OTTAWA COUNTY, Mich.—  Before this weekend’s storm,  the Ottawa County Road Commission says it was already over 70 percent through its budget for the entire winter season.

That budget pays for clearing, sanding and salting roads.  During a typical year, the County Road Commission will use about 20,000 to 25,000 tons of salt and 14,000 to 18,000 tons of sand, leading to a bill that can total $2 million- $3 million annually.  As of Jan. 10, 2014, the Ottawa County Road Commission already blew through $1.85 million of its $2.6 million budget.  The cost of salt isn’t helping; the Road Commission says the price per ton has nearly doubled since 2003.

During winter, the Ottawa County Road Commission operates 62 snow plows out of four garages located in Coopersville, Grand Haven Township, Hudsonville and Holland Township.  It can take the team up to three days to clear all Ottawa County roads after a typical snow storm.

ZEELAND, Mich.—Zeeland is staging a Wintervention Jan. 25, even if the weather doesn’t cooperate.

This is the fourth year for Wintervention, although the festival has been canceled the past two years because of a lack of snow in Zeeland and/or competing cities.  To avoid the same problem this year, organizers have added more events that are not reliant on snow.

Wintervention’s main event is a snowman building competition.  In the festival’s inaugural year, the Zeeland community created 268 snowmen in 120 minutes, earning them second place among three competitors.  The City of Saline took the title with 483 snowmen built.

The Michigan Coastal Management Program is getting more than $2.3 million to help protect the state’s lakeshore.

The grant money is coming from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

 “Michigan is home to over 3,100 miles of Great Lakes shoreline that attract tourists from across the country to enjoy our great outdoors, contributing billions to our economy.  This support will help conserve our beautiful natural resources for generations to come,” says Sen. Debbie Stabenow, who announced the grant along with Sen. Carl Levin Tuesday.

Michigan’s Department of Environmental Quality will administer the $2,327,500 federal grant, which will be used to help identify and mitigate the effects of climate change on Great Lakes coastal wetlands, as well as improving rip current forecasting and notification systems.