of education, recognition, celebration and connection.
Those interested in joining the first We Matter Now cohort and attending the conference, which is free of charge to participants, can sign up online.
Dondrea Brown, of Young Money Finances
“Recognizing the power of words, We Matter Now seeks to serve ‘at-potential’ boys and young men of color, flipping the narrative that too often begins with ‘at-risk’ youth,” Brown said. “Our initiative strives to create a safe space, working to provide Black and Brown high school students with the tools, skills, resources and relationships needed to face challenges within their community.
“Henry, Cole and I appreciate the support from United Way, which has encouraged us to develop programming that will resonate with youth we are already working with in our community. Together, we are creating a road map that will help young men in West Michigan build deeper, stronger relationships and grow into leaders.”
As one of its first steps toward mobilizing the community for change, Heart of West Michigan United Way developed the Transformation Strategy in 2021 to close the economic and achievement gap for people of color in Kent County. Through this strategy, the organization created the Opportunity Initiative to provide local Black, Indigenous and People of Color, or BIPOC-led/founded grassroots organizations –including Young Money Finances, Delta Project and Better Wiser Stronger – financial and educational support through a one-time grant. United Way’s goal was to help build the capacities of small nonprofits and collaboratives that were already successfully addressing systemic change.
“United Way is funding the We Matter Now initiative because we saw how intimately these three organizations work to empower young Black and Brown men who struggle to achieve due to structural racism and other forms of oppression,” said Shannon Blackmon-Gardner, vice president of community impact at Heart of West Michigan United Way. “We are so excited to support their work and see the change, growth and impact that this collaborative will have on our young men of color.”
The theme of the first conference, Our Vision, Our Voice, Our Choice, underscores the initiative’s desire to have boys and young men of color be partners in what programming will look like. Sessions will focus on financial education, healthy behaviors and conflict resolution training, equipping attendees with the support to be impactful members of the community.
Henry Sapp, of Better Wiser Strong
“We Matter Now will serve as a resource broker, collaborating with curated organizations to connect attendees to the high-impact services, information and support they need,” Sapp said. “Research shows it’s critical for young people to have adults who believe in and support them in order to develop a positive sense of their future.
“Youth who can see a future for themselves are more likely to exhibit positive behaviors, such as good decision-making and goal planning, while avoiding problem behaviors and poor choices.”
Through its three partner organizations, We Matter Now will offer summer programming to those who attend the conference as a way to extend the conversation and share resources. This programming will include:
Better Wiser Stronger will offer its Blueprint Journal workshop, which is part of its boys-to-men curriculum and designed to provide a blueprint for success.
The Delta Project will offer its Delta Conversation, which uses storytelling and video editing to tell personal stories in a meaningful and digestible way.
Young Money Finances will offer three sessions – Young Money Managers, Young Investors and Young Entrepreneurs – enabling teens to sharpen their skills around managing money, investing and starting a business.
We Matter Now will also hold a celebrationin August before the start of the new school year to celebrate the connections forged during spring and summer, connect families of attendees with one another and promote a successful return to the classroom.
West Michigan doesn’t need Punxsutawney Phil to know when spring is around the corner. A sure sign in West Michigan that spring is coming is when John Ball Zoo announces it annual hiring event.
The John Ball Zoo is hosting a hiring event this week to help fill a number of positions. (Supplied)
The zoo will be hosting an in-person hiring event on Thursday, Feb. 10, from 4 – 7 p.m. at the John Ball Zoo Ballroom, 1300 Fulton St.
The zoo is hiring seasonal employees to fill roles in retail, food, and beverage, guest services experiences, building and grounds, and education through the in-person hiring event.
Interviews for the in-person hiring event will be with leaders from each department in a safe environment where all participants will be required to wear a mask. Prior the even, untested candidates need to apply online. After applying online, candidates show up during the interview times and a department leader will speak to the person. Links to these, along with department descriptions, are available on the zoo’s website at www.jbzoo.org/careers/Note: applicants must be 15 years of age or older.
John Ball Zoo offers competitive pay, free lunches, and pay increases after 45 days. In addition, being a zoo seasonal employee, team members may earn scholarship opportunities, discounts, behind the scene tours, flexible scheduling, receive free admission for themselves and up to 10 guests, plus discounts on purchases.
The zoo is set to open on March 25. To stay connected to what is happening at the John Ball Zoo, visit jbzoo.org.
Limit the amount of personal information you share online, including birthdays, addresses, account numbers and passwords, and your Social Security number. (pxhere.com)
“Don’t be quick to click, make sure it’s legitimate.” — Dave Stanley
The world has gone digital, so have your assets and much of your personal information. Cybercriminals are aware of this shift but are also mindful of how ill-prepared many people are when protecting themselves in the online world. While cybersecurity might seem complex, a little bit of common sense will go a long way in minimizing the threats that could expose you.
Beware before you share.
Limit the amount of personal information you share online, including birthdays, addresses, account numbers and passwords, and your Social Security number. If a government agency contacts you asking for your government-issued ID, verify the request by contacting the agency. Scammers like to pose as the IRS and other agencies in hopes of convincing their targets to share valuable personal data. If you encounter one of these scams, you should terminate contact immediately and report it to the proper authorities.
Shop smart, shop safely.
These days, nearly all of America shops online. Sadly, many unscrupulous websites out there fail to handle your data with the level of care it deserves. This leaves your data vulnerable to hackers that use these sites to steal credit card information in hopes of making a quick buck. It’s essential to shop at reputable online stores only. Look for badges of trust and read independent reviews so you can gain a sense of a website’s credibility.
Security Software
Anti-virus software and firewalls provide an added layer of defense and should remain on at all times. Sensitive information stored on a device should be encrypted and backed up if it is compromised by malware. When choosing passwords, make sure that they are complex and unique to every account. It would help if you also made sure all devices sharing a network with yours use anti-virus software.
Stay safe while using public Wi-Fi.
Public Wi-Fi is available in most stores and restaurants, but connecting to these networks could be risky. If you must connect to public Wi-Fi, use a virtual private network, and avoid viewing sensitive information or making bank transactions.
Know the signs of a scam
It is important to stay in the know about trending scams. There are, however, red flags that are common to a wide range of scams.
An attempt to gain trust by impersonating a government agency or familiar contact
Contact from out of the blue claiming a problem or prize
Scammers use emotional appeal in an attempt to create urgency; they may pressure you with jail time or other penalties
Unusual requests regarding the method of payment, you might be asked to use a money transfer company or purchase pre-loaded gift cards so you can provide them with the number on the back
Be wary of familiar contacts requesting personal information. A popular scamming tactic is to gain access to the account of someone you may know or trust. The scammer will then message you to get personal information or money from you.
Dave Stanley is the host of Safe Money Radio WOOD1300 AM, 106.9 FM and a Financial Advisor and Writer at Integrity Financial Service, LLC, Grandville, MI 49418, Telephone 616-719-1979 or Register for Dave’s FREE Newsletter at 888-998-3463 or click this link: Dave Stanley Newsletter – Annuity.comDave is a member of Syndicated Columnists, a national organization committed to a fully transparent approach to money management
The new statute for Gerald Ford has become hot spot for selfies. (Supplied/Ford Airport)
By WKTV Staff
The entertainment and sports world — and an estimated 1 million West Michigan viewers — will be focused on their televisions this Sunday as Super Bowl LVI plays and everybody attention is on the game, the halftime and, of course, those advertisements.
And it is not just beer and soda commercials either. Getting in on the action, the Gerald R. Ford International Airport has announced it, too, will air its first Super Bowl spot, a 30-second ad, which “leans on a football theme to underscore the ease of travel through Ford International Airport – complete with yellow flags over a penalty.”
The commercial was created by Extra Credit Projects, and recorded and produced with Taproot pictures in Grand Rapids.
“We are excited to unveil this new ad to our fans during the game of the year,” Dan Koorndyk, chair of the Gerald R. Ford International Airport Authority, said in supplied material. “… The Super Bowl felt like a great opportunity to showcase the Airport to our community.”
Travel numbers grew steadily during 2021 for Ford International Airport, reaching 2.9 million passengers – 82 percent of its pre-pandemic numbers, which were records.
“The Airport has experienced tremendous growth and continues to advance plans for additional development, making it a huge economic driver in the region,” Rob Jackson, principal at Extra Credit Projects, said in supplied material. “The scale of the Super Bowl felt right … at the end of the day, it’s just exciting to be part of the big game and connect with such a broad audience in the region.”
The football connection also seems fitting for the airport’s namesake.
“The Ford International Airport has an undeniable connection to football as former President Gerald R. Ford helped lead his Michigan Wolverines to two undefeated seasons on the gridiron nearly nine decades ago,” Tory Richardson, president and CEO of Gerald R. Ford International Airport Authority, said in supplied material.
Lexi Adams will be performing at the Kentwood Winter Concert Series on Thursday, Feb. 17. (Supplied)
Cellist and vocalist Jordan Hamilton will be performing at the Kentwood Winter Concert Series Thursday, March 17. (Supplied)
Nicholas James Thomasma will be performing at the Kentwood Winter Concert Series Thursday, March 31. (Supplied)
By WKTV Staff
After a brief scheduling delay, the City of Kentwood’s free-to-the-public Winter Concert Series will return Thursday, Feb. 17, with singer/songwriter Lexi Adams leading off three concerts on select Thursdays through the end of March at the Kent District Library – Kentwood (Richard L. Root) Branch, 4950 Breton Ave. SE.
WKTV will record all concerts and will replay them, as scheduled, on our cable channels as well as on WKTV.org by hitting the “Watch Live” button, and also later on-demand at WKTVlive.org. Visit wktvjournal.org/wktv-on-air-schedule/ for a schedule of replays.
The series will feature three West Michigan performers who will play a mix of genres and, in keeping with the mix of musical tastes, each concert will also have a food truck outside offering a range of cuisines and available for purchase.
“With a variety of talented local musicians and food truck favorites, winter concerts offer residents an enjoyable night out during the colder months,” Val Romeo, Kentwood Parks and Recreation director, said in supplied material. “We welcome all to enjoy the good food and live music in the warm comfort of the library this winter.”
The concerts will take place in the library’s Community Room from 6:30-8 p.m. Guests are welcomed to bring their own beer, wine or nonalcoholic beverages to enjoy at the show.
Also, according to the city announcement, “residents are encouraged to follow current public health guidelines to help stop the spread of COVID-19.”
The lineup of performers and food trucks is as follows:
Thursday, Feb. 17 — Singer and songwriter Lexi Adams with food from Patty Matters Food Truck. Adams, according to supplied material, will present a mix of original music and covers. “Her songs are stories of life experience carefully crafted through each melody and lyric.”
Thursday, March 17 — Cellist and vocalist Jordan Hamilton with food from Around Baking Company. Hamilton “will merge musical styles to tell stories of the human experience through a variety of genres.” A member of Last Gasp Collective and the Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra, he can be found performing primarily in the Midwest, where he has opened for national acts.
Thursday, March 31 — Singer and multi-instrumentalist Nicholas James Thomasma with food from El Jalapeño. Thomasma will perform a mix of Americana, folk, country and rock music. “He combines stories and songs with humor and wit for a show that can be enjoyed by all ages.”
More women than men in Michigan were prescribed pain medication and tend to keep any leftover medications in their homes, according to a health trend report from faculty researchers at Grand Valley State University.
One-third of men and women surveyed in Kent, Ottawa, Muskegon and Allegan counties as well as in the Detroit region reported using pain medications in 2019. (pxhere.com)
Erkmen Aslim and Daniel Montanera, assistant professors of economics from the Seidman College of Business, detailed health behaviors, risks and trends for Kent, Ottawa, Muskegon and Allegan (KOMA) counties during the 13th annual West Michigan Health Care Economic Forecast on Feb. 3.
They found one-third of men and women surveyed in KOMA and the Detroit region reported using pain medications in 2019. Aslim said because of the increasing trend in overdose deaths, the research team studied leftover pain medication.
More than 70 percent of men and women in Detroit reported keeping leftover prescribed pain medication. Aslim said in KOMA, more women (62 percent) than men (51 percent) kept leftover medication.
“If opioids and other pain medications are not disposed of properly, it could present a huge risk,” Aslim said. “It could mean accidental poisoning or drug misuse. This also means it’s important for organizations to promote more drug take-back events.”
In addition, for the first time within Health Check reports, researchers studied health disparities by race, gender and ZIP codes, using data provided by Priority Health, Blue Cross Blue Shield and Blue Care Network.
Montanera said lower income ZIP codes in both regions reported more diagnoses of diabetes. Higher income ZIP codes showed more diagnoses of asthma, depression and low back pain. Coronary artery disease rates were higher in Detroit than KOMA, regardless of ZIP codes.
“The two regions showed similar patterns of health disparities due to income, indicating underlying relationships between income and health outcomes,” Montanera said.
Other health risk factors are noted below, with 2019 as the latest reporting year. • Alcohol: Men in KOMA have the highest percentage of heavy drinking (7.9 percent) and binge drinking (24.3 percent), compared to women in KOMA and Detroit men and women. • Cigarette smoking: Decreased among non-whites in Detroit to 18 percent; increased among non-whites in KOMA to nearly 30 percent. • E-cigarettes: Decreased slightly to 17 percent among non-whites in Detroit; increased sharply to 37 percent among non-whites in KOMA. • Overweight: More men (38 percent) than women (29 percent) are overweight in both KOMA and Detroit.
Wyoming High School boys basketball in action Jan. 21 against Zeeland East. (WKTV)
By WKTV Staff
The basketball season is winding down for local Kentwood and Wyoming area high school teams, with key conference games and tournament seeding at stake. So the WKTV Featured Game coverage crew will pay a visit to Wyoming High School Tuesday, Feb. 8, as the Wolves boys basketball team continues its push to the postseason with a home game against Holland.
Replays will be available the night of the game (and later as scheduled on our cable channels) on WKTV.org and hit the “Watch Live” button, and later on-demand at WKTVlive.org.
Wyoming enters the game 9-5 overall and 5-3 (and tied for second in the standings) in OK Conference Green. The Wolves won their only game last week, at Muskegon Reeths-Puffer (8-6, 5-3 OK), 58-53, and avenged an early season loss. Holland will enter the contest with a 4-9, 2-6 OK record, but won twice last week in conference action. (For a recent WKTV Sports report on the Wyoming Wolves boys basketball team, visit here.)
A look-in at Wyoming/Kentwood area basketball
The Grand Rapids South Christian girls continue on their roll of now six-straight wins and enter the week 11-3 overall and 7-1 in OK Gold games after another convincing win last week at Middleville Thornapple-Kellogg, 41-31. The Sailors only conference loss came at OK conference leader Grand Rapids Central Catholic (currently 11-3, 8-0 OK), with the rematch coming this week, Wednesday, Feb. 9, on the Sailors’ home court.
The South Christian boys also won last week, over Middleville TK, 76-55, to push their record to 8-4 overall and 5-2 in OK Conference Gold. The Sailors play at OK Gold leader Grand Rapids Catholic Central (13-1, 8-0 OK) this week, on Tuesday, Feb. 8.
The West Michigan Aviation Academy boys won twice last week, over Saugatuck and Wyoming Lee in non-Alliance League action, and now have won six straight to push their record 10-3 overall and 5-0 to lead the Alliance League. But the Aviators face a league showdown this week with the Wyoming Tri-unity Christian boys team which will enter the Tuesday, Feb. 8, game at 7-4, 2-0 in the Alliance.
WKTV coverage and schedule/scores
Complete local basketball schedules as well as up-to-date scores of previous night’s games are also available at wktvjournal.org/sports-schedules-scores. (You can also just just bookmark WKTVjournal.org on your phone or other device and click on the blue banner at the bottom of the screen.)
The tentative WKTV Feature Game schedule for February is as follows:
Friday, Feb. 18, boys and girls basketball, Zion Christian at Wyo. Lee (HOF night)
Tuesday, Feb. 22, boys basketball, Caledonia at East Kentwood
Friday, Feb. 25, boys and girls basketball, Tri-unity Christian at Potter’s House
WKTV featured games will on cable television in Wyoming and Kentwood on Comcast Channel 25 and AT&T Channel 99 Community Channel, rebroadcast on the night of the game and various days and times the week after. See the programming schedule at wktv.org. For more information on WKTV coverage of basketball and other winter prep sports, follow us at wktvjournal.org/sports.
All Featured Games, as well as other high school sports and community events covered by WKTV’s video coverage team, are available on-demand within a week of play at wktvlive.com.
What can and cannot be recycled in Kent County, and how do it. And what happens to everything else? WKTV Journal, working with Kent County Department of Public Works Resource Recovery Specialist Lauren Westerman, are working to look at specific consumer products and other items and give you the answers.
In this post, we look at those at-home COVID-19 rest kits — part plastic, part cardboard packaging and paper instructions, part that nasty stick you stuck up your nose and other medical materials. Maybe you want to just toss everything in the nearest trash can, but should you? Here is the lowdown from an expert:
(If you received the kit in the mail, remember to look for a recycling label on the mailer.)
Does your mailer envelope have a recycling label? (Kent County)
Remove the test supplies from the paperboard box. Flatten the box and place it into your curbside recycling cart. The paper instructions can also go into your curbside recycling cart. The box and paper will head to the Recycling Center where it is sorted out from non-paper items, baled, and transported to a local paper mill to be processed into a new paper product that can be used again.
After performing your COVID-19 at home test, throw away the swab, the wrapper from around the swab, the test card, the test card’s soft plastic pouch, and the empty plastic dropper bottle.
The only piece remaining is the hard plastic piece that (possibly) held all the various test pieces. If this hard piece of plastic has a recycling symbol on it, then it may be placed into your curbside recycling cart. The plastic will be sorted with similar rigid plastics at the Recycling Center, shipped to a facility where the plastic is flaked or pelletized, and eventually remolded into a new plastic item.
Do you have a question about a specific consumer product or other item? Contact WKTV at ken@wktv.org. Please send a photo of the product and the recycling label if available.
The 10 Cents a Day program supports connecting Michigan schools to Michigan farmers for fresh produce. (pxhere.com)
LANSING — Nathan Medina recalls eating bland, boring, non-fresh foods at school as a child.
“I remember eating bagged iceberg lettuce, canned corn and green beans or broccoli stems served alongside our cardboard pizza,” said Medina, who now is the 10 Cents a Meal program policy specialist.
Medina said it was refreshing to see some of the eye-appealing meals that are being served by grantees across the state.
The state-funded grants provide matching incentive funding up to 10 cents per meal to purchase and serve Michigan-grown fruits, vegetables and legumes.
The program is in its second year statewide and was originally a regional pilot program that began in 2016, Medina said.
He’s with the Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities, which has offices in Traverse City and Petoskey, and which runs the program with the state Education Department, Agriculture and Rural Development Department and Michigan State University’s Center for Regional Food Systems.
“This program provides kids with the opportunity to eat real, fresh food that they might not have had the chance to experience before,” said Medina. “While before they might have been eating apples grown in Washington, now they get to try a farm-fresh Michigan apple.”
For the 2021-2022 school year, there were 229 initial grantees, according to the 10 Cents a Meal program. Kent County schools participating include Godwin Heights along with Byron Center, Forest Hills, Kenowa Hills, Kent City, Lowell, Thornapple Kellogg, and West Catholic. Other area schools participating are Jenison along with schools in Holland, Ionia, and Muskegon. According to the 10 Cents a Meal website, about 144 enrolled in the program.
Grants are available not only to school districts, but also to non-school sponsors of the U.S. Department of Agriculture nutrition programs. That includes child care centers, after-school programs and other food programs such as the one provided by the Kent County Juvenile Detention program, which also was a 2021-2022 grant recipient. It is estimated that this year’s grants will support more than 553,000 children.
The Michigan Farmers Market Association supports the program to help farmers, schools and children, said Executive Director Amanda Shreve.
“This program really gives school districts one of the tools they need to more easily engage with local farmers,” she said.
Medina said the program can create individualized plans for participating schools and other organizations.
Not only is the program aiming to create better nutrition options, but it also recognizes the agricultural benefits that come with fresh food. Small farms, distributors and every other person involved in the process of the “farm-to-cafeteria” movement” benefit, Medina said.
Shreve said, “This program really gives school districts one of the tools they need to more easily engage with local farmers.”
Some schools face barriers to access fresh produce, such as cost, time or processing equipment, she said.
“When we can expand the awareness and taste buds of children at a young age, they’re going to continue these eating behaviors for the rest of their lives,” Shreve said. “We hope they will continue to scout local produce and eat fresh fruits and vegetables, setting them up for a lifetime of better health and relationships with food.”
According to Medina, the current budget of $5 million may be expanded in the future.
Due to the fact that Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed the $17.1 billion K-12 budget into law in July 2021, the largest single-year School Aid Fund budget ever passed by the state, this doubled the 10 Cents a Meal’s budget from $2 million in 2020-2021 to $5 for 2021-2022. This has given 10 Cents a Meal an opportunity reopen its applications, which will close on Feb. 11. Officials noted that eligible purchases from the present year may qualify for retroactive reimbursement. For more about the grant, visit tencentsmichigan.org.
WKTV Managing Editor Joanne Bailey-Boorsma contributed to this story.
Back in the day not so long ago, certain topics were not talked about in public and were commonly taboo at the family dinner table. So when Exie Susanne Smith started hearing strange noises and seeing shadows move around her house, it’s no surprise she didn’t tell anyone.
In her first book, “My Paranormal Life,” Smith explains it like this, “When I was 12 my life changed, forever. In one night I knew I was going to have to grow up keeping a secret; the fact that I could hear and see things that other people couldn’t.” Smith says that she was a “weird little kid” and when you combine being different and keeping her secret, it resulted in 40 years of journaling. All of this culminated in Smith authoring and publishing four books to date. Following her first book in 2012, Smith penned “When the Dead Come Calling” and “The Essence of Death.” Just last year in 2021, she published her forth book, “Dialog with the Dead,” another amazingly detailed account of Smith’s paranormal encounters.
Exie Susanne Smith first book.
Smith discovered her “special gift” with abilities to see, hear, and sense spirits early on. She knew she was clairvoyant and clairaudient and it wouldn’t be long before she discovered other paranormal talents. As a prophetic dreamer, she was able to foretell upcoming events; also displaying other psychic abilities, ESP, and super sensitivity with empathic susceptibility to other people’s attitudes, emotions, and feelings. Smith developed a simple goal to achieve a balance within herself as well as “helping people find peace in their own world.”
It seems when you make yourself available, people do come calling — alive and dead! Smith explains that people with psychic gifts are “like a beacon in the dark to spirits, they are drawn to us.” Many ghost hunters report hearing disembodied voices saying their names and spirits knowing they were coming even before arriving at locations. Smith details events suggesting, “Spirits have no boundaries” and she explains the importance of keeping grounded as well as setting limits and learning how to shut it off, so you are not open all the time.
“Dialog With a Dead” was published in 2021.
Smith has worked with ghost hunting teams, participating in investigations and smudging and blessing people and places free of charge. As a Reverend, Smith is prepared with the full armor, wielding the word through prayer while utilizing the power of crystals, cedar, sage, and sacred Palo Santo wood. Smith says, “I didn’t go in search of the dead, but it seems the dead came in search of me.” With direction from her Spirit Guides, Smith has accepted her inherent responsibility, emerging from an enchanted life as a light for lost souls and an inspiration for those of us who may be struggling with our own spiritual gifts.
Check out Exie Susanne Smith on Cryptic Frequencies, Across the Golden Veil and Grand Rapids Ghost Hunters Podcast episodes 30, 45, and 58.
At the opening of Guiding Light’s Iron House, sober-living apartments, in the City of Kentwood in late January, Guiding Light Board Chair John Harrington provides opening remarks and Esther Yff-Prins, one of the Guiding Light spiritual directors, gives the blessing of the Iron House. (Supplied)
Guiding Light, a Grand Rapids non-profit that helps men struggling with addiction and homelessness to return to society, announced this week the opening of its sixth Iron House as two of its clients moved into the sober-living apartments in the City of Kentwood.
Clients, staff, board members and volunteers gathered for a private blessing and tour of the recently remodeled building on Jan. 28.
The new Iron House comes at a time of increased demand for addiction recovery services, according to the announcement. Since the beginning of 2021, Guiding Light has experienced increases in the number of inquiries and program enrollments for its Recovery program.
The opening of a new Guiding Light Iron House in the City of Kentwood. (Supplied)
Able to accommodate seven men, the four-unit apartment building increases the nonprofit’s capacity to house men “as they transition back into the mainstream of society after successfully completing the Foundation phase of Guiding Light’s Recovery program,” according to the announcement.
In total, Guiding Light can house a total of 42 men in its six Iron House locations.
The apartments are designed for community-oriented sober living and are reserved exclusively for men who have finished four to six months of intensive residential treatment that combines evidence-based practices, life-coaching, therapy, support groups, spiritual direction and other resources to equip men to stay sober and reengage with their family, friends and community.
Background on Iron House program
The Iron House model has proven to be a “key component” in setting clients up for success to achieve long-term recovery, according to the announcement. Guiding Light has found 76 percent of men who move to Iron House reach at least one year of abstinence-based sobriety.
Guiding Light Board Chair John Harrington provides opening remarks at the opening of a City of Kentwood Iron House. (Supplied)
“We want to give men the best opportunity possible for living a healthy, connected life in recovery,” Recovery Director Brian Elve said in supplied material. “That’s why we created a structure with Iron House that allows men to stay connected with the support offered by Guiding Light.
“We recognize it takes a year or more to change the physical structure of the brain and its response to addiction. Iron House allows for truly comprehensive, long-term, transformative care and we are excited to invest in our community this way.”
After completing the “Foundation” phase of recovery, Guiding Light clients who are interested in continuing their recovery journeys at Iron House are able to apply for the opportunity. If accepted, clients are able to move into an apartment once they have secured full-time employment.
In addition to abstinence-based sobriety, Iron House residents focus on honing important life skills. Residents all have jobs. They buy and prepare their own food, pay their own bills and engage with each other in a communal-living environment.
“They look after and support each other, practicing community and providing support to one another with a common goal of creating lives worth staying sober for,” according to the announcement.
Programs, goals of Guiding Light
While living more independently, residents still have access to the support and resources of the recovery program, such as the opportunity to attend classes or support groups, participate in a spiritual direction group, work with a life coach and give back to the community through service.
Not only has Iron House been a key part of helping residents maintain their sobriety, it has also generated profits to ensure Guiding Light’s programming can remain free to participants, according to the announcement.
Funds from Iron House and The Job Post, Guiding Light’s two social enterprises, benefit clients while also aiding in the financial sustainability of the nonprofit’s programs. The programs are otherwise entirely funded by donations and grants.
Founded in 1929 as the West Fulton St. Mission, Guiding Light has grown into a recovery and reengagement community designed to “help those living at society’s margins fulfill their God-given potential,” according to supplied information.
For more information about Guiding Light’s recovery program, call 616-451-0236, ext. 23 and “take a confidential first step.” Learn more at guidinglightworks.org.
This video, produced by Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services, as shown at the kickoff of the group’s “Expanding Equal Access: A New Home for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services” fundraising campaign.
By Phil de Haan
Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services
The first-ever major Capital Campaign for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services was publicly launched on January 24, 2022.
“Expanding Equal Access: A New Home for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services” is a $266,000 fundraising campaign that will allow D&HHS to become part of a large non-profit center being developed at the old South Christian High School on 68th Street in Grand Rapids, just west of a major bus line on South Division Avenue.
The project is being headed up by Special Olympics of Michigan and will see the 127,000 square foot building (which includes two gyms and a 735-seat auditorium) become home to 10 non-profits, all of which have advocacy and empowerment at the heart of everything they do.
D&HHS will join Special Olympics of Michigan, Autism Support of Kent County, Brody’s Be Café, Disability Advocates of Kent County, Down Syndrome Association of West Michigan, Far Out Volleyball Club, Mental Health Foundation of West Michigan/be nice, MOKA, and Thresholds in this new space.
The public launch event included remarks by Tim Hileman, president and CEO of Special Olympics of Michigan, who said: “I love days like today. It speaks to what really good organizations can do both individually and collectively. What they can do together.”
Hileman commended what he called the “great, great leadership” of D&HHS, including the staff and the board.
He added: “I love the name of your campaign. This new non-profit center truly is multiple organizations coming together to create access, and Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services is an important part of this project.”
D&HHS Board President Rowan O’Dougherty agreed.
“Deaf people need our agency,” he said. “And Deaf people need community. That’s why I am so excited about the move here. We currently have such limited space, but when we move here those limitations will go away. We can draw our community together to socialize, to play sports, have coffee at the Café. Our Deaf senior citizens could make this a weekly activity. It’s going to be great.”
For Mary Andringa, step-mother to Chad, now a Deaf adult, the new space will continue a long legacy of D&HHS service to her family.
“D&HHS has been a rock on which Chad could build his core values and see himself as a unique individual with talents and abilities,” she said. “The people here (D&HHS staff) were pivotal to his growth and mine. He has had the advocates he needed to protect his rights, and he has been called to grow. This agency has been a conduit. Or should I say a can-do-it place. This agency always feeds back truth.”
Board Treasurer, Mickey Carolan, asks for support of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services capital campaign. (D&HHS)
Mickey Carolan, the treasurer for the D&HHS board, spoke not just about money (though he did that too!) but also about his experience growing up as the child of Deaf adults, a CODA.
“I was born into a majority Deaf community,” he said. “It’s the reason I am here today. I remember growing up and the access my parents had to communities in Detroit and Flint and Saginaw. There hasn’t been a place on this side of the state for that kind of community. Until now. This is the spot. And I hope that the energy everyone here today brought inspires you, whatever that is. Maybe it’s a gift of $1. Maybe it’s $50,000 I don’t want to limit you. But whatever it is, we are grateful.”
Earl Howell and Dr. Robert Hohendorf of Lions Club International District 11-C1 present a check. (D&HHS)
Indeed, Carolan was grateful at the event to accept a check for $15,000 from Earl Howell and Dr. Robert Hohendorf of Lions Club International District 11-C1. That gift brought the current fundraising total to just over $133,000, just over half of the $266,000 total goal for the campaign.
D&HHS hopes to start the renovation of an old science lab into its new space in March 2022, pending fundraising. If all goes well it would move to the new non-profit center in the summer of 2022.
Images of the D&HHS space and the entire facility, plus the campaign video and photos from the campaign event, are online and available to media at: deafhhs.org/capital-campaign.
Detroit author William Kienzle often would say that every person has a good story. Local resident and WKTV volunteer Donna Kidner Smith is hoping to encourage people to share their stories.
The Stray Cafe, located at 4253 Division Ave., Wyoming, is where the WKTV Voices’ Storytelling Project will take place on Feb. 24. (Supplied)
This month, on Feb. 24, Smith will be the host of the WKTV Voices’ Storytelling Project. The program will take place at Wyoming’s The Stray, 4253 S. Division Ave., at 7 p.m.
The idea for the project came from Moth Radio Hour, which airs on NPR stations across the nation. The program features storytellers who share stories that honor both the diversity and commonality of human experience, and satisfies a human need for connection.
“I thought this is such a wonderful program and wondered why we didn’t have a local version,” said Smith, who teaches a story making class at Grand Valley State University.
Stories were the essential way that traditions and information were passed from people to people and generations to generations, Smith noted. It is an art form as well as an important way that communities stay connected.
In the fall, a friend invited Smith to attend a musical program at the newly opened The Stray.
“I saw the place and knew it would be perfect for this event,” Smith said.
Hunter VanKlompenberg, who oversees the programming at The Stray said they felt like the WKTV Voices’ Storytelling Project seemed like a good fit as well.
The logo of The Stray Cafe features immortalizes the family pet. (WKTV)
“It sounded like a cool idea,” VanKlompenberg who with his parents, Chip and Karen, and his partner, Victoria LATeano, own The Stray. Chip VanKlompenberg is the president. Karen VanKompenberg is the creative director, Victoria LaTeano is the cafe manager and Hunter VanKlompenberg is the music and arts manager.
The coffee house officially opened in September, but the foursome had been working on the project for well over a year, VanKlompenberg said. They selected the location on Division Avenue because of its high traffic but also the building, located at 4253 Division Ave., provided enough space for the group’s vision. That vision was to create a coffee house that would offer live music and other programs as well as a place for local artists.
Work from local artists are on display and available for purchase. Plans include artist studios in the back of the building and there will be a patio space come spring.
Currently, The Stray features the café in the front of the building. The menu features a selection of coffees and non-coffee items such as tea, hot chocolate and Brix soda. There is also a lunch menu of sandwiches and salads and in the evening, the offerings include flat breads and a selection of beer and wine.
The seating area is a mix of tables and sofas, all of which Karen, an artist and interior designer, found searching social media sites, according to VanKlompenberg. The design is definitely a homey, welcoming feel which is an ideal setting for the live performances.
In evening, The Stray Cafe offers flat breads and a beer and wine selection as well as its regular offerings off coffee, teas, and sandwiches. (Supplied)
“We try to create a listening atmosphere, building an intimate connection between the artist and the audience,” VanKlompenberg said, adding the focus is on the performer, giving the person a chance to get feedback from the audience and the audience and opportunity to learn about the performer. VanKlompenberg said the response has been positive with both the performers and audience members.
Smith was one of those audience members who felt that welcoming vibe and found the opportunity to really make a connection, which is something she wants to do with the WKTV Voices’ Storytelling Project.
“The program is about connecting with the community, our community,” Smith said. “I hope people will share their stories and those who come will listen, learn and laugh with our storytellers.”
About 13 community members have signed up to share story vignettes that will be about four to six minutes in length. The entire event will be recorded by WKTV and aired on Comcast Channel 25 at a later date.
Smith said the goal is to host the WKTV Voices’ Storytelling Project on a regular basis. She is currently working to gather a group of storytellers for the next event, which will be announced. Those interested in participating in the WKTV Voices’ Storytelling Project can connect with Smith at kidnersmith5@gmail.com.
The Stray is open from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Live performances are usually on Friday and Saturday starting at 7 p.m. The WKTV Voices’ Storytelling Project will be on Thursday, Feb. 24, at 7 p.m. For more about The Stray, visit thestraycafe.com.
Wyoming High School boys basketball coach Thom Vander Klay and the team at a Jan. 31 practice as the Wolves prepare for the second half of their OK Conference Green schedule … and the state tournament. (WKTV/K.D. Norris)
The Wyoming High School boys basketball team finished their non-conference schedule with three-straight wins and then went 4-3 in the first half of their grueling OK Conference Green schedule, including a road loss to state power Muskegon.
So as the Wolves (7-5 overall, third in OK conference standings) prepared this week for the beginning of the second half of the OK Green schedule with a road game at Muskegon Reeths-Puffer — 8-4, 5-2 in conference including a hard-fought win over Wyoming on Jan. 7 — Wolves head coach Thom Vander Klay might be pretty happy with where his team stands.
And maybe not …
Wyoming High School boys basketball in action Jan. 21 against Zeeland East. (WKTV)
“Sitting in third was not the objective,” Coach Vander Klay said to WKTV. “We are definitely looking to become more consistent to compete in the (state) tournament. … We look to work to be the best team we can be, which may mean more victories in the second round and in the tournament.”
Despite a pandemic-altered 2020-21 season last year, the Wolves were in top form at tournament time, with a home win over Byron Center and then a tough, 54-52, road loss at East Grand Rapids to finish 7-9 overall.
In the 2019-20 season, the team’s last year in the OK Gold, the Wolves finished 11-1 in conference and 20-2 overall including two wins in the playoffs — before the pandemic stopped the season in the middle of what could have been a deep playoff run.
Now in the Wolves second year in the OK Green, Vander Klay does not see the move as giving his team in tougher schedule, it is just those long roadtrips — to Muskegon and Zeeland — that are a challenge.
Wyoming High School boys basketball coach Thom Vander Klay watches over a Jan. 31 practice as the Wolves prepare for an upcoming game. (WKTV/K.D. Norris)
“Not sure the Green is better than the Gold,” Vander Klay said. “We switch leagues every few years so it has been difficult to get rivals but we are getting to know these teams and what they try and do.
“The hardest part is the travel. We seem to have many schools we can play but we are going to the Lakeshore Tuesdays and Fridays.”
In the second half of the OK conference schedule, the Wolves will host four of the seven games, including hosting two teams Wyoming lost to on the road in the first round, Muskegon (currently 10-0, 7-0 OK) on Feb. 11 and Grand Rapids Union on Feb. 22.
Junior dominated team, with senior leaders
Coach Vander Klay said while the Wolves’ current team has only four seniors, seven juniors and no underclassmen, he is feels the squad is “doing really well”, especially senior leaders Ramere Draper (19.5 points per game average), Jaleel Holt (13.3 ppg.) and Jordan Love (9.4 ppg.)
Wyoming High School boys basketball player Quintin Williams prepares for the second half of a Jan. 21 against Zeeland East. (WKTV)
Draper was first team all conference last year, and Love was honorable mention.
One of the juniors making a big impact in the stat sheet with double-figure scoring is Qua’dir Hatchett (10.6 ppg.). But Alyjah Chandler, Bernie Varnesdeel, Eugene Atkins and Quintin Williams are also key contributors.
Andrew Tran is the other senior, while other juniors include Jaden LaFleur and Jameson Lamrouex.
Valentine’s Day 2022 falls on a Monday (Feb. 14) but the City of Kentwood has a “Sweetheart Deal” to get your “Valentine’s Weekend” started with a little outdoor fun run, a possible partnership opportunity, and support for a great community service program.
The city will host its fifth annual Valentine’s Dash 5K Saturday, Feb. 12, starting at 11 a.m., and benefitting Kentwood’s Little Free Pantry, which provides food and personal care items to community members in need.
Valentine’s Day-themed costumes are encouraged. While intended to be a fun run, the race will be chip timed and awards will be given for the fastest runner overall and in each age group.
An awards ceremony will follow in the library’s community room at about noon, including refreshments, candy, music and a photo booth.
“Our Valentine’s Dash 5K is a great way to kick off the holiday weekend and help foster or fuel a love for running, even in the winter months,” Spencer McKellar, race organizer, said in supplied material. “This course is great for first-time runners or walkers but will also provide a challenge to more experienced racers. All are invited to come out and join us. Bring a friend or a loved one — or meet someone new.”
Online registration is $30 until Feb. 11 and includes a long-sleeved shirt and other participant-packet goodies (while supplies last). Day-of registration is $35. Runners who sign up as a couple save $5 each. Participants who bring a nonperishable item or monetary donation for Kentwood’s Little Free Pantry will be entered to win a special door prize.
Kentwood’s first Little Free Pantry opened to the community in 2017 at the Kentwood Activities Center, where it remains available year-round during business hours. The city, last year, launched a second pantry at the Kent District Library – Kentwood (Richard L. Root) Branch. More information, including a list of suggested donations, is available at kentwood.us/LittleFreePantry.
Wyoming residents wanting to learn more about the city’s proposed income tax and millage reduction proposals will have the chanced at a series of informational meetings.
If approved, the proposed income tax generate enough funds for the city to add 27 firefighters and 14 police officers. (WKTV)
Starting tomorrow, Feb. 2, the city will be hosting seven public meetings in February, March, and April. The meetings are designed to provide information regarding the May 3, 2022 ballot proposals. The two proposals are an income tax that would be up to 1 percent for residents and up to .5 percent for non-residents. The second proposal would be for a city property millage reduction for property owners both homeowners and business owners. The millage would go from about 11.89 to 5 mills. The two proposals are tied together with both required to pass.
“It is my goal to make sure every Wyoming voter has the information they need to vote on May 3,” said Mayor Jack Poll. “The public meetings are a chance for residents and community members to learn more about the need and have their questions answered.”
The first meeting is set for Wednesday, Feb. 2, at Wyoming City Hall, 1155 28th St. SW. The meeting is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.
The other meetings are:
Feb. 16, Wyoming Senior Center, 2380 DeHoop Ave. SW
March 2, Gezon Fire Station, 2300 Gezon Parkway SW
March 9, Del Mar Community Room
March 15, Godwin Heights High School, 50 35th St. SW
March 24, City Hall, 1155 28th St. SW
April 19, KDL Wyoming Branch, 3350 Michael Ave. SW
In September, the Wyoming City Council approved the two proposes to be placed on the May 3 ballot. If approved, the proposals would minimize the overall tax burden to city residents while generating an additional $6 million in revenue each year. The revenue would be used to improve public safety and parks infrastructure for residents, businesses, and visitors.
The additional funds would allow the Wyoming Department of Public Safety to add 27 firefighter and 14 police positions, improving public safety by decreasing response times, enhancing crime prevention efforts and adding more proactive traffic enforcement.
The funding also would provide $600,000 in sustainable annual capital invest in the city’s park system. Many of the city’s parks were built between 1950 and 1970 and while the city has made great strides in developing park properties such as ideal, Frog Hollow, Jackson and Ideal, other parks such as Marquette Park, are 25-years-old or more and are in need of capital improvement. City officials have noted that the current parks millage does not have capacity to provide any funding for capital investment.
LANSING — My basement has an entire bookcase jammed with National Geographic magazines, including virtually every issue since July 1979.
My father bought used copies of the oldest ones when I was a child. The oldest of the old is the February 1919 issue, published when an annual subscription cost $2.50.
February 1919 issue of National Geographic. (Photo by Barb Miller)
The front cover is faded, the back cover is missing, its advertisers include Ivory soap and now-defunct automakers Locomobile, Thompson, Dodge, Chandler and Apperson, as well as Quaker Puffed Wheat cereal, the gunmaker Savage, Pepsodent toothpaste, Victrola records and Goblin Soap, which “works wonders.”
Inside, the only color section features illustrations of 29 berries and their blossoms, some now in potential danger of following those long-ago advertisers into oblivion.
Most grow in Michigan, says Tyler Bassett, a botanist and plant ecologist at the Michigan Natural Features Inventory.
Among the illustrations “by the gifted artist-naturalist Miss Mary E. Eaton” are the American mountain ash that grows south from Canada to the Great Lakes region “only where it can find mountains” and the black gum that grows “between Maine and Michigan on the north.”
The range of mapleleaf arrowwood spanned from New Brunswick to Minnesota, and the American cranberry from Newfoundland to western Wisconsin. Readers learned that wild chokeberries could be found from New England to Minnesota, according to Eaton’s article, “American Berries of Hill, Dale and Wayside.”
Some have unfamiliar, exotic-sounding names that roll off the tongue – silky cornel, for example, and blueleaf greenbrier and blue cohosh. Others have names we quickly immediately recognize, such as American holly and wintergreen and black alder.
Now 103 years after National Geographic published its article on berries, we’re witnessing some changes among those species, says Bassett, who “studies the ecology of natural communities and the rare plant species they support,” according to the Natural Features Inventory. The organization promotes conservation of Michigan’s biodiversity through scientific expertise and information.
Mary E. Eaton’s illustrations of American bittersweet, silky cornel, bayberry and mapleleaf arrowwood in the February 1919 issue of National Geographic. (Photo credit Barb Miller)
“I’m cautious, but we are seeing very hot, dry summers and differences in the distribution of precipitation,” Bassett says. Particular weather events can stress plants, such as droughts that can cause temporary diebacks.
In an ecosystem, climate change shifts the timing of when plants germinate and flower and when pollinators and plant-eating wildlife are active, he says.
“By the end of the century, we could have the climate of Georgia in Southern Michigan,” he says.
But climate change doesn’t deserve all the blame.
Another major concern is the spread of invasive plants such as honeysuckle and autumn olive in the woodlands. Some invaders are “super-aggressive,” as Bassett puts it, “and getting more aggressive with climate warming.” They reproduce more than native plants and can “hybridize a native species out of existence.
“Most invasive species seem to be favored by climate change and are able to quickly take advantage of new circumstances by growing faster and leafing out earlier than native plants,” he says.
Changes in wildlife habitat have a negative effect as well because species “need the right animals at the right time to disperse their seeds,” he says.
Meanwhile, a new study in the journal Science found that declines in the number of animals that disperse seeds are reducing plants’ ability to adapt to a changing climate by limiting their capacity to migrate to more hospitable ranges.
The scientists at Rice University in Texas, Iowa State University and Aarhus University in Denmark called seed dispersal a “mutualistic function” – meaning both the plants and animals benefit.
They wrote, “The mutualistic interaction networks that assemble in these communities will likely influence whether certain plant species persist and spread.” And they estimated that losses of bird and mammal species are already responsible for a 60% reduction in plants’ ability to respond to climate change.
Bassett says increased fragmentation of plant habitats leaves “smaller and smaller” patches of land where they can grow. Due to differences in their relative abundance, fragmentation means that less profuse species will have even fewer pathways to spread through dispersal of their seeds.
Mary E. Eaton’s illustrations of wildblack cherry, highbush blueberry, sweet cherry and early highbush blueberry in the February 1919 issue of National Geographic. (Photo by Barb Miller)
So, how to protect these plants, the snowberry and the shadbush, the wild black cherry and the smooth sumac, the spicebush and the American bittersweet?
Bassett says necessary steps include regional partnerships with land trusts and agencies like the Department of Natural Resources to improve the connectivity that makes it easier for wildlife to disperse seeds of native plants.
Connectivity here refers to a network of pathways that animals can travel, linking what the Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity calls “fragmented habitats that constrain wildlife movement.”
In addition to preventing seed dispersal, lack of connectivity impairs animals’ ability to find shelter, mates and food, while isolating populations and leading to possible local extinction of sensitive species, according to the center, which has offices in Minneapolis and Duluth.
The Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy is addressing that problem, he says. The nonprofit organization works in nine counties in the southwestern part of the state, including Branch, St. Joseph and Allegan counties.
“Animals as dispersal agents can move more easily,” Bassett says. “A species needs a place to live that suits it.”
The average consumer may not be aware of some more attractive CD terms as they are typically reserved for large investors and therefore offered to the bank’s wealthiest clients. Some types of CDs are not provided directly by an issuing bank but are made available through financial professionals licensed to sell the specific CD instrument in question. That is why investigating the certificate of deposit alternatives with a financial professional is one of the essential fact-finding missions in which a conservative investor can engage.
Traditional CDs: Traditional certificates of deposit are sold directly by banks to the general public. The purchaser agrees to hold their funds for a specified period with the bank to attain a fixed return on their investment when the period ends, usually referred to as the certificate’s “Maturity Date.” If the depositor wants to withdraw funds before the maturity date, penalties are generally applied, and this is pretty much the only way you can lose principal with a traditional CD investment.
Brokered CDs: Brokered certificates of deposit are sold through securities broker-dealers and deposit brokers rather than directly through the issuing bank. Brokers purchase the CD from the issuing bank on the investor’s behalf.
Market Linked, or Structured CDs: Market-linked certificates of deposit, also referred to as structured certificates of deposit, are a brokered type of CD offering the safety of FDIC insurance with more attractive interest rates than traditional CDs. They usually pay both a guaranteed interest rate and a variable interest rate, which is tied to a market vehicle such as stocks, bonds, commodities, or indices. Conservative investors find these desirable investments as the FDIC insurance minimizes risk to principal, and the higher interest potential dramatically reduces risk to losses due to inflation.
Deposit Brokers have been selling Market Linked CDs (MLCDs) in the United States since Chase Bank introduced them in 1987, but they were designed for wealthier investors and were out of reach to average investors. While today’s MLCDs are available for a minimum deposit of $1,000, many brokers may require a higher account size.
Bump-Up CDs: Bump-up certificates of deposit offer a lower initial interest rate than traditional CDs to investors but provide them with a one time option to “bump up” their rate if interest rates rise during the CD term.
Step-Rate CDs: Step-rate certificates of deposit are designed to “step” up or down to a predetermined rate at a certain point in the term of the CD based on specific circumstances.
Callable CDs: Callable certificates of deposit are offered at higher than traditional rates to investors with the bank retaining the option to “call” the CD after a specified period.
And beware: your interest may be taxed annually as it is earned even though you will not receive it until your maturity date.
Dave Stanley is the host of Safe Money Radio WOOD1300 AM, 106.9 FM and a Financial Advisor and Writer at Integrity Financial Service, LLC, Grandville, MI 49418, Telephone 616-719-1979 or Register for Dave’s FREE Newsletter at 888-998-3463 or click this link: Dave Stanley Newsletter – Annuity.comDave is a member of Syndicated Columnists, a national organization committed to a fully transparent approach to money management.
Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park’s Michigan’s Farm Garden, a reproduction of Lena Meijer’s home early in life near Lakeview, Michigan. The windmill is actually from that farm. (Supplied/Dean VanDis)
The legacy of the late Lena Meijer — community advocate, philanthropist and so much more — lives on in her family, in many ways in the Grand Rapids community, and, of course, Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park.
And while Lena played a large role in the success of her family’s Midwest grocery super-center business, her life began on a humble farm near Lakeview, Michigan. And that humble beginning is on full, if slightly miniature, display at Meijer Gardens’ Michigan’s Farm Garden.
“She always spoke so lovingly of her upbringing and cherished that experience in her life,” David Hooker, President and CEO of Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, said WKTV.
Fred and Lena Meijer. (Supplied/undated)
Both Lena and her husband, late grocery entrepreneur Fred Meijer, grew up on farms. A daughter of German immigrants George and Mary Rader, Lena was born and raised on the farm her parents acquired after settling near Lakeview, while Fred’s family farm was located in Greenville.
Lena and Fred never lost the desire to share their knowledge and love of the land with their community.
“They wanted people to really understand that food comes from a farm, it doesn’t come from their grocery stores,” said Hooker.
Through this desire, the Michigan’s Farm Garden was born.
“The idea for creating Michigan’s Farm Garden was so people could understand what the farming life was like, especially in the era of the 1930s when they both grew up,” said Hooker. “The fact that they wanted to recreate that experience for people is a testament to how Lena felt about it.”
Milking cows, fresh carrots … and that windmill
At the Michigan’s Farm Garden, visitors can find a three-quarter scale replica of the farmhouse where Lena was born and raised, a barn, vegetable and flower gardens, animal pens, and bronze sculptures of farm animals scattered throughout. Patrons are invited to sit in rocking chairs on the wraparound porch, and visit and relax.
Fred and Lena Meijer at the dedication of Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park’s Michigan’s Farm Garden. (Supplied)
Another piece of Lena’s heritage she chose to share with the community is the windmill visitors see while visiting the Farm Garden. “That actual windmill came from her family’s farm,” Hooker said.
“She (Lena) learned at a very young age how to milk a cow and work the fields, and do everything that farmers do,” said Hooker.
One of Lena’s favorite stories involved milking cows. Hooker said Lena liked to joke about being so skilled at milking a cow that she could feed their cat at the same time.
“She could squirt the milk into the cat’s mouth from six feet away,” said Hooker.
Lena’s antics as a young farm girl didn’t end there.
One of the farm scene sculptures from the Michigan’s Farm Garden. The girl riding the pig, reportedly, is taken from Lena’s childhood. (Supplied/William J. Hebert)
“As a young girl, she’d ride the pigs,” Hooker said. “In fact, we have a sculpture of Lena as a little girl riding a pig out in Michigan’s Farm Garden. It’s classic.”
When it was mentioned that it seemed like Lena had some “spunk” in her personality, Hooker agreed — “Oh, she had a ton. Absolutely.”
Lena died at the age of 102 on Jan. 15. She will be buried beside her husband at Michigan’s Farm Garden, laid to rest in a place they both loved to visit in their twilight years.
“If it was the right time of year, they would pull a carrot right of the ground, wash it off, and they’d eat it,” said Hooker.
Children, learning and lots of beautiful plants
Lena’s love of gardening and plants is also revealed in the Lena Meijer Tropical Conservatory and, especially, the Lena Meijer Children’s Garden.
“(Lena) loved kids and loved the idea of a garden dedicated to children learning about gardening and learning about how life itself would not be possible without plants,” Hooker said.
Lena Meijer at the 2017 groundbreaking of Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park’s expansion projects. (Supplied/Anthony Norkus Photography)
The Children’s Garden promotes interactive learning and the use of all five senses with various hands-on activities for children and their families.
“Meijer Gardens is a gift to all of us as a community,” said Hooker. “This is what Fred and Lena were interested in and they gave this to us as a gift. For this gift to mean anything, come on out and visit! It’s here for everyone to enjoy.”
For more information about Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park visit meijergardens.org.
Weller Team accepts award for Manufacturer of the YearBlue Frost IT accepts the Volunteer of the Year award.ServicePro South and Northwest GR accepts the Service Business of the Year award.Craig’s Cruiser’s Cait Black accepts the Retail Business of the Year award. New Chamber President and CEO Keith Morgan with his wife.Bob O’Callaghan accepts a proclamation in honor of his contributions from State Senator Mark Huizinga.
It was a night of celebration as the Wyoming Kentwood Area Chamber of Commerce hosted its Annual Meeting and Awards Dinner, the first since COVID pandemic in 2020.
Along with celebrating the annual award recipients, the event, which this year was held at Crossroads Conference Center off of Clay Avenue, also gave members and local officials the opportunity to celebrate the contributions of President and CEO Bob Callaghan. In November, O’Callaghan announced his retirement from the chamber after working with Chamber for past 30-plus years, the last nine as its president and CEO.
“I can’t even guess how many feet of ribbon you have cut over the course of time, but I have been there for a lot of those ribbon cuttings and it is always important for new businesses to see that we are committed to them,” said Wyoming Mayor Jack Poll during a recent Government Matters, which is hosted by the Chamber and broadcast by WKTV.
“Thank you for all you have done to help the small business, the big businesses, businesses in general especially in these tough, tough times,” said Kentwood Mayor Stephen Kepley during the Government Matters meeting. “ We really appreciate all that you did.”
For his years of service, O’Callaghan was awarded with the Gerald E. Fessell Distinguished Service Award. O’Callaghan thanked everyone at the meeting, stating he has some wonderful memories and hopes to remain in touch with many who were in attendance at the meeting.
The Chamber’s new president and CEO, Keith Morgan, also spoke during the event. He talked about the challenges many have faced due to COVID and how the Chamber is beginning to look at what it offers and will be offering some new and exciting opportunities to members.
Award recipients
Receiving the Retail Business of Year Award was Craig’s Cruisers, located at 5730 Clyde Park Ave. SW. With around 120,000 square feet, Craig’s Cruisers is one of the largest indoor, and outdoor, recreation facilities in the area, offering go carts, mini golf, an indoor roller coaster, laser tag, and a wide selection of games. The facility also has a 700-capactiy seating restaurant, which is the largest seating capacity restaurant in Kent County.
Receiving the Manufacturer of the Year Award was Weller Truck Parks, 1500 Gezon Parkway SW, Wyoming. Weller Truck Parks is a re-manufacturer of heavy- and medium-duty drive tran components for the transportation industry. The company has been based in Wyoming since the 1970s and now has 36 locations distributing its products and employs around 1,000 people.
Receiving the Linda Harbor Service Business of the Year Award went to ServPro of South and Northwest Grand Rapids, which is based in Jenison. As sales rep Mike Nix puts it “Typically if you are calling us you are not having a very good day but we are here to make sure things are done right and on the first time.” ServPro of South and Northwest Grand Rapids is a full service restoration business. It offers fire and water cleanup, mold remediation, biohazard cleanup up as well as construction site services.
Volunteer of the Year Award went to Blue Frost IT. Owners Allen and Ashlynne Gilbert, said when they formed their IT company, they made the commitment to give back to their company and they wanted to see firsthand what their support was doing for the community they serve, often working hand-in-hand with the charitable organizations. Blue Frost IT has worked with UCOM and Family Network of Wyoming as well as served as ambassadors and on the foundation board for the Chamber.
This year’s Committee of the Year Award went to the Government Matters group. At the beginning of each month, the Government Mattes Committee brings together local government officials who discuss things taking place in the cities of Wyoming and Kentwood, on the state level and nationally as well.
WKTV Featured Game winter coverage of local Kentwood and Wyoming area high school usually focuses on basketball, but each season we pay a visit or two to East Kentwood High School to catch up on the Falcons hockey team — so this week, Wednesday, Feb. 2, will have have our cameras at the Mainstee vs. East Kentwood match.
WKTV will cover high school hockey this week. (WKTV)
The hockey match, set for puck drop at 4 p.m., will find the Falcons playing a non-OK Conference Red foe from up north in the second half a home-and-home series. Manistee defeated East Kentwood on Jan. 28.
Then, on Friday, Feb. 4, WKTV will be at Wyoming Potter’s House Christian for an Alliance League basketball doubleheader as the Pumas host Grand River Prep, with the girls playing at 5:30 p.m., and the boys playing at 7 p.m.
In the girls game, Potter’s House will enter the game 7-5 overall and 1-0 in league, including a win Jan. 28 over Lee and a cancelled game against Grand Rapids Wellspring Prep originally scheduled for Feb. 1. Grand River Prep enters the week at 0-5 and 0-2 in Alliance, but has two early-week games on the schedule before visiting Potter’s House.
In the boys game, Potter’s House enters the week at 6-4, 1-0 in Alliance games, following a win over Lee Jan. 28. The Pumas are scheduled to play Wellspring Prep on Feb. 1. Grand River Prep will enter the week with a 3-6, 2-4 league record.
A look-in at Wyoming/Kentwood area basketball
The Grand Rapids South Christian girls continue on their roll of now five-straight wins and enter the week 10-3 overall and 6-1 in OK Gold games after convincing wins last week at Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills (63-32) and at home over Cedar Springs (52-22). The Sailors only conference loss coming at OK conference leader Grand Rapids Central Catholic (currently 10-3, 7-0 OK), with the rematch coming Feb. 9 on the Sailors’ home court.
The South Christian boys also won twice last week, over Ottawa Hill (69-51) and Cedar Springs (76-49) to push their record to 7-4 overall and 4-2 in OK Conference Gold. Grand Rapids Catholic Central (12-1, 7-0 OK) and Forest Hills Eastern9-3, 6-1 OK) currently lead the conference and are the two teams to have beaten the Sailors; but rematches with both are looming in February.
The Wyoming boys team (7-5) split OK games last week, with a 73-50 home win over Muskegon Mona Shores on Jan. 28, to stay near the top of the OK Conference Green standings at 4-3. This week, in a rescheduled game Feb. 3, the Wolves get a chance to avenge an early-season OK loss to Muskegon Reeths-Puffer (8-3, 5-2 OK).
The East Kentwood girls (4-7, 4-3 OK Conference Red) won early last week, 55-51 over Caledonia, to push their winning streak to four games and then gave state power Rockford (11-2, 7-0 OK) all it could handle in a 66-63 overtime loss on Jan 28.
The West Michigan Aviation Academy boys won twice last week, and now have won four straight and six of seven, to push their record 8-3 overall and 5-0 to take over the lead in Alliance League action.
The Wyoming Tri-unity Christian boys team won for the fight time in six games, pushing their overall record to 6-4, with a 78-52 win over Godwin Heights on Saturday, Jan. 29. In the game, it was reported on other media that senior Brady Titus set a school record for the Defenders by scoring 44 points.
WKTV coverage and schedule/scores
Complete local basketball schedules as well as up-to-date scores of previous night’s games are also available at wktvjournal.org/sports-schedules-scores. (You can also just just bookmark WKTVjournal.org on your phone or other device and click on the blue banner at the bottom of the screen.)
The tentative WKTV Feature Game schedule for February is as follows:
Tuesday, Feb. 8, boys basketball, Holland at Wyoming
Friday, Feb. 11, boys hockey, Petoskey at East Kentwood
Friday, Feb. 18, boys and girls basketball, Zion Christian at Wyo. Lee (HOF night)
Tuesday, Feb. 22, boys basketball, Caledonia at East Kentwood
Friday, Feb. 25, boys and girls basketball, Tri-unity Christian at Potter’s House
WKTV featured games will on cable television in Wyoming and Kentwood on Comcast Channel 25 and AT&T Channel 99 Community Channel, rebroadcast on the night of the game and various days and times the week after. See the programming schedule at wktv.org. For more information on WKTV coverage of basketball and other winter prep sports, follow us at wktvjournal.org/sports.
All Featured Games, as well as other high school sports and community events covered by WKTV’s video coverage team, are available on-demand within a week of play at wktvlive.com.
The City of Kentwood is inviting residents and other community members to share feedback on pedestrian crossings throughout the city as part of a crosswalk study.
Anyone who uses crosswalks in the city is encouraged to share feedback on which crosswalks should be evaluated through an online form due by Feb. 21.
According to an announcement by the city, the input will help the city evaluate and improve pedestrian crossings to ensure they are safe and accessible for all users.
“Community engagement is critically important to our work around pedestrian safety and accessibility,” Terry Schweitzer, Kentwood community development director, said in supplied material. “We want to hear from individuals who use our crosswalks so we can identify which ones need attention and make improvements to them. The survey is really simple and takes only a few minutes.”
Individuals who want to take the survey in a different language other than English are encouraged to call the City Clerk’s Office at 616-698-9610 for assistance. Printed surveys are also available at City Hall, 4900 Breton Ave. SE, Kentwood Activities Center, 355 48th St. SE, and Kent District Library – Kentwood (Richard L. Root) Branch, 4950 Breton Ave SE.
All responses will remain confidential.
The survey offers participants the opportunity to identify a location of a crosswalk on a map, select concerns from a drop-down menu and share more information in a comment box.
The categories which will be surveyed and evaluated include:
Accessibility — Does the crosswalk accommodate individuals with disabilities who may use mobility devices such as a wheelchair, walker, cane, etc.?
Sidewalk or pavement condition — Does the physical sidewalk or roadway pavement need to be repaired or is there a lack of sidewalk on both sides of the road?
Visibility — Can a person using the crossing see oncoming vehicle traffic easily from the sidewalk?
Lighting — Does the location need lighting for nighttime walkers to use the crossing or be seen?
Signage — Does the location lack appropriate signs such as pedestrian warning and crossing signs?
Pavement markings — Is the crosswalk marked and easy to see?
Crosswalk Needed — Is a new crosswalk needed at a specific location?
For more information about the survey, visit here.
What can and cannot be recycled in Kent County, and how do it. And what happens to everything else? WKTV Journal, working with Kent County Department of Public Works Resource Recovery Specialist Lauren Westerman, are working to look at specific consumer products and other items and give you the answers.
In this post, we look at those annoying strings of holiday lights that no longer work. Packaging often does not have any recycling information. But what does that mean? Here is the lowdown from an expert:
Many part of the packaging for holiday lights are recyclable, but not all. (WKTV)
Holiday string lights are considered electronic waste. They cannot be recycled through single-stream or curbside recycling collection programs. Kent County Department of Public Works (DPW) has collection bins for holiday string lights at both North Kent Recycling & Waste Center and South Kent Recycling & Waste Center or they can be brought to our electronics recycling collection programs. After Kent County DPW collects the string lights, they are taken to an electronics recycling company where the various component parts (types of metal, wires, plastics, glass, etc.) are separated and recycled accordingly.
When you purchase new holiday string lights, there are a few different parts of the packaging to be aware of when it comes to proper disposal. If the lights come in a box, empty the cardboard box, flatten it, and place it into your single-stream curbside recycling cart. If you have any soft and flexible plastic packaging, tape, or twist-ties, place them into the garbage.
Do you have a question about a specific consumer product or other item? Contact WKTV at ken@wktv.org. Please send a photo of the product and the recycling label if available.
A scene from veterans art project supported by Kent County Veterans Services which led to the 2021 Yellow Ribbon ArtPrize entry. (Supplied/Pamela Alderman)
The Kent County Board of Commissioners’ Veterans Millage Renewal Subcommittee, led by City of Wyoming’s (District 8) commissioner Dan Burrill, has approved and sent on to other county standing committees the details of a planned August 2022 countywide vote to continue an existing Veterans Millage first passed in 2014.
Since the millage expired in 2021, the millage request would not be a renewal but a “continuation” if approve by voters.
The decision to take the millage request to the voters would eventually need to be approved by the full Board of Commissioners, but there are two county governance standing committees, including the finance committee, which would need to discuss and give approval to first.
The Tuesday, Jan. 18, meeting at the Kent County Administrative Building was the second of the subcommittee. The meetings were open to the public, veterans and non-veterans alike.
Kent County Veterans Service office. (Supplied)
The subcommittee’s two meetings included several local veterans groups as well as the Kent County Veterans Services (KCVS) office and its associated Veterans Services Advisory Committee. The KVCS provides dedicated services to veterans of active United States military service and their dependents, under the direction of manager Martha Burkett, and is substantially funded by the millage, along with an annual Kent County budget contribution.
In November 2014, Kent County voters approved a Dedicated Veterans Millage, an eight year, 0.05 mills tax that, at that time, would raise about $1 million a year and was estimated to cost the owner of a $200,000 home approximately $5 annually, according to the county website.
Due to several factors — including the 1978, voter-approved amendment to the Michigan Constitution which included a number of provisions related to state and local taxes and now commonly known as the Headlee Amendment — the actual tax collection decreased from 0.05 mills to 0.0482 in 2021.
Statewide, 51 of Michigan’s 83 counties posted a millage dedicated to veterans in 2020.
As the COVID pandemic persists, most local venues have returned to hosting live entertainment — but with varying degrees of safety protocols in place for patrons and performers.
St. Cecilia Music Center, one of the more intimate and popular entertainment venues in the Grand Rapids area, offers concerts featuring a considerable array of musical talents and genres as well as a variety of music education programs.
And after a quiet stretch of a year and a half, they returned last fall and have a full schedule this year.
Cathy Holbrook, executive and artistic director of St. Cecilia Music Center, told WKTV that SCMC put COVID protocols in place in the fall of 2021 based on “both CDC guidelines at the time, what artists were requiring and what we, as an organization, felt would protect our audience, staff, crew and artists as best as possible.”
A CDC COVID-19 vaccination card. (CDC)
According to St. Cecilia’s website, “SCMC requires proof of fully vaccinated status, or a negative COVID test taken within 72 hours, to attend a concert at the SCMS venue. Attendees need to bring photo ID and proof of vaccination, or a negative test, the night of a concert … Home tests are not accepted. All patrons are required to wear a mask for the full duration of their time in the building, throughout the concert.”
A recent concert visit by another WKTV writer found the protocol process fairly quick and easy — a quick ID and copy of proof of vaccination from his phone.
Full descriptions of policies and requirements for attendees of St. Cecilia’s concerts can be found on their website, scmc-online.org/.
“The COVID policy we have in place is for all concerts,” said Holbrook. “Most artists are requiring these protocols, but SCMC as a venue has also adopted these for the presenting series concerts so that they do not change from concert to concert and provides the audience a consistent message (of) what is required to attend a concert.”
When asked about the response to SCMC’s requirements, Holbrook said, “While we know that there is no magic formula, we are finding that many people say this policy gave them a comfort level that it was a safe environment to come enjoy live music again.”
Grand Rapids Ballet, another West Michigan entertainment mainstay and modest-sized venue, has also returned to live, in-person performances while implementing COVID protocols in an effort to protect both patrons and performers.
A scene from a previous season work by the Grand Rapids Ballet. (GR Ballet)
“The health and safety of our staff, patrons, and community remain our highest priority,” Jessica Meldrum, marketing director for Grand Rapids Ballet, said. “To create the safest environment possible while attending our performances, we require individuals 12 years old and older to provide proof of fully vaccinated status OR a negative COVID test taken within 72 hours of performance. Unvaccinated guests 11 years of age and younger will not be required to provide negative test results. All guests are required to wear a mask covering their mouth and nose while attending performances.
“Our leaders continue monitoring the COVID environment and will update policies, if necessary, adhering to the appropriate procedures as required by local health departments,” she said.
A complete overview of GRB’s safety policies can be found online at grballet.com/safety/.
Larger venues have own policies
Some venues may not have vaccination or face mask requirements but enforce safety protocols and requirements set by the visiting organizations, artists and performers.
Hilarie Carpenter, director of marketing for ASM Global – Van Andel Arena and DeVos Place & DeVos Performance Hall, told WKTV that “some organizers may have requirements in place for their particular event.”
When asked about specific requirements of VanAndel Arena, DeVos Place & DeVos Performance Hall, Carpenter replied, “We are following all protocols as required by the government, public health officials and event organizers. At this time, venues do not have a COVID vaccination/testing or face mask requirement. … Face masks are strongly encouraged for those events that do not require them.”
Carpenter encourages guests to check the event pages for each venue frequently for information on upcoming events and updates as they occur.
Grand Rapids Symphony is one of those local organizations which play at DeVos Performance Hall.
A previous season concert by the Grand Rapids Symphony at the DeVos Performance Hall. (GR Symphony)
Director of Communications for Grand Rapids Symphony Holly Okonoski said, “We have followed the guidelines of the CDC, and health department recommendations. Also, the major users of DeVos Performance Hall came together to agree on a unified set of protocols for consistency and solidarity for our audiences.”
Okonoski said the protocols for each performance are the same across the board, offering consistency for patrons. A complete outline of GR Symphony’s health and safety protocols can be found at grsymphony.org/health-and-safety.
When asked Okonoski what she would like community members to know as they look to Grand Rapids Symphony for artistic entertainment, she said, “We care very much about the health and safety of our patrons, orchestra and staff, and have implemented these safety protocols to help keep live music available for everyone.”
The start of 2022 has the City of Wyoming seeing growth in both the manufacturing and residential fronts.
Padnos plans to expand into recycling of ocean-bound plastics. (pxhere.com)
Earlier this month, industrial recycling and scrap management company Padnos announced it would expand its operations in the City of Wyoming, creating up to 50 jobs. The company operates a plant at 500 44th St. SW, in Wyoming.
The project is expected to generate a total capital investment of $6.6 million. It i supported by a $250,000 Michigan Business Development Program performance-based grant, according to a press release from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, the state’s marketing arm and lead advocate for business development, job awareness and community development with focus on Michigan’s economy. Also supporting the project is The Right Place, which has offered staff time and resources for the project.
“Padnos is proud to further our investment in the community while increasing our process capabilities to meet market demands. We are seeing an increase in demand for recycled material and we are committed to working with our partners to get these materials back into new products and keeping them out of our landfills and oceans,” said Jonathan Padnos President and CEO Jonathan Padnos in a written release.
Padnos, founded in 1905 in the City of Holland, has been transforming scrap into reusable resources for more than 100 years. The company recycles metals, paper, plastics, and electronics and currently has more than 725 team members in facilities located in Michigan and Indiana.
The expansion at the Wyoming facility will focus on the company’s effort to increase its capabilities into recycling ocean-bound plastics. Padnos will add new loading docks, a laboratory, and a maintenance garage to the Wyoming facility. It will also invest in electrical and infrastructure upgrades.
The project will bring immediate jobs to residents in the area and cement the 100-year-old company’s presence in Michigan. Padnos is committed to work with underserved communities and provides training to individuals returning from incarceration, providing them with the skills needed to be successful in the workforce.
Orion Construction plans to complete The Reserve Flats project by the fall of this year. (supplied)
Construction continues in the City of Wyoming with The Granger Group announcing it has welcomed its first tenets to the multifamily development, The Reserve Flats.
Located on Wilson Avenue, half-mile north of M-6, the 138-unit community is being built by Grand Rapids-based contractor Orion Constriction and features 26 condo-style apartments ranging from three- to eight-unit buildings. Spread over 22 acres, the project is being constructed in three phases, the first phase delivering 15 units with two- and three-bedroom floor plans.
“Granger is focused on building strong, vibrant communities and The Reserve is another example of the level of quality we expect to deliver in the communities we invest in together,” said Jason Granger, who oversees strategic investment initiatives for Granger, in a written release.
While referencing Kent County’s 2021 study that projects a nearly 9,000-unit deficit to be filled by 2025, Granger said, “We set out to build a development that provides quality housing options for the City of Wyoming while also serving a greater Grand Rapids area that desperately needs additional housing now more than ever.”
Units at The Flats range from 1,400 to 1,700 square feet. Each unit has a two-car attached garage along with a dedicated driveway and a covered porch at the main entrance.
Orion Construction broke ground on the projects first phase in August 2021. The company has seven buildings and 32 units enclosed as they continue to work through the winter elements. The project is scheduled to be completed by fall of this year.
The City of Kentwood’s 62-B District Court announced this week that it has launched On the Road, a new program that encourages individuals with certain license-related charges to obtain a valid license, potentially avoid a criminal conviction, and helping the community have safer roads.
Launched in late 2021, On the Road eliminates hurdles for individuals who have been charged by the city with driving unlicensed or with a suspended, revoked or denied license. The program aims to help community members avoid the repeated suspensions that can result from license-related convictions and keep them from appearing on their permanent criminal record.
This helps drivers avoid Secretary of State penalties as well as the “barriers that criminal convictions can lead to in terms of employment eligibility, housing and education,” according to the announcement.
62-B District Court Judge Amanda Sterkenburg. (Supplied)
“Our goal is to create incentives for people in these situations to become licensed drivers, which will ultimately result in safer roads for our community,” 62-B District Court Judge Amanda Sterkenburg said in supplied material. “Often, we see defendants who are close to getting their license for the first time but are unable to overcome certain licensure hurdles or who are unaware their license is suspended because of an unpaid ticket. The additional charges put more distance between them and valid-license privileges.
“This program gives individuals the opportunity to conform their conduct to the law without a criminal conviction and streamline the process for them to become a licensed driver.”
State law was amended last year to create a presumption that these offenses should not be punished with jail time. Individuals are now frequently required to pay fines and complete community service, which can be difficult for individuals who do not have a driver’s license and another form of transportation.
(Michigan.gov)
Failing to complete the requirements can result in additional penalties including up to 93 days in jail, probation, fines of up to $500 plus court costs, and a misdemeanor conviction on their permanent criminal record.
With On the Road, eligible individuals can avoid this difficult situation and sanctions if they successfully complete the program.
The court’s judge will determine if a person is eligible for the program during arraignment. However, individuals whose driver’s license has been revoked due to drug or alcohol convictions, Friend of the Court, or immigration status may be ineligible.
If an individual does qualify, they must agree to accept responsibility for a civil infraction and pay a fine during a review hearing scheduled up to four months later. Leading up to the review hearing, a person must fulfill obligations to become a licensed driver. This may include paying all tickets, removing all suspensions from their Secretary of State record, paying all fees, completing a defensive driving course and passing their road or written driving test.
For more information about On the Road, visit kentwood.us/OTR or contact Court Administrator Michele White at 616-554-0715 or whitem@kentwood.us.
“Let’s get the lighter weights,” said Tami Groothuis to her exercise partner Ruth Veenstra.
Tami Groothuis went from being a Livestrong participant to a certified instructor. (WKTV)
The two disappear into another room for a couple of minutes returning with blue hand weights and from there Groothuis starts leading the two through some arm strengthening exercises.
The exercises are what you would expect from an exercise class, bicep curls and tricep extensions. Except this isn’t a regular exercise class, but one designed specifically for adult cancer survivors.
The Livestrong program, offered by the Y, is an evidence-based physical activity and well-being program. During the 12-week program, participants spend 75 minutes twice a week on cardiovascular conditioning, strength training, balance and flexibility exercises under the guidance of YMCA-certified instructors.
For Groothuis, the program became just what she needed to help overcome her cancer diagnosis.
“I feel as if certain doors are open at certain times,” Groothuis and it was certainly the case when it came to discovering the Livestrong program. It was eight years ago, when Groothuis received her first diagnosis of breast cancer.
“I had felt something in my breast and thought that just doesn’t feel right,” she said. A registered nurse, Groothuis decided to get the suspicious lumps checked out and her suspicions were confirmed, they were cancer.
Even with the diagnosis, things were looking good since the cancer had been caught early and could be removed, which it was. But even before starting treatment, Groothuis knew that the surgery and the treatments were going to have an impact on the very active Groothuis who use to run with friends before work, teach a cycling class and had even competed in a few triathlons.
A longtime Y member — “I have friends at about every location,” she said with a laugh — Groothuis happened to pick up a brochure about the Livestrong program. She knew she had found an answer in how to keep active.
Livestrong instructor Tami Groothuis leads participant Ruth Veenstra through some exercises. (WKTV)
“It really helped me as I was going through treatment, said Groothuis, who was one of a few people who could participate in the program during her treatment process. Most participants join after their radiation and chemotherapy have been completed. Medical clearance from a physician is required and participants also receive fitness and quality of life assessments before they begin the program.
“Being with other people who were going through what I was going through and having instructors who understood our realities added a whole new and beautiful dimension to group exercise,” she said.
Groothuis found the program so rewarding that she decided to become a certified Livestrong instructor, which she accomplished in 2020.
“Coaching is a way for me to give back to other people while feeling productive,” Groothuis said. “”It really has become a pay-it-forward.”
It also has been an anchor in helping Groothuis face her second cancer diagnosis in 2020.
“We spend time talking about what we are facing and often, I’ll say lets walk and talk,” she said. “We do the exercises, sharing our stories and knowing that we are not alone.”
Groothuis was only able to teach a few classes before the COVID pandemic shut down the Ys in 2020. As places reopened, including all the Y facilities, the Livestrong program has been re-started at all the Ys. Groothuis said she hopes others who are on the cancer journey will take advantage of the opportunity to lift weights, both mental and physical.
“I know I was afraid that I wouldn’t feel like doing anything after treatment,” Groothuis said. “It was thrilling to be able to engage with people while doing something to improve my health.”
To learn more about the Livestrong program, click here.
The West Michigan Aviation Academy boys basketball is not just a one-man — or one family — show, but the first two names on the roster are senior Joey Riebel and sophomore Luke Riebel, and the Aviators are led by first-year head coach (and father) Austin Riebel.
And as the Aviators have jumped out to a 6-3-1 (with the 1 being a cancelation/postponement), and 3-0 in Alliance League play, it is clear that the family and friends plan may well be working to perfection.
“Both of the boys” are starters and key players, Coach Riebel said to WKTV. “Luke is our leading scorer right now, averaging about 15 (points) a game right now. He’s got a gift and the gift is he can really shoot the ball.”
Joey, “my oldest, is our point guard. He plays a ton. He makes us go. … He is our third leading scores … averages six assists a game and only three turnovers a game, which is great for us.”
First-year head coach Austin Riebel and his Michigan Aviation Academy boys basketball at practice. (WKTV/K.D. Norris)
But the team is more than just the Riebel boys, and coach Riebel was quick to mention junior 6-foot-6 big man Ethan Dyksterhouse. He is the team’s second leading scorer, averaging about 14 per game with nine rebounds per game. “He has great size inside.”
Coach Riebel also pointed out another big man in the Aviators rotation, 6-7 senior Jonas Bont, as well as senior Zakaria Mohamed, two of the team’s senior captains.
“Zakaria is a great shooter,” he said. “And Jonas does a lot of the intangible things for us … he is a great offensive rebounder.”
The other varsity players on the squad are seniors Eliot McNutt, Gabe Wade and Karsten Kotchenruther; juniors Nolen Sperring Heath Tamlyn and Ian Brown; and sophomore Braeden Mowry.
Michigan Aviation Academy boys basketball team, with head coach Austin Riebel, at practice. (WKTV/K.D. Norris)
“They get along really well, we have a great group of guys,” coach Riebel said. “And we actually have a fourth senior captain, Hayden Leenheer. He kind of leads our reserve squad.”
Coach Riebel is assisted by coach Joey Saladino.
But there is not doubt that the Riebels are the heart of this seasons’ Aviators.
And while it is a great experience to coach his sons, coach Riebel says, it might not always be that way for for his sons/players.
“It is pretty special to coach, not one but two of my boys,” coach Riebel said, but “we talked about it ad nauseam even before I decided to do this. … There are definitely hard times, being the dad and the coach, but we worked thorough it.”
Coaching background
While coach Riebel is new to the West Michigan Aviation head coaching job, he is not new to the program or to coaching in West Michigan.
Michigan Aviation Academy boys basketball team, with head coach Austin Riebel, at practice. (WKTV/K.D. Norris)
He has 23 years of experience coaching high school basketball in West Michigan, including serving as assistant coach on the Aviators varsity team for the previous three years under Tyler Whitcomb, who left the program for an athletic director position.
The Aviators were 12-6 in the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season, which ended with a playoff lost at Grand Rapids Christian.
“I have three sons playing basketball and, with two of them here, that’s why I came here” as an assistant coach, Riebel said. And now, (taking the Aviation Academy head coaching job) “is what works for me. … it just made sense.”
Before coming to the Ford Airport school, Riebel coached at Godwin Heights high, where he taught for 17 years, and spent 10 years in various coaching positions at Forest Hills Central, where he played prep ball and graduated.
He attended Hope College, played a little basketball there, and earned a degree. Now, he is vice-president of TrueSuccess — which, according to its website, “provides research-based educational tools that simultaneously equip kids with behavior and literacy skills that are essential to unleash potential” — and is in his second year as director of the West Michigan Lakers, an AAU travel boys basketball team.
In the early morning hours of Jan. 25, the Wyoming Department of Public Safety responded to two fires, one Canal Avenue and one on 28th Street.
At approximately 2:30 a.m., both the department’s police and fire responded to the report of a house fire in the 5300 block of Canal Ave SW.
As Wyoming officers and firefighters arrived on scene, they observed the house was fully engulfed in flames. They determined that the residents were able to escape the house fire and confirmed there were no other persons in the residence. Wyoming Firefighters along with crews from Grandville Fire, Byron Center Fire, and Georgetown Fire battled the house fire for several hours, however, the residence suffered significant structural damage. The total value of the damage is unknown currently.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, however there does not appear to be any safety concern for the public. A male resident was transported to a local hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation, according to the department’s report.
At approximately 6 a.m. on Jan. 25, members from both the department’s police and fire as well as teams from the Grand Rapids Fire Department and Grandville Fire Department responded to a the report of fire at the Taco Bell located at 1819 28th St. SW, Wyoming. Taco Bell employees reported seeing smoke and flames coming from the rear of the restaurant as they arrived for work.
When the crews arrived, they noticed the fire had spread and the building was fully engulfed in flames. Crews on scene confirmed there were no persons in the building. The crews were able to extinguish the fire, however the building sustained substantial damage. Fire crews are still on the scene investigating and there were no reported injuries because of the fire. The total value of the damage is unknown currently, according to a report from the department.
If you’re a woman, who is divorced, in the process of divorcing, or is contemplating a divorce in the near future, understanding a few key things about the financial implications of a marital dissolution will go a long way toward helping you regain the confidence you need to take control of your wealth.
After a divorce, some women, especially those whose spouses were in charge of the household finances; find themselves in the confusing and uncomfortable position of having to learn personal finance from scratch. They now have no choice except to take responsibility for earning, saving, paying bills, and investing for retirement.
It’s unfortunate that many divorced women find themselves faced with some unpleasant and unanticipated realities in their post-marriage lives. For example, women often greatly underestimate the costs involved in the divorce process itself. The website Divorcestatistics.info puts the average cost of a divorce in America at around $15,000.
Beyond the legal costs, things such as lack of financial literacy, standard office expenses, the need to hire valuation and other financial experts, and even the emotional states of the divorcing couple can contribute to the high price tag a divorce usually carries.
Divorcing women face other nasty surprises
• Health insurance costs are often more than they envisioned. Usually, divorced women will have to pay their health insurance premiums, which can be staggering. Nationally, health insurance premiums have been increasing by an average of 5% every year, for the last six years. In some states, coverage for a single woman can be more than $1,000 per month! • They need to find a job as soon as they can. Economic necessity can mean that some divorced women will see they need to start working quickly. Those who were stay-at-home wives and mothers may not have had time to acquire new skill sets or update their existing skills, making it difficult to get hired or get better wages. • They could find themselves homeless. In a typical divorce, the family home can be the most valuable financial asset as well as a big bone of contention. If divorcing women do want to stay in the home because they have young children or due to an emotional attachment, they may have to fight to keep it. Fighting with an ex-spouse over the home is an expensive and time-consuming process that could quickly deplete any savings and create even more stress. • Alimony and/or child support is not what they thought it would be. For whatever reason, some divorced women overestimate how much money they feel their ex-spouse should pay in spousal or child support. The amounts arrived at during the divorce process may be much, much less than anticipated.
These and other unwelcome surprises in the aftermath of a divorce don’t have to spell disaster, though. With a little pro-active “divorce planning,” you can lessen the sting of the process and begin to regain control over your financial future.
Dave Stanley is the host of Safe Money Radio WOOD1300 AM, 106.9 FM and a Financial Advisor and Writer at Integrity Financial Service, LLC, Grandville, MI 49418, Telephone 616-719-1979 or Register for Dave’s FREE Newsletter at 888-998-3463 or click this link: Dave Stanley Newsletter – Annuity.comDave is a member of Syndicated Columnists, a national organization committed to a fully transparent approach to money management.
The City of Kentwood’s Glow in the Park event. (City of Kentwood)
Kentwood Parks and Recreation Department program coordinator Katelyn Bush and one of her Adaptive Recreation participants at 2021 The Vibe event. (WKTV/K.D. Norris)
Everybody bonds over food — at the Kentwood Farmers Market. (WKTV/K.D. Norris)
The finish line at the City of Kentwood’s Valentine’s Day Dash 5K in 2020. (City of Kentwood)
Dress up is encouraged at 2019’s Trunk or Treat in Kentwood. (Supplied)
The City of Kentwood announced Jan. 25 that it will ask residents in August to consider a permanent dedicated 1 mil millage that, if approved, would support the city’s parks, trails and recreational facilities and programming.
The millage would fund improvements to all trails and parks, as well as expand and enhance programming through increased capacity in space and staffing, according to the announcement. It also would fund the construction of a new multigenerational community recreation center and park amenities on the city campus, “transforming the area around City Hall into a community gathering space.
“Since celebrating Kentwood’s 50th anniversary in 2017, we’ve dedicated significant time and effort planning for the next 50 years of community growth through collaboration with our residents and other partners,” Mayor Stephen Kepley said in supplied material. “Available parks and recreation funding has not kept pace with increased residential demand, delaying repairs for the community today and significantly limiting future improvements.
“If approved, this millage would provide a permanent sustainable funding source to improve, operate and maintain parks, trails, and other amenities and services for generations to come.”
The proposed millage of 1 mill was recommended by parks advisory committees that included residents and other stakeholders, as well as extensive community engagement and an in-depth review of the city’s current parks, trails and programming, its projected growth and community needs.
The advisory committees also recommended the city contribute additional funds up to $22 million from other public and private sources to make the needed improvements.
The committees’ comprehensive plan was presented Dec. 7 to the City Commission, which unanimously approved the millage ballot proposal for the Aug. 2 voting day.
Kentwood has 15 parks that cover more than 400 acres and more than 13 miles of non-motorized trails that are used year-round by residents and visitors.
Numerous community events and more than 700 recreational programs are offered annually for people of all ages and abilities through the Parks and Recreation Department in the Kentwood Activities Center at 355 48th St. SE, on the City Campus, and at other locations.
Specific parks and recreation projects
According to the announcement, the proposed millage would support Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) upgrades and a variety of other improvements and developments, including (listed by location and projects planned):
Bowen Station Park — Restroom, playground equipment, signage, landscaping and other amenities.
Burgis Park — Trail and sidewalk improvements and a new drinking fountain.
City Campus — Splash pad, playground, plaza, shelters, stage, event lawn, parking, restrooms and other amenities.
Community recreation center — Approximately 50,000 square feet of year-round indoor and multigenerational programming and recreation space on the City Campus.
Covenant Park Phase 1 — Trails, sports fields, event lawn, lighting and infrastructure to support future phases.
East Paris Nature Park — Trail improvements, signage and other amenities.
Home Acres Park —Skate park improvements, shade shelters, lighting, signage, landscaping and other amenities.
Jaycee Park — New restroom/program building, additional parking, disc golf improvements and other amenities.
Kellogg Woods Park — Restrooms, softball/baseball field improvements, new sports fields, lighting and landscaping.
Northeast Park — Restrooms, playground, splash pad, landscaping and other amenities.
Old Farm Park — Parking improvements, playground, shelter and other amenities.
Paris Park — Trail improvements and signage.
Pinewood Park — Splash pad improvements, pickleball courts, a new restroom, shade shelters, landscaping and other amenities.
Rondo Street Station Park — Playground, bicycle rack and repair center, signage, landscaping and other amenities.
Stanaback Park —Playground, parking improvements, signage, pickleball courts, landscaping and other amenities.
Stauffer Station Park — Kiosk, bicycle rack and repair center, signage, lighting, landscaping and other amenities.
Summerwood Park — Playground and landscaping.
Trails — Repairs, replacement and new connections.
Veterans Memorial Park — Shelter, additional parking and other amenities.
“Our extensive community engagement and planning process has shown our community needs have grown beyond available funding,” Val Romeo, Kentwood Parks and Recreation director, said in supplied material. “This has been reaffirmed by increased use of our parks, trails and recreational offerings throughout the past two years.
“The Parks and Recreation Department has exhausted current general funds, including a parks millage that expired in 2013. We have been able to make improvements only through grant opportunities, which are becoming more and more difficult to acquire. New funding is critical to support our growing community needs.”
Details of timeline, millage
If approved, the millage would be levied starting July 1, 2023, with all parks set to receive improvements to address the most immediate needs within the first five years, with all remaining improvements completed within 10 years, according to the announcement.
Trail improvements and construction planning would be prioritized in the first year, followed by ongoing trail repairs and expansion to enhance the trails for all users.
Construction of the City Campus park amenities and community recreation center would begin in the second year.
As detailed in the city’s announcement, a mill is 1/1000 of a dollar, or .001 cents. If a tax rate or millage rate is 1 mill, a resident is taxed .001 cents for every dollar, or $1 per $1,000 of the taxable value of the property. For example, for a residential home with a taxable value of $100,000, the cost of 1 mill would be $100 per year.
WKTV Featured Game coverage of local Kentwood and Wyoming area high school basketball continues this week with one game Tuesday night, as the South Christian High boys host Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills, and a boys/girls doubleheader of action on Friday as Kelloggsville visits Godwin Heights.
The early week game Jan. 25 will find the Sailors (5-4 overall) looking to go over .500 in OK Conference Gold standings — both teams are 2-2 in early conference action, but the Bengals are 2-6-1 overall. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
The Friday night featured games are a backyard rivalry as Kelloggsville and Godwin Heights clash with the boys game set to start at 6 p.m. and the girls at 7:30 p.m.
In the boys game, the Rockets will enter the week with a 7-3 record, 4-1 in the OK Conference Silver, while the Wolverines enter 2-3, 1-2 in OK Silver (with the team having several canceled and postponed games shortening their schedule.)
On Tuesday, Godwin will be at Sparta (5-4, 2-3 OK), while Kelloggsville will be at home to face conference leader Grandville Calvin Christian (6-3, 5-0 OK).
In the girls game Friday, the host Wolverines begin the week at 4-5 and 1-4 OK, while the Rockets enter at 3-5 and 0-2 OK. On Tuesday, Godwin will be at home to face OK Silver leader Sparta (7-1, 3-0 OK), while Kelloggsville will be at Calvin Christian (3-6, 2-2).
A look around the Wyoming and Kentwood area courts
The East Kentwood girls team, after starting the season 0-6, have reeled off three straight wins including two last week, to push their OK Conference Red record to 3-1. After an early week game at home to Caledonia (5-6, 0-5) on Jan. 25, the Falcons will face state power Rockford (10-1, 4-1 OK) on Jan. 28.
The Wyoming boys team swept the OK Green Zeeland schools last week to push their record to 6-4, 3-2 in conference games. This week the Wolves will be at Grand Rapids Union (3-6-1 and 2-4 OK) on Jan 25 and then host Muskegon Mona Shores (5-6, 2-3 OK) on Jan. 28. Also, the Wyoming girls (4-7 overall) gained their first OK win last week, over Zeeland East.
The Grand Rapids South Christian girls won twice last week and enter the week 8-3 overall record and 4-1 in OK Gold games — with their only conference loss coming at league leader Grand Rapids Central Catholic (8-3, 5-0). The rematch with Central Catholic will be Feb. 9 on the Sailors’ home court.
The West Michigan Aviation Academy boys won twice last week to push their record 6-3 overall and 3-0 in Alliance League action. The Aviators have a huge league game this week for league leadership when Fruitport Calvary Christian (7-1, 1-0 Alliance) comes got the airport on Jan. 25.
WKTV coverage and schedule/scores
Complete local basketball schedules as well as up-to-date scores of previous night’s games are also available at wktvjournal.org/sports-schedules-scores. (You can also just just bookmark WKTVjournal.org on your phone or other device and click on the blue banner at the bottom of the screen.)
The tentative WKTV Feature Game schedule for February is as follows:
Wednesday, Feb. 2, boys hockey, Manistee at East Kentwood
Friday, Feb. 4, boys and girls basketball, Grand River prep at Potter’s House
Tuesday, Feb. 8, boys basketball, Holland at Wyoming
Friday, Feb. 11, boys hockey, Petoskey at East Kentwood
Friday, Feb. 18, boys and girls basketball, Zion Christian at Wyo. Lee (HOF night)
Tuesday, Feb. 22, boys basketball, Caledonia at East Kentwood
Friday, Feb. 25, boys and girls basketball, Tri-unity Christian at Potter’s House
WKTV featured games will on cable television in Wyoming and Kentwood on Comcast Channel 25 and AT&T Channel 99 Community Channel, rebroadcast on the night of the game and various days and times the week after. See the programming schedule at wktv.org. For more information on WKTV coverage of basketball and other winter prep sports, follow us at wktvjournal.org/sports.
All Featured Games, as well as other high school sports and community events covered by WKTV’s video coverage team, are available on-demand within a week of play at wktvlive.com.
Cross Creek eighth-grader Audrey Wieringa finished as a runner-up in the Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s State of the State art contest. (Photo Courtesy of National Heritage Academy)
Artistic talent runs strong in the Wieringa family, so when approached about the opportunity to enter a state-wide contest, Audrey was up for the challenge.
“My mom heard of the contest on the news,” Audrey said. “She suggested I should enter. I thought it would be fun to try something different.”
Wieringa’s mother, Nicole, is the K-8 art teacher at Cross Creek, and her father, Eric, is a full-time artist. She draws inspiration from both.
“It’s pretty cool (to have mom as an art teacher) but she can’t take all the credit, my dad is a professional fine artist,” Audrey said. “He teaches me a lot of techniques and advice on how to get better.”
The art contest challenged K-12 students across Michigan to come up with a creative design for the 2022 State of the State program cover following the theme “Why do you believe in Michigan?” Students were encouraged to be as creative as possible and were welcome to use crayons, markers, paint, or any other materials. Gov. Whitmer announced the results of the contest by video Jan. 18.
“Michigan is home to some of the most beautiful landscapes on earth, but it’s also home to some incredibly talented students who turned those backdrops into amazing works of art,” Gov. Whitmer said. “I want to thank every student who took the time to create these masterpieces and submit their interpretation of why they believe in Michigan. It’s inspiring to see the passion and potential in all of the gifted and creative students in this state.”
As the governor sorted through the top five selections, she stopped to praise Audrey’s work.
“Oh my gosh, this is so beautiful, it’s got to be in the Upper Peninsula, it’s just gorgeous,” she said. “This is really spectacular.”
Audrey said Pictured Rocks holds a special place in her heart.
“My family visited there for the first time two summers ago,” she said. “I found the landscape to be a spiritual and peaceful experience. It has a lot of different elements in one site and brings together several elements that you can draw.”
Seventh-grader Grace Murtha of Hemlock Middle School was selected as winner by the governor for her piece depicting multiple postcard-like images on a tree trunk-like background. Nearly 800 students submitted their artwork for the contest. The winning art piece will be featured on the 2022 State of the State program cover.
About Cross Creek Charter Academy Cross Creek Charter Academy, located in Byron Center, Mich., is part ofNational Heritage Academies (NHA), a charter school management company in Grand Rapids, Mich. with 98 tuition-free, public charter schools across nine states, serving more than 60,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade.
