Today's a mixed bag, high near 81 with a shot at afternoon storms, so keep half an eye on the sky if you're out on the water this afternoon. Wednesday holds steady in the low 80s with just a slim morning shower chance.

The verdict: Skies trend cleaner as the week goes on.

7 Day Glance: Thursday's game and the Labor Day weekend are currently trending mostly sunny, highs in the upper 70s to low 80s, nights dropping into the comfortable mid-60s, about as good as it gets on this coast in early September.

The Muskegon Farmers Market is open today, Thursday, and Saturday, 8 AM to 2 PM. Grand Haven's Farmers Market keeps its usual Wednesday and Saturday hours, 8 AM to 1 PM.

Labor Day morning, take your pick of two community walks. Grand Haven's Labor Day Bridge Walk starts at the 3rd Street Bridge at 9 AM, crosses the bridge and waterfront, and wraps at Waterfront Stadium with prize drawings, free and open to all ages. Across the county, Run Muskegon's Labor Day Community Walk starts the same morning at Pigeon Hill's Brewers Lounge, benefiting Life Align Recovery Ranch. Family-friendly, both of them.

Later that day, Muskegon's Labor Day Parade & Celebration kicks off at 11 AM from 4th and Western, marches through downtown, and lands at Hackley Park for free family activities, food vendors, and live music all afternoon.

The Musical Fountain is the move all week, running a different theme every single night through Labor Day:

Free, every night, shows run roughly 8:40-9:30 PM depending on sunset, down at Lynne Sherwood Waterfront Stadium.

The Deck has live music on the sand every single night this week too: Harry Dean and the Dusty Boys tonight at 6, Velvet Mushroom Syndicate Wednesday, DaFunk Gang Thursday, Brother Hyde Friday, Post Fontaine and Killer Flamingos Saturday, Zion Lion and Sushi Roll Sunday, and a Taylor Swift tribute act, The Ladies Night, closes it out Labor Day afternoon.

Grand Haven's Kirby House brings in DJ JC Extreme Friday night and JP & The Energy Saturday, both 9 PM to 12:30 AM. Downtown, the Flight Deck above Early Owl has rooftop karaoke Saturday at 8, plus a Labor Day celebration Monday from 11 to 3. Muskegon Brewing Company keeps its regular live music going on the waterfront too, worth a quick check of their socials for who's booked this week.

Holiday-weekend reminder: bigger crowds usually mean bigger waves get ignored. Piers on the south side build the strongest currents when wind and swell pick up, so check the beach flags before you swim, especially at Grand Haven State Park and Pere Marquette Park.

For the anglers: Glow spoons and glow plugs are the move, and pier anglers are finding Chinook the same way. Largemouth bass are biting on drop-shot rigs closer in.

ZINI Dining & Cocktail Lounge is set to open downtown Muskegon (380 W. Western Ave) on September 25, an Asian multi-course concept with cocktail pairings. Worth marking the calendar now.

Closer to this week, Pigeon Hill's Brewers Lounge, the starting line for Monday's Run Muskegon walk, is a solid post-walk stop if you're on that side of town. Socibowl downtown at 441 W Western is still the move for duckpin bowling and their Muskegon Melt burger if the walk works up an appetite. JW's Food & Spirits in Grand Haven runs happy hour Monday through Friday, 2 to 5, with $3.25 domestic bottles, $5 house wines, and $2 off pitchers. And if pizza's more your speed, The Slice Shoppe downtown Grand Haven is slinging 18-inch New York-style pies and slices from a rotating seasonal menu.

Full county rundown: two Thursday games away from a clean sweep in the loss column. Grand Haven beat Spring Lake 35-34 in double overtime (the full story is above), and Reeths-Puffer throttled Greenville 56-7 behind a big night from QB Swain. Orchard View blanked Wyoming 49-0. Everyone else came up short: Mona Shores fell 35-27 to Orchard Lake St. Mary's Prep despite 200 rushing yards and two touchdowns from Owen Terpstra, Oakridge lost 30-0 to Zeeland East, Fruitport dropped a shootout 34-28 to Hopkins, and Muskegon Catholic Central fell 54-0 to New Lothrop.

Friday added six more games to the board. Muskegon lost 29-28 in overtime to Grandville after a fake extra point got batted down in the extra session. North Muskegon fell 17-9 to Pewamo-Westphalia behind Cullen Bartos's two-way effort. Whitehall couldn't recover from a 26-point Clare second quarter, falling 48-22. Montague led at half but faded late in a 46-35 loss to Napoleon. Ravenna dropped Steve Czerwon's coaching debut, 33-7 to Beal City, now five straight wins over the Bulldogs. Muskegon Heights pulled off the county's best finish: a 90-yard, game-winning lateral touchdown from Cartieyah Harris to Durrell Foster, beating Brethren 28-24.

Holton rounded out opening weekend with a 70-26 loss to Marion in an 8-player shootout, despite a big two-way game from QB Lane Frees.

This week’s schedule:

Almost the whole county plays Thursday night this week, so pick a stadium and go. Oakridge hosting Ravenna is a rematch of last year's series, and Mona Shores gets a home shot at bouncing back after their Week 1 heartbreaker.

The Coffee Factory is tucked inside the Watermark Lofts building in Muskegon's Nims Neighborhood, pouring Madcap Coffee alongside espresso drinks, cold brew, and specialty teas from Jasmine Pearl Tea Co. The food side leans grab-and-go with a homemade touch: quiche, sandwiches, salads, and rotating baked goods, vegan and gluten-free options included. Private booths, a cozy living-room corner, patios on both sides of the entrance, and a small disco-ball bathroom regulars love to mention.

📍 1402 Hudson St, Muskegon (inside Watermark Lofts)
🕐 Monday-Saturday, 8 AM-6 PM

Muskegon once had more silk hats per capita than anywhere in the country. In 1870, the city ran 32 sawmills and earned the nickname "Lumber Queen of the World." By 1887, those mills were cutting 665 million board feet of lumber a year, shipped out on up to 30 vessels a day. The money built the city you're standing in now. Charles Hackley, one of the biggest lumber barons, poured an estimated $12 million back into Muskegon instead of taking it with him, funding the park, the library, and more that still carry his name today. Next time you're at Hackley Park, you're standing on lumber money.

A 37-year rivalry, fourteen county openers, and a fountain show every night till Labor Day. Get out there while it's still technically summer. See you Friday.