Good morning, lakeshore. The old Floto’s Gifts building at 123 Washington Ave in downtown Grand Haven has sat empty since the shop closed in August 2024. Now there’s a plan for it. A $2.28 million project will put a restaurant on the ground floor, three two-bedroom apartments upstairs and a rooftop patio for the tenants. The state is covering $390,000 of it with a grant, and the city says it wants more projects like this downtown.

In today’s Lowdown:

Your Halloween night game plan
Seven local teams open the playoffs tonight
The D-Day ship that hauled cars to Milwaukee

Let’s get into it.

- Sam Johnson, The Lakeshore Lowdown

Sponsored by Gary Tripp Agency:

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TREAT ROUTE

Your Halloween night game plan 🎃

Halloween is on a Saturday this year, so you won’t be racing home from work to get the kids dressed. Official trick-or-treat hours are 6 to 8 PM in Muskegon, Grand Haven, Spring Lake and Ferrysburg. If your city or township isn’t on that list, check with your local hall.

Spring Lake gets a head start. Downtown businesses hand out treats from 4 to 6 PM during Halloween in the Village, right before the neighborhoods take over.

In Grand Haven, Haunted Haven moves the candy hunt indoors at Central Park Place from 5:30 to 7 PM, with games and crafts on top of the candy. It’s a good option for little ones who aren’t ready for dark sidewalks.

Saturday’s forecast has a high near 60 and only a slight chance of rain. Expect temps in the 50s while kids are out.

Grown-ups have options too. Unruly Brewing’s costume contest is around 7:45 PM, and ZIP City plays at 8:30. The SS Milwaukee Clipper is throwing a Halloween party on board at 8 PM. It was listed as almost full earlier this week, so grab tickets soon. Clocks fall back at 2 AM, so you get an extra hour at the end of the night.

📍 Muskegon, Grand Haven, Spring Lake and Ferrysburg
🗓️ Sat, Oct 31, 6 to 8 PM (downtown Spring Lake 4 to 6 PM, Haunted Haven 5:30 to 7 PM)
🎟️ Free trick-or-treating | Grand Haven area Halloween events

🎉 Weekend Preview

Saturday is for candy. Sunday hands you an hour back.

🎈 = family-friendly

All weekend
🗳️ Early voting – Muskegon City Hall, Sat 8 AM to 4 PM and Sun 10 AM to 6 PM.
🎈🌾 Harvest Hay Bale Trail – Downtown Muskegon. Voting wraps Saturday.

Friday
🏈 Playoff Friday – Seven local teams kick off at 7 PM. See Local Sports.
🤠 Gary Allan – The Frauenthal, 7:30 PM. Tickets
🍸 Martini Lounge Showcase – Unruly Brewing, $5.

Saturday
🎈🥕 Muskegon Farmers Market – 8 AM to 2 PM.
🧺 Western Market – Downtown Muskegon, 10 AM to 4 PM. Last market day of the year.
☘️ Midnight in Ireland – Unruly Brewing. Irish acts from around noon to 7:30 PM, costume contest around 7:45, then ZIP City at 8:30.
🎈🍬 Halloween in the Village – Downtown Spring Lake, 4 to 6 PM.
🎈👻 Haunted Haven – Central Park Place, 421 Columbus Ave, Grand Haven, 5:30 to 7 PM.
🎈🎃 Trick-or-treat – Muskegon, Grand Haven, Spring Lake and Ferrysburg, 6 to 8 PM.
🚢 SS Milwaukee Clipper Halloween Party – 2098 Lakeshore Dr, Muskegon, 8 PM. It was listed as almost full, so grab tickets soon.

Sunday
⏰ Clocks fall back – 2 AM.
🗳️ Last day of early voting – Muskegon City Hall, 10 AM to 6 PM.

Coming up
🗳️ Election Day – Tue, Nov 3. Polls open 7 AM to 8 PM.
🏐 Volleyball districts – Start Mon, Nov 2. See Local Sports.
🎨 Michigan Contemporary closes – Muskegon Museum of Art, Wed, Nov 4.
🏒 Lumberjacks back home – vs. Cedar Rapids, Fri-Sat, Nov 13-14, Trinity Health Arena.

🌊 Shore Things

🗳️ Ballot Countdown – Election Day is Tuesday, and polls are open 7 AM to 8 PM. Not registered yet? You can still register and vote the same day at your city or township clerk’s office until 8 PM. Find your polling place

⏰ Fall Back, Lakeshore – Clocks go back an hour at 2 AM Sunday. Fix the oven clock before it confuses you for a week.

🥕 The Barn Stays Open – Western Market’s chalets close for the year after Saturday, but the Muskegon Farmers Market keeps rolling. It runs Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 8 AM to 2 PM, with Saturday markets through Nov 28.

🏈 Local Sports

Seven of our teams open the playoffs tonight, and all seven kick off at 7 PM. Mona Shores (8-1) hosts Traverse City Central, the team that beat Muskegon 16-14 at Hackley in last year’s district final, and LSJ’s Tom Kendra says it’s likely the Sailors’ only home playoff game. North Muskegon (8-1) brings an eight-game win streak into its matchup with Lawton.

District semifinals, Friday, Oct 30, 7 PM:

Traverse City Central (4-5) at Mona Shores (8-1)
Muskegon (4-5) at Byron Center (7-2)
Fruitport (7-2) at Ludington (7-2)
Spring Lake (5-4) vs. Unity Christian (5-4), at Jenison
Lawton (5-4) at North Muskegon (8-1)
Chippewa Hills (7-2) at Orchard View (7-2)
Cassopolis (8-1) at Ravenna (7-2)

Around the county

⚽ Warriors Strike Late – Western Michigan Christian won the Division 4 regional title Thursday, beating defending state champion Leland 1-0 in Cadillac. Senior Braedon Hoffman scored the only goal with 32 minutes left.

⚽ Bucs Bow Out – Grand Haven’s season ended Tuesday with a 3-1 regional semifinal loss to Traverse City West.

🏐 District Week – Volleyball districts start Monday. In the Division 1 bracket at Coopersville, Muskegon plays Reeths-Puffer Monday at 6 PM, and Grand Haven gets the winner Wednesday at 5. Mona Shores faces Coopersville Wednesday at 7, and the final is Thursday at 6 PM.

🏐 Tune-Up Complete – Spring Lake closed its regular season with a four-set win over Holland. Fruitport swept its home quad over Allendale, Grant and Newaygo.

🏒 Midweek Statement – The Lumberjacks beat the U.S. Under-17 team 5-1 Wednesday in Plymouth and sit at 6-5-0-2. They’re off this weekend and play next at Dubuque on Nov 6.

☀️ Weather Report

Friday 56 🌡️ 41 | 🌤️ | 10% | 💨 W 10-15 kt
Saturday 60 🌡️ 44 | ⛅ | 10% | 💨 S 5-15 kt
Sunday 66 🌡️ 48 | 🌤️ | 10% | 💨 S 10-20 kt

🌊 Waves 2 to 3 ft Friday, 1 to 2 ft Saturday, 2 to 4 ft Sunday | 💧 Water around 50

The verdict: Halloween night looks dry, with temps in the 50s for the 6 to 8 PM window. Bring a real coat to the stadium tonight. Sunday is the pick of the weekend at 66 before rain chances climb Monday.

Speaking of wind, settle this one for us.

Pick your pier walk 🌊

🎵 Live Music Picks

Unruly goes all day on Halloween, and Kirby House takes the late shift in Grand Haven.

OFF-RAMP

🌟Only in Muskegon and Grand Haven

The gray ship tied up at the Mart Dock in Muskegon was launched on Armistice Day, Nov. 11, 1942. On the night of June 6, 1944, she was off Omaha Beach, and LST 393 made 30 round trips to Normandy in all. In 1948 she was sold, renamed Highway 16 and put to work hauling cars across Lake Michigan between Muskegon and Milwaukee as a floating piece of the old US-16. Her bow doors were welded shut for the job. Today she’s a veterans museum, and the flag she flew at Normandy is still on board.