Once summer is over, it feels like the year is just one downward slide. The kids head back to school and then life picks up steam as we barrel into one holiday after another from Halloween to the New Year.
But before we get distracted by the coming attractions, let’s look back at the most popular stories from August. Of the 43 items we published last month, these got the most website views – although there was one anomaly that may have skewed the results.
5. Skatepark Completed, Grand Reopening Aug. 31
First up is the anomaly. This article about the completion of Lowell’s rebuilt skatepark was doing pretty good on its own on Facebook – good engagement, good reach…all those things you like to see on social media.
But I am reading Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook, and it made me wonder what would happen if we boosted that post. Boosting is basically paying to ensure your post ends up in more people’s news feeds. It’s been a couple years since we boosted a post since the results in the past didn’t seem to warrant using money from our teeny tiny budget on further boosts. However, we gave it another shot this time and for $15, we saw about a 10% boost in engagement and clicks. Not bad but not really enough to make we want to spend more money on future boosts.
Anyway, the bottom line is that this article was doing good by itself, but the paid boost gave it just enough of a lift to edge out the No. 6 article by 74 clicks.
4. Joint Meeting Scheduled to Discuss I-96 Business Park Development
Depending on who you ask, a planned development by the I-96 interchange in Lowell Charter Township is either very exciting or very concerning. Regardless of your opinion, it is going to require some major changes to city and township operations to get water and sewer services to the site.
The two municipalities have adopted a letter of understanding that outlines the provisions of a 425 agreement that would facilitate the extension of utilities. It would allow the City of Lowell to assess and tax properties in the development and also obligate them to provide police and public safety services there. Meanwhile, the township would retain authority over zoning issues.
The press release announcing a joint meeting on the matter was the fourth-most read item on Lowell’s First Look in August. You can also read a recap of the meeting here.
3. Lowell Township to Hold Inaugural Bridgefest
The North Grand River Riverfront Park has been a hot spot in recent years. Lowell Charter Township added pickleball courts, a playground, concession stand and a bridge across the Grand River to connect it to an existing park to the south.
In August, the park also held the township’s first Bridgefest celebration. Actually, that might have been the township’s only Bridgefest celebration. Neighbors to the west were alarmed that the township chose the same name as Saranac’s annual community festival, and we hear Lowell Township might be changing the name next year.
But for this year, it was Bridgefest, and our preview of the event lands in the No. 3 spot for the month of August.
2. Hoffman Family of Companies Acquires Lowell Manufacturer
Here’s the article we thought would take the top spot for August, and even that was a bit surprising. News about businesses that aren’t restaurants or retail shops don’t tend to be read as widely, but this one seemed to have piqued interest in local residents.
The Hoffman Family – described to us as akin to a Florida version of the DeVos Family – took an interest in Envision Engineering and has purchased the Lowell manufacturer. No major changes are expected in operations, and Envision isn’t the first Michigan company purchased by the Hoffman Family of Companies. The firm has also purchased numerous properties in and around Mackinac Island, including the region’s two major ferry lines.
1. Sen. Albert Introduces Legislation in Response to MI Supreme Court Ruling
This was truly out of left field for us. We have never had a press release or column from a legislator blow up like this one. We weren’t exactly breaking any news here either. When we published Senator Thomas Albert’s press release about his legislation to retain the current structure of tipped wages, the plan had already been publicized elsewhere.
And yet, thousands clicked through the News Break app to read to release and thousands more found it on Facebook – but not on our Facebook page, which actually had relatively low engagement for this post. It was also popular in search engines results and on MSN (did you know we are an MSN partner)?
This might be a good time to note that we only publish a fraction of the political press releases, columns and statements we receive from various government officials and candidates. So many sound like campaign literature or attempts to smear political opponents. Our goal is to publish those that provide information, details or updates that readers might find newsworthy while leaving the rest behind.
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