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Lessons About Grand Rapids Gang Life Grand Rapids WZZM TV-13 reports on a presentation in Adelante High School that seeks to educate students about the violence and consequences of gang life with representatives from the police, prisons and a former gang leader who will also discuss issues with students.

Grand Rapids Schools Ponder Privatization WZZM TV-13 (Grand Rapids) reports that the Grand Rapids School District is considering privitation of some support staff jobs in an effort to trim costs in the face of an $18-million deficit. Transportation, food service workers and custodians could be affected.

Smart Growth in Grand Rapids The Michigan Land Use Institute reports that ten years of Smart Growth policy has generated an urban comeback in Grand Rapids. has generated there. Like so many other downtowns in our state, Grand Rapids was facing abandonment, decay, and despair. Unlike many others cities in Michigan, their downtown is gaining population and prosperity.

Steelcase to Cut 600 Grand Rapids Jobs

Big Layoffs for Grand Rapids Public Schools WZZM TV-13 Grand Rapids reports that 270 Grand Rapids school teachers are getting pink slips. The Grand Rapids Public School Board hopes that retirement incentives they'll reduce that number to 90. The board has also voted to privatize bus driving positions which may cut hundreds more jobs.

Custodians Next on Grand Rapids Schools Chopping Block WZZM TV-13 Grand Rapids reports that nearly 200 custodians who work for Grand Rapids Public Schools may lose their jobs due to the School Board privatizing custodial services in an effort to save money. 225 school bus drivers have already lost their jobs to outsourcing.

Festival of the Arts - Grand Rapids, June 3-4-5, 2005 Festival has grown to encompass almost all of downtown Grand Rapids with six performance stages; lots and lots of food booths offering ethnic delights of all kinds; singers, dancers, thespians, visual artists, and performers from all over West Michigan; more than 20,000 hard-working volunteers; and over half a million people in attendance. June 3-4-5, 2005.

Summer Concert Series at the Meijer Gardens Amphitheater 2005 - Grand Rapids

Between Silence and Strength: The Sculpture of Dietrich Klinge - Grand Rapids This exhibition will focus on the scope of Dietrich Klinge's career with large scale-bronze, busts, reliefs, drawings, and prints. This retrospective exhibition is the first to honor the artist in the United States and is being developed exclusively for Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park with the artist and his galleries in Berlin and Cologne.

Apple Draws a Crowd in Grand Rapids The Grand Rapids Press reports that the opening of the first Apple Store in West Michigan (one of 103 in the world) drew the largest crowd (some from Cleveland) that the Woodland Shopping Center mall has ever seen for a store opening.

Ancient Egypt Exhibit Coming to Grand Rapids The Associated Press (via the TC Record-Eagle) reports that "Treasures of Ancient Egypt: The Quest for Immortality", a traveling exhibit of Egyptian antiquities will be at the Public Museum of Grand Rapids from January 28, 2005 to May 7, 2006. It will cover two-thirds of the Van Andel Museum's third floor.

MSU Medical School Could be Coming to Grand Rapids WZZM TV-13 Grand Rapids reports that the announcement of the expansion of MSU's Medical School in Grand Rapids and could be just a few weeks away. The MSU Board of Trustees is currently in Grand Rapids touring a number of medical facilities including Spectrum Health, Saint Mary's, and The Van Andel Institute.

Grand Rapids Schools Get Creative with Busing The Detroit Free Press reports that Grand Rapids school districts are turning to a variety of experimental solutions to keep costs in check while still getting students to and from class including consolidating or cutting routes, "subscribe to ride" and mileage increasing fuel additives. Although the schools purchase gas tax-free and in bulk, they expected per-gallon costs of $1.45 instead of $2.

Grand Rapids Astronaut to Consult for NASA WOOD-TV Grand Rapids reports that Colonel Al Worden of Grand Rapids (command module pilot for Apollo 15, NASA's fourth manned lunar landing mission in 1971) is working with NASA on its new 104 billion dollar moon exploration plan. Plans for the new exploration plan would allow four astronauts to stay on the moon for a week - twice as long as Apollo missions.

Food, Wine and All that Jazz, Oct. 28th; Grand Rapids Join WGVU and D&W for more than 35 tables filled with over 300 domestic wine selections from Michigan, Washington, Oregon, California, New York and other North American wine producing areas. In addition, tempt your tastes with over 25 tables of select gourmet foods and live jazz by The Bob Hartig Group and the Kurt Ellenberger Trio.

Grand Rapids Could Close 4 More Schools WZZM TV-13 reports that the official school closing plan for Grand Rapids Public Schools was released at last night's GRPS school board meeting. The tentative plan affects mostly elementary schools and would close 4 of the following: Congress, Fountain, Eastern, East Leonard, Kent Hills, Dickinson, Jefferson, Aberdeen and North Park.

Treasures of Ancient Egypt, Jan 28th-May 7th; Grand Rapids ****An Absolute Michigan Editor's Choice****
Highlighting masterpieces from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, the Luxor Museum in Luxor, formerly known as Thebes, and the archaeological sites of Tanis and Deir-el-Bahari, the exhibition includes several extraordinarily preserved artifacts that have not been publicly displayed before and many that have never been shown outside of Egypt.

"Butterflies Are Blooming", Mar 1st - Apr 30th; Grand Rapids This spring cozy up to some during Foremost’s Butterflies Are Blooming. More than 6000 tropical butterflies from Asia and South and Central America fly free among plants two stories tall. Brilliant blues, flaming reds, luminous yellows—and colors there isn't even a name for.

Grand Rapids Company Launches Film Community Site The Great Lakes IT Report pointed us to Grand Rapids based Spout. According to the web site Spout came about by "Four guys, hanging out in one guy's house, watching films, talking about the films they want to make, getting frustrated with the system that stands in the way of so many great films." Of course as one of the guys is Rick DeVos...

The Grand Rapids Mystery Development - Update Extensive coverage (with lots of visuals) of the "Mystery Development" in Grand Rapids on 30 acres near the Grand River that is rumored to be a $2 billion project with the potential to add 10,000 jobs.

Grand Rapids is a City on the Move - #6 with a Bullet WOOD TV reports that a new report called the World Knowledge Competitiveness Index puts Grand Rapids sixth in the world when it comes to developing new jobs and ideas. The report compares 125 cities worldwide. Only San Jose, Boston, San Francisco, Hartford, and Seattle fare better. Key components are education levels, investment into education and the generation of patents.

Solving the Grand Rapids Mystery Development WOOD-TV 8 has extensive text and video coverage about the RiverGrand project and some of the people behind it. Developer Duane Faust compares physical aspects of the project to Baltimore's Inner Harbor (suggests a marina), but utilizing high-rise structures like London's Canary Wharf and with a residential, commercial, entertainment blend like Atlanta's Atlantic Station.

Grand Rapids Renaissance Zones a Michigan Success Story The Grand Rapids Press had a detailed feature this weekend looking at how the city's decision in 1996 to create Renaissance Zones and forgoe millions in taxes helped to create millions in investments, redevelopment of some of the city's most depressed properties and a dramatic revitalization in some neighborhoods. Between 1996 and 2005, taxable value...

Grand Rapids Has a Secret WOOD-TV reports that the Grand Rapids Downtown Alliance board today unveiled the new branding theme for the city's downtown area: "Keep it a secret." The brand project (logo, slogan, roll-out plan) cost $82,000 to develop and has an expected life of 3-5 years.

Festival of the Arts, June 2-4; Grand Rapids (Updated report) Festival of the Arts encompasses almost all of downtown Grand Rapids with six performance stages; lots and lots of food booths offering ethnic delights of all kinds; singers, dancers, thespians, visual artists, and performers from all over West Michigan; more than 20,000 hard-working volunteers; and over half a million people in attendance...

Sculptor Tom Otterness in Grand Rapids Tom Otterness exhibit at Frederik Meijer Gardens. The exhibit represents the artist's largest public art exhibition in the United States to date. The sculptures are also on display throughout downtown Grand Rapids throughout September 10, 2006. You can also visit the Meijer Gardens web site for a host of additional information including a great slideshow.

Grand Rapids a Hotbed for Green Building Greater Grand Rapids and the West Michigan region as a whole have an extraordinary number of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certified structures (more square footage per capita under LEED certification than any other city in the United States). Grand Rapids - Rapid Growth has a feature exploring just why that is the case, looking at philanthropist and Steelcase heir Peter Wege.

9th Annual Michigan International Auto Show in Grand Rapids Thought you'd seen it all with the North American International Auto Show in Detroit? Not quite! There's still the 9th Annual Michigan International Auto Show in Grand Rapids! Featuring the Million Dollar Motorway, Gillmore Car Museum, NASCAR, Indy car and much more!

Grand Rapids Auto Show Multimedia Absolute Michigan has produced a multimedia feature from the 2007 Michigan International Auto Show in Grand Rapids. It features the photography of C.A. Carrigan and we're pretty darned happy with how it came out. Please drop us a line or a comment telling us what you think of it!

Grand Rapids Speeds Up Progress with Streetcars As Grand Rapids enjoys a bit of an economic boom, the city is looking to continue to grow and attract by revitalizing the face of public transportation, with streetcars. Andy Guy of the Michigan Land Use Institute explains in his recent article Agency Endorses Grand Rapids Streetcar.

Tracking the new Grand Rapids Art Museum The New York Times had an excellent article on the new (and green) Grand Rapids Art Museum. We also introduce Andy Dragt's new videoblog, Developing Grand Rapids and link to some photos of the construction.

Road Trip: Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park - Grand Rapids Discover the beauty and splendor of Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, a spectacular botanic garden and world–class sculpture park in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The Water Festival - June 28, 2008 in Grand Rapids On Saturday June 28, 2008, the Grand Rapids Water Festival will be held at Riverside Park in Grand Rapids. The daylong concert (11 AM - 10 PM) highlights the finest acoustic music Michigan has to offer. Includes brief talks between musical performances about water issues including diversion, pollution and privatization.

Michigan Restaurants: Yesterdog in Grand Rapids Yesterdog is located in Eastown, one of the most popular places to visit when in Grand Rapids. The Hot Dogs - Yesterdog, Cheddardog, Ultradog, Krautdog and Veggiedog - are made right in front of your eyes, so you can see all of the action before sitting down to get sloppy!

Michigan Neighborhoods: Heritage Hills in Grand Rapids Heritage Hill has 1,300 homes that date from 1848 and representing over 60 architectural styles. Click through for photos, history and information.

long (overdue) exposures from Grand Rapids, photo by powerbooktrance

Mom’s World: Shopping in Grand Rapids, 1946, photo by Joey Harrison

long (overdue) exposures from Grand Rapids, photo by powerbooktrance

Park(ing) Day webcasting from Grand Rapids Tomorrow (Friday, September 19) is National Park-ing Day. In this video about Parking Day in Grand Rapids, Andy Dragt says he'll be broadcasting live via internet tomorrow. Cool.

Spotlight: Food, Wine & All That Jazz, October 10 - Grand Rapids Head to Grand Rapids for Food, Wine & All That Jazz, West Michigan’s premier wine tasting event at the Grand Rapids Public Museum. Enjoy more than 35 tables filled with over 300 domestic wine selections and over 25 tables of select gourmet foods.

Art goes green - the Grand Rapids Art Museum, photo by numstead

World Record Grand Rapids Zombie Walk by Chad

Grand Rapids International Wine & Food Festival giveaway! Join Grand Rapids' finest restaurants with vintners from throughout Michigan and the world for an amazing culinary celebration. In addition to over 500 different labels of wine, beer & spirits there will be workshops and demonstrations and you can win free tickets in our giveway!

Ode to Grand Rapids by Billy Jack O’Toole. DeVos Place Convention Center in Grand Rapids.

Grand Rapids Camper, Travel & RV Show Ticket Giveaway In cooperation with ShowSpan, Absolute Michigan is giving away some free tickets to the Grand Rapids Camper, Travel & RV Show which takes place January 15-18 at DeVos Place. Click through for the details!

Rolling through the Corez Wine Bar in Grand Rapids Andy Dragt of Rapid Growth TV has produced a cool introduction to the new Corez Wine Bar in Grand Rapids' East Hills neighborhood with owner/sommelier Mike Dombrowski.

Grand Rapids Boat Show Ticket Giveaway In cooperation with ShowSpan, Absolute Michigan is giving away 10 pair of tickets to the Grand Rapids Boat Show on February 18-22, 2009 at DeVos Place in downtown Grand Rapids. More than 300 new power boats, pontoons, ski boats, deck boats, runabouts and other family-fun boats from 16 to 50 feet long will be on display. Click on in to find out how to enter!

Grand Rapids Sidewalk Chalk Flood Rapid Growth reports that social networking maven Rob Bliss (who Facebooked up a giant pillow fight and a the world record zombie walk in Grand Rapids last year) is at it again. He plans to hand out 10,000 pieces of sidewalk chalk at Rosa Parks Circle on Saturday, April 18 to see what happens. We're guessing Flickr will be there.

Grand Rapids ArtPrize: the city is the gallery Yesterday the city of Grand Rapids announced the ArtPrize, a competition open to artists of all kinds from around the world that will award nearly one-half million dollars to prize winners, including $250,000 to the artist who receives the most public votes. The display and voting will run from September 23 - October 10, 2009

Spotlight: Grand Rapids Festival of the Arts, June 5-7 2009 marks the 40th festival of the arts, making it one of the longest-running festivals in the state. Always held the first full weekend in June in downtown Grand Rapids, festival of the arts is a community celebration featuring arts, entertainment, food and fun activities for the entire family.

Snapshots from the Grand Rapids ArtPrize Here's a video produced by Absolute Michigan featuring audio from Brad Aspey of Interlochen Public Radio along with photographs from the Absolute Michigan pool and the Creative Commons. The music is Octopussy by Juanitos. There's so much more to see - definitely go to Grand Rapids if at all possible to check out ArtPrize - you will not be disappointed!

On Location: ArtPrize in Grand Rapids Our next Absolute Michigan: On Location feature will be the inaugural ArtPrize in Grand Rapids. ArtPrize is open to any artist and the votes of all visitors will determine who wins the largest art prize in the world: $250,000! With venues all over the city and an amazing range of artists participating, ArtPrize is sure to be an amazing experience to everyone who attends.

National cribbage competition coming to Grand Rapids The American Cribbage Congress will be holding the Grand National 28 in Grand Rapids on September 25–27, 2009. In addition, the Grass Roots Tournament of Champions will be held on Friday, September 25. Entrants who want to play Grass Roots cribbage on Monday–Thursday nights will have plenty of opportunity, for Michigan boasts thirteen Grass Roots clubs.

2009 ArtPrize Grand Rapids by JohnE777 ArtPrize is open to any artist and the votes of all visitors will determine who wins the largest art prize in the world: $250,000! Check out photos, video, tweets & more.

Winners of the 2009 Grand Rapids ArtPrize The first-ever ArtPrize in Grand Rapids has ended with Open Water no. 24, a 6' x 19' oil painting by Ran Ortner being chosen as the winner by public vote from 1,262 artists who exhibited at 157 venues across the city. Click through for information about all the winners and some cool video from the Winners Celebration.

Report on the Grand Rapids International Wine Festival Michigan By the Bottle has a great report on last weekend's Grand Rapids International Wine Festival which featured over 100 Michigan wines for tasting. Click through to hear what Michigan winemakers have to say about the event!

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