The Grand Rapids Press

ALLENDALE, MI -- After nearly a year of protests and heated arguments, Allendale Township leaders decided Monday to keep a controversial Civil War statue in their park honoring veterans for good. By a split 5-2 vote, the Allendale Township Board of Trustees on Monday, June 14, approved keeping and repairing...

Anika Dy and Ariel Chang took their place at the top of the leaderboard after the first day of the Michigan Women’s Amateur Championship Monday at Saginaw Country Club. But the early fireworks belonged to Mandy Ehrlich of Grand Rapids and Emme Lantis of Corunna, who both kicked off the tournament’s first round with holes-in-one.

KALAMAZOO, MI -- The new dean of the Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine came to Kalamazoo in May with lofty goals to enhance health equity in the community, and diversity among the medical profession. Only a month after taking the helm at WMed, Dr. Paula Termuhlen...

Adam Coon’s dreams of competing in the Tokyo Olympics are over, but his athletic career is not. The former standout on Michigan’s wrestling team is looking to carve out a career in the NFL, despite not having played football since he starred for Fowlerville High School in 2012. Nevertheless, the Tennessee Titans are giving him a shot to make the team as an offensive lineman, signing him to a contract earlier this month.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will propose expanding the state’s Work Share program, which grants a $300-per-week federal bonus to some employees, spokesperson Bobby Leddy said Monday. The Work Share program allows employers who participate to have employees with reduced wages or hours also collect partial unemployment, including a $300-per-week additional federal...

MACKINAC COUNTY, MI – A road rage incident that began as a dispute over lane usage culminated on the Mackinac Bridge when a man fired a handgun into the air. According to troopers from the Michigan State Police Gaylord and St. Ignace posts, 65-year-old William Richard Pirkola of Ludington was arrested after the incident which occurred on the afternoon of June 12 on the world-famous structure connecting Michigan’s two peninsulas.

WYOMING, MI – The Godfrey-Lee Board of Education has appointed longtime school leader Dirk Weeldreyer to serve as interim superintendent while it searches for the district’s next leader, according to a June 11 announcement. Weeldreyer will take over on July 1, 2021, following the departure of current superintendent Kevin Polston,...

Michigan reported a two-day total of 338 new coronavirus cases and eight new deaths for Sunday and Monday, June 13-14. The state is averaging 244 new cases and 25 new deaths per day over the last week, according to data from the Department of Health and Human Services. That is the lowest seven-day case average since June 25, 2020.

KALAMAZOO, MI – Three men were convicted of methamphetamine trafficking in West Michigan. Timothy Mark Calicutt and Dwayne Deshaun Parks, both of Kalamazoo, as well as Ronald Lee Sutherland, of Allegan County, were convicted of multiple charges June 10 after a four-day jury trial in United States Western District Court of Michigan.

HIGHLAND PARK, MI -- Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and LGBTQ rights advocates said a new executive order blocking government funding for conversion therapy on minors is a first step toward outlawing the practices in Michigan. The governor said tax dollars should not go toward “dangerous and discredited” practices during a Monday...

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Michigan’s own Quinn XCII will headline the two-day, two-stage Breakaway Music Festival in Grand Rapids this summer. The outdoor festival will return for its fourth year in Grand Rapids, bringing danceable music, from EDM to hip-hop to pop, to Belknap Park on Aug. 27-28. Other performers...

KENT COUNTY, MI – Consumers Energy says some customers could briefly lose power Tuesday, June 15, when a house is moved from Byron Center to Dorr Township in northern Allegan County. Consumers, which is coordinating the move, asked motorists to avoid the area. Some roads along the 8.5-mile route will...

In a sign of the winding down of the pandemic as well as the winding down of the 2020-21 school year, only five students at two K-12 school districts have been infected by coronavirus in new school-related outbreaks, according to data released Monday, June 14, by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

The Girl Scouts are sitting on 15 million boxes of unsold cookies this year – an unprecedented problem, The Associated Press reports. The culprit isn’t thinner demand, but the coronavirus pandemic that put a damper on the spring selling season, organization officials said. Many troops around the country nixed in-person sales and booths for safety reasons. Those traditions were supplemented with contactless delivery, drive-thrus and a partnership with Grubhub – but it wasn’t enough, AP reports.

DEARBORN, MI – Michigan drivers are now paying the highest average price for a gallon of regular unleaded in seven years. According to AAA Michigan, the average price jumped 15 cents compared to last week. It’s the highest price jump in the nation compared to last week. Specifically, Michigan drivers...

Michigan’s health officials are tracking 340 known COVID-19 outbreaks, including 21 new clusters discovered within the last week. The latest count is a 35% decrease from a week ago when the health department reported 494 active and ongoing outbreak. At that time, there were 29 newly added clusters. Much like...

GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- The Grand Rapids Fire Department is receiving $466,948 in federal grant funding to purchase extrication and rescue equipment. “The Grand Rapids Fire Department is so happy to be awarded this Grant for Extrication and Technical Rescue equipment,” said Grand Rapids Fire Chief John Lehman. “This equipment which is carried on our front line apparatus is critical to our rescue response to vehicle accidents and entrapments.

GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- Road work will start Wednesday on a stretch of Ottawa Avenue NW in downtown Grand Rapids will drop traffic to one lane and impact street parking. The resurfacing work on Ottawa Avenue between Michigan and Fulton streets begins June 16 and is expected to conclude before ArtPrize begins Sept. 16.

State legislators are looking to force local governments to ease restrictions on short-term rentals, but the Michigan Municipal League says the “one-size fits all” bills will hurt residents more than they’ll help tourism. Legislation is moving through the house and senate seeking to stop Michigan communities from outright banning short-term...

The U.S. Women’s National Team continued its dominance with a win over Jamaica in a friendly match at the WNT Summer Series over the weekend. The USWNT is gearing up for the Tokyo Olympics, which begin in 39 days. The U.S. women haven’t lost in 41 straight matches, which is...