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Morning Buzz: Amazon Prime Day kicks-off tonight

Posted at 10:55 AM, Jul 10, 2017
and last updated 2017-07-10 10:53:42-04

1. Amazon Prime shoppers have special deals coming their way starting tonight with the third annual Prime Day!

Amazon says it will offer new deals every five minutes for 30 hours, beginning at 9 p.m.

Discounts will reportedly be available on hundreds of thousands of items. However, just like the name suggests, shoppers need to be a Prime Member to get the deals.

A membership costs about $100 a year.

2. Running out of ideas for play dates with the kids? Now there are two more options for play time with two parks in Grand Rapids reopening after getting a makeover.

The city invested nearly one million dollars to upgrade Campau and Richmond Parks.

$650,000 went to Campau for items like a water splash pad, a new playground, and a walking path.

$300,000 went to Richmond Park, where families can enjoy a new fishing platform, as well as improvements to the shelter building.

Mayor Rosalynn Bliss will be on hand for the Grand Reopening events starting on Tuesday at noon at Campau Park.

3. Election day is creeping closer in some communities, and today is the last day to register to vote in it.

On August 8 not all communities will have elections, but many do have issues on the ballot. Plus this will be the first election to feature new ballot counting machines in 63 communities, but voters will still fill out a paper ballot.

Other areas in Michigan will have new machines by the November election.

4. Meijer's delivery service is going so well in Michigan, that it's now expanding to Chicago.

Meijer will roll out its home delivery service, offered through Shipt, beginning on Thursday to nearly two million households throughout the Chicago-land suburbs and Rockford.

They plan to extend the service to a majority of its six-state Midwest market by the end of the year.

Customers can shop online for 55,000 groceries, everyday essentials and perishables such as fresh produce and more.

Meijer customers can sign up for Shipt memberships for $99 per year.

5. The parent company of Sears and K-mart said it plans to shut down eight Sears locations at 35 K-mart stores.

Before the announcement, Sears had already put 236 stores on the chopping block for 2017.

The company is now poised to shut down roughly 20 percent of its outlets. This follows the closure of 240 stores in 2016, and 53 in 2015.

The company say sit wants to focus on its best stores and bolster digital sales.

Sears was once America's largest retailer, but it has since lost ground to online shopping.

The last time it turned a profit was 2010, and its losses have exceeded $10 billion since then.