An open house to collect thoughts on what the public would like see in downtown Allegan will be Thursday, Sept. 28, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Griswold Auditorium, 401 Hubbard St.

Last week, the Allegan County Area Technical and Education Center celebrated the completion of its 12,000-square-foot, $3.2 million expansion. Crews worked through the winter after breaking ground last September, and administrators, staff, students and the public were on hand for the official ribbon-cutting Wednesday, Sept. 13.

After the 165th Allegan County Fair came to a close Saturday, Sept. 16, overall gate numbers for all nine days were down this year—but the 4-H Livestock auction broke an all-time record. The auction brought in $689,003 in sales beating the old record of $667,125 in 2014.