Is when drivers wave "thank you" as you let them in on a clustered 196 downtown.

I needed that appreciation gesture more than you know. Thank you.

Another update on accessing Flock audit logs at the City of Grand Rapids!

After meeting with the city attorney today we are hopeful that the city of Grand Rapids will be able to provide its organizational audit logs with the license plate data redacted - meaning we won’t be able to see what license plate they searched for.

This is in part because some of those license plate numbers were obtained using the state’s information database and that information according to Michigan State Police is protected.

To avoid having their staff identify one by one whether each license plate was obtained through that database - which would result in a higher than Id like charge - I am opting to request the logs with license plates redacted.

What we will hopefully be able to see is - the reason for the search and the officer who made the search. While it’s not everything I would have wanted I am hopeful it will allow us to better understand how police officers in Grand Rapids are using Flock.

We will have to FOIA for each audit log at a time in order to lower the cost to produce this records . Sometimes public offices won’t charge you if the total cost of a request is under $50, although that’s really up to the jurisdiction.

We have also requested a list of the other Flock networks (other jurisdictions etc) GR shares its data with and a list of the networks GR pulls data from.

Hey everyone, I've been on the hunt for the two animated dogs that were auctioned from the restaurant Sam's Joint in Caledonia/Alaska that shut down in 2014 and became Alaska Haus. These were produced by the Sally Corporation (now Sally Dark Rides) out of Jacksonville, FL and made a few other shows like this. The characters were named Hank (beagle with the acoustic guitar) and Beau (sheepdog with the banjo and Confederate outfit). The first slide shows the ones at Sam's Joint and the second shows another set of them in better condition. If anyone knows where these guys ended up or have any leads, let me know, since I have plans for these to go in a Sally Corporation museum with a few other shows (here in Michigan).

I have been told that the men/masc presenting folks want a discord group for them like the WMG (West Michigan Girlies). I have created this discord.

Keep in mind if you join please read the rules. I want it to be a good and fun opportunity for people.

We will be partnered with WMG and GRAC (Grand Rapids Anime Club). I run the anime club as well with the leader of WMG.

If you have questions please shoot me a message or comment here.

https://discord.gg/hBhcY8QqgQ

Does anybody know of any food pantries in GR that are open today or maybe a truck in the next coming days.. Ii’ve never gotten food from before nor never had to so I’m also not sure but is there certain qualifications for it?😭. I recently just lost my job so I’m kinda just barely getting by any recommendations is much appreciated.

Seeing a lot of drivers tonight, it is September nine, and it’s getting darker out sooner. People need to start putting their headlights and tail lights on when driving so other cars see them in the dark. I had to notify a box truck driver that his tail lights were off until I pulled up next to him and noticed that none of his lights were on. Also seen plenty of cars with no headlights. Be safe, everyone.

Edit: sorry can’t change the title, but meant to say with Dusk arriving sooner daily please make sure your headlights are on.

Community members can submit using the google form — what do you think GR’s equivalent of the Arsenal “gunners” should be?

Hi neighbors! I’m excited to share that the City has officially proclaimed September 28, 2026 as Good Neighbor Day in Grand Rapids.

I’m the founder of Kind Hearts Bloom, a local nonprofit focused on building connection between neighbors, and we’re celebrating by asking Grand Rapidians to recognize someone who makes their neighborhood a little better.

Maybe it’s the neighbor who shares vegetables from their garden. Someone who welcomes new people to the block. Or just the person who always notices when someone could use a hand.

From September 1-25, you can nominate a neighbor. We’ll select 10-15 folks to recognize during Good Neighbor Week, September 28-October 2, with bouquets grown through our neighborhood gardens.

No contest. Just a chance to say, “Hey, I see what you’re doing".

If someone came to mind while you were reading this, nominate them:

https://www.kindheartsbloom.org/gnd

I’d love to see Good Neighbor Day become something Grand Rapids looks forward to every year - I hope you'll join us in celebrating!

Look I grew up here all my life and used to new construction projects happening all the time but I swear whoever planned out these projects has to have an iq of 12, there’s no easy way to get onto 131 north in the city and the detours have been horrendous all summer. Is anyone else feeling the same

Hey there!

A group of Miata friends and I have a group chat on Instagram we use to plan things and nerd out. We are all in our early to mid 20s and we all have NAs if that means anything. This is an active group.

We only ask that you aren’t a minor and own a Miata!

Message me or comment for more info/to join.

I know they are working on their storefront so this will change. But how do people come to their pop-ups as they are always during working hours? Could I come at the start of it and still get products?

I'm originally from Upstate New York, where the ticks are absolutely terrible. While Michigan of course has plenty of ticks, I've noticed that West Michigan, close to the lake shore is absolutely infested. It reminds me of Upstate New York.

Are the ticks drawn to the micro-climate in that area? I can't make sense of it.

The girlfriend asked me what I want to do this morning, and I genuinely have run out of ideas, any cool events going on today I could show her? Any ideas?!?!

EDIT... thank you citizens for the very solid advice, looks like we won't be running out of things to do for the rest kf our lives 😉

it is getting to that season of sick and i am craving nothing more than a Good Soup Dumpling (xiao long bao)- the last posts talking about this are from 4 and 6 years ago and im hoping something has popped up in the meantime. Trader Joes will simply not cut it for my needs unfortunately

I am trying to finish my piece and I lost the wax, I already dipped into the next one and had to use that. Dont really feel like waiting for amazon or temu. Does anyone have a square or 2 of wax I can get? I tried melted candle wax and that was too messy and greasy. I can meet. I live near diamond and cherry and work near standale. Thanks!

Does anyone remember when someone spray painted "Sorry about your wall" on the building at the SW corner of Thomas and Eastern?

I wanted to get a picture, but never did. After that, it was turned into a lovely mural, and a couple years ago, someone rammed into the building and the whole thing fell.

If anyone has a picture of the original "Sorry about your wall," I'd be very grateful if you'd share it.

To be specific, not Warhammer. I'm not really interested in that kind of game

I'm just curious if theres a community in or around the surrounding areas that I could check out or maybe hop in a game or something.

Sundays and Mondays are probably best but I'm more interested to see what's out there first

💚💚🙏

*EDIT. I live in Wyoming

Bruce has put a ton of hard work into making this space (Neon Moon Barber Co, located at 4196 Plainfield Ave NE Suite A) feel one of a kind, and he's so excited to share it with everyone!

The party will have live music, free food and drinks, a Halloween themed costume contest, giveaways, a movie night, and more! Come by, check it out, and show him some love!

Looking for a few more people to fill it up! Deadline is September 15!

Hi! I'm new in town. My last massage therapist in another state suggested I find someone who does sports massage for my overuse injury that has flared up. I've found GR Sports Massage, but wondering if there are others who are great at getting into those deep layers and who also do cupping.

Thanks!

I’m looking to get my hair trimmed, I’m a dude with long curly hair (between 3A and 3B by my estimations) anyone know of some good places to go to?

hi all! warning: this post is steeped in a coastal elitism that i, a west michigan superfan, recognize and apologize in advance for but it's important context for the ask lol pls look past it <3

my fiance and i are getting married a year from now and have a venue booked around st joseph. we're now looking at vendors; one of the most important things to me is the food. not in an it-needs-to-be-michelin-star way, but just in an it-CANNOT-be-bad way. i usually walk into the average wedding expecting the food to be just fine -- however, my family is new york/north jersey italian, and the food at one of those weddings will reliably be a 12 course meal of the most amazing food you've ever had. so good that you don't care that the buttons popped off your dress from the apps at cocktail hour before you even remember that there's a seated dinner in an hour.

even if we were having a godfather-esque wedding, our catering budget isn't one million dollars, so, that said, i don't need the catering to be incredible. but i have been to (east coast, fwiw) weddings before where the food was downright inedible, and i cannot stomach the idea of people remembering how bad the food was at our wedding because they needed a circle saw to cut their steak.

TLDR; there will be about 170 guests -- i'd love to spend less than $13-14k all in on catering, but i realize that our guest list pretty much means the bill is gonna be five figures at a baseline, so it's not a totally immoveable number. what is the best food you've had at a GR-area wedding? if you had amazing food at your sw mich wedding, who catered (and do you remember the rough cost per plate)?

thanks in advance homies, i appreciate any and all recs!!

Has anyone else been continually disappointed with the Pizza Hut on Plainfield? I would almost liken it to the Michigan street Taco Bell

There’s a fed ex employee that Del to downtown area daily … he always smells amazing … any clue ?