Hello, Grand Rapids: Filling vacant GM plant site creates ripple effect and 400+ jobs

GRAND RAPIDS, MI - There is a ripple effect when a big employer closes in a community that extends beyond those out of jobs trying to figure out next steps.

I have lived in a few states and know how a shutdown also threatens local businesses and governments that have come to depend on the money that comes from the company and their employees.

I remember our 2008 article about General Motors informing workers one Monday afternoon in October that their 72-year-old plant in Wyoming would close by December 2009. The vast stamping plant employed 1,500 people, who had taken concessions more than once to help survive.

I reflected on that reporting and how one employee described the atmosphere as somber and humbling, after Melissa Frick told readers Tuesday that the Wyoming City Commission app