Local crime, high school sports, county politics, events tonight, and business closings — the daily West Michigan report from HEREGrandRapids.
SportsGRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Pro volleyball returns to downtown Grand Rapids on Thursday, Jan. 7, when the Grand Rapids Rise host the Orlando Valkyries at Van Andel Arena to start their fourth season in Major League Volleyball. The team released its full 2027 slate Friday.…
SportsGRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The Grand Rapids Griffins are getting a familiar young defenseman back. The Detroit Red Wings on Friday sent Axel Sandin-Pellikka to their AHL affiliate and brought blueliner Jacob Bernard-Docker up from Grand Rapids in exchange. Sandin-Pellikka, 21, had dressed for seven…
SportsGRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The Grand Rapids Griffins swapped players with their NHL parent club Thursday, getting goaltender Michal Postava back while forward Sheldon Dries headed to Detroit. The Red Wings returned Postava to the AHL after a short emergency stint in which he won…
From the HERE City State DeskEAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan State volleyball had No. 19 Indiana on the ropes Friday night, taking the first two sets at Breslin Center, before the Hoosiers stormed back to win in five. Michigan State won the opening sets 25-19 and 25-15, then dropped the…
From the HERE City State DeskANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan begins life as the reigning national champion on Monday night, when the No. 16 Wolverines host in-state opponent Oakland at Crisler Center in the 2026-27 opener. Tipoff is 6 p.m. on Big Ten Network. The game is the first in…
From the HERE City State DeskEAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan State men soccer had gone all season without losing at DeMartin Stadium. Rutgers ended that run Friday, beating the No. 8 Spartans 4-1 on the night the program honored its seniors. The Spartans are now 10-3-3, with a 5-2-2 Big…
From the HERE City National DeskVATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV welcomed the men's and women's basketball teams from Villanova and Notre Dame to a private audience Saturday, one day before the two Catholic schools open the college basketball season in Rome. Roughly 7,000 people filled the Paul VI audience…
From the HERE City National DeskOKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — The Oklahoma City Thunder will be without big man Chet Holmgren into the holidays after the team announced Friday that he has a small tear in the patellar tendon of his right knee. Holmgren first felt discomfort in the knee on…
From the HERE City National DeskST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays turned down 2027 mutual options Friday on right-hander Nick Martinez and center fielder Cedric Mullins, a widely expected move that sends both players into free agency. Martinez had a $20 million mutual option for next season. The…
From the HERE City National DeskPHILADELPHIA, Pa. — LeBron James took over the last two minutes Friday night, and the Philadelphia 76ers held off the defending champion New York Knicks 98-93 to start Emirates NBA Cup group play at 1-0. Philadelphia had built a double-digit cushion in the fourth quarter…
From the HERE City National DeskMIAMI — The Miami Marlins exercised Sandy Alcantara's $21 million club option for 2027 on Friday, keeping their ace off the open market on a busy day of contract decisions across Major League Baseball. Declining the option would have cost Miami a $2 million buyout.…
From the HERE City National DeskSAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — Golden State dug out of a 25-point hole Friday night and pulled away to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 112-95 at Chase Center in the opening game of Emirates NBA Cup group play for both teams. Luka Doncic started like he…
From the HERE City State Desk
LANSING, Mich. — Thousands of Michigan elementary teachers are back in training this school year, learning research-based methods for teaching children to read as the state tries to reverse a decade of sliding literacy scores. The push now has the force of law. Public Act 26, signed by Gov. Gretchen…
Events
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Restaurant Week GR is coming back for a 17th year, running nine days from Nov. 6 through Nov. 14 across the Grand Rapids area. More than 55 restaurants have signed on. Each will serve a meal of at least two courses at one or more set…
From the HERE City State Desk
LANSING, Mich. — Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel on Friday asked the state Public Service Commission to take a second look at its approval of DTE Electric contracts to power a planned Google data center in Van Buren Township, arguing the deal leaves other utility customers exposed to costs. Her…
From the HERE City State Desk
LANSING, Mich. — Anyone drawing unemployment in Michigan has until Monday, Nov. 2, at 4:30 p.m. to file a certification in the old online system before the state agency shuts down for a week to move to new software. The Unemployment Insurance Agency is replacing its 14-year-old Michigan Web Account…
From the HERE City State Desk
LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan Department of Treasury is folding several more taxes into its online eServices platform on Nov. 12, and taxpayers who handle those accounts face a stretch of closed call centers and offline systems in the days before the switch. Once the expansion is live, individuals and…
Traffic
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Most cars would be kept off Indian Mounds Drive in Grand Rapids, Mich., under a plan the Kent County Parks Department rolled out Wednesday, turning the riverside route into a trail for walkers, bikers and anglers. The road and shared recreation lane stretches about four miles…
From the HERE City National Desk
MUSCAT, Oman — Omani forces pulled 25 crew members off a crude oil tanker that was hit and set on fire near the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, one of several ship incidents reported in the narrow waterway in a single day. The Omani Maritime Security Centre said the vessel,…
Politics
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Voters in Grand Rapids who need a lift to the polls on Nov. 3 can get one on two wheels for free. Veo, the company that runs the shared scooter and e-bike fleet in the city, is handing out a $10 ride credit for Election Day…
Politics
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Grand Rapids city leaders want residents to review and react to a draft plan that will steer spending on its parks, trails and recreation centers from 2027 through 2032. The Department of Parks and Recreation rewrites the master plan every five years under state Department of…
From the HERE City State Desk
ST. CLAIR SHORES, Mich. — Michigan two candidates for governor split up the map on Friday for the final weekend before the Nov. 3 election, each working to turn out supporters in a race that will decide who succeeds Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Democratic nominee Jocelyn Benson rallied in Macomb County…
Health
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Some of the youngest patients in Grand Rapids got dressed up for Halloween this week, thanks to nurses in the neonatal intensive care unit at Trinity Health Grand Rapids. The NICU staff sewed the outfits by hand from lightweight felt and shaped each one to fit…
Hyper-local coverage across Kent
Reach thousands of engaged West Michigan readers every day — section sponsorships starting at $149/month
