🌱 Bitcoin-Laundering Operation + Amway River Bank Run + Founders

Rise and shine, Grand Rapids! It's Wednesday, so let's get you started with everything you need to know going on today in town.

First, today's weather:

An afternoon shower in places. High: 71 Low: 56.

Here are the top stories today in Grand Rapids:

1. Two Grand Rapids residents plead guilty in a bitcoin-laundering operation, along with one other person from Tacoma, WA. The US Attorney's Office announced Tuesday that Christopher Allan Boden, 46, and Leesa Beth Vogt, 37, both from Grand Rapids, along with Daniel Reynold DeJager, 35, from Tacoma, decided to enter into a plea deal with prosecutors. The defendants were operating a money-transmitting operation without a license at a nonprofit between March 2017 and Dec. 2018, and managed to sell over $740,000 worth of cryptocurrency. (Fox17)
2. The Amway River Bank Run is returning this weekend after a 900-day hiatus. The 44th annual run, the largest 25K running race in the U.S., will take place Saturday morning, Oct. 23, with 5K, 10K, and 25K races all starting and ending in downtown Grand Rapids. Organizers say this year's race will look like those of years past, but with some COVID-19 safety protocols. (MLive.com)
3. Visit the John Ball Zoo on Oct. 20 for Here Come The Beatles, the second of five IllumiZoo Wild Hues events. (GR|MAG)
4. Rodney Crowell, the award-winning founding father of the Americana music genre, will debut at St. Cecilia Music Center's Acoustic Café Series on Nov. 12. (The Rapidian)
5. Beginning Nov. 5, Founders Brewing Co. will feature Autumn Nights Amber Ale as the latest beer in its Crafted in Michigan Collaboration Series. (GR|MAG)

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You're officially in the loop for today. See you all tomorrow for another update! If you're enjoying these newsletters, consider inviting some of your friends and neighbors to follow along. You can send them this link to subscribe.

— Miranda Fraraccio

About me: Miranda Fraraccio is a born and raised Rhode Islander. She works as a freelance copywriter for content creation agency Lightning Media Partners and as an assistant producer for a live-lit storytelling show in Chicago. She holds a degree in Writing & Rhetoric and Communication Studies from The University of Rhode Island. In her free time, you can find her traveling, hiking, or photographing her neighborhood as a street photographer.