100.5 The River » grand rapids

McKay Tower Ballroom Ribbon-Cutting This Friday

Tom Cook — Thu, 16 May 2013 00:12:56 +0000

Friday afternoon, Mayor Heartwell will be on hand for the ribbon-cutting at the newly-renovated “Ballroom At McKay Tower.” The event begins at 4:30. Operations manager Chaundra Derks says the public banquet space has floor-to-ceiling granite, large pillars, a mezzanine overlooking the ballroom, chandeliers, beautiful carpet and state of the art lighting and sound. The [...]

How To Help West Michigan Recover From The Flood

Matt Milhouse — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 15:45:38 +0000

Flooding has affected thousands of people across West Michigan. Some have been displaced from their homes. Even more are dealing with damaged homes or property. There are many ways to help. CONSERVE WATER One of the easiest ways to help is to continue to conserve water, as is currently being requested [...]

West Michigan Flooding – Saturday April 20

Tom Cook — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 00:34:05 +0000

GRAND RAPIDS Grand Rapids declared a state of emergency on Saturday afternoon. Declaring a state of emergency was done in anticipation of widespread damage, injury or loss of property and it puts the city in a position to receive state or federal assistance. A state of emergency does NOT mean that the city is in [...]

Over 50,000 People Attented LaughFest 2013

Andy Rent — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 14:00:32 +0000

Job well done, guys! 2013 was a very, very good year for the nation’s only ten day community-wide festival of laughter, Gilda’s LaughFest. That is because they had more than 53,000 admissions during the third annual event. Preliminary numbers indicate 53,566 attended LaughFest’s 261 events (69 ticketed and 192 free) at 65 stages in Grand [...]

Should The S-Curve In Grand Rapids Be Taken Down? [Poll]

Matt Milhouse — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 14:00:05 +0000

Over 100,000 vehicles use the S-Curve every day in Grand Rapids, but one group would like to see that change. The group is recommending that the S-Curve be removed to help the growth of downtown Grand Rapids. Should the S-Curve be taken down? The continued growth of downtown Grand Rapids has many looking towards the [...]

Grand Rapids Mayor Talks to Grand Rapidians

Andy Rent — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 12:35:47 +0000

Grand Rapids George Heartwell is continuing a long standing tradition here in Grand Rapids, talking to the voters. For 18 years, the mayors of Grand Rapids have hosted City Connection, a monthly, live call-in show on GRTV’s Livewire, Comcast channel 24. It’s a program that Mayor John Logie started in 1992 as a way to [...]

Real Proof! The Economic Recovery IS Happening In Grand Rapids!

Craig Russell — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 15:03:47 +0000

Mart Twain said it best: There are lies, damned lies and statistics. THESE statistics are not lies, however, and paint a slightly rosier picture of the economic state we in Grand Rapids are in. According to the Brookings Institute “Metro Monitor – December 2012″ report, Grand Rapids has the 8th best economic recovery since the [...]

Police Stop Possible I-96 Shooter Near Grand Rapids

Wendy Reed — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 19:36:56 +0000

Local law enforcement officials stopped a vehicle near Grand Rapids at around 10a.m. Monday morning under suspicion that the driver was the I-96 shooter. According to M-Live, the vehicle was followed into West Michigan by an Ingham County jail transport van, and then exited M-6 at Kalamazoo Ave. The driver stopped for police, was questioned, [...]

Forbes Magazine Names Grand Rapids #1 City For Raising A Family

Wendy Reed — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 00:30:06 +0000

Grand Rapids has received a lot of accolades over the last year or so. We're Beer City, USA, we had an awesome Lip Dub video that went viral online, and now, Forbes Magazine as named Grand Rapids the number one city for raising a family!

Are You Sick Of Lip Dubs? [Poll]

Matt Milhouse — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 14:00:24 +0000

Grand Rapids is the Lip Dub Capital of the World. The Grand Rapids Lip Dub got national attention and millions of views. It helped inspire many more.

Now we have "singalongs" too.

Has it been too much? Are you sick of lip dubs?

Which Grand Rapids Trash Program Do You Like Better – Old Or New? [Poll]

Matt Milhouse — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 21:10:37 +0000

On Tuesday, we told you about the new Grand Rapids pay as you throw trash program. Some save with the new program, others pay more.

Which Grand Rapids trash program do you like better: the old collection program or the new pay as you throw program?

Grand Rapids Begins New Pay As You Throw Trash Program

Matt Milhouse — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 19:17:21 +0000

Grand Rapids has launched its new trash pick program. The new program will save some residents money, while others will pay more. Find out how the costs will effect you. Who will pay more and who will pay less vs. the last system? Generally, if you DON’T produce much trash the new program may save you money, if [...]

Wonderful Food at Pietro's for Restaurant Week

Andy Rent — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 11:18:35 +0000

It's Restaurant Week Grand Rapids! I've been telling you for the past few weeks about Restaurant Week, moved into August this year to take advantage of our great Michigan foods at harvest time.

It's 10 days that over 60 area restaurants create special 3-course meals, and it ends this Saturday. Most are offering several selected 3-course meals for $25, and some offer 2 3-course meals for $25.

Ionia Free Fair Fun July 19-28th!

Tom Cook — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 14:00:14 +0000

The Ionia Free Fair is this Thursday and will continue through Saturday, July 28th! The Fair has been a tradition here in Michigan since 1857 and has been ranked as one of the Top 50 Fairs in the nation.

Over the years lots of big names have graced the Ionia Free Fair stage. Some of the old timers include Gabby Hayes, Les Paul, Buster Keaton, Sonny and Cher, and world renowned country artists Reba McEntire, Tim McGraw and Willie Nelson.

Grand Rapids City Pools Open For Summer

Matt Milhouse — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 18:50:56 +0000

Grand Rapids splash pads opened for summer a couple of weeks ago. Now, we have more options to cool down in Grand Rapids. Today, three Grand Rapids city pools have opened for summer. Grand Rapids residents can swim for cheap. Babies under 1 are free, 1-17 is $1, and 18 and up is $2. Non-residents pay $4 [...]

Here is Where you can see Great Fireworks

Andy Rent — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 10:04:00 +0000

Just in case you missed my fireworks post of a couple of weeks ago, I thought it a good idea to repeat it. I have updated it with the help of website, www.michiganfireworks.com, so that you'll be able to find a great fireworks show near you. 100.5 The River and all of our TownSquare Media stations have teamed up with Amway to present the Grand Rapids fireworks, but if you're not able to make it downtown, there are still plenty of other locations.

Grand Rapids Restaurant Week Has Moved From November To August

Tom Cook — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 15:00:01 +0000

Grand Rapids Restaurant Week has moved from November to August! I like that! The weather is still warm, it's a nice break right before the kids go back to school. November always seemed to be a bit busy what with Thanksgiving and the December holidays. Experience Grand Rapids VP of Marketing Janet Korn said that last year's Restaurant Week generated between $500,000 and $700,000 in revenue for the 37 downtown restaurants that participated.

The organizers of Restuarant Week Grand Rapids are trying to attract more people from outside of the immediate Grand Rapids area.

Grand Rapids/West Michigan Home Market Stabilizing

Tom Cook — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 14:00:27 +0000

I have a couple friends who are real estate agents and they have been echoing the same thing. However, I have had a cute little house next door, more than reasonably priced, that has been for sale for over a year now; so these statistics do make me wonder? But the statisticians say the West Michigan housing market is seeing some healthy signs. The number of housing listings went down 19% last month. Compare that to an 8% decrease from last year. So does that mean the houses were actually sold or does it mean they were "rented or leased out"?

Grand Rapids Splash Pads Are Open

Matt Milhouse — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 04:35:49 +0000

Summer has just begun and we’ve already had a taste of 90 degree temperatures. Fortuneatly, staying cool in Grand Rapids just got a little easier. The City of Grand Rapids has opened its splashpads! It’s good to have options to keep the kids cool this summer. Kiddie pools and sprinklers are fun, but splash pads are [...]

51st Annual Grand Haven Art Festival Kicks Off This Weekend

Tom Cook — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 15:00:57 +0000

We're only a few months away from ArtPrize so look at this as the warm up! The 51st Annual Grand Haven Art Festival is this weekend, June 23rd - 24th. Washington Avenue will be turned into an outdoor art gallery. There will be lots of local talent and it will also feature art from 150 of the nation's leading artists. There will also be a Family Day Of Fun, June 23rd, 10am-2pm, with arts and crafts activities for the kids. Admission and parking are free and open to the public both days.