Good morning, Grand Rapids. I’m Jenny and this is Calder News.

What an improvement, weather-wise, over last week—no smoke, cooler temps, lovely breeze. I ate all my meals out on my patio.

Don’t have your own? There are so many GR restaurants with outdoor eating space. Or picnic at your favorite park. Enjoy this nice weather while it lasts!

And enjoy today’s newsletter, too!

~Jenny F.

Together with: Local First

Since it’s summer, many of us are spending our free time out at the lakeshore.

And while our good ole Grand Rapids proper has many awesome local businesses, Holland and surrounding beach towns have interesting shops and restaurants too.

Get to know those businesses better at Local First’s Engagement Hour, happening August 21st from 4:30-5:30 pm at Brew Merchant in Holland.

The idea is that you can get to know local business owners, network with members of People First Economy, and enjoy free snacks and beverages.

A briefing of local news that matters

Community

Grand Rapids is ranked the 25th fastest-growing city in the U.S. this year. Some might think that’s a bummer, because we were ranked 1st last year, but at least we still made the list for being awesome and having desirable job and housing markets. Read more details. Here’s the official report.

City

On Tuesday, City Commissioners approved an additional $45 million budget for a new firefighting training facility and a public service center. The fire department continues to receive more calls than ever, and the new training facility will help them be better prepared to meet the demand. See more details.

Parking

The renovation of East Grand Rapids High School will involve removing 71 parking spaces from an area that is already tight on parking. The city is considering building a parking garage next to the high school, but residents worry that will make a chaotic area even more dangerous and congested. Read more details.

Have news to report? Click here.

The SECOM Resource Center opened a new food pantry on Burton Street to support those dealing with food insecurity.

Our Brewing Company from Holland opened their Grand Rapids location yesterday next door to Picnic on Wealthy, so you can grab some grub to go with your beer.

Rev, the luxury juice bar, is closing its doors after two years on Ottawa Ave.

The popular burger place Black Napkin is expanding next door and closing the first two weeks of August to complete construction.

7 Mares Mexican Restaurant suffered a fire on Tuesday, forcing the restaurant to close while they assess the damage.

🐦 Watch Out For Birds

The City of Grand Rapids has put up signs alerting pedestrians to be on the lookout for red-winged blackbirds, which are territorial while nesting. If they start chattering loudly or dive-bombing, that’s your cue to move away from the area.

🎄 Get a Start On Christmas

If you’re one of those people who put up your Christmas tree the day after Halloween, check out Downtown Market’s Christmas in July event today from 11 am- 8 pm. They are starting the countdown to their Christkindl Markt with festive foods, holiday-inspired live music, and a preview of this year’s collectable glassware. The raclette is stinky but so delicious!

There’s been a lot of activity on the Grand River this summer, construction-wise, as the city works to revitalize and restore our namesake rapids.

But more improvements are happening just north of downtown in Canal Park, where a $10 million transformation is underway.

A new rentable pavilion, playground, seating area are already installed, and when it’s finished, a new 14-foot-wide trail will connect to the Grand Rapids Greenway and a kayak and canoe launch will allow river access, so people can enjoy those newly restored rapids.

With work wrapping up by winter, it’ll be an awesome public space to look forward to next summer.

Check out the Parks and Rec video for more info.

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

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