Grand Rapids

More good news continues for Grand Rapids.   We are now on the top of the list of most sustainable cities in the US!

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Did you know the Grand River ever was almost dry?  Yep, it's true.

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The Missed Connections section of Craigslist is a great thing. Without it, how would we even begin to start to search for that special someone (who may or may not be aware of our existence) we stood behind in line at Taco Bell? Flyers are so 1970. Not to mention creepy.

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What do you think of the flap over the city of Wyoming's logo? A group called "Freedom From Religion Foundation" based out of Madison, Wisconsin, has called for the West Michigan city to remove the picture of a church steeple with a cross off it's city logo, citing separation of church and state. For me, I don't think it's that big of a deal, but I can see why people would think it is.

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First Raggs, then Ottawa Tavern, and now another one  bites the dust in three weeks.

Craig Russell and I were just discussing Kitchen 25 a couple of weeks ago, and wondering if maybe it wasn't long for the world, and then grnow reports that Kitchen 25 is closed, at least for now.    This location across from Van Andel Arena would seem ideal, although the Margarita Grille that occupied the space earlier, also failed, but for for different reasons.

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This is awesome news for Grand Rapids!  I worked in this building for 10 years and saw this amazing space sit empty - but no more!  Bring on the Ballroom to downtown GR!

The CityFlats Hotel, which opened downtown last year, is renovating the old Michigan National Bank branch lobby to open it up as a ballroom!

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This is really awesome - Thanks Mr. Manilow!

WZZM is reporting that Legendary singer-songwriter Barry Manilow hopes others will once again follow his philanthropic lead as he donates a Yamaha piano to launch a local instrument drive for the Grand Rapids Public Schools. Anyone who donates a new or gently used musical instrument to Van Andel Arena Box Office will receive 2 free tickets for Manilow’s June 14th concert at Van Andel.

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Here we go again! Now Grand Rapids is "5th in the nation as an affordable place to buy a house, according to CNNMONEY, an online magazine that also included other Midwest cities such as Indianapolis, Ind., Cincinnati, Ohio and Akron, Ohio. I'm still wondering when the population explosion will happen. With all the press our fair city has received in the past few months, I'm positive people will be beating down our doors to move here!

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Well, that's the question.  Battle Creek has one - Mt Pleasant has one - Detroit has 3 - and get ready to add Lansing to the list of bigger cities that will have one... although the governor and attorney general are opposed to it. I don't understand it. Detroit already has 3 - why should Lansing be any different?  For that matter, we have Gun lake 20 minutes away. So I say, why not Grand Rapids? Imagine a casino on the southside of downtown...

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That's alot of candles! As a Facebook Friend said, "You don't look a day over 160!" Ha! I wonder what Larry King thinks about all this. Since he was just a boy when GR became a city, he can relate to what the world was like back in 1850. No Motor cars, not a single luxury, like Robinson...oh wait--thats something else! ;)

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So I commented last week on the John Ball Zoo having a construction projection going on... Well,  guess what? It's for a A new railway which will offer a bird's eye view of the city. Very Cool! I wondered what was going on there - now we know!

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This is great news! This is exactly what downtown needs! The owners of Celebration Cinema are making plans to put an entertainment complex and movie theater downtown by the Van Andel Arena!

It will be on the corner of Oakes Street and Ionia Avenue SW, would have tons of screens and space for several restaurants too. It would be where the current city parking lot is now!

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