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1 day ago | 
fox17online.com | Alina Hauter |Kallista Cory
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — For the first time in 56 years, Calder Plaza is silent during the first weekend of June as the Festival of the Arts is no longer taking place. The event, which has been a staple of the city's cultural community, leaves a void for its longtime organizers. "It's odd," said Missy Bush on Friday. "It's kind of a hard thing to think about, not being downtown, not being with all of the friends that you have made over the years."Bush had been involved with the festival since 2010.
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2 weeks ago | 
fox17online.com | Josh Berry |Kallista Cory
WOODLAND, Mich. — The number of World War II veterans in the U.S. has dwindled to less than one percent of the millions of Americans who served.
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4 weeks ago | 
fox17online.com | Matt Witkos |Kallista Cory
OTTAWA COUNTY, Mich. — The Patmos Library in Jamestown Township gained national attention for facing tension over books featuring LGBTQ+ topics. And they faced potential closure because of a lack of funding. It took three separate millage votes for funding to finally be renewed. Now the local community spot is closed, but not for those reasons. The library's front doors were locked during scheduled open hours on Friday.
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2 months ago | 
fox17online.com | Matt Witkos |Kallista Cory
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The Grand Rapids Police Department is set to be part of a documentary. Investigation Discovery is pulling back the curtain on the local police department with its new show, "All Access P.D.: Grand Rapids."The executive producer, Gary Sherman, explained that he and his crew had complete access to everything in the department. He added that they had more than a dozen cameras set up throughout the building. When asked if anything was censored, the answer was no.
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Jan 20, 2025 | 
fox17online.com | Josh Berry |Kallista Cory
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — It's often said that nurses are the frontline of medical care. For nurses at the Michigan Veteran's Home in Grand Rapids, they treat patients from the beginning until the very end. "I could never, ever do anything else but getting to know them," said Bette Barker, a nurse at the Veteran's Home for 22 years. Caring for a patient there is a unique journey. Barker's career there is a journey itself. It asks a lot of her but she wouldn't have it any other way.
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Nov 20, 2024 | 
fox17online.com | Olivia Yatooma |Kallista Cory
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The 2025 Master Plan for John Ball Zoo was recently released, but many people in neighboring communities are not happy. Wednesday night, a meeting hosted by John Ball Zoo for feedback on the Master Plan was interrupted multiple times with outcries from neighbors believing that this plan is robbing them of green space. Jaclyn Geroux, a mom who lives in the neighboring community to John Ball Zoo, said, “I’ve got three kids. We come to these parks. We walk this neighborhood.
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Nov 19, 2024 | 
fox17online.com | Matt Witkos |Kallista Cory
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — City of Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalynn Bliss is nearing the end of her time in office. Bliss is the city's 66th mayor but the first female one to lead the city. "I'm just so grateful to have been able to serve our city. I just can't say 'thank you' enough to everyone who supported me," Bliss told FOX 17. Bliss started her career with the city back in 2005 as the 2nd Ward city commissioner. Then in 2016, she was elected to lead the city forward.
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Nov 16, 2024 | 
fox17online.com | Matt Witkos |Kallista Cory
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — La Huasteca, a beloved Mexican restaurant, closed several months ago. Now, it has reopened with a new name: Iker’s Tacos. Iker’s Tacos officially opened its doors at a new location on Coit Avenue, drawing crowds eager to try the authentic Mexican dishes. “It’s been a busy first day,” said Iker's Tacos owner Salvador Oliveros. “We’re happy, we’re excited, and we feel the love and support of the community.
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Nov 9, 2024 | 
fox17online.com | Sam Landstra |Kallista Cory
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Ronan, a labrador retriever who checked off items on his puppy bucket list before his passing, will now forever be remembered through a children's book. On Friday, Ronan's foster-mom-turned-full-time-owner, Mariah Klocke, debuted Ronan's Bucket List at a fundraiser for Hearts of Hope, the Grand Rapids dog rescue where she is employed as medical director. "He was something special," Klocke said. "I got to work through my grief — step-by-step — as I was illustrating.
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Oct 29, 2024 | 
fox17online.com | Matt Witkos |Kallista Cory
OTTAWA COUNTY, Mich. — The Secretary of State’s Office shows that more than 2 million Michiganders have voted with several days left of early voting. That number is more than a quarter of the state's active registered voters, and officials expect it to rise even further. "Over 389,000 voted at an in-person early voting site, and more than 1.6 million voters have voted by mail or ballot drop box," the Michigan Secretary of State shared in a press release.
