A little bit of this, a little bit of that. The top stories last month were a mix of school, police and business news. Most of the articles were about positive happenings in the community, but one was the type of story we hope we’ll never have to publish again.
Here were the most-read articles, based on website views, during March 2023.
5. Matilda the Musical Opens This Weekend
The Lowell High School theater department has done it again. Its performance of Matilda the Musical was, in a word, outstanding. Halfway through, I had to remind myself that these were high school students up on stage and not professional performers. Based on the classic book by Roald Dahl, director Amanita Fahrni said the musical was unlike anything the high school had put on it the past, and our article about the production lands in the No. 5 spot for the month.
4. Lowell Police Arrest Grandmother in Sexual Assault of Toddler
This is the type of news we wish we’d never have to publish. The Lowell Police Department issued a press release to announce the arrest of a Lowell woman who allegedly sexually assaulted her granddaughter at the request of a person she met on a dating app. The Hillsdale Country Sheriff’s Department gets credit for tipping off LPD about the crime which is said to have occurred last November.
3. Kent County Youth Agricultural Association Appoints New Executive Director
The Kent County Youth Agricultural Association – which runs the Kent County Youth Fair – has undergone a number of changes in the last year. It debuted a new carnival at last year’s fair and is planning to move to a new location for this year’s event. They also have a new executive director as interim director Morgan Doyle was tapped for the permanent position. The press release announcing her selection was the third most-read article for March.
2. Fundraiser to Support Doak Dean This Friday
March 2023 marks the first time an entry from our events calendar has made it onto the top five list. Doak Dean, son of famed Lowell coach Noel Dean, was diagnosed with cancer last year, and friends organized a fundraiser to help cover the family’s out-of-pocket expenses. We published an article about the fundraiser but posted details to the events calendar first. When it comes to website views, the article takes the No. 3 spot and the event page landed in the No. 2 spot with only about 100 clicks separating the two. For the purposes of our top five, though, we’ve combined the two into this entry.
1. Magnolia Opens in Downtown Lowell
The runaway winner for the March 2023 crown of most-read article was this story about the opening of Magnolia in the former Springrove Variety building at the corner of Main and Riverside in the historic downtown. There’s a good chance you will see this article in the top 10 list at the end of the year. Magnolia is offering up Southern/Cajun fare and eventually plans to have a small grocery section that will stock staples such as bread, eggs and milk.
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