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WKTV We the People Logo 2026

WKTV We the People: Get to know your local Kentwood and Wyoming candidates

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WKTV We the People Logo 2026
WKTV We the People Logo 2026


By Cris Greer
WKTV Managing Editor
greer@wktv.org

EDITOR’S NOTE: WKTV Community Media invited local candidates to create a video for the upcoming primary and/or general election in the following races that affect Kentwood and Wyoming voters: United States House of Representatives (3rd District), State Representative (80th District), State Representative (83rd District), State Senator (29th District), Wyoming Council Member (at Large), Wyoming Council Member (1st Ward) and Wyoming Mayor. WKTV understands that some candidates want to wait until after the primary to create a video for the general election.

All videos are 5-minutes or less, devoted to the candidate, and were not edited in any way by WKTV. Profile descriptions are provided by the candidate. Candidate videos are presented alphabetically. Participating candidate videos and profiles can be seen below:

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 3RD DISTRICT CANDIDATES

RYAN CUSHMAN – U.S. House of Representatives, 3rd District (R)

Occupation: Pharmacy Owner, Former Army National Guard Medic.

Why are you running for office? Our country needs younger patriots to step up and be involved and I have the abilities and resolve to make positive action a reality.

Two issues I am focused on: Affordability and getting every American healthcare. 

TERRI DEBOER – U.S. House of Representatives, 3rd District (R)

Occupation: Meteorologist, Wife, Mother, Grandmother, Author

Why are you running for office?

MY TOP PRIORITIES: COMMON-SENSE SOLUTIONS

1. COMMON SENSE: COST OF LIVING

Reckless federal spending and runaway inflation have priced everyday families out of the American Dream. I will fight to:

  • Rein in Wasteful Spending & Lower Taxes: Cut bloated federal spending and lower taxes on middle-class families so you can keep more of your hard-earned money.
  • Drive Down Energy Costs: Unleash domestic energy production to lower fuel, heating, and electric bills across the board.
  • Make Housing Affordable: Cut back government red tape that inflates construction costs, making homeownership attainable again for Michigan families.

2. COMMON SENSE: HEALTHCARE AND EDUCATION

Decisions about your family’s health and education belong in your hands—not with government bureaucrats or massive corporations. I will fight to:

  • Harness the Free Market in Healthcare: Stop the expansion of government control in medicine. I’ll push for free-market solutions, real competition, and deregulation—expanding patient choice, lowering costs, and keeping you in control of your medical decisions.
  • Empower Parents in Education: Put parents back in charge of their children’s education and ensure every child has access to a quality education, regardless of their zip code.

3. COMMON SENSE: SAFETY AND SECURITY

Keeping our communities and institutions safe comes first. I will fight to:

  • Secure Our Borders: Stop illegal immigration and repeal soft-on-crime policies so our laws protect law-abiding Michigan families—not criminals.
  • Protect Election Integrity: Restore trust in our democracy by securing our elections and requiring a valid photo ID to vote.

HILLARY SCHOLTEN – U.S. House of Representatives, 3rd District (D) Incumbent

Occupation: Representative of Michigan’s 3rd Congressional District

Why are you running for office? 

I’m running because I believe Michigan deserves leadership that puts people first. Throughout my career–as a social worker, a Department of Justice attorney, and a member of Congress–I’ve worked to help people navigate systems that too often feel out of reach. I know families are worried about rising costs, trust in government is low, and too many people feel left behind. I’m running to change that by bringing people together, solving problems, and making sure every Michigander has the opportunity to succeed.


Two issues you are focused on:

Two issues I’m focused on are lowering costs and restoring trust in government. Too many Michigan families are working hard but still feeling squeezed by the cost of health care, housing, and everyday necessities. That’s why I’ve worked to lower prescription drug costs, expand affordable housing opportunities, and support good-paying jobs across our state.


I’m also focused on strengthening confidence in our public institutions. People deserve a government that is transparent, accountable, and delivers results. That means being a good steward of taxpayer dollars, improving how the government serves people, and ensuring that public service remains focused on the public interest.


STATE SENATOR, 29TH DISTRICT CANDIDATES

IVAN DIAZ – State Senator, 29th District (D)

Occupation: Case Manager

Why are you running for office? I am running for office to finally help take the power of government out of the hands of billionaires and put it back into the hands of the people.

Two issues you are focused on: Raising wages and single-payer healthcare.


ABBIE GROFF-BLASZAK – State Senator, 29th District (D)

Occupation: Instructor, GRCC & City Commissioner, City of East Grand Rapids

Why are you running for office? I believe in better. I believe in better policy that creates better outcomes for people. I believe that better politics can weave the fabric of our community tighter rather than fraying our connection. I believe that we can build a Michigan that stands strong in protecting our people and our democracy while we nurture healthy and thriving communities; ensure an excellent public education for all children; supply adequate and affordable homes where folks want to live; and center the needs and rights of workers in our economy. We need leaders who reject dark money, corporate influence, and special-interests and center the needs and voices of their community. I’m running to represent the collective power and wisdom of this community and work tirelessly to deliver better outcomes through better politics.

Two issues you are focused on:  

  • I am committed to building an economy centered on the needs of workers and families, not corporations and their shareholders. That means working to guarantee a thriving wage for all work that allows individuals and families to cover basic needs and build a fulfilling and meaningful life. It means protecting and expanding the right to organize across all sectors. It means supporting small businesses as they create opportunity across our community. It also means establishing paid family leave and universal childcare because no person should have to choose between caring for family and building a career.
  • I will continue my life’s work in ensuring excellent public schools for every child in every neighborhood. Strong public schools are the foundation of a strong democracy. As an educator, I know that our schools cannot thrive when educators are underpaid, support staff are stretched thin, and students are learning in overcrowded classrooms. We must – for the first time in history –  properly fund public education. We must properly invest in teachers and paraprofessionals; provide the resources and support they need to serve all students; and ensure safe, supportive learning environments – including small class sizes – for every child. 

BRADY MIDDLETON – State Senator, 29th District (R)

Occupation: Business owner, entrepreneur, former criminal justice reformer and inventor. I co-founded Metas LLC, an award-winning innovative company recognized as one of Michigan’s 50 Companies to Watch, named “World’s Greatest Label Company” by Bloomberg’s World’s Greatest, and recipient of multiple Best Labels in the US awards from USA Today. I help operate Middleton Printing, a business that’s been thriving in Wyoming for 70 years.

Why are you running for office? I am running for Michigan State Senate District 29 to restore Michigan’s economy and make life more affordable for families, redeem our justice system because true justice doesn’t just punish, it makes people whole, and reconcile our political divide to craft the best common-sense solutions that benefit all Michiganders. I want to ensure our communities are safe and healthy and that people have access to and expanding opportunities to build productive and successful lives.


As a survivor of violent crime, pistol-whipped, carjacked, and kidnapped at gunpoint just two weeks after high school graduation, I know the devastating impact when systems fail victims and communities. Through faith and years of personally mentoring one of my young attackers to graduate high school, I learned that real justice combines accountability with redemption and restitution for victims. My earlier work in criminal justice reform, where I helped expose significant fraud and waste in victim assistance programs, showed me how a lack of transparency allows special interests to block better outcomes.


As a business owner and innovator who has created jobs and efficiencies through technology, I’ve seen how government bloat, fraud, and regulatory barriers drive up costs for families and stifle opportunity. Transparency is key: Michiganders deserve to know exactly why the establishment has failed them and what interests are preventing the best solutions from benefiting everyone.


I’m running to bridge divides, cut waste and abuse, promote innovation and job growth, support restorative approaches that prioritize victim healing and public safety, and expand real pathways in education, workforce training, and reentry so every person, regardless of background, has the chance to build a successful life. Together we can deliver results-focused policies that restore Michigan’s promise for all families.

Two issues you are focused on:

1. Restoring Michigan’s Economy, Ending the Affordability Crisis and Providing Real Lasting Relief to Families

I will grow good-paying jobs in manufacturing, technology, skilled trades, and small business by cutting red tape, reducing energy and healthcare costs, and championing innovation. Eliminating Michigan’s income tax will deliver real lasting relief to families while making our state more competitive to attract growing businesses. By eliminating government waste, fraud, and special-interest spending, we can lower the tax and regulatory burdens that inflate housing, groceries, energy, healthcare, and everyday expenses. Expanding access to skilled trades training will help people secure incredibly well-paying careers while also reducing the cost of building, directly helping solve the housing crisis. Expanding workforce training and education aligned with actual careers will give more Michiganders the tools to achieve financial stability and build successful lives.


2. Redeeming Our Justice System to Create Safer, Healthier Communities and Expanding Opportunities

If our streets and neighborhoods are not safe enough for kids to play in them, then we have failed to deliver safe communities, and change is required. I will drive that change. True justice doesn’t just punish, it makes people whole by holding offenders accountable, delivering meaningful restitution to victims, and providing clear paths to redemption and productive citizenship that reduce recidivism and future crime. Families and taxpayers also deserve justice in education. Michigan ranks 44th in reading comprehension, and nearly 40% of our 4th graders are on a path toward prison or a lifetime of welfare under the current system. The people in Lansing who crafted the laws governing our education process have failed our kids and our communities. Accountability for that failure, and real solutions that fix it, is essential so every child has the opportunity to succeed and every taxpayer gets results for their investment. I will demand transparency in justice and victim programs (building on my experience exposing major fraud), invest in proven prevention and reentry support, and back community-based approaches that keep neighborhoods safe while giving people, including those who have made mistakes, the opportunity to contribute and succeed. By focusing on results over rhetoric and working across divides for common-sense reforms, we can build healthier, safer communities where everyone has a real chance to thrive.



PHIL SKAGGS – State Senator, 29th District (D)

Occupation: State Representative, District 80

Why are you running for office?

I’m running for State Senate because have a heart for helping people. I was raised by my parents to live for others and be engaged in our community. Over the course of my life it has been my personal philosophy and North Star. I have proved over 14 years of public service – in the State House, County Commission and City Commission – that I can collaborate and develop teams that accomplish meaningful reforms to help people. I’m focused on building an economy that works for all of us and allows people to live their unique Michigan Dream: Healthcare for All, Free Childcare, Paid Family and Medical Leave, Pre-K for All and World-Class Schools, Affordable Housing, etc. It’s an extraordinarily difficult time in American history, and I believe metro Grand Rapids needs a Senator willing and able to meet the moment. We need a leader the community and state in a direction that defends American democracy, economic fairness and personal freedom. Also, I believe I can be the most effective Senator for this district.

Two issues you are focused on:

A Family-Centered Plan: Michigan should be a place where parents can trust their children are safe, well-educated, and able to find opportunity. That’s why I led the creation of Kent County’s “Ready by 5” early childhood initiative and expanded pre-k with Gov. Whitmer. Let’s continue to rebuild our k-12 schools, support teachers, create free childcare near where parents live and work, and pass paid family leave so we can care for a new child, an ill loved one, or our own health emergency. We need to stop the “brain drain” of our graduates and skilled workers heading out of state. My Make It In Michigan program will match student loan repayments for graduates if they live and work in Michigan, so we encourage our kids to stay here with us.

An Economy That Works For Everyone: For generations, we’ve been told that if we work hard and play by the rules, we’ll have a secure future. But it’s become clear to all of us that working people are falling further behind while the rich get richer. Trump’s corrupt government has rolled back support for vulnerable people to line the pockets of the ultra-wealthy. It’s unacceptable. It’s tearing our country apart. We need major structural reforms for people – healthcare for all, free daycare and pre-K, paid family leave, affordable housing, taxes on the super wealthy, stronger labor unions, livable wages, and more. I’m a proven progressive who gets results, and I will fight for change that makes your life better – I always have.


Defend Democracy: The Republicans working to line the pockets of their wealthy donors are also systematically attacking our democratic institutions. Their attack on the Voting Rights Act is meant to devastate Black and Brown civic participation in congress. Trump has abused the Constitution by unleashing ICE on cities and law-abiding immigrants, even killing US citizens exercising their right to protest. We have to fight back. In Michigan, we can take the lead to end voter suppression by passing the Michigan Voting Rights Act, implement my Amplify MI Voice plan to ensure the rich and powerful don’t have a stranglehold on our politics, support AG Nessel’s lawsuits against Trump, increase transparency, and rein in ICE. DC should abolish ICE.


WYOMING COUNCIL MEMBER AT LARGE CANDIDATES

ROB ARNOYS – Wyoming Council Member at Large

Occupation: Banking Leadership:  Senior Vice President Premier Services; Lake Michigan Credit Union

Why did I decide to run for the City Council seat?

  • As a lifelong resident of the City of Wyoming, I am passionate about the city and not only have knowledge of the history of Wyoming, but see the great potential it has to offer!  Wyoming has a rich history of vision and progress and it is going through some exciting and significant transition.
    • I am running for re-election as a City Council Member At Large.  Over the past four years, I have had the privilege to serve as your council member and we have made a lot of progress that I will be able to carry that momentum into a second term.  We have enhanced our public safety team and department with greater coverage, systems and equipment that delivers faster response times to keep us protected.  We have embarked on our plan to build a downtown presence, connect our trails, improve our roads, enhance our clean water plant, add a third transmission line for our water deliver, improved our IT infrastructure, hired our City Manager and Deputy City Manager and have activated the Site 36 property to now be a vibrant mix of business and community space.  Above all of this, we have engaged in doing efficiency studies to ensure that we are operating in the most fiscally responsible manner.
    • As a Wyoming Planning Commissioner for almost 12 years, I was involved in the discussion and strategy for the City Master Plan.  We have tremendous opportunity to develop and redevelop our key sectors of the city; develop a centralized downtown area, enhance 28th street, enhance Division, develop the remaining area in the panhandle, as well as many other areas.  
    • In addition, we need to stay on target with the city finances.  There is a need to explore ways to ensure financial sustainability for our operating budget, and in particular, public safety.  As a life long banker who has been involved in strategically managing sizable budgets, I am committed to add insight and guidance to this process.  I will operate with a mindset that we will run based on needs vs. wants to direct funding to those key services needed to run our City.  We will be open and transparent and accountable.  
    • Our City Council executive leadership team is going through change.  Our Mayor is retiring.   If re-elected, I will be able to sustain the momentum and leverage my experience & trust with the other council members, staff and my business experience to create positive action.  I will be able to contribute and drive meaningful change without the long learning curve.
    • I will continue to engage with residents to listen to their inputs, ideas, concerns and thoughts.  This will allow me to best serve based upon the needs of our residents.  My goal is to help our City by working together with residents, City staff and council members.  I have my ideas and inputs, but I will bring a collaborative approach to help guide us to the overall best solutions to create a long term, sustainable, vibrant city that we are all proud to live, work, play and shop.
    • I look forward to serving the City of Wyoming!  If you would like to learn more about me and my background, you can visit www.electrobarnoys.com

What key issues would I focus on if elected:

   If elected, the key priorities that I would want to focus on are:

  • Public safety – It is critical that we have a safe community.  I will stand with our public safety officers in providing them the resources needed to keep our community safe.
  • Fiscal responsibility – I have extensive experience in budgets and finance and will add a new perspective and will treat our finances as I would my own.  Your tax dollars will be treated with care and respect.
  • Planned development – Ensure we have a strong master plan that will put the right uses in the right areas, grow strong business and enhance quality of life.
  • Supporting an environment for small business to prosper

CASSIE KAWKA-VLAHOS – Wyoming Council Member at Large

Occupation: Insurance Compliance Specialist

Why are you running for office? I am running for Wyoming City Council At-Large because I believe local government functions best when residents feel informed, heard and connected to the decisions that impact their daily lives. My goal is to help our city government create that trust and connection. I believe residents deserve a representative who will reach out to them, listen, communicate openly and work collaboratively to resolve issues and improve our community.

Two issues you are focused on: Transparency and Communication

DANIEL RIVERA – Wyoming Council Member at Large

Occupation: Political Manager, States Project 

Why are you running for office?
I’m running for Wyoming City Council At-Large because I believe our city government should be efficient, accessible, and responsive to every resident. As someone born and raised in Wyoming, I want to give back to the community that invested in me and help build a stronger future for all families.

Two issues you are focused on:

Investing in strong neighborhoods through parks, local businesses, and community engagement.

Government efficiency and accountability.


STATE REPRESENTATIVE, 80TH DISTRICT CANDIDATES

LILY CHENG-SCHULTING – State Representative, 80th District (D)


Occupation:  Disability Rights Advocate, Founder of the Disability A-TEAM of West Michigan, and Community Organizer

Why are you running for office?

After mobilizing a grassroots movement and achieving meaningful, systemic change for almost all of the special education schools in Kent County, I decided to run for legislative office to create many real solutions and positive change for all people.


Since my family and I have experienced prejudice through the years, I want to make sure that noone faces discrimination because of the color of their skin, their race, their background, who they love or worship, or for any reason. 


Moreover, I am not just an immigrant and a woman of color, I am also a proven community organizer and human rights advocate for over a decade.  This combination makes me the worst nightmare of Trump, the oligarchy, fascism, and any racist attacks in our communities. 


In this race, I am also the authentic Progressive fighter for a multicultural, working class government. Of utmost importance in our Democracy is a government of, by, and of the people, including working families, diverse families, women, immigrants, and all who need a stronger voice amid our power structure.  Moreover, I am the only candidate for State Representative who Bernie Sanders and Abdul El-Sayed have ever endorsed in West Michigan. Although other candidates coop the term Progressive, I am the only candidate in my race who the Progressive Caucus of the Michigan Democratic Party has endorsed. 


Two issues you are focused on:

Two issues or bills, among many issues, which need help immediately and continuously, are bills for increasing the wages of direct care workers and increasing funding for public education and support services for students with disabilities and mental health challenges. 


Additionaly, I will dedicate my skills as a proven coalition builder and community organizer to listen and create many real solutions, including but not limited to:

·       And ensuring a higher quality of life and human dignity for everyone in HD80 and Michigan

·       Affordable Housing options

·       A living wage and higher wages

·       Abolishing ICE

·       DriveSafe Bills

·       Universal Healthcare for All or Single Payer Healthcare

·       Shutting Down Line 5

·       Preventing and protecting the public from Data Centers

·       Women’s Rights

·       LGBTQ Rights


KRISTEN FAUSON – State Representative, 80th District (D)

Occupation: President, Forest Hills Board of Education
Why are you running for office? I’ve never thought of myself as a politician, just someone who sees a need and steps up. For six years, that’s meant fighting MAGA extremists trying to ban books, attack LGBTQ+ kids, and dictate what our teachers can teach. That same fight has moved to Lansing and Washington, and I’m running because District 80 needs someone who’s already proven she knows how to win it.
Two issues you are focused on: Protecting our schools from political extremism, and expanding access to affordable childcare and paid family leave for working families.


KRIS PACHLA – State Representative, 80th District (D)

Occupation: Stay at home dad and Kent County Commissioner

Why are you running for office? I want Michigan to be a place where tomorrow is better than today, and people want to live, work, and play.

Two issues you are focused on: I’m focused on standing up for our communities and improving Everyday Economics for Michiganders, that is the cost of child-care, health care, utilities, transportation, and housing.

WYOMING COUNCIL MEMBER, 1ST WARD CANDIDATE

KYLE BRETHAUER – Wyoming Council Member, 1st Ward)

Occupation: IT Project Manager
Why are you running for office? I am passionate about helping people
Two issues you are focused on: Improving city services and managing city expenses. 

STATE REPRESENTATIVE, 83RD DISTRICT CANDIDATE

CINDY RAMIREZ – State Representative, 83rd District (R)





Local author Chavonne Mateen reveals heart behind fantasy novel set to be released Dec. 19

3-bottom, Books, Citizen Journalism, City of Kentwood, City of Wyoming, Entertainment, Going Local, Kent County, Local Faces, Upcoming Events, West Michigan, WKTV Journal Soundbites, , , , , , , ,
WKTV Managing Editor Deborah Reed went behind the scenes with author Chavonne Mateen and her debut novel, Shaylah Marston and the Rogue Roots, on WKTV Soundbites (Courtesy, WKTV)


By Deborah Reed

WKTV Managing Editor

deborah@wktv.org


(Courtesy Photo)

Local author Chavonne Mateen will be launching her debut fantasy novel, Shaylah Marston and the Rogue Roots, on Tuesday, Dec. 19.

Set in an urban magical realm, Mateen’s middle grade novel contains everything the author loves about the fantasy genre – and about life.

“I have always been a huge fan of fantasy fiction,” said Mateen, adding that the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling and the Children of Blood and Bone series by Tomi Adeyemi are among her favorite reads.

When not writing, Mateen fills her time as an HR Technologist for HRIS Streamline Consulting, is an Associate Integration Consultant for iCIMS, and is a self-professed serial entrepreneur.

Already living a life busy with the HR works she loves, this reporter couldn’t resist asking Mateen about the driving force behind her desire to pen a novel.

Living life to the fullest

“People go on journeys in life,” said Mateen. “One day I was writing down things I wanted to accomplish. Starting a business was one, finishing school was another, and writing a rap.

“The next one was to write a book. That’s how this was born.”

Mateen talked with WKTV Managing Editor Deborah Reed about what lies at the heart of her debut novel (Courtesy, WKTV)

Not only did Mateen decide to write a book, she decided to create something groundbreaking that was also relatable.

Mateen wanted to write what she deemed was missing in the fantasy genre – a series featuring a beautiful, strong and present family that sticks together.

“I decided that I wanted to write something that I could relate to,” said Mateen. “This is more in an urban setting, and it’s characters that I can relate to.”

Shaylah’s journey is one of self-discovery.

Suddenly inundated with nightly visions of her deceased grandfather, Shaylah begins asking her mother some hard questions. As long-kept family secrets are revealed, the young teen realizes that she also holds magical powers and abilities.

Mateen chats about Shaylah Marston merchandise and fan art (Courtesy, Deborah Reed WKTV)

“When they begin telling her these secrets, that’s when the story begins to unfold and the magic occurs,” said Mateen.

The young heroine embarks on a mission with her family and friends, intent on saving a distant world and restoring her family’s name.

With a diverse cast of characters and a relatable and inspiring protagonist, Shaylah Marston and the Rogue Roots weaves powerful themes of friendship, courage and self-discovery throughout its pages.

Deemed “an exhilarating coming-of-age extravaganza” and “unapologetic fantasy fiction at its finest” by beta readers, Mateen’s novel will transport readers to a world brimming with adventure.

Interested readers can visit Mateen’s website to pre-order a copy of the novel, sign up for notifications regarding Shaylah Marston events and news, and purchase Shaylah Marston merchandise.

But Mateen isn’t stopping there.

Big screen goals

Bringing Shaylah Marston to the big screen as a Netflix series is a goal Mateen is already working to set in motion.

“That’s the ultimate goal, to bring it to the big screen, bring it to life, and bring the awareness to Grand Rapids that we do have offerings and more creatives in this space,” said Mateen.

Expanding worlds, chasing dreams

Mateen is currently working on the second Shaylah Marston novel (Courtesy, Deborah Reed WKTV)

Mateen plans to expand Shaylah Marston’s world through writing, though she admits that the writing process is not always easy.

“I’ve experienced roadblocks, setbacks, tumbles and stumbles,” said Mateen.

But she doesn’t let that stop her, and she encourages others to push through those difficulties as well.

“Just continue to write,” said Mateen. “Pick up that pen. If you don’t have a pen, pick up your phone. Jot those ideas down. You can always revisit and expand on it, but you have to start somewhere and keep at it because it’s a work in progress.

“It’s not going to always be perfect. But continue pressing forward.”

To learn more about Shaylah Marston and the Rogue Roots, visit the Shaylah Marston website and Facebook page.

Kellen Russell-Dixon runs for 330 yards, Catholic Central clinches share of OK Gold

Citizen Journalism, City of Kentwood, City of Wyoming, Local Sports, Sports, , , , ,
GR Catholic Central clinched a share of the OK Gold with their win over South Christian. (WKTV/Jake Westbrook)



By Zach Fanko

WKTV Contributor

Host of Friday Night Highlights



On a rainy, windy night, OK Gold rivals Grand Rapids Catholic Central and South Christian collided with at least a share of the conference title on the line. The Cougars avenged last season’s 36-34 loss with a 21-12 victory over the Sailors Friday.



Catholic Central went ahead early on a Kellen Russell-Dixon 2-yard TD run with 8:17 left in the first quarter.



The Sailors returned the favor, as junior QB Carson Vis used his legs on a 34-yard TD scamper. The extra point was blocked as the Cougars clung to a 7-6 lead with 4:57 left in the 1st.



With weather playing a factor, both defenses dug in and held the offenses in check for the remainder of the half.



Russell-Dixon found paydirt once again, this time on a 59-yard run to increase Catholic Central’s lead to 14-6 at the 7:38 mark in the third quarter.



South Christian got back within two points as Vis found the end zone on the ground from a yard out. The ensuing two-point conversion attempt was stopped as the Sailors trailed 14-12 with 1:16 left in the third.



The Cougars all but iced the game on Russell-Dixon’s third TD run of the game with less than 8 minutes remaining to make it a two-possession game. The senior halfback had himself a night totaling 330 rushing yards on 32 carries and 3 TDs.



With the win, Catholic Central (7-1, 6-0 OK Gold) stays unbeaten in the conference and can clinch the outright conference title next week in their season finale at Ottawa Hills.



South Christian (6-2, 5-1 OK Gold) visits Wayland to close its regular season next Friday.

How to stay cool on these warm summer days

3-bottom, Citizen Journalism, City of Kentwood, City of Wyoming, , ,

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
WKTV Managing Editor
joanne@wktv.org

Looking to cool off from a very hot, hot, hot weekend? Well the splash pads for the cities of Wyoming and Kentwood. are open.

City of Wyoming

The City of Wyoming has four splash pads located at:

Gezon Park, 5651 Gezon Court

Jackson Park, 3235 Robin SW

Lamar Park, 2561 Porter

Oriole Park, 1380 42nd St.SW

Wyoming’s splash pads, which are free, run from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. everyday through Labor Day.

City of Kentwood

The City of Kentwood has two splash pads which are located at:

Pinewood Park, 1999 Wolfboro Dr. SE

Veterans Memorial Park, 355 48th St. SE

Kentwood’s splash pads, which are also free, are open from 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. everyday through Labor Day.

Other communities

Millennium Park’s beach and splash pad is open until the fourth Sunday in August. Both are open at 10 a.m. daily with the beach closing at 7 p.m. for early and late summer and 8 p.m. mid-summer and the splash pad closing at 6 p.m. early and late summer and 7 p.m. mid-summer. The is a fee, $4 adults, $3 seniors 63 and older, $2 children ages 3-15, and free children 2 & under. For more, click here.

The City of Grand Rapids has splash pads which are free, and pools, which has a fe, of youth $1 for GR residents and $3 for non-residents; and adults $3 for GR residents and $5 for non-residents. Punchcards and season passes are available. For more on Grand Rapids pools and splash pads, click here.

 

Caledonia opened its Community Green Park Splash Pad and Spray Park on Friday, June 2. The Caledonia Community Green Space is located 9309 Dobber Wenger Memorial Drive.

Two suspects charged in separate shooting incidences

3-bottom, City of Kentwood,

By WKTV Staff
joanne@wktv.org

(Courtesy, City of Kentwood)

Today, May 1, at 62B District Court, two suspects are arraigned for separate shooting incidences that took place in the City of Kentwood during the weekend.

Jerry Kidd Jr., 35, was arranged at the 62B District Court for the murder of Edgar Hernandez-Sandoval, 41. He was charged with open murder and felony firearms offense.

On April 29, Kidd Jr. and Hernandez-Sandoval were involved in an altercation outside a hotel building at Affordable Suites of America, 2701 E. Beltline Ave. Kidd Jr. allegedly shot Hernandez-Sandoval one time with a handgun. Kentwood officers arrived on the scene in the early morning hours of April 29 and with Kentwood Fire Department and LIFE EMS rendered aid to the Hernandez-Sandoval. He was produced dead at the scene.

Dimario Parker, 27, was arranged at the 62B District Court for the shooting of a 49-year-old Kentwood resident. Parker was charged with intent to murder, carrying a concealed weapon, and felony firearms offense.

On April 28, Parker and another male individual were involved in an altercation on the drive of Woodland Creek Apartments in Kentwood. Both person were known to each other. Parker fired several rounds from a handgun, striking the male victim. Kentwood Police units, along with units from the Grand Rapids Police Department, arrested Parker at a residence in Grand Rapids later the same day. The victim is still being treated at a local hospital.

Both Parker and Kidd Jr. currently are being held at the Kent County Correctional Facility pending further court proceedings.

Spotlight on Seniors Expo set for this month

3-bottom, City of Kentwood, Senior Living, Upcoming Events, , ,

By WKTV Staff
joanne@wktv.org

The City of Kentwood and Georgetown Seniors once again will be hosting the Spotlight on Seniors Expo, Tuesday, April 18.

The Spotlight on Seniors Expo returns to the Kentwood Activities Center April 18. (WKTV)

The 24th annual event, which will take place at the Kentwood Activities Center, 355 48th St. SE, is designed to connect the community with senior-focused resources. The free indoor event features more than 50 vendors from a variety of community businesses, free health screenings, door prizes, free lunch and more. 

“We’re fortunate to have many community resources focused on healthy living for all ages in and around Kentwood,” said Kentwood Recreation Program Coordinator Shelby Henshaw. “The Spotlight on Seniors Expo gives older adults and other community members an opportunity to come together to celebrate successful aging and learn more about available services.

 

“We’re grateful for our continued partnership with Georgetown Seniors on this community-favorite event, as well as our sponsors.”

Vendors represent a wide variety of industries, with professionals knowledgeable in everything from physical therapy and hearing services to recreational opportunities and retirement planning.

“Active, connected lifestyles are key for our seniors to lead happy, healthy lives,” said Pam Haverdink, director of the Georgetown Senior Center. “We are pleased to partner with Kentwood Seniors once again to host this successful event and are grateful to the vendors who help make it happen.”

The gold sponsors of the 24th annual Spotlight on Seniors Expo are HAP, Humana, Tim Hortons, The Oaks at Byron Center and We Care 4 U, LLC. United Healthcare is a silver sponsor.

Vendor space is available. Vendors interested in participating can fill out a vendor registration form online or contact Shelby Henshaw at 616-656-5323 or henshaws@kentwood.us.

Additional event information can be found at kentwood.us/SpotlightOnSeniors.

‘Terence,’ the Red Storm Robot gets rolling March 31

3-bottom, Citizen Journalism, City of Kentwood, Kids Activities, Upcoming Events, , ,
Red Storm Robotics includes 40 East Kentwood High School students, four coaches and four mentors. (Courtesy, Red Storm Robotics)

By Trot Best
Red Storm Robotics

Terence, the Red Storm Robotics FRC Robot, is rolling into Kentwood’s home tournament on March 31 and April 1 to take on 37 other FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Teams’ robots for a chance to advance to the state tournament. In this Charged UpSM competition, the Red Storm Robotics team reimagines the future of sustainable energy and powers its ideas forward to victory.

Hosts: KPS Red Storm Robotics, FRC Team #3875

Where: East Kentwood High School, 

When: March 31 and April 1, 2023 

Teams & More: https://firstinmichigan.us/FRC/miken/

Terence, the Red Storm Robotics’ robot. (Courtesy, Red Storm Robotics)

This is a free event for everyone starting at 10:30 am on Friday, March 31. WKTV Community television crews will be at East Kentwood both days providing television coverage of the FIRST Robotics competition. WKTV’s coverage will be available for broadcast on WKTV and streamed via WKTV’s on demand service in the month of April.

The public is encouraged to attend and cheer our Red Storm Robotics team, or their favorite local team, as they demonstrate “gracious professionalism” through their application of mechanical engineering, computer-aided design, electrical engineering, programming, systems integration, website building, animation, and fabrication/machining skills. Red Storm Robotics’ Terence utilizes autonomous and driver-assisted modes, optical sensors to help guide it to targets, an elevator arm with a mechanical cone-grabbing claw, and gyroscope-assisted balancing to help it perform in this year’s 2022-2023 competition. The KPS FRC Team #3875 is made up of approximately 40 high school students, four coaches, and four mentors from the Kentwood Public Schools and nearby communities.

Project-based, hands-on FIRST® programs introduce students to engineering and coding in an engaging, inclusive, and creative after-school environment where students work collaboratively to solve an annual robotics challenge centered around a yearly theme. Boosted by a million-strong global community of students, mentors, educators, volunteers, sponsors, and alumni in over 100 countries.

Two Kentwood teams bring home top honors

3-bottom, City of Kentwood, Kentwood Public Schools, ,

By WKTV Staff
joanne@wktv.org

Members of the K Falcon Obyssey of the Mind team (Courtesy, Kentwood Public Schools)

Two teams from Kentwood Public Schools earned top honors n March.



The EK Falcon Odyssey of the Mind team received a first place at the State Finals on March 18 and are headed to the World Competition in May at Michigan State University.



The team is made up of sophomores Brooklynn Bueche, Alexia Dault, Ko Montalvo, Avery Ringstrom, Abrielle Woodard and freshman Julia Woodard. The team is coached by Kristina Ringstrom.

Last week, several members of the Falcon News Network traveled to Lansing for the Great Lakes Media Show & Michigan Association of Broadcasters Awards Ceremony. The FNN team took first place in the Sports PSA Category for the school’s sportsmanship submission. This was the teams first year entering the MAB Awards.

Falcon News Network team members with State Rep. Phil Skaggs (second from right) (Courtesy, Kentwood Public Schools)

Following the day-long event, the team was treated to a private tour of the House Chamber at the Capitol Building by State Rep. Phil Skaggs.

The team included Zy’Aire Davis, Jaiysa Sepulveda, Jason Yosifovski, Kerim Suleman, Yanissa Ambrose, and Diego Saldivar.

To follow the EK news, visit Instagram, Twitter, and subscribing to our YouTube Channel.

Red Storm Robotics poised for success after qualifying tournament in St. Joseph

3-bottom, Citizen Journalism, City of Kentwood,
For the first time, Red Storm Robotics earned the Engineering Inspiration Award at the St. Joseph competition. (Courtesy, Red Storm Robotics)
Terence, the team’s robot, performed admirably. (Courtesy, Red Storm Robotics)

By Troy Best
Red Strom Robotics

Red Storm Robotics FRC had a great opening tournament at the St. Joseph district competition on Friday and Saturday, March 9-10.

 

Red Storm finished the qualifier matches ranked 13 out of 39 teams and ended up the 8th Team Alliance Captain in the finals. Our finals alliance with the Woodhaven and Vicksburg teams did not make it beyond our two playoff matches, but our competition robot, “Terence” performed admirably with repeated successes in the autonomous portion of the competition, and the team is energized to improve Terence’s capabilities for the next competition in Battle Creek Lakeview starting Sunday, March 26.

Robotics competitions are more than robots on the challenge field as demonstrated by our team members who decorated and supplied our pit booth, readied the robot, cheered on all the teams, and prepared and presented to the competition judges for other awards.

Red Storm walked away with an award they have not won before, the Engineering Inspiration award. This is the second-highest team award, just shy of the ultimate judge’s award, the Impact Award. We are so proud to be recognized for our work in building a competition-ready robot and for bringing engineering and STEM to the community.

Our robot performed well, our judged presentations won an award, and our Red Storm marketing team had a great weekend passing out cards and buttons, leading cheers, and documenting our performance. A great start to our competition season and surely a sign of great things to come.

You can see more of the final event details here: https://firstinmichigan.us/FRC/misjo/

For information on the March 26 Battle Creek Lakeview tournament, visit https://frc-events.firstinspires.org/2023/MILA2.

The Red Storm Robotics will be hosting the Kentwood District tournament March 31 and April 1. For more information about the home tournament, visit https://firstinmichigan.us/FRC/miken/.

The 2023 Red Storm Robotics Team (Courtesy, Red Storm Robotics)

Kentwood schools seek volunteers for tutoring program

3-bottom, Citizen Journalism, Kentwood Public Schools, ,

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
WKTV Managing Editor
joanne@wktv.org

The high dose tutoring program is currently a pilot at the district’s Townline Elementary School. (Courtesy, Townline Elementary)

Following the proverb that “It takes a village to raise a child,” the Kentwood Public Schools has reached out to the community seeking volunteers for its new high dosage tutoring program.

Superintendent Kevin Polsten in a communication to families and the community stated the district has designed plans to support a comprehensive student recovery program due to the impacts of COVID and the school shutdowns. Through that, the district has sought out evidenced-based practices from research and best practices from the field.

 

“Our strategy for academic recovery has been multifaceted and in addition to sound core instruction has included a robust K-12 summer school, after school learning, instructional coaching and high quality professional learning for educators, parent engagement, and tiers of intervention for students,” Polston said in a statement.

As part of that plan, the district recently added high dosage tutoring to its approach in partnership with the Michigan Education Corps. High dosage tutoring is usual a one-to-one or one-to-two mentor-student ratio.

Expanding program

The program is a pilot at Townline Elementary School with district officials hoping to scale the strategy across the district.

“Partnerships are key to our success at Kentwood Public Schools and we have been fortunate to have so many long standing partners across sectors of our community,” Polsten stated, adding that the district is seeking assistance from business, non-profits and individuals interested in volunteering to help expand the tutoring program.

Tutor volunteers are asked to serve at least three hours a week at a consistent time. It could be three hours in one day or broken up across multiple days. Volunteers must attend training on academic strategies and pass a background check.

Volunteers could be college students, retirees, individuals from businesses or non-profits participating in a corporate social responsibility program.

Those who are interested in participating, or simply want to learn more, should contact Jason Lawson, executive director of elementary education at Jason.Lawson@kentwoodps.org.

Update: Police investigating incidents at two local hotels

3-bottom, Citizen Journalism, City of Kentwood, City of Wyoming, , ,

By WKTV Staff
joanne@wktv.org

Local police are investigating two Saturday incidents at separate hotels, one in Wyoming and the other in Kentwood.

Fight at Hampton Inn

UPDATE: The Wyoming Department of Public Safety Investigative continues to investigate this incident. the facts of this case were presented to the Kent County Prosecutor’s Office. After reviewing thefts of the incident, the Kent County Prosecutor’s Office issued a warrant for Austin Custsinger of Tennessee on the charge of Involuntary Manslaughter. Chutsinger was arraigned at the Wyoming 62A District Court on March 7.

The deceased individual involved in this incident has been identified as 35-year-old Joshua Willow of Pennsylvania.

Detectives have confirmed tight physical altercation occurred between Curtsinger and Willow. During this physical altercation, Willow sustained injuries that provide to be fatal.

Wyoming police officers responded to a fight in progress involving multiple individuals at 12:20 p.m Saturday, March 4.

According to the police report, when officers arrive, they located an unresponsive male in the parking lot. Despite lifesaving efforts, the male was pronounced deceased at the scene. The initial investigation indicates that the deceased became unresponsive during the course of the physical altercation. Other individuals involved in this incident were identified and interviewed by investigators. The circumstances surrounding this incident remain under investigation.

The deceased is a 35-year-old male from out of state. His name has not been released.

Detectives are continuing to investigate this incident. The police report stated that although it is early in the investigation, it is believed all individuals involved in this incident have been located and there is no threat to the public.

Shooting at Delta Hotel

(Courtesy, City of Kentwood)

UPDATE: The Kentwood Police Department has released the identify of the individual of the shooting death as Jaquarrie Garrett, 22, from Georgia. The medical examiner has ruled his death a homicide with the cause being multiple gunshot wounds. Investigators are still actively working this case. No further information is being released at this time.

The Kentwood Police Department is investigating a shooting that resulted in a homicide.

Officers responded to a call about a shooting at the Delta Hotel, 3333 28th St. SE, Saturday, March 4. Officers located at 22-year-old male that despite Kentwood Police officers and Fire Department personal attempted first-aid along with EMS, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The incident is currently being investigated with the police report stating that the Kentwood Police Department does not believe there to be any immediate threat to the public at this time.

Community Action Statement

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact the respective police departments. Wyoming Police may be reached at 616-530-7300. The Kentwood Police Department Detective Bureau may be reached at 616-656-6604.

Anonymous tips can be submitted through Silent Observer at 616-774-2345 or SilentObserver.org

More than 200 attend inaugural adaptive rec expo

3-bottom, Citizen Journalism, City of Kentwood,
  • Residents explore adaptive services. (WKTV/Nathan Slauer)
  • About 25 different vendors were at the expo. (WKTV/Nathan Slauer)
  • The event was about making connections.
  • More than 200 participants attended the expo. (WKTV/Nathan Slauer)
  • A family explores options at Mary Free Bed.

By Nathan Slauer
WKTV Contributor

The Kentwood Parks and Recreation Department highlighted recreational opportunities during its inaugural Adaptive Recreation Expo on Thursday, Jan. 26. The community event featured 25 vendors and attracted more than 200 guests.

During the expo, local businesses and agencies spoke with attendees about adaptive services available for people of all abilities. Information booths provided information about sports ranging from hunting to karate.

City of Kentwood employees enjoyed opening the Kentwood Activities Center up to the public and creating an environment focused on learning and collaboration, said Ann Przybysz, recreation program coordinator for the Kentwood Parks and Recreation Department.

“We’re highlighting Kentwood’s programs, but also our community partners,” Przybysz said. “This is a one stop shop for people to get involved. We have the space, and we want to be a jumping off point.”

The Adaptive Recreation Expo took place as part of an ongoing effort to promote healthy living in Kentwood. For more than two decades, the City of Kentwood has offered adaptive recreation programming to the public.

Young people ages 12 and up are the primary audience of the adaptive recreation program, although there are special events geared toward adults. Participants with physical, cognitive, and sensory disabilities can each find something to enjoy.

Dance, rock-climbing, and bowling rank among the adaptive recreation program’s most popular activities. Each week, the Leisure Club provides social activities such as cooking and arts & crafts.

During the summer, participants have the opportunity to get outdoors and enjoy the sunshine. Kayaks are available for use, and many individuals leave their wheelchairs on the shore and paddle out onto the water.

For Przybysz, it is empowering to see people with disabilities challenging themselves and trying new things. Although many cities currently do not provide adaptive recreation programs, Przybysz said she believes it is possible to build a culture of physical activity for people of all abilities by establishing effective partnerships.

“See who you can partner with,” Przybysz said. “Are there organizations already serving disabilities? Support people who are already doing good work. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel.”

Those who missed this year’s Adaptive Recreation Expo can still find ways to get involved. Volunteers are needed for the Valentine’s Day Dance on Feb. 9.

For more information about the City of Kentwood’s adaptive recreation opportunities, visit kentwood.us/adaptive.

Kentwood police investigating Jan. 13 shooting

3-bottom, Citizen Journalism, City of Kentwood, Hard News, , ,

By WKTV Staff

Photo courtesy, City of Kentwood

The Kentwood Police is asking anyone with information on a Jan. 13 shooting in the 4600 block of Breton Avenue to contact the department or Silent Observer.

The Kentwood Police was dispatched to an apartment in the 4600 block of Breton Avenue for a subject who had been shot in the leg. Officers arrived on the scene and provided medical treatment for the victim along with the Kentwood Fire Department. The victim was transported to the hospital and the injury is not believed to be life threatening. The suspect is known to the victim and is not in custody.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact the Kentwood Police Department Detective Bureau at 616-656-6604. Anonymous tips can be submitted through Silent Observer at 616-771-2345 or online at SilentObserver.org.

Through the storm, plows will be working to keep streets clear

3-bottom, Citizen Journalism, City of Kentwood, City of Wyoming, , ,

Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
WKTV Managing Editor
joanne@wktv.org

The City of Wyoming snowplow team works to make sure streets are cleared within a 24-hour period after a snow event. It is the same for the City of Kenwood. (City of Wyoming)

As the blizzard of 2022 makes it way across the midwest, both the cities of Wyoming and Kentwood are making preparations and gearing up to plow the roads.

Both the cities have issued blizzard alerts on their respective Facebook pages. Residents are encouraged to prep their vehicles with emergency items in case they get stranded. 

In the case of a power outage, contact Consumers Energy at 800-477-5050 or visit ConsumersEnergy.com for outage updates. For emergencies, such as a downed power line or tree blocking a roadway, call 911.

Snowplow vehicles will be out over the weekend. During a storm in both cities, crews work around-the-clock with trucks on the road 24-hours a day. Crews from both cities try to make sure that all roads are cleared within 24 hours after the snow event has ended. Both the City of Kentwood and the City of Wyoming prioritize plowing from highest-volume streets to lowest-volume streets.

City of Kentwood

Major streets, such as 44th Street, 52nd Street, Kalamazoo Avenue and Eastern Avenue are plowed first.

Collector streets, which are many of the main streets of the subdivisions, are plowed next. Some examples of collector streets are Baileys Grove Drive, Stauffer Avenue and Gentian Avenue.

Once the collection streets are clear and safe, local streets, which are streets within subdivisions, are plowed next.

Cul-de-sacs/stub streets are plowed last with smaller trucks. For the cul-de-sacs, the snow is placed in areas that are suitable for snow storage, so it is recommended that all items in the a cul-de-sac, such as soccer goals and portable basketball hoops, be removed.

If a resident needs to report a snow removal issue, visit kentwood.us/psr. For more information on winter maintenance and resources, including snow removal efforts, street parking rules and tips for avoiding frozen water pipes and meters, visit kentwood.us/WinterMaintenance.

City of Wyoming

The City of Wyoming has about 250 miles or 600 lane-miles of streets.

The city’s first priority are the major streets, such as 28th Street, 44th Street, Burlingame Avenue, Byron Center Avenue and Clyde Park Avenue, which carry the most traffic and have the highest speed limits.

Second is the collector streets, which disperse throughout the residential neighbors. The goal is that residents are within a reasonable distance from either a first or secondary priority street that is plowed.

The last to be plowed is the culs-de-sac and the remaining residential streets. The streets are plowed when the snow depth reaches four inches, either from a storm event or snow accumulation.

For snow removal concerns and other related issues, visit the All About Snow section on the Public Works page at wyomingmi.gov. 

Clearing of Sidewalks

In the City of Kentwood, it is the property owners responsible for clearing two or more inches of snow, ice and other obstructions from sidewalks in front of their homes and businesses. The City of Kentwood does plow some of its sidewalks. For a map of those sidewalks, click here.

In the City of Wyoming, sidewalks are plowed by a third party contractor at night when there is two or more inches of new snow accumulation. Residents are asked to keep the sidewalks free of obstructions such as garbage cans and parked vehicles.

Fire Hydrant Maintenance

In both cities, it is the resident’s responsibility to keep the fire hydrant clear if it is located on your property. Residents should clear a path from the street to the fire hydrant and three feet around the hydrant.

Parking Rules

Both cities have winter parking rules.

In the City of Wyoming, it is odd-even parking. If the day is an even number, 2, 4, 6, 8, then residents may park on the side of the street with even number addresses. If it is an odd number day, 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, then park on the side with odd number addresses.

Wyoming residents are encouraged to move their vehicles between 7 p.m. and midnight (12 a.m.) to assure that plows can get down and clean both sides of the street.

In the City of Kentwood, parking is not allowed on any public street between 1 and 8 a.m. and when street parking could make it difficult or prevent snow removal. 

Carson Vis scores 28 to lead South Christian past Wyoming

Citizen Journalism, Sports, West Michigan, , ,
The Sailors emerged with a 78-60 win Tuesday night. (Courtesy, Ty Marzean)

By Zach Fanko

WKTV Contributor

Less than a month after winning a D-4 state championship in football, South Christian sophomore Carson Vis is doing his part to lead the Sailors on the hardwood.

Vis poured in 28 points to lead South Christian (2-2) to a 78-60 non-conference victory over Wyoming on Tuesday.

“Hit some tough threes early and he has great skill around the basket,” Sailors coach Taylor Johnson said. “He does a great job of getting to the rim.”

Carson Vis scored a game-high 28 points to lead the Sailors over Wyoming. (Courtesy, Eric Walstra)

The Sailors led by just two points after a quarter, but a 26-10 run in the second quarter extended their lead to 43-25 at the break.

The Wolves fought back, getting to within eight points in the fourth quarter, but South Christian was able to break the Wyoming press for some easy buckets to push its lead back to double-digits.







“I think the difference in the game was that they were just more physical than us,” Wyoming Coach Thom VanderKlay said. “It was an up and down game and they were able to finish their buckets.”

Seniors Alyjah Chandler and Quinton Williams led the way for the Wolves with 16 and 15 points, respectively. Sophomore Avonte’ Wiggins added 15 points.

Other high-scorers for the Sailors were Sam Weiss with 15 points and 6-foot-6 Sam Mendendorp with 12 points, who had two alley-oop dunks during South Christian’s run in the fourth quarter.

“They kept pressing us and we just kept trying to get the ball to the middle,” Johnson said. “Proud of the guys fight and we did what we needed to get the win tonight.”

The Sailors are on the road again this Friday for a rivalry game against Hudsonville Unity-Christian, while Wyoming (0-2) travels to Jenison.

Bazuin’s 18 points lifts West Michigan Aviation Academy girls to 48-27 win over Kelloggsville

Citizen Journalism, City of Wyoming, Sports, West Michigan, , , , ,
West Michigan Aviation Academy ran away from Kelloggsville for its second straight win on the season.(pxhere.com)

By Zach Fanko

WKTV Contributor

West Michigan Aviation got off to a hot start in Kelloggsville and cruised to a 48-27 victory over the Rockets on Tuesday.

The dynamic duo of forward Ava Bazuin and guard Audrey Mileski led the way for the Aviators (2-3), as Bazuin led all scorers with 18 points and eight boards.

“She (Bazuin) was a rebounding machine tonight,” WMAA coach Tim Evans said. “It seemed like she was grabbing every board close to the rim and she really did a good job of rim-running.”

Mileski stuffed the stat sheet and recorded a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds, as well as four assists and five steals. The do-it-all point guard did most of her damage from the free throw line, going 10 for 13 from the charity stripe.

“I thought Audrey did a great job in spreading the ball around,” Evans said. “Tonight was really the most complete game we’ve played and she executed our offense well.”

With it being the opening game for a young Kelloggsville (0-1) team featuring a lot of first-year varsity players, Rockets coach Bilal Muhammad thought his team came out a bit slow.

“We had some first game jitters,” Muhammad said. “Just of a matter of adjusting to the speed of the varsity game for some of our players.”

WMAA will carry some momentum, after winning two straight games, into its next game at Muskegon Western Michigan Christian on Friday.

Kelloggsville looks to its next matchup with Wyoming on Dec. 20.

Chamber hosts annual Santa Parade Saturday

3-bottom, City of Wyoming, Community Health, , ,

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
WKTV Managing Editor
joanne@wktv.org

Santa riding into town at the 2019 Wyoming-Kentwood Chamber of Commerce Santa Parade. (WKTV)

Santa is coming to town this Saturday for the Wyoming Kentwood Chamber of Commerce’s 16th Annual Santa Parade.

The parade kicks off at 10 a.m. starting near Division Avenue and 32nd Street and heads south, ending just before 44th Street.

“This is one of my favorite projects,“ said Bob O’Callaghan, former president of the Wyoming Kentwood Chamber and committee chair for this year’s Santa Parade. “Celebrating our businesses along Division Avenue is a great way to provide holiday cheer for the businesses and for the community. Our sponsors want to give back to the community and this is a perfect way to do that.“


This year’s sponsors are 105.3 HOT FM, 97 WLAV-FM, Arrowaste Inc., Brann’s Sizzling Steaks and Sports Grille, Car City, Catherine’s Health Services, Consumers Energy, Diversified Protection and Investigations, Godwin Hardware & Plumbing, Hobart Sales & Service, Kellogg Community Credit Union, Marge’s Donut Den, Rivertown Credit Union, Stassen Electric, Steelcase, Supermercado Mexico, VanDyke Mortgage, WKTV, Wyoming Moose Lodge, YoChef Catering & Cafe, and Honor Credit Union.

WKTV will also be on-hand as well to record the festivities with cable television re-broadcasts scheduled for Saturday at around 12:30 p.m. (immediately after basketball programming) and again at 7:30 p.m. Check wktv.org for other air times.

“To see the looks on the children’s faces is a wonderful experience which is why I have been on the planning committee for years with the Chamber,” said Mike Zomerlei of Diversified Protection and Investigation Services. “With more than 50 participants it takes a great deal of logistical planning  and a lot of hours but it’s worth it!.”

This year’s parade will include marching bands from four local high schools, Wyoming, Godwin Heights, Kelloggsville, and Grand Rapids. There also will be several local officials such as Mayor Stephen Kepley as well as police officers and fire fighters from both the cities of Kentwood and Wyoming. The grand marshal is Jackie Green, former 2021 Mrs. American and co-host for 105.3 HOT FM.

Of course this is all in celebration of the arrival of the most famous elf in the world: Santa Claus.

WKTV featured community events appear on cable television in Wyoming and Kentwood on Comcast Channel 25 and AT&T Channel 99 Community Channel. See the programming schedule at wktv.org. Community events covered by WKTV’s video coverage team are available on-demand within a week at wktvlive.com.

Kentwood students take top honors at political debate competition

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By WKTV Staff
joanne@wktv.org

The East Kentwood team that competed in the We the People District Finals last week. (Courtesy, Kentwood Public Schools)

East Kentwood’s American Political Thought students brought home top honors from the We the People District Finals which were hosted at Kent ISD last week.

The school’s team, which includes 21 seniors, finished second overall with several groups within the team also receiving first and second place awards.

Lucy Fornetti, Mary Johnakech, and Owen Lawrence received first place for their analysis of the American version of the rule of law and international perceptions of the system.

 

Taking second place were Bianca Bancifra, Maggie Fisher, Keaton Nguyen, and Sarah Chapin for their explanations of the philosophical underpinnings of American constitutionalism. Also taking second place are Andrew Dame, Rebecca Moore and Mike Nguyen for their understanding of the evolution of Congress’ powers and limitations on them.

To prepare, the East Kentwood team accumulated 55 hours of practice time with coaches outside of the school day in addition to time spent preparing for those sessions on their own. Coaches volunteered their time to help prepare the team for the variety of aspects of the competition — which includes presentation and public speaking skills along with an incredible depth of knowledge in constitutional law, philosophy, politics, American history and current events.

The team is currently working on new content in preparation for Jan. 6 when they will travel to Michigan State University’s College of Law for the State Finals. The first place team at the State Finals will earn an invitation to represent the state of Michigan in the National Finals in late April. For the 2021-2022 school year, the East Kentwood team took second at the State Finals with East Grand Rapids taking the top spot.

Kentwood school recognized for student achievement

3-bottom, City of Kentwood, Education, Hard News,

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
WKTV Managing Editor
joanne@wktv.org

Kentwood’s Challenger Elementary School (Courtesy, Kentwood Public Schools)

Kentwood’s Challenger Elementary School was one out of five schools in the state of Michigan to receive the 2022 Building the Hope Schools award from the Education Trust-Midwest.

Challenger received the award for consistently demonstrating exceptional progress for traditionally underserved students.

Schools receiving this award are in the top 25 percent for academic proficiency or above average student growth, according to analyses by researchers from the nonpartisan Education Trust-Midwest. The Education Trust-Midwest is a data-driven education policy, research and advocacy organization, works for the high academic achievement of all Michigan students in pre-kindergarten through college.

To determine recipients of this award, researchers from The Education Trust-Midwest examined data for the 2016-17, 2017-18, and 2018-19 school years. Analysts and team members also visiting schools and conducted interviews to get a firsthand look of schools’ learning environments as part of the process to select the award winners. Challenger impressed the team by showing excellence in, not just one, but in three areas that included excellence in learning for students of color, English Learners, and students who come from low income backgrounds.

“I want to recognize our students and their efforts in helping our school receive this honor,” said Challenger Principal Teressa Gatza in a letter to families. “We set high expectations for each of our students in many areas, and year after year, our students strive to meet those expectations.”

Gatza also thanks parents and families for their support and Challenger’s staff for their hard work, dedication and genuine care for the students. 

Kentwood schools break ground for new early childhood center

3-bottom, City of Kentwood, Hard News, Kids Activities, , , ,

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
WKTV Managing Editor
joanne@wktv.org

Four-year-old Legende Gray (thrd from left) helps with the groundbreaking ceremony for Kentwood’s Early Childhood Center. (WKTV)

Out of everyone there to mark the start of construction for Kentwood Public School’s new early education center, four-year-old Legende Gray captured the excitement the best.

He waved to the crowd when introduced by Superintendent Kevin Polston and immediately ran up to grab a shovel when it was time for the symbolic turning of the soil for the groundbreaking ceremony.

“No, I want one of the big ones,” Legende said as Polston tried to hand him a smaller shovel. “I’m ready to dig the hole.”

A building just for preschoolers

About 30 people turned out on the chilly Tuesday morning for the official groundbreaking ceremony that signaled the start of construction for the 40,000-square-foot facility. The state-of-the-art building designed for three- and four-year-olds in preschool programs will be next to the district’s Townline Elementary, located just east of the intersection of Division Avenue and 60th Street.

The project is the first from the $192 million bond request that was approved by voters in 2021. Besides the early childhood center, the bond included a new K-8th grade building along with enhancing various spaces in the district’s school buildings and funding the district’s technology needs.

“Quality early childhood has many benefits but most importantly provides the building blocks for education for our most vulnerable learners,” Polston said, adding that research has shown students who attend preschool have improved academic outcomes and are socially and emotionally more prepared for school.

The facility will house several preschool programs such as:

Early On, which assists families with infants and toddlers who have a delay in their development or diagnosed disability.

Great Start Readiness Program, a state-funded preschool program

A design of common areas features nooks where students that include interactive activities and a place for students to take a break. (WKTV)

Head Start, a non-profit agency that provides holistic, family-centered services at no costs to quality families in Kent County.

Bright Beginnings, which provides services to families with children birth to kindergarten entry throughout Kent County through such services as personal home visits, playgroups, and parent meetings.

Early Childhood Special Education, a Kentwood Public Schools program that offers evaluations, home services, outpatient therapy, and classroom programs to preschool students with special education needs.

Tuition-based preschool, a nonprofit program that is offered through the Kentwood Public Schools. 

Designing around the youngest learners

The needs of the students are being considered throughout the design, said K’Sandra Earle, the director of Kentwood’s Early Childhood Center. For example, technology is being considered not only to support all learners but to meet a diverse student population that includes students with special rights and special abilities, Earle said.

“There will be heated floors,” she said as an example of the details being considered. “In preschool, we spend much of our time on the floor so making sure students are made as comfortable as possible is important.”

Through a collaborative with Bright Beginnings, Early On, and Kentwood Public Schools, the district has housed a community playground that brings children of all abilities together in a general education setting. The new facility will allow for more opportunities to provide inclusive programming, Earle said.

Other features in the building will include small group rooms in the classroom for sensory needs and the community space will have garage doors that can be rolled up to provide students with outdoor activities.

The layout design for the new Early Childhood Center. (WKTV)

“The building of this new early childhood center demonstrates Kentwood’s investment in intentionality as it relates to our youngest community members,” Earle said at the groundbreaking. “This center will be a place where children’s natural curiosity will be provoked, their sense of imagination broaden, and who they are culturally and linguistically will be nurtured.”

Construction is scheduled to start in November and be completed in either late 2023 or the beginning of 2024. Architect for the project is TowerPinkster with construction headed by Fritz Wahlfield Construction.

When trick-or-treaters should head out for the goodies

3-bottom, Citizen Journalism, City of Kentwood, City of Wyoming, Kids Activities, Recreation, Upcoming Events, , ,

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
WKTV Managing Editor
joanne@wktv.org

Happy Haunting from the WKTV Journal. (pxhere.com)

With Halloween being on a Monday, the annual spooky season should be adhering to a pretty traditional schedule this year.

Most communities will be observing the holiday on Monday with municipalities encouraging trick-or-treating activities to take place on that day. For times, most communities are encouraging from 6 to 8 p.m.

City of Kentwood, 6-8 p.m. Monday, Oct. 31

City of Wyoming does not set trick-or-treating hours, but is encouraging residents and neighborhoods to do so on Monday, Oct. 31. Residents should check with neighborhoods for specific times.

City of Grandville, 6-8 p.m. Monday, Oct. 31

City of Grand Rapids, dusk to 8 p.m., Monday, Oct. 31

Gaines Township, no designated time, Monday, Oct. 31

City of Grand Rapids, dusk to 8 p.m., Monday, Oct. 31

Byron Township, varies by neighborhood for date and time. Check with your neighborhood.

Village of Caledonia, 6-8 p.m., Monday, Oct. 31

We the People 2022: 29th District State Senate

3-bottom, Citizen Journalism, City of Kentwood, City of Wyoming, Election, Hard News, , , ,

By WKTV Staff
joanne@wktv.org

The cities of Wyoming and Kentwood will join the cities of Grandville, East Grand Rapids, and the southern portion of the City of Grand Rapids in selecting the next 29th District State Senator.

Running for the seat is incumbent Winnie Brinks (D) and current State Rep. Tommy Brann (R).

Note: All candidates who are running in the cities of Wyoming and Kentwood were invited to participate in the We the People videos, where candidates may talk about why they decided to run and the issues they want to address.

Tommy Brann (R)

Occupation: The current 77th State Representative, Brann has been a restaurant owner, Brann’s Steakhouse, for more than 50 years.

Why did you decide to run for this seat?

I decided to run because as an owner of a blue collar restaurant, I see and feel the struggles of my employees, customers, and neighbors. I want to address those struggles as your next state senator. I am good at this job. As a small business owner and a legislator, I know how to bring people together to solve the big problems we are facing. I know our district, I’ve lived and worked here my entire life. I know our values and I want to preserve and protect our way of life here in West Michigan.

What are a couple of issues you would want to address if elected?

I would like to address inflation, public safety, and the state budget. I know what it takes to manage a budget having done so for 51 years at my restaurant. As a state legislator for six years, I’ve managed that state budget being responsible with YOUR tax dollars. The state budget has a $5 billion surplus, the government is living too well. With rising costs, people need relief. I support measures to lower the income tax, increase the Earned Income Tax Credit, and suspend the gas tax. I also support fully funding the men and women of law enforcement. The nation is experiencing a crime wave. We need to defend our police and equip them with the training and resources needed to keep our communities safe.

Website: https://brannforsenate.com

Winnie Brinks (D)

Brinks has served in the state senate since 2018. Before that she, she served in the state House of Representatives for six years. She is graduate of Calvin College (now Calvin University), where she earned a bachelor’s in Spanish with a concentration in sociology. Before joining the state house, she was a caseworker for The Source, a non-profit employee support organization based in the City of Wyoming.

Website: https://winniebrinks.com

Kentwood police seek information on stolen vehicle with 2-year-old

3-bottom, City of Kentwood, Hard News, ,

By WKTV Staff
joanne@wktv.org

Courtesy, Kentwood Police Department

On Oct. 4, at approximately 8:10 a.m., the Kentwood Police Department was dispatched to a stolen vehicle with a 2-year-old child inside. The vehicle was stolen from the area of 48th Street and Marlette Avenue in Kentwood.

A few minutes later, the police department received another phone call that the 2-year-old child was left on the side of the road a short distance away. The child was returned to its parents, unharmed.

 

The stolen vehicle was found in the City of Grand Rapids shortly after it was stolen. A search for the suspect was not successful. Multiple agencies assisted Kentwood including the Kent County Sheriff’s Department, Wyoming Department of Public Safety, and the Grand Rapids Police Department.

                       

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Kentwood Police Department Detective Bureau at 616-656-6604. Anonymous tips can be submitted through Silent Observer at 616-774-2345 or SilentObserver.org.

Police blog: Wyoming makes arrest, Kentwood investigates shooting

3-bottom, Citizen Journalism, City of Kentwood, Hard News, , , ,

Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
WKTV Managing Editor
joanne@wktv.org

Courtesy of Wyoming Department of Public Safety

The Wyoming Department of Public safety announced last week that suspect Yenly Garcia was found in Mexico and taken into custody.

Wyoming Police Detectives have been investigating the homicide of Mollie Schmidt since Aug. 30, 2022. The murder took place in the 1500 block of 44th Street SW inside an apartment belong to Garcia. On Sept. 2, 2022, the Kent County Prosecutor’s Office authorized an open murder warrant for Garcia associated with the incident.

Earlier this week, Garcia was taken into custody in central Mexico, north of Mexico City. He was arrested through cooperation between Wyoming Police, the United Marshals Service and Mexican authorities. Further details of his arrest are not available a this time. Extradition processes are being exorcized to return Garcia to Michigan to face his changes.

Anyone with further information on this incident is asked to contact the Wyoming Police at 616-530-7300 or Silent Observer at 616-774-2345 or 1-866-774-2345 or to visit www.silentobserver.org

Kentwood investigates shooting

The Kentwood Police Department wants you to keep cool this summer, and one was is to avoid crime and confrontations.

On Sept. 9, 2022, officers of the Kentwood Police Department were dispatched to the area of Kelekent Avenue and 56th Street for a possible shooting that occurred. One subject showed up  to a local hospital with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound which is believed to be related to this incident. Three subjects were taken into custody during this investigation for charges related to this investigation and outstanding warrants.

Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to contact the Kentwood Police Department Detectives Bureau at 616-656-6604 or Silent Observer at 616-774-2345 or 1-866-774-2345 or to visit www.silentobserver.org.

No charges in Burger King incident

Kent CountyProsecutor Chris Becker announced today that he would not be filing charges in the alleged Sept. 4, 2022 assault that occurred at the Wyoming Burger King located at 1313 28th St. SW.

According to a Sept. 4 report from Wyoming Department of Public Safety, a disorderly male customer who was unhappy with his service entered the store and climbed over the counter. He acted aggressively toward staff and assaulted two juvenile employees of the business during the incident before leaving.

Upon further investigation, Becker said that while he finds the suspect’s behavior “abhorrent,” the actions of the Burger King employees was “aggressive and that there is blame on both sides for the incident.

“By no means am I condoning (the person’s) behavior,” Becker said. “This could have been avoided if he would have simply just driven away after not getting the service that he wanted at this Burger King, but he didn’t do so and we have to deal with the facts as they are and there’s just not a basis to file charges for this incident.”

The suspect, who came through the drive thru, was unhappy about the soda coming down the side of his cup. Security footage, which was shown at press conference held last week, shows an employee wiping down a cup and returning it to the suspect who knocks it out of the employee’s hand. It then shows the suspect driving around and coming into the restaurant, jumping the counter, and grabbing a cup. He then went to the soda fountain pour a drink and poured soda on the floor. An employee then threw an ice-coffee at the suspect, who confronted the employee.

From there things escalated with Becker noting that as the suspect left the premises employees pursued him with one appearing to do a flying kick out the door.

Becker said because there was a fight with both sides being aggressive, there’s not enough evidence to charge the suspect with aggravated assault.

Discover Tasty Gyro Coney Island: Your taste buds will thank you

3-bottom, Citizen Journalism, City of Kentwood, Food, Local Food, ,
Tasty Gyro Coney Island’s Flint Coney. (WKTV)

By John D. Gonzalez, WKTV Contributing Writer

If you’re headed down 44th Street and Breton Road, you just might miss Tasty Gyro Coney Island, which is tucked away in a strip mall behind Tommy’s Express Car Wash.

It’s truly a “hidden gem,” said Emad Shatara, whose father Sami came out of retirement six years ago to open up this eclectic restaurant known for great gyros and coney dogs.

Tasty Gyro Coney Island. (WKTV)

“We’re the hidden place; we even have a sign in the front window that says, ‘This must be the place,’” Shatara said. 

Best known as one of the original owners of the popular Pita House in Eastown, which opened in 1999, Emad said his dad was working as an Uber driver after selling his interest to his brother Basel about 12 years ago. (Basel still owns and operates the two remaining Pita House restaurants, Emad said.)

“He got bored, so he opened up this place,” Emad said. “Really, he just wanted to cook again, so here he is, cooking, and doing what he wants to do.”

Tasty Gyro Coney Island owners son and father Emad and Sami Shatara. (WKTV)

And what he wants to do is offer an array of flavors, spices and options to make just about anyone who walks through never leave hungry.

“Just don’t hurt yourself,” said one happy customer walking out the door as father and son sat down with WKTV Journal to talk about the menu.





“Anything you can imagine,” Emad said about the diverse offerings.  “Any city, any food. It’s all here. It’s a coney island so we can do whatever we want here.”

An explosion of flavors from all over the world


You will find hot dogs, coney dogs, hamburgers, gyros, traditional Middle Eastern food, and Greek and Mediterranean dishes, too.

Think hummus, Baba Ghanouj and tzatziki sauce.

 

“Everything is made in house,” he said. “Even the garlic sauce.”

And if it’s not on the menu, “we’ll create whatever you want,” Emad said.

The menu is a mix of traditional and not-so-traditional offerings.

Greek Fries, topped with special Greek dressing and feta cheese, is one of many choices at Tasty Gyro Coney Island. (WKTV)

Along with mouthwatering Greek Fries –  French Fries topped with special Greek dressing and feta cheese – you will find other familiar fare such as Chicken or Beef Shawarma (marinated Lebanese style sandwich topped with garlic sauce or hummus and lettuce, tomato, onion and turnips) and Falafel (pita with ground chickpeas mixed with spices and parsley, then deep-fried, with hummus, lettuce, tomato, onion and turnips).



Creativity abounds


But father and son are not afraid to surprise you, too.

Emad said he would recommend two items:

The Tasty Gyro Pita, a blend of seasoned beef and lamb topped with lettuce, tomato, onion, feta and cucumber sauce. (WKTV)

The Tasty Gyro Pita (a blend of seasoned beef and lamb topped with lettuce, tomato, onion, feta and cucumber sauce), and the NYC Chopped Cheese Sandwich (seasoned ground beef sautéed with onions, American cheese, lettuce, tomato, mayo, and banana peppers on a toasted sub bun). It’s their spinoff of a Philly Cheese Steak.

“It’s the greatest sandwich you will ever have,” Emad said.


And, “if you really want to get crazy,” he said, you have to try their version of Cincinnati-style chili, made popular by the Greek immigrants who started Skyline Chili. They call it Cincinnati Spaghetti.

Cincinnati Spaghetti, one of many dishes offered at the Tasty Gyro Coney Island, located at 2269 44th St. SE, Grand Rapids. (WKTV)

Imagine a generous portion of seasoned ground beef on top of spaghetti, and topped with kidney beans, onions and fine shredded cheddar cheese. When you taste that hint of familiar chocolate flavor you’ll think you’re in Cincinnati.

“You can’t get this anywhere else in Grand Rapids,” Emad said.




As for coney dogs, you’ll find Detroit and Flint style on the menu, as well as traditional Chicago dogs and the New Yorker dog (with chili, sauerkraut, onion, cheddar and mustard). They use Vienna hot dogs in natural casing.

Almost every city covered

“I told you when you come here you go to every city,” said Emad, noting all the styles of coney dogs.

The craziest one may be the Greek Coney. It comes with gyro meat, tzatziki sauce, banana peppers, tomatoes and onions and feta cheese on it, Emad said.

In fact, they also created a Gyro Burger, which they named after a customer, “Yovany.” It is a 1/3 lb. burger topped with gyro slices, lettuce, tomato, onion, feta and tzatziki sauce.

“That thing is a monster,” Emad said.

You could come here every day for six months and try something new each day.

“You got a lot to try,” he said.

IF YOU GO

Tasty Gyro Coney Island

Address: 2269 44th St SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49508

Hours: 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Friday, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

Call: 616-635-2100

Menu online: tastygyroconeyisland.com

Prices: Gyros are about $11, coney dogs (Flint, Detroit and Greek-style) about $4; platters about $16-$18.

John D. Gonzalez is a digital journalist with 30-plus years of experience as a food, travel, craft beer and arts & entertainment reporter based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He also co-hosts the radio show and Podcast “Behind the Mitten,” which airs at 6 p.m. Sundays on WOOD-AM and FM. Follow him on his journey to discover what’s next. You can find him on Twitter as @MichiganGonzo, on Instagram @MichiganGonzo and Facebook at @GRGonzo. He also relaunched his YouTube Channel. Email him story ideas and tips at michigangonzo@gmail.com.

Voters should return absentee ballots in person, via drop box

3-bottom, City of Kentwood, City of Wyoming, Election, West Michigan, , , ,

By WKTV Staff

With less than two weeks remaining until the statewide primary election on Tuesday, Aug. 2, Michigan voters who have not returned their absentee ballot are encouraged to hand deliver it to a local drop box or their clerk’s office to avoid postal delays.

The City of Wyoming drop box (and usually drive-up) for absentee ballots. (WKTV)

“Drop boxes continue to be among the safe options that voters have to return their ballot securely this year, in addition to hand-delivering their ballot to their clerk’s office, voting early at their clerk’s office, or voting at their polling place on Election Day,” said Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson.

Eligible residents who have not yet registered to vote can do so in person at their city or township clerk’s office now through 8 p.m. on Election Day. They also can request and submit an absentee ballot at the clerk’s office in the same trip. Citizens who still need to register must do so in person at their clerk’s office if they wish to vote in the August primary, as online and mail registration is not permitted within 14 days of an election.

Voters can check the status of their absentee application or ballot online at Michigan.gov/Vote or by contacting their local election clerk. Voters who already received an absentee ballot should complete it, sign the envelope and mail it or drop it off at their clerk’s office or drop box as soon as possible.

Citizens also can vote in person at their polling place on Election Day, Aug. 2. Polls will be open 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. on Election Day.

City of Wyoming

City of Wyoming Clerk Kelli VandenBerg said the city has about 5,700 registered voters and her office is working to do the best to serve all of them for the election.

For absentee ballots, her office has seen an increase since the change was made in 2018. For elections, the city is seeing about 62 percent absentee ballots with about 38 percent voting in-person.

VandenBerg said the city has mailed out about 6,000 ballots with 2,400 having been returned.

 

“While right now mail is feeling OK, but as we get closer to election day, I will be getting more and more inclined to encourage voters to come visit us,” VandenBerg said. The city has a dropbox located at City Hall, 1155 28th St. SW, or bring the ballot to the clerk’s office in city hall.

 

The clerk’s office also will be hosting a public voting test at 9 a.m. July 26 in the council chambers at city hall. Area residents can see how ballots are tabulated and the process for counting ballots. 


City of Kentwood

If returning absentee ballots by mail, Kentwood City Clerk Dan Kasunic recommends putting it in the mail by Monday, July 25 to ensure a timely delivery for the August election.

Residents also can hand-deliver absentee ballots to the Clerk’s Office at Kentwood City Hall, 4900 Breton Ave. SE, during regular business hours or use one of the 24-hour drop boxes located outside City Hall, 4900 Breton Ave. SE, and the Kentwood Activities Center, 355 48th St. SE.

The City Clerk’s Office, located in City Hall, will be open for voter registration and absentee ballot requests from 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, July 30.

More information about the Aug. 2 election, absentee ballots and voter registration is available at kentwood.us/elections.

Michigan law regarding primary ballots requires voters to cast votes for only one party’s candidates. Votes for candidates in multiple parties on the same ballot will not be counted.

Absentee ballot request data shows more than 1.1 million Michigan citizens have now requested their ballots, and the vast majority have already received them. A side-by-side comparison of current absentee ballot request numbers, compared to the same time ahead of the 2018 statewide primary, is below. A breakdown of the numbers by jurisdiction is available online.

 14 Days Before Election Day(July 18, 2022)14 Days Before Election Day(July 23, 2018)
Number of Applications Received1,167,369588,909
Number of Ballots Issued1,163,659589,042*
Number of Ballots Returned398,756260,017




The Michigan Voter Information Center at Michigan.gov/Vote provides important information for voters ahead of Election Day, including a sample ballot and information about how to use voting equipment, and how to contact your local clerk.

*The number of ballots issued is greater than the number of applications received as it represents all ballots issued, including replacement ballots for those who requested to spoil their first.

Cabildo: ‘A big, tropical outdoor party’

Citizen Journalism, Kids Activities, Recreation, Upcoming Events, , , ,
Cabildo brings the fun Thursday night at Kentwood. (Supplied)

By John D. Gonzalez
WKTV Contributing Writer

Ready to rock?

Better yet, ready to party?

The Kentwood Summer Concert Series goes all Latin on Thursday (July 21) as local seven-piece band Cabildo performs at the weekly, free community event on the lawn behind Kentwood City Hall.

“Our music creates an atmosphere of a big, tropical outdoor party,” said Joshua Dunigan, who sings and plays congas in the group.

“Cabildo plays a fun and energetic combination of rock and traditional musical styles with lyrics in Spanish.”

No strangers to the local music, Cabildo keeps busy by headlining their own shows and playing local festivals.

On Friday (July 22) it plays at City Built Brewery (Monroe Avenue near the Sixth Street Bridge in Grand Rapids). And on Aug. 3 the band performs at the Cow Pie Music Festival in Caledonia. Earlier this year the band played at the Local Spins Fest in downtown Grand Rapids.

Founded as a Latin rock collective that delivers a fusion of cumbia, ska, folk and other genres from Latin and South America, cabildo roughly means “Town Hall” in Spanish.

“Historically, cabildos were gathering places located throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. They doubled as locations where African slaves could play traditional chants and drum parts. These were passed on through generations during Spanish colonization and continue to live on in today’s modern music,” according to the band’s bio.

The band’s lineup includes:

Julio Cano-VillaLobos (acoustic guitar, charango, accordion, vocals),

Julio Cesar Viveros (electric guitar, vocals),

Jonathon Sgromo (bass guitar),

Dustin Miller (drums, vocals),

Michael Prokopchuk (violin, vocals),

Nate Bliton (viola, keyboard),

Joshua Dunigan (vocals, congas and percussion)

Forming in 2004 from members of Electric Latin Love Orchestra, Dunigan said the band’s influences include a wide range of music, including Chico Trujillo, Violeta Para, Los Lobos and Sepultura.

“While still occasionally playing covers, we play original songs at most events,” he said.

Most of all, he loves the band’s original music.

“Our songwriters, the Julios, have written music that weaves together complex Latin beats with Rock and Roll teeth,” he said. “It’s fun to play a lot of different instruments to create those textures.”

Learn more about the band and listen to its music at http://www.cabildomusic.com/.

The Kentwood show is from 7-8:30 p.m. on the lawn behind Kentwood City Hall, 4900 Breton Ave. SE. Admission is free. A variety of food trucks also will be on hand. You can also bring your own “adult beverages.” And don’t forget to bring your own blankets and lawn chairs.

Parking for shows will be limited at both City Hall and the Library. Additional parking is available at the Kentwood Justice Center (4740 Walma SE), Kentwood Public Works (5068 Breton SE), Kentwood Baptist Church (2875 52nd St), and there is street parking in nearby neighborhoods. 

The Kentwood Farmers Market takes place next door from 4:30-7 p.m. in the parking lot behind City Hall.

Get more information at kentwood.us.

The remaining lineup includes:

All concerts will be live streamed by WKTV Community Media.

Watch the events live at: https://www.wktv.org/live25.html.

If you miss a show you can watch it here at WKTV On Demand.

John D. Gonzalez is a digital journalist with 30-plus years of experience as a food, travel, craft beer and arts & entertainment reporter based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He also co-hosts the radio show and Podcast “Behind the Mitten,” which airs at 6 p.m. Sundays on WOOD-AM and FM. Follow him on his journey to discover what’s next. You can find him on Twitter as @MichiganGonzo, on Instagram @MichiganGonzo and Facebook at @GRGonzo. He also relaunched his YouTube Channel. Email him story ideas and tips at michigangonzo@gmail.com.

Par-llo brings ‘old school’ to the Kentwood concerts

Citizen Journalism, City of Kentwood, Entertainment, Local Entertainment, Local Faces, Recreation, Upcoming Events, , , ,

John D. Gonzalez
WKTV Contributing Writer

Par-llo Connection performs on Thursday in Kentwood. (Supplied)

After a brief break for the Fourth of July holiday, the Kentwood Summer Concert Series is back with Par-llo Connection show band. A band with a message.

PAR-LLO stands for “Peace All Races – Live Love Others.”

“Who would have thought 40 years later it’s what the world needs today,” said original drummer Phil “Tapp” Morrow, in an email to WKTV Journal. “We always wanted our name to mean something.”


It also means “fun”!

The group performs at 7 p.m. Thursday (July 14) on the lawn behind City Hall. Admission is free.

READ: Summer revs up with Kentwood concerts, farmers market combo

A little band history

Morrow said the band performed from 1979 -87 in the heyday of the local music scene and opened for local band Switch, which featured Bobby and Tommy DeBarge of the famous DeBarge family in Grand Rapids, as well as the Bar-Kays at the Civic Auditorium. Par-llo even opened twice for Zapp at the DeVos Performance Hall, Morrow said.

“(We) got back together in 2017 not knowing what direction we were headed, more less just to catch up. Although we stayed in touch with each other,” Morrow said.

Influenced by Earth Wind Fire, Cameo, Prince, Kool & the Gang, Chaka Khan, Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Gap Band, Commodores, and so many others, the group might even surprise with a little Bruno Mars or Mary J. Blige.

They love to entertain.

The band performed from 1979-87 and reformed in 2017. (Supplied)

“(We) give a show,” said Morrow, which means several sets, changed outfits for each set, a fog machines, flash boxes, etc.

They want to “create a one of a kind experience,” Morrow said.

What to expect

The band performed from 1979-87 and reformed in 2017. (Supplied)

Although the Kentwood show is an outdoor concert, which is a little different than a nightclub, he said “people can expect energized ‘Old School’ with a new twist R&B Funk Band.”

“Playing outside is like being at a free, old-school style concert,” he said. “Outside creates natural energy to share your gift.

“The reason I love playing in this band, because we are family on and off the stage, all self-taught. We just have fun because we know we are blessed to be able to get back together.”

The current band line up includes:

Phil Morrow (Tapp) Drummer, Vocals, Original Member

Leonard Burney (Toot) Bass, Vocals, Original member

Anthony Jones (Ant) Guitar, Vocals, Original Member

Tone Mosley (Tone) Lead Vocals, trumpet, trombone, Original Member

Dana Mosley (Dane) Keyboards, vocals Original Member

Isaac Rogers (Ike) Sax, Vocals Original Member

Chuck Johnson (Chuck) Keyboards, Guitar

Tina Flowers (Tina Marie) Lead vocal

Concerts take place from 7-8:30 p.m. on the lawn behind Kentwood City Hall, 4900 Breton Ave. SE. Admission is free. A variety of food trucks also will be on hand.

Kentwood summer concert info

Parking for shows will be limited at both City Hall and the Library, according to the city’s website. Additional parking is available at the Kentwood Justice Center (4740 Walma SE), Kentwood Public Works (5068 Breton SE), Kentwood Baptist Church (2875 52nd St), and there is street parking in nearby neighborhoods.

The Kentwood Farmers Market takes place next door from 4:30-7 p.m. in the parking lot behind City Hall. 

Get more information at kentwood.us.

This remaining lineup includes:

All concerts will be live streamed by WKTV Community Media. Watch the events live at: https://www.wktv.org/live25.html. If you miss a show you can watch it here at WKTV On Demand.

Up next for Kentwood summer concerts is Soul Syndicate

Citizen Journalism, City of Kentwood, Entertainment, Local Entertainment, Recreation, Upcoming Events, , ,

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org

The Soul Syndicate performs this Thursday at the Kentwood Summer Concert series. (Soul Syndicate)

Popular local band Soul Syndicate returns to the area this week as the group performs at the Kentwood Summer Concert series on Thursday.

The free Kentwood Summer Concerts are located on the lawn behind Kentwood City Hall, 4900 Breton Ave. SE.

No stranger to the area, Soul Syndicate opened the Wyoming Concerts in the Park series earlier this month. Through the years, the group has performed with such artists as The Temptations, The Spinners, The Countours, Kansas, The Guess Who, The Beach Boys, Edgar Winter, Natalie Cole, Rosemarie Clooney, Elvis Presley Jr., and the U.S. Navy Commodores Band.

READ: The Soul Syndicate performs at Wyoming Concerts in the Park

“We love to see the energy from the crowd,” said drummer Tom Taylor in an earlier interview with WKTV. ”It is really about seeing the people and having fun.”

The group is not small, with up to a 11 musicians. Besides Taylor, there is Mike Coon on guitar, Matt Fouts on bass, and John Neil on keyboard. Male lead vocal is Collin Tobin, who has performed win several Grand Rapids Civic Theatre productions, and female lead vocal is Katie Sarb a. Rounding out the group is Nate Hansen on sax and Tim DeBesten on trumpet, and Jeff Carroll on trombone.

To learn more about Soul Syndicate and see a list of shows, visit www.thesoulsyndicte.com/shows. 

Also remember that the Kentwood Farmer’s Market takes place just before the concerts, from 4:30 – 7:30 p.m.

READ: Summer revs up with Kentwood concerts, farmers market combo

All concerts will be live streamed by WKTV Community Media. Watch the events live at: https://www.wktv.org/live25.html. If you miss a show you can watch it here at WKTV On Demand.

This year’s lineup includes

Join Kentwood for its annual 4th of July celebration

3-bottom, Citizen Journalism, City of Kentwood, Local Entertainment, Local Faces, Local Food, Recreation, Upcoming Events, , , , ,

By WKTV Staff
joanne@wktv.org

The Fourth of July parade is set for 9:30 a.m. and will start at Crestwood Middle School. (Supplied)

The City of Kentwood has a day filled with activities for all ages planned on Monday, July 4 for its annual Fourth of July Celebration, including a pancake breakfast, 5K race, parade, carnival and fireworks show.

“Celebrating our nation’s independence by participating in Kentwood’s Fourth of July festivities has been a favorite family and community tradition for many decades. People of all ages enjoy these events, from pancakes and parades to 5Ks and fireworks,” Kentwood Mayor Stephen Kepley said. “Come out and join us for a day filled with festivities when memories are made, and community is strengthened.”

The events will begin with a pancake breakfast at Kentwood Fire Station 1, 4775 Walma Ave SE. The $5-per-person breakfast will be served 7-9:30 a.m. and include pancakes, sausage, juice and coffee. It’s free for ages 5 and younger.

At 7:30 a.m., racers of all ages will gather next door at the Kentwood City Hall parking lot, 4900 Breton Ave. SE, for registration and packet pickup for the NN Mobile Solutions 5K Race & Fun Walk. The chip-timed race will begin at 8:30 a.m., with the start and finish in front of City Hall. Participants will loop through nearby neighborhoods before coming back on the paved East West Trail to finish. For the safety of all participants, roller skates, dogs and bicycles will not be allowed on the course. All participants will receive a finisher medal and shirt for this race. Shirts are only guaranteed for those who register before June 21.

Following the race will be a parade at 9:30 a.m. The parade route will start at Crestwood Middle School, 2674 44th St. SE, travel south on Walma Avenue SE to Breton Avenue SE, then turn west on 52nd Street SE and end at Challenger Elementary School, 2475 52nd St. SE. Organizations who would like to participate in the parade can visit kentwood.us/july4 and fill out the online form to register.

From 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., there will be a carnival behind city hall featuring rides and carnival games. (Supplied)

From 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., there will be a carnival behind City Hall featuring a variety of rides and carnival games for all ages. Individual tickets will cost $1 each. Wristbands will be available for $20. Tickets and wristbands will only be available at the event. The number of tickets required for each attraction will vary.

City Hall will also be the hub for the evening celebration 4-10 p.m., which will include community booths, a beer tent, food trucks and a fireworks show. A variety of bands, including Project 90, The Stone Soul Rhythym Band and Serita’s Black Rose, will take the stage to perform live music leading up to the fireworks show at dusk. The fireworks will be viewable from City Hall and surrounding areas.

A section of Walma Avenue near City Hall from Fire Station #1, 4775 Walma Ave. SE, to the roundabout will be closed all day to allow pedestrians to safely cross the street and take part in the activities. Guests who are parked at the Kent District Library – Kentwood (Richard L. Root) Branch can take the roundabout out to Breton Avenue heading north or turn left out of the library’s parking lot onto Breton heading south.

A section of Breton Avenue in front of the library to the roundabout will be closed for the fireworks display. It will close 15 minutes before the show and reopen 30 minutes after the fireworks are done.

Fireworks will be at dusk. (Supplied)

The Kentwood Police Department and volunteers will be on-site to help direct traffic.

The City is seeking volunteers for its Fourth of July Celebration. Individuals who are interested are encouraged to sign up online or call 616-656-5270. More information about Independence Day activities in Kentwood can be found at kentwood.us/july4.

Other area July 4th activities:

July 2

Grand Rapids: Starting at 6 p.m., there will be family-fun activities, games, food, vendors, and live entertainment which will lead up to the firework show at 10:30 p.m.

Gun Lake: Fireworks are scheduled for July 2 with a rain date of July 3. Fireworks began at dark.

July 2 and 3

LMCU Ballpark: The West Michigan Whitecaps will have fireworks for both games against the Fort Wayne Tin Caps. Game times are 6:35 p.m July 2 and 6 p.m. July 3.

July 3

Caledonia: The Caledonia Independence Day Celebration will include a parade at 11 a.m. Fireworks will be at dusk and can be seen from Duncan Lake Middle School, CalPlex, or Holy Family Catholic Church.

July 4

Grandville: The Grandville July 4 Celebration will be include a pancake breakfast, parade with flyover, life music and fireworks at dusk.

Dorr: As usually, the Dorr July 4th Celebration will be the entire weekend, July 2-4 with the the parade and fireworks being on July 4.

For more area July 4th celebrations and activities, visit Experience GR’s website.

Kalamazoo band next up on the Kentwood Summer Concert series

Citizen Journalism, Entertainment, Local Entertainment, Local Food, Recreation, Upcoming Events, , , ,

By John D. Gonzalez
WKTV Contributing Writer

It sounds like a story from an old blues song.

A bunch of students from West Michigan University gather in the basement of a bar, cut their teeth with local players and touring musicians, stay friends, and keep playing nearly 20 years later.

Kalamazoo’s Out of Favor Boys take the state this Thursday for Kentwood Summer Concert series. (Supplied)

“We grew up, musically, hosting blues jams in Kalamazoo,” said Joel Krauss, one of the founding members of the Out of Favor Boys. “We’re rooted in that Chicago-style blues but we also have a lot of influences from rock, old soul and jam bands.”

Those roots of the Kalamazoo blues scene from the late 1990s and early 2000s have served them well. Today the lineup includes four of the original members, who moved to Kalamazoo from the east side of the state to go to school, but stayed here for jobs, their friendships and love of the blues.

The lineup includes: Krauss (vocals and guitars), Tony Sproul (saxophone, vocals), Tim Brouhard (bass), Tommy Ufkus (drums) and Dan Ouellette (guitar), who leads the band on calling out the songs each night.

The Out of Favor Boys perform Thursday (June 23) as part of the Kentwood Summer Music Series on the lawn behind City Hall. The concert is at 7 p.m. Admission is free. (See the lineup below.)

READ: Summer revs up with Kentwood concerts, farmers market combo

All concerts will be live streamed by WKTV Community Media. Watch the events live at: https://www.wktv.org/live25.html. If you miss a show you can watch it here at WKTV On Demand.

This year’s lineup includes

Playing in the basement of Mr. Wonderful’s back in the day (on the southside of Kalamazoo), the band had to rely on each other to learn their craft through “jam sessions,” said Tony Sproul.

“You had to be on your toes as much as possible,” he said, and that became almost “addictive.”

To this day, those jam sessions and knowing how to feed off each other on simple cues and gestures, has become an “accidental strong point” to the band’s longevity.

“For us…there is never a night that you’re bored or say, ‘Oh, I gotta play that song again?’ None of us ever have that moment. It stays fresh all the time.”

Today’s sound is a “mix of soul and funk and blues,” Sproul added.

“It’s danceable with a slight mix of funk and old soul, with a blues foundation that we have had over the years.”

The band has released four CDs of original music.

“I would say that (if you) look at them one at a time you’ll see quite a bit of growth between each of them. We started out really raw and live on our first CD,” Krauss said. 

The group has been together for almost 20 years, having released four CDs of original music. (Supplied)

“We actually recorded the whole thing in one night. And by the time you get to our last CD, which we released in 2017, you can see that we’ve become much more focused on writing solid songs. We’re starting to pull songs together for a new recording, which we’ll start working on later this year.”

Along with playing the clubs, the band has also played big festival stages.

“Community music events are sort of a nice middle ground for us – and we play a lot of these things across southern Michigan and into northern Indiana. People who come to these shows are there to hear music,” Krauss said.

“It’s incredibly rewarding to play our own songs to people who are there to listen. There can be some give and take between the band and the audience when everyone’s paying attention like that. Plus, they’re usually small enough that we have time to meet a lot of people between sets and after the show. We’ve made a lot of great connections and gotten a lot of great gigs from meeting people at shows like these.”

When they perform Thursday in Kentwood, fans can expect them to “play a mix of cover songs and original music.”

You’ll be sure to have a good time with familiar songs by some of their favorite blues artists such as Robert Cray, Tab Benoit, Larry McCray and Tommy Castro, Krauss said.

“We play some classic rock, some blues, some soul and give our crowds lots of opportunities to dance,” he added.

Learn more about the band https://outoffavorboys.com/.

John D. Gonzalez is a digital journalist with 30-plus years of experience as a food, travel, craft beer and arts & entertainment reporter based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He also co-hosts the radio show and Podcast “Behind the Mitten,” which airs at 6 p.m. Sundays on WOOD-AM and FM. Follow him on his journey to discover what’s next. You can find him on Twitter as @MichiganGonzo, on Instagram @MichiganGonzo and Facebook at @GRGonzo. He also relaunched his YouTube Channel. Email him story ideas and tips at michigangonzo@gmail.com.

City of Kentwood welcomes new fire engine

3-bottom, Citizen Journalism, City of Kentwood,

By WKTV Journal
joanne@wktv.org

City of Kentwood’s new fire truck. (Supplied)

The Kentwood Fire Department recently welcomed a new fire engine that will enable it to continue providing leading fire and medical services to the community.

 

The Spartan Metro Star pumper replaces a fire engine retired from the department’s fleet last year. Built by Charlotte-based Spartan ER, the new fire engine will be housed at Fire Station 3 on Eastern Avenue SE and be put in service soon.

“We regularly service and replace emergency vehicles to ensure they are operating optimally,” Kentwood Fire Chief Brent Looman said. “This new engine is an investment in the safety of our community.”

The vehicle has a 450-horsepower clean diesel engine and a 500-gallon water tank with an environmentally safe foam system. It is also equipped with more than 2,000 feet of fire hose, a 1,500 gallon-per-minute pump and life-saving medical equipment. The new engine cost $572,000 and is expected to be in operation for 18-20 years.

The new vehicle was built using the same specifications as other vehicles in the fleet, which is critical for firefighter safety and streamlined maintenance.

After the cab was constructed, it was transported to Spartan’s sister facility in Brandon, South Dakota, where the body of the vehicle was built. Looman and Battalion Chief Clarence Patterson recently visited to inspect the engine before its arrival in Kentwood.

“The inspection is a crucial step in the process that ensures the truck is built to our specifications,” Looman said. “Spartan ER and CSI Emergency Apparatus have been phenomenal partners and, once again, have equipped us with a quality fire engine that will serve our community for years to come.”

More information about Kentwood Fire Department is available at kentwood.us/fire.

Musician Max Lockwood excited about returning to Kentwood

Citizen Journalism, Entertainment, Local Entertainment, Local Faces, Recreation, Upcoming Events, , ,

By John D. Gonzalez
WKTV Contributing Writer

Max Lockwood opens the Kentwood Summer Concert series on Thursday. (Photo by Pia Lu)

At an early age, singer/songwriter Max Lockwood knew the stage was his calling.

It came when he was on stage at his 8th grade talent show.

His band, The Wealthy Homeless, played an original song and Green Day cover.

“I was extremely excited for (the talent show), and I have been playing ever since as much as I can,” said the 32-year-old Lockwood.

He’s not joking.

At age 16 he was playing with the local band Sweet Japonic, and after two years of upright bass performance classes at DePaul University, the Wayland native took time off to tour with Michigan band the Ragbirds.

He eventually went back to school to get a creative writing/literature degree from the University of Michigan. His debut record, “Outrider,” served as his senior thesis at the University of Michigan for his degree in creative writing.

“I guess you could say that 50 percent of my lifetime has been playing professionally,” Lockwood told WKTV Journal. “…At this point I feel very comfortable and natural. I enjoy performing very much.”

Max Lockwood will be performing original music at Thursday’s concert. (Photo by Pia Lu)

Lockwood and his band will kick off the Kentwood Summer Music Series on Thursday (June 16) on the lawn behind City Hall. The concert is at 7 p.m. Admission is free.

READ: Summer revs up with Kentwood concerts, farmers market combo

All concerts will be live streamed by WKTV Community Media. Watch the events live at: https://www.wktv.org/live25.html. If you miss a show you can watch it here at WKTV On Demand.

Lockwood will perform his original music, which is “rooted in songcraft and heartfelt lyricism and bound with elements of rock and roll, folk and pop,” according to his website bio. 

His musicianship, songwriting and experience will shine through, whether playing original or cover songs.

Those originals explore the themes of “love, adversity and growth,” in a powerful voice, akin to the likes of Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen.

In fact, he’ll play a couple new songs that were just released, including “Nothing to Fight” and “Lonely Gods.”

Both were recorded in Grand Rapids and feature many local musicians, including members of his side project band, The Insiders, a Tom Petty tribute band that he fronts.

He’s excited to return to Kentwood where he has performed with another band he used to front, psychedelic folk-rock band Big Dudee Roo.

“It’s fun, out on the lawn,” he said of the outdoor series. “Hopefully the weather will be great.”

The Max Lockwood Band consists of Max on guitar and vocals, Justin Dore on guitar, Eric O’Daly on bass and Daine Hammerly on drums.

Learn more about Max Lockwood, including new releases and tour schedules at https://www.maxlockwoodmusic.com/.

John D. Gonzalez is a digital journalist with 30-plus years of experience as a food, travel, craft beer and arts & entertainment reporter based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He also co-hosts the radio show and Podcast “Behind the Mitten,” which airs at 6 p.m. Sundays on WOOD-AM and FM. Follow him on his journey to discover what’s next. You can find him on Twitter as @MichiganGonzo, on Instagram @MichiganGonzo and Facebook at @GRGonzo. He also relaunched his YouTube Channel. Email him story ideas and tips at michigangonzo@gmail.com.

Kentwood to host informational meetups on Aug. 2 millage

3-bottom, Citizen Journalism, City of Kentwood, Election, Recreation, , , , ,

By WKTV Staff
joanne@wktv.org

Kentwood residents will have the opportunity to learn more about the upcoming Aug. 2 millage for the city’s parks at three informational meet-ups set for June 20. (Supplied)

The City of Kentwood will host meetups in several city parks Monday, June 20, to provide information and answer questions about the upcoming millage proposal.

Each meetup will feature Parks and Recreation staff and commissioners ready to discuss the Aug. 2 ballot proposal. The events will take place 6-7 p.m. at three city parks:

  • Northeast Park, 1900 Middleground Drive SE
  • Pinewood Park, 1999 Wolfboro Drive SE
  • Stanaback Park, 3717 Whitebud Drive SE

Residents of all ages are welcome to attend. Ice cream and light refreshments will be available for those who participate.

“We’re looking forward to connecting with the community to discuss the future of Kentwood’s parks, trails and recreation,” said Kentwood Parks and Recreation Director Val Romeo. “Our team is ready to answer any questions residents may have about the millage proposal and our vision for the future.”

The August ballot proposal asks residents to consider a permanent dedicated millage of 1 mill that, if approved, will support the City’s parks, trails and recreational facilities and programming. It would fund improvements to all trails and parks, expand and enhance programming through increased capacity in space and staffing, and more.

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.

Kentwood is home to 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.

More information on the proposed millage is available at kentwood.us/millage.

Summer revs up with Kentwood concerts, farmers market combo

3-bottom, Citizen Journalism, City of Kentwood, Kids Activities, Local Food, Recreation, Upcoming Events, WKTV Projects, , , ,

By John D. Gonzalez
WKTV Contributing Writer

Cabildo performs July 21 at Kentwood Summer Concert Series.

The Kentwood Summer Concert Series is not your typical outdoor community event.

Yes, you get live music, of course, and food trucks are on hand to keep you fed.

But you can also bring your own “adult beverages.”

“That’s one of the things that makes Kentwood a little more unique,” said Laura Barbrick, marketing and events coordinator for the City of Kentwood Parks & Recreation department.

Through a special permit with the local police department, attendees can bring their own alcohol (beer and wine) in a designated area. “It just has to stay in the concert zone,” she added.

Fans of the popular concert series will get to bring those “adult beverages” to the show when the Max Lockwood Band kicks off the series at 7 p.m. June 16 on the lawn behind Kentwood City Hall. Bring your own blankets and lawn chairs.

The weekly series continues on Thursday evenings through Aug. 11. See the schedule below. All will be recorded and aired on WKTV.

Another “unique” aspect of the Kentwood series is an opportunity to check out the local farmers market. About a decade ago the market used to be on Saturdays, but changed to Thursdays in this special partnership.

“We polled our residents and discovered there was a need for a weekday evening market,” Barbrick said.

The Kentwood Farmers Market will be from 4:30 – 7 p.m. Thursdays, right before the concert series. (Supplied)

In 2020 they had a few pop-up markets on Thursday nights, and they were very well attended, she said.

“To continue the momentum,” they decided to have the farmers market on the same day. “It’s a great way to cross-promote both events,” Barbrick added.

“People who attend the concert series might not have known about our Farmers Market before. But now our concertgoers love to shop the market and buy local products before grabbing a seat on the lawn for the show. It really has been a win-win and has helped grow both the market and our concert series.”

The Kentwood Farmers Market takes place next door from 4:30-7 p.m. in the parking lot behind City Hall.

Concerts take place from 7-8:30 p.m. on the lawn behind Kentwood City Hall, 4900 Breton Ave. SE. Admission is free. A variety of food trucks also will be on hand.

The lineup of bands includes a variety of styles and diversity, which was intentional, Barbrick said.

 

“Typically, in January, we put out a poll on social media asking the community who they want in our lineup,” she said. “We take the results from the poll and go through all the band applications to determine the lineup.

“Diversity is very important to our selection. We serve a very diverse community and want our music selection to represent our residents and culture.”

Crowds can range from 500-1,000 people, depending on the popularity of acts.

But everyone has a great time, she said.

“We’ve received a lot of positive feedback from residents over the years. We have some families that come to every single show,” Barbrick said.

“People love the opportunity to be outdoors and enjoy a free concert. We love it when the crowd is dancing and asking for an encore. It’s very rewarding to see the smiles and hear the applause after each show.”

Parking for shows will be limited at both City Hall and the Library, according to the city’s website. Additional parking is available at the Kentwood Justice Center (4740 Walma SE), Kentwood Public Works (5068 Breton SE), Kentwood Baptist Church (2875 52nd St), and there is street parking in nearby neighborhoods.

Get more information at kentwood.us.

This year’s lineup includes:

All concerts will be live streamed by WKTV Community Media.

Watch the events live at: https://www.wktv.org/live25.html

If you miss a show you can watch it here at WKTV On Demand.

John D. Gonzalez is a digital journalist with 30-plus years of experience as a food, travel, craft beer and arts & entertainment reporter based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He also co-hosts the radio show and Podcast “Behind the Mitten,” which airs at 6 p.m. Sundays on WOOD-AM and FM. Follow him on his journey to discover what’s next. You can find him on Twitter as @MichiganGonzo, on Instagram @MichiganGonzo and Facebook at @GRGonzo. He also relaunched his YouTube Channel. Email him story ideas and tips at michigangonzo@gmail.com.