GRAND VALLEY

GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- Students and faculty members of Grand Valley State University will no longer be required to wear masks on campus starting this week. GVSU leaders said that the move to its COVID-19 Level 0 alert level means that masks will be optional in all campus locations, including classrooms and other academic spaces. Faculty members can request their students wear face masks in class but cannot make it a requirement, according to a release by GVSU. Currently, GVSU leaders said the health indicators used to inform the university’s COVID-19 response were revised since the last revision in summer 2021. Some indicators proved to be “no longer useful,” according to GVSU leaders, because of the Virus Action Team transition and evolving guidance from the CDC and local health experts.

It’s on to the Final Four for the Hope College women’s basketball team. Kenedy Schoonveld scored 21 points while Sydney Muller and Olivia Voskuil added 14 and 10 points, respectively. Grand Valley 74, Drury 69The Lakers have advanced to the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Championship for the second time in four seasons. Grand Valley will play Walsh on Monday at 7 p.m. in Ashland, with a trip to the Elite 8 on the line. Grand Valley led 52-50 in the fourth quarter before going on an 8-0 run.

Grand Valley State University’s football team’s future started to come into focus Wednesday during National Signing Day. Lakers coach Matt Mitchell likes what he sees, especially when it comes to Grand Valley’s offensive line. The Lakers signed 21 offensive players, 10 defensive players and one specialist. Grand Valley was ranked third in the final Versus D2 Power Rankings and fifth in the final D2Football.com poll. Grand Valley will open the 2022 season Sept. 1 at home against Colorado School of Mines.

The body of Brendan Santo was found Friday, Jan. 21, in an area full of debris, but what led law enforcement to the location?

The body of Brendan Santo was found Friday, Jan. 21, in an area full of debris, but what led law enforcement to the location?

A body believed to belong to Brendan Santo was recovered from the Red Cedar River in East Lansing.

Police said a body they believe to be Brendan Santo has been found in the Red Cedar River nearly three months after he disappeared on the campus of Michigan State University.

It’s been nearly three months since Brendan Santo was last seen at Michigan State University, but there’s still no sign of the missing Rochester Hills student.

Ferris State University rolled into Allendale and knocked off Grand Valley 35-28 in a Saturday night showdown between two undefeated, highly ranked Division II teams. Grand Valley never could overcome early-game miscues, however. 1) Grand Valley turned the ball over twice in the red zone in the first half. The Bulldogs’ Ferris’ Caleb Smith also had an interception at his own 1 early in the second quarter and the game tied 7-7. He threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Bryce Young-Walls and a 3-yarder to Hunter Rison in the third to pull Grand Valley to within 28-21.

Ferris versus Grand Valley. Grand Valley is coming off a 70-19 win over Northwood last week while the Bulldogs had a bye week. The Bulldogs have won seven of the past eight meetings between the two teams and eight of the past 10. Grand Valley is averaging 48.4 points, and they haven’t scored fewer than 34 points in a game this season. Grand Valley is offering a live video webcasts at GVSULakers.com.

Davenport University’s football program is still in the infancy stage when compared to the Panthers’ Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference competition. Here are five things to know about Davenport’s 2021 team. 1) While the Panthers lost the 2020 season to the COVID-19 pandemic, they did play a pair of spring games against Gannon University, going 1-1. “It was an advantage because we are still a young program and we are trying to catch up with our schemes and the pieces we have added to our team in regards to new guys, young guys. You have to have the ability to dig deep into your roster because it is a game of attrition.”The Panthers return linebacker Liam Cavanaugh, who starred at West Ottawa.

Thursday was the graduation for the Detroit Achievement Academy’s eighth graders and every student received a life-changing graduation gift.

Grand Valley State University’s softball team was two outs away from elimination Friday night in the NCAA Division II College World Series. In fact, Grand Valley wasn’t ready to go anywhere, rallying to beat West Chester 6-1. Grand Valley, 45-9, scored six runs in the top of the seventh inning after the first hitter had been retired in the tournament played in Denver. The Lakers dropped its World Series opener 1-0 Thursday to Texas A & M, and Grand Valley was down 1-0 Friday in the seventh. But Grand Valley, after 13 scoreless innings, came charging back.

Grand Valley State University softball team’s dream of a national championship remains alive, but the road to the title became much more challenging. The Lakers lost to West Texas A & M 1-0 in Thursday night’s Division II College World Series opener in Denver. That means the Lakers will be in a must-win situation Friday when they take on West Chester of Pennsylvania at 8 p.m. EDT. Grand Valley, 44-9 and seeded third in the tournament, entered the game having won 15 of its past 16 contests. West Chester, seeded seventh, fell to 34-15 after losing 3-2 to Saint Anselm Thursday.

Davenport University’s baseball team scored nine unanswered runs and defeated Grand Valley 9-1 in Sunday’s GLIAC Tournament championship game at Jackson Field in Lansing. It is the first GLIAC Tournament crown for the Panthers, who will find out beginning 10 p.m. Sunday where and when they will play next. Davenport improved to 30-14, marking the ninth consecutive season that the Lakers have won at least 30 game. Travis Henry hit his third home run of the season on a two-run blast to left in the sixth inning. Christian Petre, Noah Petre, Noah Marcoux and Carson Eby each had a double.

Seven of Grand Valley State University’s football games will be played at home in 2021. “Our football student-athletes will not have competed in an actual college football game for 21 months when we open the 2021 season,” Lakers coach Matt Mitchell said in a release. “They are obviously excited for the anticipation of playing again and that feeling of joy will get even more ramped up with the announcement of our 2021 schedule. “We are excited about the 2021 schedule and the opportunity to play some outstanding opponents. Grand Valley will open the GLIAC season Oct. 2 at Saginaw Valley.

I offer my deepest condolences to the student’s family and friends. I want to assure you that we have every resource devoted to the investigation and in support of our campus community. The Grand Valley State Police Department will have additional staff working on the Allendale Campus for the remainder of the weekend. The Grand Valley State Police Department and the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Michigan State Police Crime Laboratory, are aggressively investigating this incident. Philomena V. Mantella, Grand Valley State University president

“I’d be more happy if all the numbers were all the way down before we return back to normal.”Simons is among many Grand Valley students who worry the end of the stay-home order means students could begin gathering together again, causing cases to rise among students. New coronavirus cases have dropped significantly at GVSU since the start of the stay-home order. But university leaders said they would issue sanctions to students who were found continuously disregarding the stay-home order. RELATED: Grand Valley students who break stay-home order could be subject to sanctionsGVSU’s Office of Student Conduct received 67 incident reports since the stay-home order began Sept. 17, said vice president of Finance and Administration Greg Sanial in a press conference Thursday. More on MLive:Grand Valley State stay-home order leaves some students skepticalGrand Valley to do random campus coronavirus testing, shift most classes online after ThanksgivingGrand Valley to pay students to take daily coronavirus health screening

"It’s social gathering, social gathering, social gathering, social gathering. But it did.”Role of college officialsFor the most part, public-health officials credit university and college officials with taking the proper precautions to minimize coronavirus outbreaks. Then in August, there were 10 deaths in Ingham, which followed a spike in coronavirus cases linked to Harper’s Bar in East Lansing. But Susan Ringler-Cerniglia, spokeswoman for the Washtenaw County Health Department, said it may be just a matter of luck and timing. How that’s going to go?”Vail said she’s sympathetic to the plight of college students.

ALLENDALE, MI -- Grand Valley State University students who take a daily health screening for novel coronavirus can earn money in return. GVSU students were recently ordered to stay in their on- or off-campus residence for two weeks because of a surge in the number of coronavirus cases. There have been more than 600 coronavirus cases tied to Grand Valley since Aug. 23, when many students returned to campus, according to the health department. Most COVID-19 spread at Grand Valley has occurred between roommates in off-campus housing, health experts have found. The Ottawa County health department has found a number of “small clusters” in apartments or households with GVSU students, senior epidemiologist Derel Glashower previously told MLive.