Communications Department

Overview

The Communications Department leads our engagement with our residents, businesses, visitors and the media. We do this in several ways:

Media Relations

Our office manages press releases and handles requests from the media.

Social Media

Our office uses a variety of social media platforms to promote City events, resources, initiatives, and information.

Community Relations

Our office works to focus on members of our community to keep them informed about what is happening Citywide and in their neighborhoods.

Cable Television Administration

We stream City Commission meetings and produce informative videos to let you know what's happening at City Hall.

We Are GR

A joint communications initiative between the City of Grand Rapids and the Grand Rapids Public Schools.

View the latest edition of We Are GR


GR Connected

An email newsletter that highlights the connections that make Grand Rapids special and is published every 1st and 3rd Friday of the month.

Subscribe to GR Connected


Winter Preparedness Guide

We’re pleased to provide these tips and reminders to help you thrive this spring and summer.

View the Winter Preparedness Guide

The media relations division manages press releases for the City. The division manager handles our relationship with the media. He connects department representatives with media outlets and coordinates questions from the press.

Are you a member of the media with an inquiry? Contact Steve Guitar:

Steve Guitar
sguitar@grcity.us
616-456-3883

We manage the City's video services and government access channel (Comcast Channel 26). This channel provides information for Grand Rapids residents and other community stakeholders. It gives up-to-date information on local and state government activities. Just for fun, we also air programs featuring historical footage of the city.

We broadcast (Channel 26) and stream (Facebook and YouTube) City Commission meetings live. Committee of the Whole meets twice a month on Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. The City Commission also meets twice a month on Tuesday at 7 p.m. We rebroadcast the meetings on the cable channel. We also air Kent County Commission and Grand Valley Metro Council meetings.

We broadcast Spanish translations of Committee of the Whole meetings and air Platica and La Ciudad Habla, which are long-running Spanish-language shows. Both focus on local issues in Grand Rapids.

City of Grand Rapids social media pages are regulated by the Communications Department and maintained by various departments and offices.

Full Policy

Looking for press releases from past years? We keep a document library of past news releases.

Past Press Releases

Strategic Communications Plan Update - October 2023(PDF, 4MB)


In 2017, The City of Grand Rapids hired Truscott Rossman, a strategic communications firm, to conduct an audit of our communications and provide a strategic plan. The firm assessed our current communications practices and provided recommendations for how we can improve our communications and relationships with the community. These are included in the documents below: