Grand Rapids News Archives

Grand Rapids, MI, native Adina Howard became a national sensation with the funky R&B of her platinum debut album, 1995's Do You Wanna Ride, and its single, "Freak Like Me." Her follow-up, Welcome to Fantasy ...

Friday, May 30, 2008 By John Tunison GRAND RAPIDS -- In recent weeks, police suspected Alisa Patterson and Thomas Gordon might be involved with a string of bank robberies that began in February.

Police are looking for a man accused in the abduction and sexual assault of a woman earlier this week.

Mayen Diing, a Sudanese refugee charged with causing a crash on March 29th that killed a 6-year-old boy, has pleaded guilty to drunken driving causing death and serious injury.

Meijer stores will begin offering free prenatal vitamins to customers with prescriptions from their doctors.

A helicopter crashed at a hospital on Thursday, sending thick, black smoke over downtown and forcing the evacuation of patients from the building.

A 9-year-old girl is battling an array of illnesses while her parents are fighting the family's deportation from Michigan.

The annual Festival of the Arts begins one week from Friday, and organizers are geared up for the three-day combination of art, music, crafts, activities and food.

Michigan State Police in Cheboygan said Tuesday they're trying to determine whether partial remains of a body found on the Lake Huron shoreline Monday are that of a Grosse Pointe Farms attorney who has been ...

Grand Rapids city officials are making some tough decisions as it struggles to balance the books.

Human remains have been found near the Lake Huron shoreline in Michigan's northeastern Lower Peninsula.

Investigators are trying to identify the body of a man whose charred remains were found in a burned car in Emmet County.

Police are investigating a double shooting that put two men in the hospital early this evening.

Sixty-three years ago, Army paratroopers raided a Japanese prison camp and rescued more than 2,100 people -- including five members of a missionary family from Grand Rapids.

January 1942: David DeVries of Grand Rapids is taken captive by Japanese in Manila, Philippines.

Authorities say fires have claimed the lives of two teenagers in south central Michigan and a resident of a senior citizens complex in Grand Rapids.

City police are seeking information on a teenage male suspected of a brazen mid-afternoon sexual assault and robbery along a busy street on the city's Northeast Side Thursday, authories said tdoay.

The region continues to be a top-flight nursery for nesting peregrine falcons, a rare bird of prey that officials say is making a comeback.

One person was wounded this morning in a shooting on the city's Southeast Side. Police were called to the 800 block of Dickinson Street SE, where they found a person with a gunshot wound to the leg.

The Grand Rapids Board Of Education has voted to suspend collecting union dues out of teachers' paychecks.

Friday, May 23, 2008 The Grand Rapids Press GRAND RAPIDS -- Michigan's top civil rights enforcer said Thursday that Kent County Sheriff Larry Stelma's deputies cannot single out young males for seat belt ...

A man from Grand Rapids was one of 27 people arrested in a child predator sting in Detroit.

A Kent County Circuit Court today judge sentenced Steven Scarborough to 16-19 years in prison for the July 2007 death of a Gaines Township man.

Patrick Repasky, a lifeguard, and Sarah Thiess and Emily Satanski, water park managers, wash and scrub the pool deck Wednesday as they get ready for the Memorial Day weekend opening at Rolling Hills Water Park ...

Grand Rapids police officers went inside a maximum security prison to turn inmates away from a life of crime.

A Grand Rapids police officer looks for evidence along South Division Avenue following the second of two deadly shootings Wednesday night and this morning.

The Grand Rapids Press GRAND RAPIDS -- Peninsular Club members will be invited to a final party May 29 before the private club shuts its doors after 126 years.

Key downtown brownfield sites in Lansing and Grand Rapids will be redeveloped for residential and other uses, with support from the Michigan Economic Development Corp.

The fat lady sang for Jeep Jeffries. The executive director of Opera Grand Rapids is leaving to take a position with the Tulsa Opera in Oklahoma.

International air travel returns to Grand Rapids on July 14 when Air Canada begins nonstop daily flights to Toronto.

Authorities responding to a burglary alarm at an Ottawa County grocery store say they found a 19-year-old man hiding in the ceiling tiles.

Blackwater Worldwide founder Erik Prince says the people trained by his security company aren't mercenaries or thugs as some critics have claimed but are instead well-trained professionals, often with strong ... via Holland Sentinel

Three teenagers are on the run after an armed robbery in Grand Rapids. Police say three males walked into a Speedway gas station in the 2700 block of Lake Michigan Drive shortly after midnight Monday morning. via WOOD-TV Grand Rapids

Calvin College this fall will allow safety personnel with a police background to carry handguns on campus. via Detroit Free Press

“It's that culture of acceptance that has helped create the problem”

David Teater's attitude toward driving while talking on a hand-held cell phone changed Jan. via Ann Arbor News

Two people were injured in a two-car crash at the intersection of 96th Avenue and New Holland Street in Olive Township Saturday morning. via Holland Sentinel

Police investigate a shooting this morning. Police are investigating a shooting outside a Southwest Side bar near Godfrey and Underhill avenues SW. via Latest News - The Grand Rapids Press ...

An 84-year-old Chicago man has pleaded guilty to taking part in a 1991 stickup that mirrored a Hollywood movie and netted $359,628 from a Michigan bank. via Battle Creek Enquirer

A child with autism who walked away from her home Thursday evening was found safe and reunited with her parents about two hours later. via WOOD-TV Grand Rapids

Anyone tired of hoofing it on the streets of Michigan's capital city soon will have another alternative: the pedicab. via Battle Creek Enquirer

“All of these things kind of bring all of that back, but it's such an honor that he is remembered this way”

Amy Haisma and Dan Kozminski felt honored this morning, representing their slain brother, Grand Rapids Police Officer Robert Kozminski, during the local Police Memorial Day ceremony. via MLive.com

The Kent County medical examiner says gangrene is responsible for the mysterious death of a 13-year-old Grand Rapids-area boy. via Battle Creek Enquirer

Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama has been campaigning in Macomb County with stops at an auto factory and a community college. via Ann Arbor News

A Grand Rapids man accused of killing a 35-year-old mother of five rejected a plea deal Tuesday that would have provided a chance at parole. via MLive.com

“Barack Obama is the only candidate left standing to have the courage and judgment to say that war was wrong from the start and it's still wrong.”

Sen. Barack Obama will hold a rally at the Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids Wednesday night. via WOOD-TV Grand Rapids

Chrysler, the automaker owned by private-equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, canceled plans for a new sport-utility vehicle and is instead investing in a compact car. via The Age

Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama will hold an event in Grand Rapids on Wednesday, May 14th at 7 p.m. The Kent County Democratic Party confirmed the appearance, which organizers plan to hold at the ... via WZZM-TV Grand Rapids

A young man is dead, and his female motorcycle passenger is in critical condition tonight, after the motorcycle they were riding struck a tractor. via WWUP-TV Cadillac

A Comstock Park teacher facing charges of fleeing police and drunken driving has been ordered to stay away from a 15-year-old student whose mother claims was being stalked. via WWMT-TV Kalamazoo

A small plane delivering cargo for Federal Express has crashed about six miles north of the Grand Rapids airport. via WLNS-TV Lansing

“We're hopeful this gets resolved sooner than later”

There's hope among the striking workers outside of American Axle's hulking Detroit factory complex, but along with it come skepticism and fear. via Battle Creek Enquirer

“It is clear to me you are a disgrace to your family, a disgrace to your school and you have insulted the community by your conduct”

The tagger who scrawled his images across the engraved names of dead soldiers at Veterans Memorial Park appeared in court Thursday for sentencing but instead received a tongue-lashing from the judge and ... via Grand Rapids Press

“I have no words to show my feelings”

A medical journey of more than 6,000 miles turned out better than an Iraqi mother named Salwa dared to hope. via Grand Rapids Press

“If everybody did what Grand Rapids is doing, our waterways would be in a lot better shape.”

How clean is the water in the river, lake, or stream near you? It may be more contaminated than you realize. via WZZM-TV Grand Rapids

“I said, 'What if this is true?'”

Will the city that became the first in the world to fluoridate its drinking water decide to discontinue use of the chemical? Grand Rapids has been fluoridating its tap water since 1945, but now some city ... via Latest News - The Grand Rapids Press ...

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - It was a rowdy bunch at a Grand Rapids bar, but it wasn't enough to break a Cinco de Mayo record. via NewsCenter 25

“The board did a good job dealing with the first one-third of this property, and we're looking forward to working with you again on the remaining two-thirds.”

The fields and playground surrounding Iroquois Middle School could be sold to the city government and kept as a park, if the Board of Education can sell the building to developers. via Grand Rapids Press

Numerous local police agencies are on the hunt for two men who robbed a party store and may have engaged in gunfire with Wyoming Police. via WWMT-TV Kalamazoo

“William is a great young man. He is a great model for what is possible in this country if you just want to do it”

Twenty years ago, the odds of William Chol reaching this day would have been long indeed. via Chicago Tribune

“It has always been something that I enjoyed doing”

Joel Schut isn't your typical college student. Sure, he goes to class and hangs out with friends like most college students, but his musical achievements set him apart. via Ann Arbor News

Residential Capital LLC, the mortgage- finance company owned by GMAC LLC, is offering as little as 80 cents on the dollar to exchange or buy back $14 billion of bonds to stave off bankruptcy. via Bloomberg Business News

“We're going to stimulize the Derby.”

Koepnick attended his 32nd straight Kentucky Derby, making the annual trip from Grand Rapids, Mich., with his girlfriend. via WOOD-TV Grand Rapids

“Public relations is more important to them than substance”

When it comes to Grand Rapids students' safety, "it's time for the board and the superintendent to pull their head out of the sand," Grand Rapids Education Association President Paul Helder said. via MLive.com

“I have so many memories of being in so many houses, but I was always alone”

After 75 years of separation, Chester Wasiuk and Isabelle Metty's broken family circle is complete again. via Chicago Tribune

WAYLAND TOWNSHIP - In what could be their final legal challenge to the project, opponents of a proposed tribal casino plan to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a constitutional challenge to a Depression-era ... via Lansing State Journal

“It is important to note that this group of 776 is only a small portion of all the patients treated by Dr. Stokes”

State authorities have released more blood test results for former patients of disgraced dermatologist Dr. via Latest News - The Grand Rapids Press ...

The Kent County Prosecutor's Office announced Friday there will be no charges brought against 17 year old Patrick Batshon for the death of Kenneth Rodriguez in an April 7th incident. via WTKG-AM Grand Rapids

Leonard T. Petrancosta, executive vice of Sysco Food Services of Pittsburgh, will succeed retiring Joel R. TePastte as president and ceo of the operating unit on July 1, according to corporate headquarters ... via MyIDAccess

“I just knew if I stayed there any longer I would have had a very different life”

The government says the woman re-captured after she escaped from a Michigan prison 32 years ago must serve the rest of her sentence. via WZZM-TV Grand Rapids

“So he hands off the catalytic converter, that's a brand new one by the way”

Criminals have long targeted vehicles and their parts as a source for fast cash. via WCSH-TV Portland

“A leadership program like this is best suited for a leader from one sector who can deepen his or her efforts by understanding how to work within other sectors”

Partnering with a college or university can bring additional expertise to training programs or help companies tailor a master's degree program to their needs By Dan Calabrese It's said that leaders are born, ... via Training