1.Today officials will celebrate the grand opening of a major apartment development in downtown Grand Rapids. The Venue Tower is an 11-story high rise located on Ottawa Avenue next to The B.O.B. and across from Van Andel Arena. It features a third floor lounge, a beer garden on the first floor, and access to VIP tickets to all of the shows at 20 Monroe Live. Officials say 70% of the building in already occupied and they expect to lease out the rest of the apartments this fall.
2. Kids' Food Basket just announced a new campaign, in the hopes of funding construction for its new headquarters. Yesterday morning they launched the 'Feeding Our Future' campaign. It's a $6 million effort. The nonprofit has already purchased farmland on Leonard Street in Grand Rapids and now they need to develop it. The site will include a warehouse and office, and serve as a way to teach kids and adults about nutrition. Most importantly, the new headquarters will also allow Kids Food Basket to expand its services to 15,000 children in the area.
3. Good news for those of you who use Meijer's home delivery service. You can now link your SHIPT account to your MPerks. Meijer made the announcement yesterday. From now on, you'll be able to earn rewards with your SHIPT orders and check on them through the MPerks website or Meijer app. The only catch - you'll have to redeem your rewards in-store. Officials say that even though SHIPT is really popular, they know that people still visit the store from time to time. Meijer launched SHIPT in Detroit last year. Since then, it's quickly spread throughout 6 states.
4. Amazon is searching for a new home somewhere in North America for its second headquarters. The new facility will house up to 50,000 employees and will cost $5 billion to build and operate. Amazon is calling it HQ2 and is now looking for bids for the project. The company says the new headquarters will create billions of dollars in investments and high paying jobs. The announcement is likely to set off a frenzy among states and municipalities that are eager to convince the online giant to come to their area. Amazon expects to choose the official site sometime next year.
5. A long-tailed cat, an octogenarian bodybuilder, and a woman with 5-inch long eyelashes are included in the latest edition of Guinness World Records. The 2018 version of the chronicle of extraordinary feats and features was released yesterday. the honorees include a cat from Ferndale, Michigan named Cygnus that boasts a tail that stretches more than 17 inches. It set the world record for longest tail on a domestic cat. A Chinese woman set the record for world's longest eyelashes - at nearly 5 inches. An 83-year-old great-grandfather from Los Angeles has been named the world's oldest bodybuilder. This is the 63rd edition of the Guinness book.
