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  • 📍 GR’s aquarium could be built in a landfill | June 18th, 2025

📍 GR’s aquarium could be built in a landfill | June 18th, 2025

Plus, juneteenth, fire deparment breaks ground, and are you a GR native?

Author

LeQwane Lynch
June 18, 2025

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Good morning, Grand Rapids. I’m LeQwane and this is Calder News — and I’ve had a few folks from the crew reach out and tell me that they stopped getting our newsletter.

I spent 3 hours last night and found that Google, iCloud, and Outlook sometimes mislabel our emails and send them to promotions…

But luckily, I found the fix.

To make sure you never miss Calder News, simply drag this email into your primary inbox if it’s not already there. Or add our email “[email protected]” as a contact.

Do either of these once and you are set.

Thanks for taking the time to read today’s email. I hope you’re having a great week so far. 😃

P.S. What do you think of the sweet new header we have? Shout out Seth!

~LeQwane L.

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Juneteenth In Grand Rapids

Juneteenth is tomorrow, June 19. It’s a day to honor Black freedom, resilience, and the ongoing pursuit of equity.

So if you’re looking for ways to connect, learn, and celebrate, I've put together a few events happening around town:

Whether you're looking to celebrate with your family, support local Black businesses, or reflect on the history, these are some of the more meaningful things happening this week. 🫡

Advertise with Calder News to grow your business or raise awareness for your event. Contact LeQwane to reach 4,550+ engaged locals.

The Digest

A briefing of local news that matters

Development

The Aquarium May Be Built In a Landfill

Remember when I talked about the $370M aquarium coming to GR? Well, John Ball Zoo is exploring a former landfill in Walker as the potential location for it. Once home to the Fenske Landfill, it has a history of industrial waste and PFAS contamination. But given some major clean-up and approvals, the aquarium could rival Chicago’s Shedd or Atlanta’s Georgia Aquarium. The project is expected to bring 2,500 new jobs, generate billions if it opens by 2031. For now, the zoo is still doing due diligence. | Read more about the proposed location

Early Learning Center Opens in Boston Square

Yesterday, the new Boston Square early childhood learning center hosted its ribbon cutting at 1534 Kalamazoo Ave SE. The center will serve infants through preschoolers and is designed to support families of all income levels. Expect tiered tuition, subsidized slots, and a focus on both early education and family well-being. Enrollment and hiring are already underway. | Learn more

Community

Grant Backs Black Business Groups

A bunch of Black-led business groups in town just got a major boost. The West Michigan Black Economic and Business Development Group secured a $300,000 state grant to help them connect more business owners to resources and to each other. The funding comes from the Trusted Connector Grant program, which awarded $6.8 million to groups helping small business ecosystems across Michigan. | Read more

Public

New Fire Station Coming to SE Side

After decades of delays, the SE side is finally getting a new fire station. The $12 million project on Division near Griggs broke ground on Monday and will replace a nearly century-old building just a few blocks away. The new space will be larger, more modern, and designed to better serve the surrounding neighborhood, with three bright red bays, expanded space for equipment, and a community room. It’s one of three major fire department projects currently underway across the city to get state funding. The Division Station is expected to open in fall 2026. | Learn more about the development

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Ask Grand Rapids 🤔 

Were you born around Grand Rapids?

I was reading a post on reddit last night and it made me wonder, how many folks in our audience were born around GR

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

Talk Of The Town

Interesting happenings around town

🌹 Flowerland Goes Seasonal

Flowerland in Wyoming, located on 28th and Clyde Park, is turning into a seasonal location starting July 3rd. The two other Flowerland locations (Kentwood and Comstock Park) will remain year-round.

📚 Spicy Book Store Opens

A new romance focused bookstore is opening in Walker. Located at 2751 Alpine just off I-96, “Pages and Peonies” is hosting its grand opening this Saturday. The store will offer both traditional published titles and local/ indie authors.

Want to have your business featured here? Contact me.

What’s Happening?

Preview: Events —> Live Music

Wednesday, June 18th

  • Free Hair Tutorials | BANG | 4:30 PM | Free to attend

  • Platypu5 & Overdrive Orchestra | Cherry Park | 6 PM - 10 PM | Free to attend

  • Trivia Night | Rapid River Stillhouse | 7 PM | Free to attend

  • Food Trucks

    • Air Port Viewing Park | 10 AM | Free to attend

Thursday, June 19th

Friday, June 20th

Live Music

Wednesday, June 18th

Thursday, June 19th

Friday, June 20th

*Shows are subject to change, but that’s show biz.

Outside The Plaza

3 quick hits of news from cities around Grand Rapids

That’s All For Today…

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