News

Normally this time of year, Progressive Field is filled with cheering Cleveland Indians fans and fireworks. Now because of the pandemic, Major League Baseball players and owners are locked in contentious negotiations to start the season around July 4 without fans. WKSU sports commentator Terry Pluto says the baseball blues are setting in.

Couples who want to get married in Cuyahoga Valley National Park have a new option next month – pop-up weddings designed around social distancing.

The park is partnering with wedding planners Haus of Cool to provide wedding packages for groups up to 10 people. They’ll offer six weddings per day on six dates this summer.

The coronavirus pandemic has led to unprecedented economic concerns for state government. In early May, the governor ordered state departments to cut spending by $775 million through the end of June. Cuts to education funding could affect the state’s charter schools.

A team of University of Dayton filmmakers has released a documentary examining the city’s response to last year’s Memorial Day tornadoes, and the mass shooting that occurred just months later.

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) is co-sponsoring a bill to provide federal funding for this November’s election amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The VoteSafe Act would provide $5 billion in federal funds. Half would be used by states to make it easier for them to offer absentee and early in-person voting.

The other half would be used to expand accessibility to disabled, rural, and Native American voters, and offering things like curbside voting.

Catholic Churches in Northeast Ohio are open again for in-person masses. But the services look quite different.

The Cleveland Diocese has set guidelines for social distancing, such as wearing masks and blocking off pews.

Karol Kirk attends St. Eugene Catholic Church in Cuyahoga Falls and says she’s excited for a sense of community again, but the changes will take getting used to.

With the cancellation of the first two events in this year's Akron Marathon race series, the city's running community has formed a collaborative to help people continue exercising.

Water Works Family Aquatic Center in Cuyahoga Falls is set to reopen next month, but with major changes amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The proposed Icebreaker wind farm project in Lake Erie has received approval from the Ohio Power Siting Board -- but with a potentially fatal caveat about when the turbines can operate.

Memorial Day parades around the country are canceled this year due to the coronavirus pandemic and restrictions on public gatherings. But there’s an effort underway to salute fallen service members, musically.

As we near the third month of the pandemic, many of us are feeling a host of emotions, from fear and anxiety to boredom. What about turning to creative writing to work through those feelings? We reached out to Akron author and creative writing professor David Giffels to talk about how to use this experience to write your own pandemic story.

As more parts of the economy begin to reopen, Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) wants to make sure workers have recourse if they don’t feel safe at their jobs.

According to the senator’s staff, under current law, workers fired for reporting unsafe working conditions only have 30 days to file a complaint. He’s introducing legislation this week with Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts). It would allow complaints to be filed during the public health emergency plus an additional 90 days.  

It was the beginning of the end of the Brecksville Dam today. Crews started the process of deconstructing the dam. That began with notching a hole for sediment to flow through the concrete structure.

The COVID-19 pandemic has left many artists unemployed due to the cancellations of large gatherings for the last few months as well as the economic downturn. ArtsNow, a Summit County nonprofit that works to connect the arts and the community, is working to change this.

Grace Myers, corporate and community liaison for ArtsNow, says they are launching two virtual series to bring local talent into community members homes. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has left high schools scrambling to create a commencement ceremony that follows social distancing protocols. While some schools have resorted to a virtual or drive-in ceremony, Akron Public Schools has come up with a way for more than 1,000 seniors to graduate in person.

Korean baseball is giving American fans something to enjoy while the sports world largely remains sidelined during the pandemic. The Korea Baseball Organization started its season earlier this month in empty stadiums with masks, gloves and no high fives allowed.

WKSU sports commentator Terry Pluto has been watching some of the games that ESPN is airing.

Ohio college students just finished their spring semester that was disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. In early March, schools stopped in-person classes and switched to remote learning, upending campus life.

A Kent State University journalism class spent the week after spring break recording diaries about their experience. Alex Gray discovered two things that helped her cope: Quality time with her mom, and taking quiet drives. 

A funding crisis at the Akron Art Museum launched an investigation that has now led to the resignation of Director Mark Masuoka.

In recent months, Masuoka faced allegations of racism, sexism and bullying by museum employees who say he used the pandemic as a way to retaliate against workers who spoke out.

In March, Masuoka announced staff cuts - blaming it on a more than $900,000 shortfall caused by the pandemic.

The Cleveland Clinic Akron General will open a new downtown coronavirus testing site next month.