🌱 Patch AM: How long can Grand Rapids legally take to answer FOIA requests?

Hey hey Grand Rapids! Your one-stop source for local news is here. Continue reading for all the updates. ☕️️

In today's newsletter:

• How long can Grand Rapids legally take to answer FOIA requests?
• Why $5 million for Grand Rapids’ Roosevelt Park is suddenly frozen
• Why a high‑stakes Edenville Dam trial is unfolding in Grand Rapids

Also on today's calendar: Candlelight: Tribute to Queen and The Beatles and 1 more event.

Today's riddle: My dog used to chase people on a bike a lot. 🤔 (Answer below!)

Weather forecast:

• Tuesday: Breezy with showers around, with a high of 44 and low of 27 degrees.
• Wednesday: Periods of snow, 1-3", temps: high: 36, low: 16. ⛄️ Brr!
• Thursday: Times of clouds and sun, with a high of 26 and low of 21 degrees.

📰 News we're reading

1. Michigan Court of Appeals Holds No Definitive Timeline for Fulfilling FOIA Requests (jdsupra.com) — A recent Michigan Court of Appeals decision involving the City of Grand Rapids found that state FOIA law sets no firm deadline for when public bodies must finish providing requested records. For residents, that means the city can legally take many months to fulfill even relatively small requests, unless challengers can prove an arbitrary or capricious delay. Transparency advocates may now push the Legislature to clarify timelines.
   

2. Court battle erupts between House, governor over control of $645M (crainsgrandrapids.com) — A power struggle in Lansing over $645 million in state funding has put $5 million for Grand Rapids’ Roosevelt Park upgrades and trail work, plus support for local BAMF Health, on hold. The Republican-led House is suing Gov. Whitmer’s administration after an attorney general opinion freed the money for spending, leaving key Grand Rapids-area projects and jobs in limbo while the courts decide.
   

3. Edenville Dam flood trial opens with focus on state engineer (mlive.com) — A major trial over the 2020 Edenville Dam failure is now underway in the Michigan Court of Claims in Grand Rapids, where flood victims argue state regulators effectively helped cause the disaster. Testimony so far has focused on state dam engineer Luke Trumble’s decisions before the failure and whether state actions amounted to an unconstitutional taking of private property. The bench trial is expected to last several weeks.
   

4. Gas prices in Michigan rise 11 cents for the week, AAA reports (cbsnews.com) — Grand Rapids drivers are seeing some of Michigan’s lowest gas prices this week, averaging about $2.72 per gallon for regular unleaded. Statewide, prices climbed 11 cents to an average of $2.81, still below last month and last year, with Ann Arbor, Jackson, and Lansing paying the most at the pump.
   

5. Mecosta Co. man sentenced to up to 225 years in prison for child sex crimes (wzzm13.com) — A man connected to a Grand Rapids arrest has been sentenced in Big Rapids to between 66 and 225 years in prison for multiple child sex crimes involving minors. State police cybercrime investigators linked him to abusive material created and shared online, leading to his 2025 arrest and a no-contest plea to several serious felony charges.
   

📸 Around Grand Rapids

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🗓 Upcoming Events in Grand Rapids

Add your event to our calendar and newsletter!

Friday January 16

• Candlelight: Tribute to Queen and The Beatles
  Wealthy Theatre , 1130 Wealthy St SE , Grand Rapids
  6:30 pm
• Candlelight: Rock Favorites on Strings
  Wealthy Theatre , 1130 Wealthy St SE , Grand Rapids
  8:45 pm

Friday January 23

• Union Redhawks Boys Basketball Youth Night
  Union High School , 1800 Tremont Blvd NW , Grand Rapids
  4:00 pm

Sunday January 25

• Make Epic Gnocchi With Chef Jerry - Cooking Class by Classpop!
  Bier Distillery & Brewery , 5295 W River Dr NE , Comstock Park
  4:00 pm

📣 Grand Rapids Shout Outs!

Want to say something great about someone in town? Click here to submit your Shout Out to Patch AM! It's free!

🗓 Events Nearby

Tuesday January 13

• Boys Freshman Basketball vs Godwin Heights Public Schools
  Comstock Park High School - HS Gym
  4:00 pm
• Godwin Heights at Comstock Park
  Comstock Park High School , 150 6 Mile Rd NE , Comstock Park
  4:00 pm
• Youth Basketball
  Stoney Creek Elementary - SC Gym
  5:00 pm
• Level Up Basketball Training
  Greenridge Elementary - GR Gym
  5:00 pm
• Boys JV Basketball vs Godwin Heights Public Schools
  Comstock Park High School - HS Gym
  5:30 pm
• Boys Varsity Basketball vs Godwin Heights Public Schools
  Comstock Park High School - HS Gym
  7:00 pm

Wednesday January 14

• Rhyme Time Music and Movement at Grandville Library - KDL
  Kent District Library - Grandville Branch , 4055 Maple St SW , Grandville
  10:00 am
• Versiti Blood Drive
  East Grand Rapids, MI Calendar , 750 Lakeside Drive SE , East Grand Rapids
  2:00 pm

Have we missed something on our calendar? Add an event yourself! As always, before attending confirm event details to ensure accuracy.

Thank you 👏👏👏 to the local businesses for making Grand Rapids PatchAM possible:

• Mindsee.it — (646) 663-8317
  Teach your kids they can achieve the impossible!

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💬 Chatter

What your neighbors are talking about on social media

• Didn't snap a picture - but the little free library has been restocked again!
  I made a little too much pulled pork and ordered a little too much of a few things so we have a portion of pulled pork out there up for grabs along… (Nextdoor Beckwith Hills)
• Update: Pet Reunited
  A dog who went missing in Grand Rapids, MI, has been safely reunited with their family after 1 hours, 2 minutes. Message from Finder: "So sweet and… (Nextdoor Alpine Estates)

• Suburban Inns, Inc. posted a job opening for Housekeeper - Embassy Suites in Grand Rapids. Apply here.
• Michigan Staffing posted a job opening for Floating Cleaner / Custodial Support- Grand Rapids Area in Grand Rapids. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near Grand Rapids here.

Ok Grand Rapids! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!

-- The Patch AM Team

P.S. The answer to today's riddle: I took its bike away.
Got a good riddle for PatchAM? Send it to us!

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