As we look back on 2025, the following (in no particular order) are the Signal Akron stories we think are the most significant. There was a lot going on in Akron last year — from new school superintendents to continued calls for police reform to the local effects of federal funding changes — so it was difficult to whittle the articles down to the top 20 or so.
We brought you vital information through the year as we worked to reflect the diversity of life in our city’s neighborhoods. Here’s looking forward to a new year — and thanks for joining us as we tell the story of Akron.
(Click the headlines to link to the original stories.)
No indictment for Akron police officer who killed 15-year-old Jazmir Tucker
Akron police officer Davon Fields will not face criminal charges for the November 2024 killing of 15-year-old Jazmir Tucker, a Summit County grand jury determined on Oct. 2.
According to court records obtained by Signal Akron, Mahoning County prosecutors only asked grand jurors to consider a murder charge against Fields and, if they indicted him for murder, whether an additional firearms charge would apply.
The grand jury declined to indict Fields on either charge.
Read more:
How Akron Police Officer Davon Fields justified killing Jazmir Tucker AND City of Akron attorney had unprecedented access in state’s criminal probe of Jazmir Tucker’s killing
Akron school board votes to part ways with superintendent and immediately hires another
Michael Robinson was out as superintendent of Akron Public Schools — and Mary Outley immediately became the district’s new education leader, pending successful contract negotiations — after an unexpected and unprecedented ending to the April 28 board meeting.
The Akron Board of Education voted 4-3 to not wait and conduct the typical, months-long hiring process, which often includes public input. The board did not consult with attorneys and did not give itself time to consider other options to fill the position, including potential internal candidates.
Instead, it vaulted Outley into the role. The school district needed stability, said board member Diana Autry, who refused to withdraw her motion to vote despite fellow board members requesting executive session or time to mull the decision.
Read more:
Akron Board of Education appears to violate its own employment policy in appointing new superintendent AND How will Mary Outley lead Akron schools? A glimpse into new superintendent’s approach, including how to ‘Move forward’
Voters elect three new members for Akron Board of Education
At Missing Falls Brewery the night of Nov. 4, the mood was buoyant as several candidates for the Akron Board of Education and their supporters watched the votes roll in.
Phil Montgomery, who hosted the gathering, led the pack of eight candidates from the time early vote totals began to come in. With all precincts reporting, Montgomery, the Summit County finance and budget director, won one of four seats to remake the embattled school board.
“This, my friends, is a mandate,” Montgomery said later from Rockne’s, where his watch party moved after Missing Falls closed. “This isn’t a fluke, this isn’t a one off. We are here to take our district back and do what’s right for our kids and our educators.”
Read more: Akron school board candidates stand by Moms for Liberty pledges AND Meet the candidates running for Akron’s public school board in 2025
Akron’s new Lock 3 park is a magnet that’s drawing people downtown
The $17 million renovation project sought to make Lock 3 an everyday destination instead of a place people only visit to see a concert. Winding pathways that follow the slope of the ground, a patio area with chairs and tables and landscaping that makes the canal itself more visible — patrons and planners alike say it’s had the desired effect.
The goal of the renovation was to turn the often-blocked-off park into Akron’s living room, said Kyle Kutuchief, the Akron program director for the Knight Foundation. He called it a home run project, saying he knew it had succeeded when he saw college students sunbathing in the park earlier this year as winter turned to spring.
Suggested Reading
What did the investigative report into Akron school superintendent’s behavior show?
After months of investigation into the embattled Akron Public Schools’ superintendent, a law firm hired by the school board concluded Michael Robinson had behaved in an “unprofessional, toxic, demeaning, and hostile manner” since he was appointed to the helm of the school district in July of 2023.
The 24-page report issued by the Brennan Manna Diamond (BMD) law firm and provided to school board members April 14 detailed serious allegations of retaliation against whistleblowers, hostility and threats toward perceived and real critics, insults made against students, public records law violations, and other damning allegations.
Man reported to have gun was unarmed when Akron police shot him outside Ellet bar
One week after an Akron police officer shot a man who had been kicked out of an Ellet bar, 911 audio documents that dispatchers were told the man had been threatening people with a gun.
But body-worn camera footage from Nov. 11 shows that the man was unarmed when a police officer shot him, 22 seconds after arriving on the scene. The footage was released within a week, as required by city law.
The footage documents that Officer Caleb Bodjanac fired 15 shots in three seconds at 36-year-old Corey Phillips, striking him at least twice in the chest, after a seemingly confused Phillips reached in the general direction of his jacket and pants pockets.
City’s lead water lines a thing of the past in Akron
The City of Akron has officially reached a milestone it has been working toward since the 1960s: the complete removal of city-owned lead water lines, which typically provide service from the street to the sidewalk edge closest to the house or structure.
“We’re very proud that, in about two weeks, we’re going to announce that we are going to be lead-free,” said Chris Ludle, Akron’s director of public service, during the Oct. 29 Ward 2 meeting.
After Akron removed the last few city-owned lead service lines, it became one of only a handful of American cities to be lead-free. It will now focus on replacing galvanized house lines that were previously connected to lead. This work is expected to be completed by 2027.
Grand jury clears Akron police officer in 2024 fatal shooting of Michael Jones
The Akron police officer who killed a 54-year-old Akron man at an East Avenue gas station in 2024 will not face criminal charges after a Summit County grand jury voted against issuing an indictment.
The Ohio attorney general’s law enforcement arm, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, investigated the killing of Michael Jones for eight months. The attorney general’s special prosecutors waited four months to present the case to a Summit County grand jury on Aug. 13, and that body declared within hours there wasn’t enough evidence to indict the officer.
Akron wins 2025 All-America City award for fourth time
The City of Akron was selected as a National Civic League All-America City for a fourth time in June in Denver.
As he accepted the award, Akron Mayor Shammas Malik said, “This Saturday, Akron is going to celebrate 200 years, and you have given us an incredible birthday present.”
Malik credited the city’s Lauren Marsh, assistant to the chief of staff, and Emma Lieberth Osborn, policy and grants strategist, who he said thought it was important to apply for the recognition.
“Akron is an All-America City because of the people who call it home,” Malik said.
Firm selected by Akron mayor to review police use of force is familiar face
After nearly a year of false starts, Akron Mayor Shammas Malik’s administration selected the firm that will review the Akron Police Department’s use-of-force policies, an issue he’s called a “matter of life or death” and “the most significant issue facing our city.”
The mayor’s original plan to hire New York law firm Paul, Weiss was shot down in February by Akron City Council. Council members balked at the potential $768,000 price tag and the secretive selection process before approving legislation requiring the city to have a more transparent bidding process, a significantly smaller price tag, and some sort of involvement with the University of Akron’s criminal justice program.
In late September, the city picked Police Executive Research Forum, a policing policy and research organization based in Washington, D.C., that it has previously done business with. For the use-of-force review, the firm was awarded a $328,873 contract — some of that money will fund work by employees at the University of Akron Department of Criminal Justice Studies — with the goal of doing the bulk of its work within the first three months of 2026.
Akron RubberDucks sold to Prospector Baseball Group
The Akron RubberDucks, the AA minor league affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians baseball team, have been sold. The new owners are Prospector Baseball Group. Co-founders John Abbamondi and Ben Boyer also purchased the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, an affiliate of the Miami Marlins and the other minor league baseball team owned by previous RubberDucks owner Ken Babby and his Fast Forward Sports Group.
Ending nonprofit era in Akron: For-profit firm buys Summa Health for $515M, promises transformation
The nonprofit hospital system Summa Health has officially been acquired by a venture-capital-funded, for-profit company.
The $515 million sale to General Catalyst’s Health Assurance Transformation Company, known as HATCo, will mean more artificial intelligence and other technology will be used at Summa, as General Catalyst plans to use the hospital as a “test kitchen” for the more than 100 healthcare companies it’s invested in.
It means the end of Summa’s $850 million in debt, the end of a foundation that supported Summa and the beginning of the Trailhead Community Health Foundation. That foundation will be funded with an additional $15 million on top of the purchase price and with leftover proceeds from the sale after Summa’s debt has been retired — a total figure that is not yet known.
Akron’s Firestone Plant #1, and its clock tower, will be demolished, city confirms
The City of Akron has confirmed it intends to demolish Firestone Plant #1 in its entirety after rejecting a proposal to turn it into the new police headquarters.
The police headquarters proposal was the only one the city received in a last-ditch effort to find someone willing to redevelop the 115-year-old building. That idea came in after the deadline city officials set for proposals to be received, Stephanie Marsh, a spokesperson for Akron, said in an email.
The rejection means demolition of the building will continue to the front bay around March, with the entire building razed in April, although Akron City Council passed a new resolution mid-December asking the mayor to save at least the clock face.
Read more: Akron council asks mayor to save Firestone Plant #1 clock tower (or at least the clock face)
Akron’s Quaker Square redevelopment: gelato, cigars, pickleball?
On a sunny Tuesday afternoon, the new owners of Quaker Square stood on the roof of the onetime grain silos, surveying Akron below.
From the top, unfinished floor of the silos-turned-hotel, they had climbed up a worn stepladder, through a rooftop hatch, to the building’s summit. With the owners were representatives from WRT, the Philadelphia planning and design firm hired to help design the master plan for the sprawling complex.
On the roof, John Keene, a principal and architect with the firm, held up his phone to capture Akron’s skyline. Inside, Jared McKnight, a senior associate with the firm, said he thought the building was incredible.
“There’s so much history layered in here,” McKnight said, standing on the unfinished floor. “I think anything is possible.”
Visitors enjoy first look inside Akron History Center
Nuggets of local history are among those now on display at the Akron History Center. On April 5, the long-awaited attraction in downtown Akron opened to visitors following the cutting of a “Ribbon of Rubber.”
Hundreds showed up for the grand opening. Nestled next to the Akron Civic Theatre and adjacent to Lock 3, the free museum doesn’t have an inch of space that isn’t thoughtfully covered by displays and homages to the Rubber City’s storied past.
The three-floor building on South Main Street houses more than 60 exhibits and 150 artifacts, accompanied by 30 flat screens with video presentations of historical figures and moments.
‘An opportunity to bring people back home.’ Akron’s Innerbelt Master Plan is unveiled
A focused plan to redevelop a decommissioned mile of the Innerbelt now owned by the City of Akron has become a 30-year proposal to remake a swath of property from downtown to Sherbondy Hill.
City officials and planners unveiled a proposed framework in late October not just for the roadway but also for the areas surrounding it. They want the series of projects that make up the master plan to help repair the harm the Innerbelt caused to a historically Black neighborhood and build prosperity in an area that hasn’t had much investment.
“The same tools that once divided can be reoriented toward healing,” Planning Director Kyle Julien said, speaking to the ways development tools that built the roadway could now be used to dismantle its effects.
Akron unveils new logo as city closes out its bicentennial celebration
Dozens of people gathered in Perkins Square in front of Akron Children’s hospital to close out the city’s year-long celebration of its bicentennial. As part of the ceremony, the city’s new logo was unveiled, intended as a visual representation of Akron’s past and future.
Dave Lieberth, executive secretary of the Akron Bicentennial Commission and president of the Akron History Center, told the audience of the vast history of the city, paying homage to its founders, General Simon Perkins and Paul Williams.
A staff of three at Akron 200 put together all the bicentennial events over the year leading up to Saturday’s closing ceremony.
There were 253 events held, including 196 neighborhood events and 51 events in the concert series, said Mark Greer, executive director of Akron 200. “This has been quite a collection, making sure that we touch every corner of Akron, including all 24 Akron neighborhoods.”
University of Akron posts largest enrollment gain since 2021
The University of Akron is a bit more crowded — and President R.J. Nemer said that’s a good thing.
Enrollment this fall sat at 15,318 students, a 3.4% increase from this time last semester. It marks the university’s largest year-over-year growth since 2021, with student gains across undergraduate, graduate, law and College Credit Plus enrollments.
Five shot in Akron’s Mason school parking lot as more than 100 young people gather overnight
Five people, including at least three juveniles, were shot and at least 10 additional people were hit by fleeing cars early July 7 as more than 100 people gathered outside of Mason Community Learning Center.
“It sounded like fireworks — crack, crack, crack, crack,” said the Rev. Roger Harper, 86, who lives around the corner from the school and was on his porch when the shooting started. “It was so fast. I thought, nobody could be shooting all that.”
Read more: Here’s what Akron is doing to prevent youth violence, keep kids out of trouble
Police, fire, non-union and ‘white collar’ unionized City of Akron employees receive pay raises
The members of Akron’s police union and non-union City of Akron employees received retroactive and future pay raises, along with more than 500 additional city employees. Pay raises for the employees in unions representing Akron firefighters and many of the city’s “white collar” workers also received substantial raises.
The significant raises in the three collective bargaining agreements finalized this fall, and the legislation for slightly smaller raises for non-unionized city employees, were enacted months after City of Akron Director of Finance Steve Fricker told City Council that the police union contract raises alone would mean the city “would be facing fiscal caution by 2027 with less than 30 days cash on hand and, by 2029, would need to cut between 100-180 city jobs.”
Read more: Few new accountability measures included in new Akron Police union contract AND More than 500 Akron firefighters, civil service workers to receive pay raises
Akron is adding more than 2,000 trees to its urban canopy
More than 2,000 new trees are taking root across Akron this year, marking one of the city’s most significant canopy gains in recent years. The growth comes through two complementary efforts: a large-scale street tree initiative led by the City of Akron and a federally funded neighborhood-based project known as Project ACORN.
Together, these investments are helping bring shade to low-canopy neighborhoods, improve air quality and begin addressing long-standing disparities in tree coverage across the city.
The biggest impact comes from Akron’s 2025 street tree planting plan, announced by Mayor Shammas Malik in February. The administration committed to planting 1,800 new trees in devil strips, focusing on South and Southwest Akron, where canopy levels have historically been lowest.
Akron sewer project nears completion, may save $230 million
Akron may be one step closer to saving nearly $230 million while still fulfilling the requirements of its water treatment consent decree.
The city presented a plan to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to update its Cuyahoga Street Storage Facility for about $30 million rather than build a new $265 million “enhanced high-rate treatment” facility (EHRT), the last step in the massive, $1 billion Akron sewer project.
Akron has made substantial progress in meeting the consent decree requirements, completing 24 of 26 mandated projects, with the Northside Interceptor Tunnel slated to be in use by the end of 2026. The $265 million treatment plant is the final project, which Akron has been trying to remove the city from the decree for years.
Read more: ‘Elaine’ is digging a 1.25-mile-long tunnel to keep sewage out of the Cuyahoga River
Cameras up! Three Goodyear blimps fly over Akron to celebrate 100th anniversary
In honor of the 100th anniversary of the first Goodyear blimp flight, three airships flew over the city June 3 during Akron Mayor Shammas Malik’s State of the City address at Lock 3 park as well the Akron RubberDucks game later.
Attendees at the mayor’s speech witnessed the three blimps circle downtown for hours, with the classic black and gray Wingfoot One, based in Akron, in the lead throughout. It was joined by its blimp brethren, the Florida-based Wingfoot Two and the California-based Wingfoot Three.
Wingfoot One was decked out in the same black and gray color scheme as Pilgrim, Goodyear’s first blimp.