Community Updates: Friday, December 30

Warmer Weather Coming to Grand Rapids, City Encourages Residents to Keep Storm Drains Clear

According to a tweet from the National Weather Service, over 24 inches of snow was dropped on the City of Grand Rapids during last week's blizzard (from Thursday, December 22 to Sunday, December 25). Since then, the temperature has been steadily increasing and many local meteorologists are predicting that Grand Rapidians may experience temperatures in the 40s and 50s over the next week. However, warming temperatures also means melting snow and the possibility of flooding.

On Wednesday, the City of Grand Rapids sent out a press release encouraging residents to make sure that any storm drains (also known as "catch basins") near their properties are being kept clear of snow, ice, and other debris. By doing this, Grand Rapidians are helping to ensure that the runoff from the melting snow can enter the drains without encountering blockages, thereby "[preventing] street flooding, [protecting] the environment and [managing] stormwater."

For more information about the City's "catch basins," visit the City of Grand Rapids' website here.      

Grand Rapids Experiences String of Burglaries on Thursday, GRPD Searching for Suspects 

In a press release that was sent out on Thursday, the Grand Rapids Police Department announced that, between 2:00am and 4:00am on December 29, three burglaries and two attempted burglaries occurred at several businesses throughout the City. A sixth attempted burglary also occurred, though the timing of that incident is still unknown. The timeline GRPD provided in the release can be found below:

According to police, surveillance footage shows that there are three male suspects involved:

• The first suspect was wearing a black puffy jacket, black pants, white shoes, a black ski-mask, and an orange face covering
• The second suspect was wearing a black jacket (with the hood up), dark-colored pants, black shoes, and a blue face covering
• The third suspect was wearing a black puffy jacket (with the hood up), blue jeans, black shoes, a black baseball cap, and gloves

GRPD also mentioned that "at least one of the vehicles involved was a stolen white 2012 Toyota 4Runner that had been stolen out of the city of Wyoming earlier in the night." The Toyota was found unoccupied at US 131/I196 by Michigan State Police early Thursday morning.  

GRPD is asking anyone with information to please reach out to Silent Observer (by calling (616) 774-2345) or GRPD Detectives (by calling (616) 456-3380).

Also in the News:

• On Wednesday, the Grand Rapids Police Department announced that it is continuing its investigation into the December 26 shooting that killed 23-year-old Mya Kelly. Police are encouraging anyone with information to reach out to Silent Observer (by calling (616) 774-2345) or GRPD (by calling (616) 456-3380).

• The Kent County Probate Court has announced that it has appointed Kalie Gascho as its Probate Register.

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