8-K

                                  UNITED STATES
                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

                                ----------------

                                    FORM 8-K

                                 CURRENT REPORT
                     PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
                         SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

        DATE OF REPORT (DATE OF EARLIEST EVENT REPORTED): AUGUST 16, 2004

                              --------------------

                           MERCANTILE BANK CORPORATION
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)



           MICHIGAN                     000-26719             38-3360865
(State or other jurisdiction         (Commission File        (IRS Employer
      of incorporation)                  Number)          Identification Number)



5650 BYRON CENTER AVENUE SW, WYOMING, MICHIGAN                49509
   (Address of principal executive offices)                 (Zip Code)


Registrant's telephone number, including area code         616-406-3777








ITEM 5.  OTHER EVENTS AND REGULATION FD DISCLOSURE

         Redemption of Trust Preferred Securities. On August 16, 2004,
Mercantile Bank Corporation issued a press release announcing that all of the
1.6 million of 9.60% Cumulative Preferred Securities issued by its business
trust subsidiary in 1999 for $10 per Preferred Security have been called for
redemption on September 17, 2004 at a redemption price of $10 per Preferred
Security. The Preffered Securities are listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market under
the symbol "MBWMP". A copy of the press release is filed with this report as
Exhibit 99.1.


ITEM 7.  FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND EXHIBITS

(c)  Exhibits.

Exhibit Number                     Description

99.1              Press Release of Mercantile Bank Corporation dated August 16,
                  2004 regarding redemption of trust preferred securities





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                                   SIGNATURES

         Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.


                                      MERCANTILE BANK CORPORATION


                                      By:  /s/ Charles E. Christmas
                                         ---------------------------------------
                                           Charles E. Christmas
                                           Senior Vice President,
                                           Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer


Date:  August 16, 2004








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                                  EXHIBIT INDEX


Exhibit Number                          Description


99.1              Press Release of Mercantile Bank Corporation dated August 16,
                  2004 regarding redemption of trust preferred securities








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EX-99.1

                                                                    EXHIBIT 99.1

                       [MERCANTILE BANK CORPORATION LOGO]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:

AT MERCANTILE BANK CORPORATION:                     FOR MEDIA:
Gerald R. Johnson, Jr.  Charles Christmas           Linda Margolin
Chairman & CEO          Chief Financial Officer      Margolin & Associates, Inc.
616-406-3700            616-406-3750                216-765-0953
gjohnson@mercbank.com   cchristmas@mercbank.com     lmm@margolinIR.com

MERCANTILE BANK CORPORATION ANNOUNCES REDEMPTION OF TRUST PREFERRED SECURITIES

WYOMING, Mich., August 16 -- Mercantile Bank Corporation (Nasdaq: MBWM)
announced that all of the 1.6 million 9.60% Cumulative Preferred Securities
issued by its business trust subsidiary in 1999 for $10 per Preferred Security
have been called for redemption on September 17, 2004 at a redemption price of
$10 per Preferred Security. The Preferred Securities are listed on the Nasdaq
Stock Market under the symbol "MBWMP". Mercantile intends to finance the $16
million redemption from a new financing with proceeds greater than the amount
necessary to redeem the securities being called.

About Mercantile Bank Corporation

Mercantile Bank Corporation is the bank holding company for Mercantile Bank of
West Michigan. The Bank's primary service area is the Kent and Ottawa County
area of West Michigan, which includes the City of Grand Rapids, the
second-largest city in the State of Michigan. The Bank provides a wide variety
of commercial banking services primarily to businesses, individuals, and
governmental units through its five full-service offices in greater Grand
Rapids, and its Holland, Michigan, office located thirty miles southwest of
Grand Rapids. Mercantile Bank Corporation's common stock is listed on the Nasdaq
National Market under the symbol "MBWM."

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains comments or information that constitute
forward-looking statements (within the meaning of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995) that are based on current expectations that
involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ
materially from the results expressed in forward-looking statements. Factors
that might cause such a difference include changes in interest rates and
interest rate relationships; demand for products and services; the degree of
competition by traditional and non-traditional competitors;





changes in banking regulation; changes in tax laws; changes in prices, levies,
and assessments; the impact of technological advances; governmental and
regulatory policy changes; the outcomes of contingencies; trends in customer
behavior as well as their ability to repay loans; changes in the national and
local economy; changes in securities markets, and other factors, including risk
factors, referred to from time to time in filings made by Mercantile with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. Mercantile undertakes no obligation to
update or clarify forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise.