Nettie J. Stewart

08/17/2026

This osprey was flying around downtown Grand Rapids.
Jim Triezenberg was in the exact right position to get the pic.

Woodtv.com/reportit

08/17/2026

A WalletHub study ranked the happiest cities in America, comparing 182 cities across 29 measures health, income, community, leisure, and more.

Grand Rapids came in at #90 overall, right around the national midpoint. GR scored #44 for income and employment opportunities, #77 for community, and #100 for emotional & physical well-Being.

What’s your first thought about this ranking? Tell me what makes you happy to live here 👇

08/17/2026

We’re proud to be recognized among Crain's Grand Rapids Business 2026 Best Places to Work in West Michigan!

From opportunities to share feedback and grow professionally to team outings and time to connect, we’re intentional about creating a workplace where our team can thrive.

Thank you to our incredible team for making the Chamber what it is!

Full Article: https://www.crainsgrandrapids.com/recognitions/best-places-work/cgr-best-places-to-work-2026/?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=soc-own

08/17/2026

A 16-year-old boy is among the five people who are dead after a series of shootings in northern Michigan on Friday, according to state law enforcement officials. The suspect is also dead.

08/11/2026

If you’ve ever stood on the Chicago shoreline and looked out at that endless blue horizon, it feels exactly like staring into an open ocean.

But according to standard world maps, you are just looking at Lake Michigan—the fifth-largest lake on Earth.

Except, according to science, that map is completely wrong.Geologically and hydrologically, Lake Michigan does not actually exist as a separate lake.

Look at the top right of the image where the water narrows. That is the Straits of Mackinac. It’s a five-mile-wide channel that connects Lake Michigan directly to Lake Huron.

Because that gap is so wide and deep, the water flows freely back and forth between them. They rise and fall together. They share the exact same water level.

In the scientific community, they aren't two separate lakes at all.They are two giant lobes of a single, conjoined monster known as Lake Michigan-Huron.

And when you combine them into the single body of water they actually are, something incredible happens: it instantly becomes the largest freshwater lake on the planet by surface area, completely crushing Lake Superior.

But that’s not even the craziest part about this picture.Because Lake Michigan behaves like an inland ocean, it has ocean-sized dangers. Its unique, long shape acts like a wind tunnel.

Massive storms can generate terrifying 20-foot waves out of nowhere.Over the last few centuries, those ocean-like conditions have swallowed more than 1,500 ships.

Right now, as you look at this beautiful blue water from space, you are actually looking at one of the most crowded underwater ship graveyards in North America.

So next time you walk past Navy Pier or layout at Ohio Street Beach, remember: you aren't just looking at a lake. You are looking at the edge of a hidden, ship-swallowing global giant.

08/04/2026

07/29/2026

07/29/2026