Metro Health,  located at 5900 Byron Center Ave. SW,  is hosting a weekly open-air market on Thursdays  through October 10,  from 9 a.m. through 2 p.m.

Vendors will be selling locally grown and  produced food items for purchase, including vegetables, fruits, baked goods, plants and flowers, along with handcrafted candles, jewelry  and soap.

Wyoming will combine its police and fire departments under a newly approved city budget.

The city council unanimously approved the plan Monday.  The budget includes reducing the public safety tax  by .25 mills, merging police and fire into a public safety department and increasing water and sewer rates by two percent.

The budget also gives the city manager a 2.1 percent pay raise, but does not guarantee any future pay increases.  It also puts the city manager on a “pay for performance” evaluation system.

The new budget takes effect July 1.

The Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center is teaming up with the city of Grand Rapids to show just how bicycle friendly our area is.

The Kroc Center will offer a buy one, get one pass deal to bicyclists on Tuesday, May 21, as part of the Mayor’s Bike Ride.  The annual ride starts at 6:30 p.m. at the entrance to Plaster Creek Trails at the Kroc Center, located on 2500 S. Division Ave.

The 5th annual Mayor’s Bike Ride introduces the average bike rider to Grand Rapids’ bike trail system.  Participants can travel 2 miles or 6 miles from the Kroc Center, or choose a 24 mile ride to Millennium Park, led by Alger Bikes.  All paricipants are required to wear a properly fitted helmet.