Hawks of a feather flew together as the Junior Varsity Red Hawks hit the road taking on the Zeeland West Dux in what can only be described as an explosive defensive performance. Cedar Springs received the opening kickoff but could not get much going on its first drive, as Zeeland West forced an early stop and helped set the tone for a physical, field-position battle. From there, the two teams traded stops, short gains and hard-earned yards throughout a scoreless first half. The first quarter ended tied 0-0, with both defenses controlling the pace. In the second quarter, Cedar Springs put together one of its stronger drives of the half, picking up short gains on the ground. A four-yard run brought up fourth-and-one, but the Hawks powered up the middle for two yards to move the chains. Rey Moerland added a four-yard gain, and an encroachment penalty on Zeeland West moved the Red Hawks into a second-and-one situation near the 47-yard line with 7:44 left in the half. Robinson then completed a pass for a first down, pushing Cedar Springs into Dux territory. The Hawks continued to lean on the run game, moving the ball to the 44-yard line before Zeeland West’s defense tightened up. A run up the middle was stuffed, and Cedar gained only one yard on a run to the right side, bringing up fourth-and-three at the 42 yard line. Robinson looked for Moerland on fourth down, but the pass fell short, giving Zeeland West the ball back with 5:35 left in the second quarter. The Dux answered with a drive of their own, using three rushes to pick up a first down before a completed pass gave Zeeland West its biggest gain of the half, moving the ball deep into Red Hawk territory. Cedar Springs’ defense responded under pressure, and after a Zeeland West holding penalty, the Dux were pushed back. With one second left before halftime, Zeeland West took one last shot at the end zone, but the pass fell incomplete. At halftime, the game remained tied 0-0. The second half began with Cedar Springs kicking off, and Zeeland West starting on offense at its own 30-yard line. But the Red Hawks immediately went back to work defensively, sinking the Dux’s first rushing attempt of the half. Zeeland managed to move the ball for a first down, but Johnston helped lead a series of defensive stops that stalled the drive. A fumble at the snap pushed the Dux back three yards, and Cedar Springs followed by driving the Dux back two more yards to create a third-and-15 situation with 5:40 left in the third quarter. The Dux tried to run up the middle but gained only four yards, bringing up fourth-and-11. On fourth down, Zeeland West attempted a pass, but it was thrown behind the receiver and nearly picked off by the Hawks. Cedar Springs took over on downs at its own 42-yard line with 4:51 left in the third. The Red Hawks’ next drive had its challenges. Cedar gained only two yards, fumbling the ball, but Wyatt Dickinson was there to keep possession. A one-yard run brought up fourth-and-10, and Bryson Streeter kept the ball around the right side but came up just short of the first down. Zeeland West took over again with 3:05 left in the third quarter, but the Red Hawks' defense refused to give ground. Cedar Springs stuffed a rush to the left, allowed just one yard on a run up the middle and nearly came away with an interception. That defensive stand gave the Red Hawks the ball back. With the ball in their possession, they wasted no time. Rey Moerland smashed through the line up the middle from the Cedar Springs 41-yard line and broke free for the game’s first touchdown. After a successful two-point conversion, the Red Hawks led 8-0 with 1:12 left in the third quarter. Number 4 Rey Moerland POWERED his way through the line for a touchdown Zeeland West took over at its own 46-yard line and moved the chains before the third quarter ended, but the fourth quarter belonged to the Cedar Springs defense and they would not relent. The Red Hawks opened the final quarter by stuffing a Zeeland West rush for a two-yard loss. Another rushing attempt went nowhere, bringing up third-and-12. After a Dux timeout with 8:45 left, Zeeland West tried the middle again and gained only two yards. Facing fourth-and-10 with 7:55 remaining, Zeeland West rolled left to pass, but the quarterback was met by a wall of Cedar Springs defenders. The quick throw fell short, giving the Hawks the ball at the 41-yard line. Cedar Springs then faced a setback after a fumble was recovered by Zeeland West at the Red Hawks’ 49-yard line. But the setback was only brief, as once again, the Red Hawks’ defense answered. Zeeland West ran left for one yard, was stopped quickly up the middle and then was met in the backfield on another handoff attempt. On fourth-and-16, the Dux tried to run up the middle but the Hawks sank them before they could fly. Cedar Springs took over at its own 48-yard line with 5:05 left in the game after allowing Zeeland West just one yard on the possession. The Red Hawks’ offense then delivered the closing drive. Robinson handed the ball off for a 12-yard gain, and a facemask penalty on Zeeland West added 15 more yards, giving Cedar Springs a 27-yard swing and a first down at the Dux 25-yard line with 4:55 remaining. A carry around the left side helped set up first-and-goal at the 9-yard line. After another gain of three, Moerland powered his way, spinning out of the grip of four defenders, and in for his second touchdown of the game with 3:06 left. The two-point conversion pass to the right was good, putting Cedar Springs ahead 16-0. On the ensuing kickoff, the Hawks executed an unintentional squib kick that bounced off a Zeeland West player. Pike was there almost immediately to recover the loose ball at the Dux 43-yard line with three minutes left, giving Cedar Springs possession and control of the clock. The Red Hawks ran it again for 18 yards to the 25-yard line, then added another five-yard gain while staying inbounds to keep the clock moving. Facing fourth-and-one with 20 seconds left, Cedar Springs let the final seconds expire to open their season with a hard-fought 16-0 road victory over Zeeland West. Let's Go Red Hawks!

SOLON TOWNSHIP — The Solon Township Planning Commission voted unanimously Tuesday, Aug. 26, to recommend extending the township’s moratorium on data centers by another six months. The recommendation now moves to the Solon Township Board, which will decide whether to formally approve the extension. The vote comes as township officials continue reviewing possible zoning regulations related to data centers, an issue that has drawn significant public attention and concern in recent months. Residents have raised questions about how a large-scale data center could affect Solon Township’s rural character, groundwater use, electrical demand, wastewater discharge, environmental protections and long-term land use. Public concern intensified earlier this summer after it was reported that the township had entered into a nondisclosure agreement with Venerly, LLC, understood to be a shell company used by Meta in dealings related to potential data center development. At a June 24 public hearing at Frost Creek Church, nearly 400 residents attended to share concerns and urge township officials to strengthen zoning language before any data center application could move forward. In July, the Solon Township Board voted to oppose the future use of nondisclosure agreements by township elected officials. That resolution was introduced by Trustee Willoughby and seconded by Hoskins. In a roll call vote, Hoskins, Willoughby, Ellick and Stout voted in favor, while Anielski cast the lone dissenting vote. The board also voted in July to hire Michael Homier of Foster, Swift, Collins & Smith PC as special counsel to provide additional legal guidance as the township works through zoning and development questions tied to data centers. No formal data center application has been submitted, but the ordinance under consideration is expected to establish the rules for if and how such a project could be developed in Solon Township. The Planning Commission’s unanimous recommendation would give township officials more time to study the issue, review proposed ordinance language and respond to concerns raised by residents. If approved by the Township Board, the extension would continue the pause on data center proposals until February 7, 2027 while the township considers long-term regulations.

The City of Cedar Springs is asking residents to help shape the future of local parks, trails, open spaces and recreation facilities as it updates its 5-Year Parks and Recreation Plan. The city is gathering feedback through an online survey, available at this link here. Responses are due by Friday, September 11, at 5 p.m. The plan is being updated to assess existing parks and recreation facilities and to define goals for future improvements. City officials said community feedback is an important part of the process because the goals and actions identified in the plan are intended to reflect residents’ needs and desires. Some of the questions in the confidential survey asks whether respondents live within the City of Cedar Springs, their age range, who in their household most actively uses parks, trails or open spaces, and how important those amenities are to their household’s quality of life. Residents are encouraged to complete the survey and share their input on current facilities and future recreation priorities before the September 11 deadline. **Editor's Note: The original article included information about the Cedar Springs Area Parks and Recreation. That article was edited to remove the reference to Parks and Rec to clarity that it is the City of Cedar Springs, not the Cedar Springs Area Parks and Rec, who is updating their plan.

I needed the reminder first, but that isn't how my Saturday started. Sometimes the week pulls my attention into emails, deadlines, decisions, disagreements, and all the other pieces of community life that tend to gather around a desk. After a while, the town can start to feel more like a list of issues than a place full of people. By Saturday, I needed to leave the desk behind for a while. So I walked Main Street. There was no real agenda to it. For once, I wasn’t headed to a meeting, and I wasn’t trying to turn the afternoon into anything too productive. I just needed to be back in the middle of town for a bit, not thinking about it from the perspective of a headline, but moving through it at the pace of the sidewalk. At that pace, it's easier to notice the storefronts you usually pass in a rush as you drive down the road. You have a chance to read the hand-painted writing in the windows and notice a little “Red Flannel Town” sticker on a shop door. You can stop long enough for conversations that were never on your calendar. You can hear what people are working on, what they are worried about, and what they are excited to see happen next. I spent a good part of the day talking with fellow business owners. Not in any official capacity. Just checking in. Listening to what's been happening. It’s easy to forget, sometimes, how much room those conversations can make for collaboration, especially if your only view of town comes through meetings, emails, secondhand complaints, and small-town politics. At one point, I found myself inside a building I have admired for years, realizing there were still parts of it I had never really seen. That probably says something about the way we assume we know a place just because we grew up there. But that's a thought for another day. Cedar Springs still has the ability to surprise me. Maybe that was the reminder I needed. If you care about a place, as I do this town, there will be days when that care really starts to feel like work. There will be arguments, decisions, misunderstandings, and long stretches where the problems get more attention than the people. That's not unique to Cedar Springs. It's just part of community life anywhere. What I took from Saturday was that the town isn't just its points of disagreement. It isn't only process and policy, either. It's the person unlocking a storefront in the morning. It's the business owner trying something new even though the safer choice would have been to leave things alone. It's the old building with more history upstairs than most people will ever see from the sidewalk. And it's the conversation that starts casually and ends with two people realizing they want the same thing, even if they have been coming at it from different angles. That is the part I needed to step back into. Sometimes you just have to move at the pace of the sidewalk, open a door, and have a conversation. Look up at the buildings and let the place surprise you again. I needed that reminder, but I doubt I’m the only one.

It's not quite "stay in your lane," but for commercial truck drivers passing through Cedar Springs, the new rule comes close: stay on the route.

When Sgt. Jon Paulson thinks back on his time serving Cedar Springs, he doesn't point first to arrests, calls for service or statistics. He talks about coffee with business owners, conversations with residents, children at daycare centers, seniors at retirement communities and a cribbage game at The Brook with a resident named Jim. For Paulson, those moments became the foundation of his role as the Kent County Sheriff’s Office sergeant assigned to Cedar Springs. It's a role he shaped around community engagement, visibility and trust. Now, as Paulson prepares to move into a new position within the sheriff’s office, one of the programs he helped create will take center stage August 29, when deputies trade their patrol boots for soccer cleats during the Kick It Forward charity soccer game against Cedar Springs athletes. The event reflects much of what Paulson has worked to build over the past two years: a sheriff’s office presence that feels local, familiar and approachable. Paulson’s relationship with Cedar Springs began long before he became the area sergeant. In 2008, while living in Cedar Springs and working as a civilian dispatcher for the Kent County Sheriff’s Office, he approached then-Cedar Springs Police Chief Roger Parent to ask if there might be a way to get involved in law enforcement, even as a volunteer. That conversation led to a reserve officer position with the Cedar Springs Police Department. He graduated from the police academy in 2010 and was hired full time by the sheriff’s office in 2012. Even after leaving the city police department, Cedar Springs remained part of his story. “When this current position came available, I thought, ‘Man, this would be perfect for me,’” Paulson said. “I was still living in Cedar, and I love Cedar and enjoyed my time as a police officer there. That’s where my roots started.” When Paulson stepped into the Cedar Springs sergeant role about two years ago, he said there was no detailed playbook waiting for him. His predecessor told him to attend council meetings, be present at downtown events and then handed over the keys to his cruiser. That lack of structure gave Paulson room to define the position himself. “It was nice because it was a blank slate for me,” he said. At the time, Paulson wanted to make sure the transition to sheriff’s office policing did not make residents feel disconnected from the officers serving them. His goal was to maintain the feel of a small, local police department while using the resources of the sheriff’s office. That meant getting deputies out of their patrol cars and into the community in everyday settings. Coffee with a Cop became one of the first ways to do that. From there, the outreach grew to regular visits and presentations at places such as The Brook, Village Learning Center and Green Acres. Every other month, Cedar Springs Parks and Recreation also brought participants to the sheriff’s office north substation for presentations and conversations with deputies. The presentations gave residents a chance to learn more about policing, but Paulson said the real value came from the conversations that followed. Eventually, he moved away from prepared topics and simply opened the floor for questions. “It was just fun to sit down with the community and blend right in,” he said. “I felt very welcomed by this community.” Some residents questions were serious. Others gave Paulson and residents a chance to laugh together, including one of the most common: "What is your threshold for pulling over speeders?" Paulson shared with a laugh. He was also intentional about making sure community policing wasn't centered only on him. As sergeant, Paulson works with two day-shift deputies and two night-shift deputies assigned to Cedar Springs, and he includes them in outreach events whenever possible. “It’s not just me with the public,” Paulson said. “It’s me and the deputies who patrol the town.” That visibility, he said, helps residents understand that the deputies serving Cedar Springs are people they can approach, not just names or uniforms they encounter during emergencies. City Manager Darla Falcon said that connection was evident in Paulson’s work with both city events and residents. “Working with Sgt. Paulson was truly a pleasure,” Falcon said. “He quickly grasped the nuances of managing all the city events, showing dedication and insight.” Falcon said Paulson also genuinely connected with the community, “from children at daycare centers to seniors at nursing homes,” and wished him well as he moves forward with the Kent County Sheriff’s Department. While larger programs often drew the most people, some of Paulson’s most meaningful memories came from quieter visits to retirement communities. Residents there taught him how to play cribbage, a game he had never played before. Before long, some were calling to invite him over for a game. “There’s a guy named Jim that I’d go meet with at The Brook,” Paulson said. “If I had free time, I’d go play a couple games of cribbage with him.” Those smaller friendships, he said, are what he will miss most. That is also what he hopes continues after he leaves. As the sheriff’s office interviews candidates to replace him, Paulson said he plans to make sure the next sergeant understands that those monthly connections are now part of the job. “These are the things you do every month now,” Paulson said. “These are the things that are in place, and they are going to expect you to continue to show up for them.” One of the newer outreach efforts is the Kick It Forward charity soccer game, an idea that came from Paulson’s lifelong love of soccer. After a knee injury and surgery forced him away from playing for a time, Paulson eventually returned to the sport near the end of a season. That sparked the idea of organizing a game against the local varsity team and turning it into a fundraiser. The event also fits into an area Paulson would like to see grow. While Cedar Springs has outreach geared toward young children and seniors, he said he would like to see more opportunities for teenagers, families and middle-aged residents. The timing of his career move, Paulson said, feels right. While a community policing position opened about a year ago, Paulson felt there was more to establish in Cedar Springs. Now, he believes the next sergeant will have something solid to build on. “This position showed me there is a whole other side of policing and law enforcement that is very important, and I enjoy it,” Paulson said. When describing Cedar Springs, Paulson said the phrase “tight-knit community” may be common, but in this case, it fits. "Residents pay attention to what is happening and people know each other. The business owners, city leaders and families are invested in the town’s future," Paulson said. And as Cedar Springs continues to grow, Paulson said that shared sense of ownership continues to be important. And as he prepares for his next role, his message to residents is just as straightforward. “I would just say to cherish what you have here in Cedar Springs,” Paulson said. “Recognize the good town that it is. It’s a growing town and a beautiful town. Let’s all work together to keep it that way.” The Kick It Forward soccer match and community event will be a fundraiser, but it also serves as a reflection of the community connection Paulson has built in Cedar Springs. Those connections have grown in coffee shops, council meetings, and in everyday conversations across Cedar Springs. If you happen to see Sgt. Paulson in the coming weeks, take a moment to say hello and wish him well in his next chapter.

Michigan hunters will see several deer hunting regulation changes over the next two seasons after the Michigan Natural Resources Commission approved updates for 2026 and 2027. The seven-member citizen commission, appointed by the governor, approved the changes Wednesday following public input and recommendations from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. The DNR said the changes are intended to support healthy deer populations while balancing hunter opportunity and public feedback. Under Michigan law, the commission has authority to issue wildlife orders and establish hunting regulations. For the 2026 season, the antlerless access drawing in the Upper Peninsula has been eliminated. Deer Management Units 351 and 352 have been rescinded, and U.P. hunters may only use universal antlerless licenses in select units. The statewide muzzleloader season will be reduced from 10 days to three days, beginning the first Friday in December. In the Lower Peninsula, hunters may use any legal firearm during that season, which will now be called the December Firearm Deer Season. The Late Antlerless Season will begin earlier, starting the Monday after the December Firearm Deer Season and running through Jan. 1. The season will be open across most of the Lower Peninsula, with the exception of South Fox Island and North Manitou Island. Beaver and Garden islands will now be open for both early and late antlerless seasons. Likely the most popular change, the commission also eliminated the Limited Firearms Deer Zone in the Lower Peninsula, allowing all legal firearms, including bottleneck cartridges, to be used throughout the Lower Peninsula. Firearms larger than .22 rimfire are now permitted statewide. Other 2026 changes include allowing resident senior license holders to use a crossbow during the Late Archery Deer Season in the U.P.; eliminating the Extended Late Antlerless and January Archery seasons; and scheduling the Early Antlerless Firearm Deer Season at the same time as the Liberty Hunt during the second weekend in September. This year, those seasons will be Sept. 12-13. The DNR will also be allowed to set annual limits on how many universal antlerless licenses hunters may use in specific counties or Deer Management Units. Beginning in 2027, Lower Peninsula hunters will be limited to one buck per hunter. A single deer license will be valid for one deer with at least three antler points on one side or for one antlerless deer. A combo license will allow hunters to take one antlered deer and one antlerless deer, or two antlerless deer. Existing DMU-specific antler point restrictions will remain in place. The commission also approved a pilot “earn a second buck” program in the southern Lower Peninsula, or Zone 3, starting in 2027. Under that program, hunters must first harvest an antlerless deer before becoming eligible to take a second buck with a four-point antler point restriction. The DNR will determine participating counties at a later date. Upper Peninsula deer regulations will remain unchanged in 2027. Hunters are encouraged to review the updated regulations before heading into the field, as rules will vary by region and season.

I was recently thumbing through my copy of the Dec. 19, 1949 issue of Life magazine. If you're a history fan like myself, you'll know this is the issue celebrating our town's Red Flannels, with the now-famous photo of schoolchildren all dressed in red outside the Hilltop building. For Cedar Springs, it’s a remarkable artifact. A local tradition was captured on film, printed in a national magazine, and carried into homes far beyond Michigan. As I turned the pages, I found myself pausing over something else: the advertisements. There were ads for liquor, cigarettes, headache medicine, and the usual mid-century promises. Some were elegant. Others were dramatic. Some were unintentionally funny in the frozen-in-time way old advertisements often are. I have a friend who, like myself, appreciates vintage advertising, so I started taking pictures of the ads and texting them over with captions of my own. The Seagram's ad became something like, “This Christmas, get Dad what he really wants. Whether he’s blending a batch of eggnog for guests or sipping neat with work associates, let Dad see Seagram’s.” This, of course, was followed by an ad for headache medicine: “Does Dad have the after-holidays hangover? Is it from the several bottles of Seagram’s you gifted him? Whatever the cause, Anacin IS the answer.” We laughed, of course. The whole bit was intentionally crass, but in our defense, the ads invited it. Cigarettes were sold with sophistication and liquor was dressed up as holiday cheer. Headache relief was promised with the certainty of a courtroom verdict. After several more laughs from our own faux ads, I noticed something I couldn’t quite shake. Those ads were very public. Everyone who opened that issue of Life saw the same pages, the same bottle, the same carton of cigarettes, the same family gathered in the same room, and the same promise printed in bold type. That doesn’t mean the ads were better. It just means the delivery was different. The advertisement entered the home as part of a shared object. It sat on the coffee table, then was passed from hand to hand. A husband, wife, child, neighbor, guest, or visitor could see the same page and laugh at it, question it, ignore it, or remember it together. The old advertisement wanted a place in the living room. New ads want a place in the mind. Today, much of what reaches us doesn’t arrive through a shared magazine, newspaper, or television program. In fact, advertising in these arenas have rapidly dwindled. It now comes through a private screen, selected by systems and algorithms we don’t see and shaped by habits we don’t always realize we’re teaching them. Two people can sit in the same room, inches apart, and be shown entirely different worlds. The pitch is no longer aimed at the room. It’s aimed at the individual, with advertising being only one piece of it. A community depends on shared reality. But more and more of our reality is privately delivered. That’s the part I keep coming back to, because this column really isn’t about advertisements. It’s about the way people come to understand the places they live. One person sees Cedar Springs as a growing town full of opportunity. Another sees it as a place being overrun from Grand Rapids transplants. Another sees it as a charming stop on a video tour. Many see it as home. Yet, another sees only the complaint that crossed their feed that morning on a “community” page, with heavy skepticism applied to “community” in this case. Some of those views may contain truth, but they’re rarely formed together. More often they're delivered separately, one private stream at a time. And when everyone is handed a different version of the world, it becomes harder to remember that we’re still responsible for a common one. A community can’t be built entirely from private feeds. Quite the opposite, a town needs shared rooms. Not just literal rooms, although those are needed too. Council chambers, church basements, school gyms, libraries, coffee counters, bleachers, front porches, and volunteer meetings all give people a place to step out of their private worlds and back into a common one. But a shared room is more than a physical place. It’s a place they can look at one another, ask questions, disagree honestly, laugh at the same joke, and remember that their neighbors aren’t lifeless screen names or variations of “Anonymous Member 839” online. They're real people. That’s part of what made this old issue of Life so interesting to hold. In the same pages as these old ads was Cedar Springs: a group of schoolchildren at Hilltop, dressed in red flannel, standing together in a single frame. That photograph didn’t become meaningful because one child wore red. It became meaningful because they all did. A town's young tradition had gathered them into the same picture. Then that picture traveled outward, carrying a piece of Cedar Springs with it. That’s why local newspapers, (ahem, insert shameless plug for The Bugle here), public meetings, festivals, churches, schools, libraries, service clubs, social clubs, sports teams, and volunteer departments still have a place. They interrupt the private stream. They remind us that neighbors are not usernames or political caricatures. They’re real people, and a town works best when we still meet each other that way. I don’t necessarily want to return to 1949. I don’t want the cigarette ads, the questionable remedies, or the blind trust in every printed promise. But there’s something worth noticing in those old pages: the common view. Everyone who opened that magazine saw the same thing. Everyone who came across the Red Flannel photograph saw the same children, in the same place, representing the same town. Cedar Springs doesn’t need to live in the past. But from time to time, we should remember that we’re not just people living near each other. We’re people with the opportunity to experience some part of life together. And before you say it, I know, dear reader. This is another one of those columns about citizenship and community connection, which makes sense when you think of it. After all, this is called The Sunday Citizen. But citizenship isn’t only voting or paying taxes. Sometimes it’s as simple as showing up in the same places and remembering that the people around us are part of the same town.

Four people were taken to the hospital following a three-vehicle crash on 17 Mile Road on Saturday, Aug. 22. The crash occurred on 17 Mile Road between Hanna Avenue and Pine Island Drive. The Solon Township Fire Department responded to the scene at approximately 11:54 a.m. According to the Kent County Sheriff’s Office, 10 people were involved in the crash. Four were transported to the hospital, while six others were evaluated or accounted for at the scene and were not transported. The cause of the crash was not immediately known. The Kent County Sheriff’s Office said the crash remains under investigation.

Learning and fun do not have to end when the school bell rings. After-school activities can give children a chance to explore new interests, stay active, build confidence and make lasting friendships outside the classroom. From music lessons and art classes to organized sports, clubs and informal neighborhood play, the right activities can help children grow socially, physically and academically. For parents, the key is finding a balance that keeps kids engaged without making afternoons feel overwhelming. Here are a few tips for planning after-school activities that work for your family. Sign up early Popular programs often fill up quickly, especially sports teams, music lessons, theater groups and after-school clubs. Once you know your child’s interests and your family schedule, register as early as possible to help secure a spot. If a program has a waitlist, ask whether additional sessions may be added or if there are similar options nearby. Listen to your child Parents may have activities they hope their children will enjoy, but kids are more likely to stick with something when they feel involved in the decision. Talk with your child about what sounds fun, what they want to try and what they may not enjoy. It is OK to encourage them to explore something new, but try not to push too hard. A child who enjoys an activity is more likely to stay motivated, make friends and build confidence. Make scheduling convenient After-school activities affect the whole family schedule. If possible, look for programs close to home, school or your regular commute. Limiting time in the car can make afternoons less stressful and give children more time for homework, dinner and rest. Parents can also save time by organizing carpools, sharing pickup duties or coordinating with other families. Whether you are setting up play dates, forming a carpool or volunteering with the PTA, parent calling cards from an online stationery shop can be a helpful way to quickly share contact information with teachers, coaches and other parents. Think of them as business cards for busy families. Go informal Not every activity needs to be structured or scheduled. When the weather is nice, consider organizing a neighborhood bike ride, backyard soccer game or trip to the park. These informal gatherings can help children stay active while building friendships close to home. For children who enjoy art, invite friends over for a craft afternoon. Simple supplies such as paper, markers, beads, paint or recycled materials can turn an ordinary afternoon into a creative experience. Encourage academic interests After-school time can also support what children are learning in the classroom. At-home supplies can make academic subjects feel hands-on and fun. A science kit from a hobby or craft store can help children explore experiments beyond their school lessons. Building sets, puzzles and math games can strengthen problem-solving skills. Personalized journals can encourage young writers to put pen to paper, whether they are writing stories, poems or reflections about their day. The goal is not to add more homework, but to help children see learning as something exciting and creative. Do not over-schedule With full school days, homework, family responsibilities and activities, children also need time to relax. Too many commitments can leave kids tired, stressed or less enthusiastic about the things they once enjoyed. Pay attention to your child’s mood, energy level and sleep schedule. If afternoons feel rushed every day, it may be time to cut back. A healthy after-school routine should include activity, learning, family time and room to unwind. With thoughtful planning, after-school activities can help children stay safe, active and happy long after the final bell rings. The best schedule is one that fits your child’s interests, supports your family’s routine and leaves space for both growth and rest.

Cozy Reflections is one step closer to becoming part of the Cedar Springs Social District after City Council voted unanimously to amend the district map to include the downtown shop. The decision was made at the Aug. 13 City Council meeting and marks an important step in the process. Final approval must still come from the Michigan Liquor Control Commission before the shop can officially participate as a social district permittee. Cozy Reflections, located downtown on Main Street, recently added an in-store wine tasting area featuring selections from Love Wines Winery of Ludington. The shop currently offers tastings, wine by the glass, bottle purchases and seasonal wine and sangria slushies. If approved by the state, inclusion in the social district would allow customers to purchase a glass of wine or slushy from Cozy Reflections and enjoy it within the designated social district boundaries during times when the district is active. The addition could also bring an economic benefit to the downtown area by giving residents and visitors another option to enjoy during concerts, festivals and other community events. As Cedar Springs continues to build activity in its downtown, adding another participating business may help encourage people to spend more time visiting local shops and restaurants. Owner Kristin Corcoran previously said joining the social district was the next step for the shop’s new wine feature. “We’re working on getting our license so people can come get a glass of wine or slushy and take it into the social district when events are happening,” Corcoran said in July. Council’s approval does not complete the process, but it does move the request forward. Cozy Reflections must now receive approval from the Michigan Liquor Control Commission before the shop can officially serve drinks for use within the social district. If approved, Cozy Reflections would add another offering to the city’s downtown social district and continue expanding the ways residents and visitors can experience downtown Cedar Springs.

If you happen to looking for something to do locally on Saturday, August 29th, you're in luck! Cedar Springs residents will have two opportunities to support local causes, with a morning car show and an evening charity soccer game both raising money for area organizations. The day begins with the Classic Kelly’s 2026 Car Show, running from 8 a.m. to noon at Classic Kelly’s Family Restaurant, 356 N. Main St. NE, Cedar Springs. The event will feature a variety of vehicles, with all different cars welcome, old, new, big or small. The car show will also include a 50/50 raffle and is open to the public. Proceeds from food and drink sales will benefit The Village Learning Center. After the car show, take some time to Shop Local downtown Cedar Springs as many of the Main Street shops are holding sales and specials. Before heading to the next event, be sure to Eat Local too. Stop by the local restaurants and grab a bite before heading east to this next event: Saturday evening, the community is invited to the Kick It Forward event at Red Hawk Stadium as the Cedar Springs Girls Varsity Soccer and Boys Red Hawk Alumni soccer players team up to take on the Kent County Sheriff’s Office in a charity soccer game. Stadium gates open at 6 p.m., with the game scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Admission for the soccer game is $5, with all proceeds benefiting North Kent Connect. The event will also include raffles, food, visits from the KCSO specialty teams, a chance to dunk current School Board Member and former FFA Administrator Brent Willet in a dunk tank, and more. Together, the two events offer a full day of community support, giving residents a chance to enjoy classic cars in the morning and cheer on local teams in the evening while helping two organizations that serve the area. You won't want to miss this day full of fun, Saturday, Aug. 29!