We begin our look back on the top stories of 2025, pretty much where we left off at the end of 2024, with the Browns and the team's planned move to Brook Park for a new covered stadium and mixed-use development.
Over the course of the last year, Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb and Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne battled the Haslam Sports Group over everything from the Modell Law -- which is meant to make it hard for Ohio teams to move from their home cities -- to the height of the stadium to a refusal to kick in public money.
By December the fight was all but over, the Browns are moving to Brook Park, without county money but with $600 million from the state. The county remained steadfast in refusing to kick in any funding, and the Browns moved forward without it.
The story begins our retrospective of the top local stories of 2025. We will cover the top statehouse stories in a year ender that will drop next week.
The Akron Public Schools went through a rapid change of leadership in the spring after months of controversy and complaint about the actions and management style of Superintendent Michael Robinson. In April, the board accepted his resignation, after less than two years on the job. Then, it immediately hired his successor without conducting a search.
East Cleveland had had three people serving as mayor in 2025.
Brandon King, mayor when the year began, was convicted on public corruption charges in May and removed from that job. Before that, while facing trial, Sandra Morgan was appointed interim mayor. Once he was convicted, the charter called for Council President Lateek Shabazz to become the mayor. He was defeated in November by Morgan, who will return to the mayor's office.
The mayor's office in Cleveland Heights was a revolving door this year. Voters recalled the city's first elected mayor, Kahlil Seren, in September.
The recall vote resulted from a tumultuous period in Cleveland Heights City Hall that saw Seren and his wife accused of creating a hostile work environment. Seren denied those accusations.
Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase, the superstar closer, and Luis Ortiz, a starter with promise, were suspended with pay in July as part of a Major League Baseball investigation into betting.
By November, the pair had been indicted on charges they rigged pitches to help bettors win "prop" or situational bets. The two now face trial in May.
Residents around the Shaker Lakes, who already saw Horseshoe lake drained, have rallied against a proposal by the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District to drain the remaining Lower Lake and turning, that, too, into parkland.
The sewer district, responsible for spending on flood control, had planned to replace the lower lake dam, but said new data showed draining the lake would be the best, and most economical, flood control measure.
The "Sound of Ideas" brought together stakeholders for a Community Tour discussion in August.
Guests:
-Andrew Meyer, Deputy Editor of News, Ideastream Public Media
-Abbey Marshall, Reporter, Ideastream Public Media
-Anna Huntsman, Reporter, Ideastream Public Media
-Michelle Jarboe, Reporter, News 5 Cleveland
