Thursday marked the celebration of Mecosta County Medical Center's Birthing Center renovation completion. In the past year the hospital had over 25,000 visits to their emergency room and 125,000 outpatient procedures, which is more than triple the population of the county. MCMC's CEO Sam Daugherty says, "Every year we have 700 newborns we bring into the community here locally. That's about double the number of births per year in Mt. Pleasant, Cadillac, or Fremont.

The Downtown Big Rapids Farmers' Market started last Friday, and will be open Tuesdays and Fridays though October. Mark Gifford, the Public Works Director for Big Rapids says vendor participation appears to be up this year, and we should be able to take notice during the peak of the season in July and August. Gifford tells about changes that have increased interest and participation this year, "You can now use a Bridge Card at the Farmers' Market, and you can take part in a real unique program called the 'Double Up Food Bucks'.

Michigan Works! West central, Hope Network and the MOISD are offering a two-week “Career Exploration and Employability Skills Summer Camp” for freshmen and sophomores so they can learn more about what is available to them through the Mecosta/Osceola Career Center. Participants in the camp will learn some employability skills that surround the topics of resume writing, job seeking tips, financial literacy, and more. Students can choose two courses to learn more about out of these four: early childhood/teaching careers, culinary arts, welding, and graphics and communications.

Big Rapids residents stroll for flowers during today's downtown Farmers Market. The market will be open until 2pm

The city of Big Rapids will be giving away a free flat of zinnia flowers to city residents and businesses. Officials say the zinnias must be planted in a location within the city limits where they can be viewed by the general public. Coupons for the flowers are available on a first-come, first-serve basis and may be picked up at the City Clerk’s office in City Hall starting May 21, - 24 2012 between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. There is a limit of one coupon per address or land parcel. Flowers may be picked up Friday May 25, 2012 at “Back Road Gardens” at the Farmer’s Market between 8:00 a.m.

Crankers Brewery is open to the public today bringing craft beer to Big Rapids. Owner Jim Crank shares what future plans they have for the brewery, "It looks like right now we're going to have to expand. We have a commitment to our distributer for 90 different accounts and I'm just trying to figure out how to produce all of this beer without giving it to other people.

According to a recent report on Yahoo.com, heart disease is the leading killer among men and women in the United States. Risk factors for heart disease include hereditary genetics, blood pressure, exercise, and cholesterol among others. Doctor Joseph Wolschleger of Michigan Primary Care Partners in Big Rapids shares some preventative measures people can take, "Making sure you keep your blood pressure under control, if they are diabetic or pre-diabetic the carbohydrate level intake in their diet is critical. Diabetes increases your risk significantly.

The 9th Annual Police Memorial Ceremony was held at Ferris State University yesterday to pay respect and tribute to both fallen and serving officers. Pastor John Fleming, the Police Chaplain, spoke before the Moment of Solemnity, "While we honor those fallen officers, we also take this moment to celebrate and honor the dedication of all of you who serve and protect us each and every day of your lives.

A bill package is currently in the state senate that could potentially phase out Michigan's personal property tax on business. In Big Rapids, this property tax currently contributes about $550,000 for the year. Big Rapids City Manager Stephen Sobers shares where the revenue could be made up, if it were lost, "There's nowhere, people are already taxed in both property and income. Which in many places, they are not. We are limited on what we can have in income tax, and we're at that limit. So there's nowhere to go there. There's nowhere to go but to cut.