Good morning, Kalamazoo.

Evans Acres Family Farm will reopen on Oct.

1 and honor Gene the Pumpkin Man’s legacy by offering goats, chickens, and 50 acres of pumpkins. The fourth-generation Evans family aims to expand the historic farm — preserving century-old traditions while introducing new animal exhibits.

Fox Motors acquired LaFontaine Mazda and Mercedes-Benz dealerships in Kalamazoo in September and plans to relocate both to new state-of-the-art facilities, with further details to be released later.

Tim Rieman, a veteran educator with 37 years of experience, comes out of retirement to serve as interim athletic director and boys basketball coach at Schoolcraft after Bryan Applin left for Wayland's AD role.

He plans to build on the Eagles' recent regional championships — keeping the winning momentum alive.

The Congregation of St. Joseph expanded its solar array field on Tuesday at the Nazareth Center by installing 400 kW-dc solar panels that save roughly $66,000 in utility costs and cut 528,000 lbs of CO2 annually.

The church is working with Michigan State University on a project to study solar impacts on the environment.

Consumers Energy's gas line work on Palmer Avenue near Fulford and Cameron Streets led to reports of a natural gas smell Tuesday morning; KDPS said there is no safety risk and off-gassing may continue until the work is finished.

Kalamazoo water officials declared a boil-water advisory over the weekend after tests detected E. coli at a hydrant and coliform bacteria nearby; follow-up tests lifted the advisory Monday morning.

They will review procedures to improve how they notify affected neighborhoods next time.

Local high school football last Friday saw standout games with five touchdowns from players like Hudson Merriman and Zac Pfennig as teams including Kalamazoo United maintained unbeaten records + several matchups are scheduled for Friday.

MLive and the Kalamazoo Gazette invite readers to vote on the top 10 high school football teams after Week 4 as polls now show Kalamazoo Central topping Portage Central.

Voting is open until 9 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 25 (one vote per computer).