New editor at the Courier

We've had a lot of staffing changes over this past summer at Heritage Media, but I'm happy to tell you all that I'm taking over as editor at The Ypsilanti Courier and Manchester Enterprise.

I'm Krista Gjestland, and I've been at Heritage since November as a general assignment and government reporter. Prior to that, I freelanced for Heritage for about nine months. I graduated from Eastern Michigan University in 2011, where I earned a degree in journalism and worked at The Eastern Echo.

I live in Ypsilanti and am incredibly excited to help the city get the coverage it needs and deserves. I welcome any suggestions on how to move our coverage forward. As an Ypsilanti citizen I know what I'd like to see covered more, but I'd like to hear from you all as well. What issues in Ypsi are most important to you?

I'm always looking for more community contributors, bloggers and freelancers so please reach out to me if you're interested.

If you have any suggestions, feel free to email me at kgjestland@heritage.com, find me on Twitter @kgjestland or give me a call at 734-429-7380 ex. 18.

I'm also regularly stationed in our Community Media Lab, located at 215 W. Michigan Ave. in downtown Ypsi. I'm there every Monday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. so stop in and say hi.

Finally, barbeque in Ypsilanti!

A few weeks after starting work as a full-time reporter for Heritage Media, I wrote an article on a local barbeque restaurant that was slated to open in Ypsilanti called Red Rock BBQ.

After months of chomping at the bit waiting for this restaurant to open, the day finally came this past weekend.

Let me preface this with one thing: I love barbeque. And not just slapping sauce on chicken wings. I mean slow and low smoked meats that melts in your mouth. I've had a fair amount, and I can be quite judgmental and often leave places a little disappointed.

Red Rock, however, did not disappoint. The restaurant officially opened April 20. My fiance and I headed in the next day. I had a half smoked chicken entree and he had a beef brisket sandwich. It was awesome. Large portions, incredibly tasty meat and sides that could have stood out as meals themselves.

I typically judge a barbeque joint most harshly on its cornbread. I'm incredibly picky because I've had both great and terrible cornbread. In my humble opinion, cornbread should be moist and be made with real corn. Again Red Rock did not disappoint. Not only did the cornbread have real kernels of corn in it, but it was so moist that when you picked it up it was sticky like a cupcake. Needless to say, I was in love.

Service was great, especially for opening weekend. The prices are decent, pretty low for a barbeque place. You can get a meat entree for $10-13 or a sandwich (pulled pork, brisket, etc.) for $7-9. You definitely won't break your bank eating here, and most of all I'd say you'll leave happy.

What made me most happy and excited after going to Red Rock was seeing how busy they were on their second day of being officially open. The majority of tables were filled, and so was a good chunk of the bar. Since I live here in Ypsi I love seeing local businesses do well. It's a sign that our community is thriving and can support more businesses.

My fiance and I liked Red Rock so much, we went back for lunch on Monday. He had a pulled pork sandwich and I opted for a salad with smoked chicken and beef brisket. And more cornbread, of course.

Stabbing at Heritage Festival

At about 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 22, officers responded to the scene where a fight broke out between five teenagers in the Childrens Village area of Riverside Park during the Heritage Festival.
As the officers arrived, approximately 150 teens all began running southbound toward Michigan Avenue causing a panic among visitors and vendors. One officer reported that “bystanders were screaming and vendors were hiding under their tables and closing their booths down prior to closing time.”
Many teens were trampled after an unidentified female yelled, “He has a gun.”
Moments later a second unidentified female was witnessed stabbing an unidentified male in the back with an object. The condition of the victim is unknown.

(There will be more to come on this story later this week and in next week's Ypsilanti Courier.)

Sights of the Circus

The Kelly Miller Circus was in town this past Friday at Ypsilanti's Riversdie Park. Clowns, high-flying acts, elephants, tigers and candy apples are all familiar sights at the circus and those staples were definitely apparent here.