🌱Grants Approved For Refugees + Red Status + Free Smile Makeover

Hey, neighbors! It's me again, Miranda Fraraccio, your host of the Grand Rapids Daily.

First, today's weather:

Breezy with clearing. High: 45 Low: 34.

Here are the top stories today in Grand Rapids:

1. The Grand Rapids International Wine, Beer and Food Festival returns this weekend with pandemic-era changes. Touchless ticketing systems, QR codes, and hand sanitizers are among the changes to expect this year. The festival takes place Friday and Saturday at DeVos Place Convention Center downtown, with admission priced at $20, and 50 cents for tasting tickets. (WOODTV.com)
2. During its Thursday meeting, the Kent County Board of Commissioners approved two grants to meet the health and nutritional needs of newly arriving Afghan refugees. Local resettlement agencies determine the needs of each family as meals are provided to those in temporary living quarters until permanent housing is established. The Kent County Health Department will also provide health education services that include an introduction to the U.S. health care system, along with information about nutritional healthy living and Medicaid health insurance coverage. (Fox17)
3. Kimberley Ivy, of Grand Rapids, won a life-changing, free smile makeover worth $50,000, completed by Advanced Oral Surgery and Dental Implant Studio. (WZZM13.com)
4. Starting now through Dec. 3, the John Ball Zoo is offering a 10 percent Black Friday discount on memberships. (Fox17)
5. Spectrum Health has moved to ‘red status’ for the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. (WZZM13.com)

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Now you're in the loop and ready to start this Saturday! See you all Monday morning for another update. If you're into these newsletters, consider bringing some more friends and neighbors along for the ride. 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.