The news about town is that a W. Michigan group, whose visions include dredging the Grand River, from the Bass River Inlet, near Eastmanville, Ottawa County, to our downtown location, aspire to see additional power craft usage, increased downtown tourism, increased local business revenues and increased property values.
At stake would be the disruption of the river bottomlands to create a 50-foot-wide and 7-foot-deep dredging of the river, to allow waterway access for larger boats.  At stake, too, is concern for the environment and another local group, hoping to have our upstream dams removed and our Grand River rapids returned to its natural state.  It’s all exciting and it could be a win-win for both visionary groups.
This is what makes Grand Rapids Living so exceptional:  Build it and they will come.  Both opposing aspects of our river and riverfront development can bring prosperity, growth and enjoyment for all and for many years to come.