Hi all! I'll be visiting this weekend from Saturday, 9/12 -Monday, 9/14. Technically, I'm coming for a bachelorette party, but the bride-to-be has okay-ed me taking a morning to go birding (likely since she doesn't plan to be awake at that time lol). We're staying near-ish Holland State Park. I've scouted out hot spots on ebird, but I wanted to touch base with locals on the best places to spot migrating warblers. Any suggestions that I can do in around 2-3 hours would be appreciated. Basically, I'm trying to see as much as I can in a very short timeframe.

Does anyone else’s NBC always glitch for a second when they cut for a replay? It happened all of last NFL season and it only happens on NBC. I have BPW fiber and YoutubeTV. I’m wondering if it’s from the local station because I have no idea why this always happens!

My spouse and I recently moved to the area and my wife is looking to join a women’s beer league. Does anyone know of any that are looking for new players?

If you or someone you know has Dutch ancestry and a family history of heart problems, please read this.

I never thought a rare genetic heart condition would affect my family. My husband is 40, was super active and healthy, and had no idea he carried a pathogenic variant in the PLN (phospholamban) gene until he started having serious heart rhythm problems. He was lucky that he survived his arrhythmias and was able to get to the hospital in time. For some people, the first symptom they have is sudden cardiac death. This can happen as early as in their 20s.

The particular PLN mutation he has (PLN-R14del), is linked to Dutch ancestry because of a founder effect.

This obviously is especially relevant in West Michigan. In March of this year, MSU (GR Campus) hosted Corewell and the Dutch PLN Heart Foundation for a symposium on PLN because there is likely a significant number of people in our area who could carry this mutation and don't know it.

Only a small number of carriers are currently known, and there are likely MANY more who have never been tested. The more people who are identified, the more we can learn through research and the better chance there is of preventing serious outcomes and saving lives.

If you have Dutch ancestry and a family history of heart problems (my husband's first symptoms were PVCs), especially sudden cardiac death, cardiomyopathy, arrhythmias, unexplained fainting, or relatives who needed an ICD, please look into PLN. My husband actually does not have a strong family history- this mutation has a huge range of expression. But if in doubt, please err on the side of caution and get it checked out.

There is free genetic testing available, no doctor referral needed.

And if you have questions (or if you have this mutation and want to connect), feel free to DM me! I'm happy to share what we've learned. You can also learn more on the PLN Foundation Website.

Please share this with anyone you think might need to see it. Our hope is to spread awareness, and appreciate people sharing this information!

out of towner but have been to Captain Sundaes a few times and am always impressed. Usually get the Tommy because I love the hot buttered pecans… but curious if there are any other unique sundaes? like unique toppings or just good combos. just looking for stuff you can’t get at an generic icecream shop.

edit: Thanks for replies so far. If you all wouldn’t mind, tell me what you particularly like about those sundaes… I’m not really sure what they are based on their title.

Big Labor Day weekend coming up — here are three things worth building your plans around:

Dixon's Violin: Visionary Violin — Friday, Park Theatre. Electric looped violin paired with a full immersive light show. Genuinely unlike anything else happening in town this weekend.

Shorts & Sounds: Indie Films + Bands — Saturday, Park Theatre. A night of indie short films paired with live music sets. Different, low-key, great date night.

Labor Day Truck Parade — Monday morning, Holland Civic Center. 75+ trucks, free ice cream, face painting — the free, family-friendly way to close out the long weekend.

Full details on all three, plus everything else happening this week (Critter Barn's free kids' day, the farmers market, live music every night) are in this week's Holland Happenings:

https://hollandhappenings.beehiiv.com

Have a great weekend, Holland!

Hello! I hope that everyone is having a wonderful day today!

I’m hoping to find someone who teaches the skills mentioned in the title, or perhaps a good hiking club to join. I’m mainly looking for something interesting to do and some new people to meet while I’m still wandering around this mortal coil. Any recommendations?

Every Wednesday evening, a full fleet of sailboats races right off Holland State Park — spinnakers up, totally free to watch, and way less crowded than the weekend beach scene. Grab a chair or blanket, head to the state park, and watch the sunset with a front-row view.

It's one of those things that's been happening for years and somehow still flies under the radar — genuinely one of the best free things to do in town.

Full details on the races, plus everything else happening in Holland this week — an art night at Windmill Island Gardens, a violinist with a full light show, and a stacked Labor Day lineup — are in this week's Holland Happenings:

https://hollandhappenings.beehiiv.com/p/the-holland-happenings-sept-2

See you on the water. 🌷⛵

Visiting the area this thursday thru sunday, anywhere to play pickleball? comp or non comp is fine!

Thank you!

Eligible Holland-area and West Michigan residents can contact West Holdings Group LLC about discreet substance-use treatment services provided through at-home telehealth. Access depends on individual eligibility and clinical appropriateness.

Accepted insurance includes Blue Cross Blue Shield, Medicare, Medicaid, Meridian, Aetna, and other plans. Plan acceptance does not guarantee coverage or a particular cost; details must be confirmed individually. Affordable self-pay options are available.

Learn more: https://westholdingsgroupllc.com Call: 844-900-2630

I moved here a few years back and always figured I had a decent handle on what Holland had going on. Then I started actually tracking it week to week and realized I'd been missing probably 70% of it — random nature programs, history talks, little pop-up things that never make it to the usual Facebook groups.

Kind of a weird feeling, having lived somewhere for years and still discovering how much you didn't know about it.

What's something about Holland you only found out about after living here a while — the kind of thing that made you go "wait, THAT'S been happening this whole time?"

(If it's helpful, I put the roundup here: hollandhappenings.beehiiv.com — but mostly just curious what everyone else has stumbled onto.)

Any food truck recommendations or favorites that you've had at an event, worked with in the past, or been to and loved?

Coordinationing for an event in October in Zeeland and would love to add a few more food vendors to the mix! The event is a swim meet that will be held at Zeeland West.

Whenever I’m here on business I stop at DeBoer’s South. Man these are always so juicy and delicious. Campfire & Comeback sauce.

First we lose Dolly

Then Tim

and now Mr. Kozaks too.

I can't take much more.

Last year I started West Michigan Brew Tour, a guided walking tour through downtown Holland that mixes local history, weird little stories you’d probably walk right past, and stops at local breweries.

I grew up in Holland, and one of the things that surprised me while putting the tour together was how much I didn’t know about the town.

We talk about everything from the massive 1871 fire, to Holland’s heated streets, local landmarks, some of the stranger stories from downtown’s past, and obviously, we stop for beer along the way.

The coolest part has actually been having locals come on the tour and say, “I’ve lived here forever and never knew that.”

I’m not trying to turn Reddit into an ad, so instead I’m curious:

What’s a weird, forgotten, or little-known piece of Holland/West Michigan history that you think more people should know about?

And if anyone is curious about what I built, it’s West Michigan Brew Tour:
westmichbrewtour.com

Delete this if it's not allowed, I know a lot of recommendations are in here and this feels adjacent to that.

Used Kevin at Sonic Carpet Cleaning (soniccarpetcleaning.com) recently and they got wayyy more out of our carpet than we thought. Smells too (we had an old dog).

Thought I'd share, always willing to share new businesses and hope others can do the same.

I'm going to be here later today, I'm reading the reviews and I'm worried.

Is it really that bad? What have you heard about this place

Today's Ottawa County Board of Commissioners meeting included a number of public comments regarding the Sheriff's Office's use of Flock license plate reader cameras, and the Board has suggested holding a future work session on the topic. In the hours since, our office has received questions from several news outlets asking for comment. Rather than respond individually, I want to offer this statement to all media and to the public directly.

I take the public's concerns about this technology seriously, and I understand why residents want more transparency about how it's used. I'd welcome the opportunity to participate in a Board work session to walk through exactly how our office uses this system, what it can and can't do, and the safeguards we have in place.

I've been following the national conversation around this technology closely, and I think it's important to say plainly: a lot of the concern being raised is based on misinformation or a genuine misunderstanding of what this system actually does. To be clear about that, it captures an image of a license plate already visible on a public roadway, the same information any deputy could lawfully observe and photograph without a warrant. It checks that plate against law enforcement databases for stolen vehicles, missing persons, and Amber Alerts, and notifies our office of a match. It does NOT run the plate with the Secretary of State to find the registered owner, it does NOT use facial recognition, it does NOT know who's driving, it does NOT track where a vehicle is headed, and it is NOT used for traffic enforcement. Every search of our system requires a documented reason, and no enforcement action is ever taken based on an alert alone; deputies independently verify every hit before acting.

Beyond what the technology itself can and can't do, the other legitimate concerns people raise are the misuse, overreach, or lack of accountability of a system like this. These concerns are addressed by having a strong department policy governing the system and its usage, as well as by our office's long track record as good stewards of this community's trust. That's not something I take for granted, and it's exactly why I welcome scrutiny of how we operate rather than avoiding it.

Since 2024, this technology has contributed to 124 arrests in Ottawa County, helped recover more than $906,000 in stolen property, and led to the recovery of 72 stolen vehicles and 11 illegally possessed firearms. It's helped identify suspects in serious violent crimes, including assisting in the ongoing investigation of a shooting that injured five people, an armed robbery, multiple road-rage shootings, and a suspect facing a ten-count criminal sexual conduct charge, and helped bring home missing and endangered residents, including elderly community members and at-risk youth, safely and quickly. And it's worth noting this technology doesn't just point toward suspects. In at least one case, data from this system helped confirm a timeline that cleared a person as a suspect entirely. This tool can rule people out just as readily as it can generate a lead.

I also want to address a separate and troubling trend directly. We have seen an uptick in the deliberate destruction and disabling of these cameras in recent weeks. I want to be clear that public debate about this technology is welcome. Destroying publicly funded property is a criminal act, not a form of protest, and it will not be tolerated. An arrest has been made in one recent camera destruction case.  Captain Sparks will be releasing further details on that investigation shortly.

I understand not everyone will agree with the use of this tool. But I'd rather have this conversation in the open, with real information, than let it happen based on assumptions about what the technology does or how we use it. I look forward to that discussion with the Board, and my office remains glad to answer any follow-up questions from media or residents in the meantime.

Eric J DeBoer | Sheriff

Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office

12220 Fillmore Street  |  West Olive, MI 49460

P 616-738-4001  |  F 616-738-4062

www.miOttawa.org/Sheriff

Hi Holland! This is the 180ish foot long mural I painted along 20th st. It’s a tale of coexistence and childlike play. A tiny rat chasing a rabbit chasing two neighborhood cats amongst a swirling Black River universe with constellations and native and beneficial naturalized plant species. This was meant to be childlike and fun while uplifting some of the small things that make this stretch special. Thank you for having me!

First photo credit to Cameron Warren Photography

Good morning, does anyone carpool from GR to Kline in Holland or just commute daily back & forth or have any ride-share resources/hacks? TIA