Cleveland

blue

Get smarter, faster on what matters in Cleveland with Sam Allard and Troy Smith.

Axios Cleveland

Standard

A daily look at the most significant and interesting stories affecting Cleveland.

Axios Cleveland Thought Bubble

Thought Bubble

Cleveland Alerts

Alert

Axios Cleveland Partners

Cleveland Members

Membership

What Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's $5.3M buys in Cleveland vs. America

Roughly $5 million buys luxury almost anywhere. Around Cleveland, it can buy an estate.

Real Estate

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce&#x27;s new <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Northeast Ohio mansion" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/cleveland/2026/09/02/taylor-swift-travis-kelce-bratenahl-estate" data-vars-content-id="ff2ee422-b3ea-4c3a-9aa5-8c00fbdcc5aa" data-vars-headline="What Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce&#x27;s $5.3M buys in Cleveland vs. America" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/cleveland/2026/09/02/taylor-swift-travis-kelce-bratenahl-estate" target="_self">Northeast Ohio mansion</a> comes with something even their massive fortune can&#x27;t easily buy elsewhere — a whole lot of house.Why it matters: The couple&#x27;s <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="$5.35 million Bratenahl estate" data-vars-click-url="https://www.wsj.com/real-estate/luxury-homes/travis-kelce-ohio-home-550ef5fc?st=7AbJiL&amp;reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink" data-vars-content-id="ff2ee422-b3ea-4c3a-9aa5-8c00fbdcc5aa" data-vars-headline="What Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce&#x27;s $5.3M buys in Cleveland vs. America" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.wsj.com/real-estate/luxury-homes/travis-kelce-ohio-home-550ef5fc?st=7AbJiL&amp;reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink" target="_blank">$5.35 million Bratenahl estate</a> shows how much further <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="luxury home dollars" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/cleveland/2026/07/10/luxury-homes-northeast-ohio-metro-sale" data-vars-content-id="ff2ee422-b3ea-4c3a-9aa5-8c00fbdcc5aa" data-vars-headline="What Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce&#x27;s $5.3M buys in Cleveland vs. America" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/cleveland/2026/07/10/luxury-homes-northeast-ohio-metro-sale" target="_self">luxury home dollars</a> stretch in Cleveland than in some of America&#x27;s priciest cities.

Ohio colleges get poor marks for free speech in new rankings

Northeast Ohio schools landed in the bottom half of the 261-school ranking.

Education

Ohio colleges aren&#x27;t exactly making the honor roll when it comes to free speech, per a civil liberties nonprofit&#x27;s new report. State of play: Ohio&#x27;s 13 ranked colleges and universities earned a D- average for their <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="campus speech climates" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2026/09/10/free-speech-collge-student-censorship" data-vars-content-id="5aa0a83c-624f-4de2-91b1-27001f9a2771" data-vars-headline="Ohio colleges get poor marks for free speech in new rankings" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2026/09/10/free-speech-collge-student-censorship" target="_self">campus speech climates</a> in the latest national rankings from the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression" data-vars-click-url="https://www.fire.org/news/2027-college-free-speech-rankings-kirk-murder-adds-another-difficult-topic-dismal-climate" data-vars-content-id="5aa0a83c-624f-4de2-91b1-27001f9a2771" data-vars-headline="Ohio colleges get poor marks for free speech in new rankings" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.fire.org/news/2027-college-free-speech-rankings-kirk-murder-adds-another-difficult-topic-dismal-climate" target="_blank">Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression</a> (FIRE), matching the national average.

The Arcade should just be a permanent bookstore

Clevelanders got a taste as the monthlong Cleveland Book Fest kicked off in style

Culture

Have you ever stepped into <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="The Arcade" data-vars-click-url="https://www.theclevelandarcade.com/" data-vars-content-id="f1cc0935-1c5b-4473-af30-46e3467f6f90" data-vars-headline="The Arcade should just be a permanent bookstore" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.theclevelandarcade.com/" target="_blank">The Arcade</a>, mourned its lost commercial vitality, and soothed yourself by imagining it as the world&#x27;s most beautiful bookstore? <ul><li>You&#x27;re not alone. </li></ul>State of play: September is <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Cleveland Book Fest" data-vars-click-url="https://www.anisfield-wolf.org/book-fest-landing-page/" data-vars-content-id="f1cc0935-1c5b-4473-af30-46e3467f6f90" data-vars-headline="The Arcade should just be a permanent bookstore" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.anisfield-wolf.org/book-fest-landing-page/" target="_blank">Cleveland Book Fest</a>, a monthlong celebration of the literary arts, and organizers kicked off festivities last weekend by transforming the Arcade into a pop-up book fair featuring more than 20 booksellers and literary organizations.

Ticket costs climb as Cleveland's event scene grows

A study estimates ticket buyers paid $11.3 billion in unnecessary fees to live events.

Things to Do

Ohio lawmakers are weighing a ticket-market crackdown as Cleveland prepares for more teams and venues — and fans face rising costs to see them.State of play: A <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="recent study" data-vars-click-url="https://cdn.vanderbilt.edu/vu-URL/wp-content/uploads/sites/412/2026/08/03190151/How-to-Save-Audiences-11-Billion-on-Live-Events.pdf" data-vars-content-id="7030a213-0347-41a8-a292-3fb0c989be6d" data-vars-headline="Ticket costs climb as Cleveland&#x27;s event scene grows" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://cdn.vanderbilt.edu/vu-URL/wp-content/uploads/sites/412/2026/08/03190151/How-to-Save-Audiences-11-Billion-on-Live-Events.pdf" target="_blank">recent study</a> from the Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator estimates fans paid $11.3 billion in unnecessary ticket costs last year.

Remembering the USS Shenandoah Disaster 

The USS Shenandoah broke apart in the skies over Noble County 101 years ago

History

One of America&#x27;s worst early aviation disasters unfolded in the skies over eastern Ohio 101 years ago Thursday.Why it matters: The disaster came more than a decade before the Hindenburg and exposed weaknesses in America&#x27;s emerging airship program.

Which Rock Hall "snubs" actually deserve induction? 

We tabulated scores for more than 70 artists often considered Hall of Fame snubs.

Music

Last week, we looked to answer the question — <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="How good is good enough" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/cleveland/2026/08/19/rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-mendoza-line" data-vars-content-id="e5d07184-ac70-4b74-92ad-720f0fd2533c" data-vars-headline="Which Rock Hall &quot;snubs&quot; actually deserve induction? " data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/cleveland/2026/08/19/rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-mendoza-line" target="_self">How good is good enough</a> to gain induction into the Rock &amp; Roll Hall of Fame?The intrigue: We were hit with a bevy of reader emails asking how their favorite artists who haven’t been inducted would rate.

Sherwin-Williams disputes lead paint series

The Northeast Ohio company says a recent Cleveland.com investigation misrepresented its history.

News

Cleveland paint giant Sherwin-Williams is pushing back on <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Cleveland.com&#x27;s recent series" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/cleveland/2026/07/21/sherwin-williams-series-clevelandcom" data-vars-content-id="33247194-20cf-4507-8c32-546e8a73d4b1" data-vars-headline="Sherwin-Williams disputes lead paint series" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/cleveland/2026/07/21/sherwin-williams-series-clevelandcom" target="_self">Cleveland.com&#x27;s recent series</a> linking the company to the lead poisoning crisis.Why it matters: The series documented its complicity in the decades-long crisis, but Sherwin-Williams calls the reporting historically inaccurate. State of play: Company spokesperson Julie Young told Axios it submitted a five-page response to editor Chris Quinn before publication, but none of its content was included.

The 5 greatest Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction classes, ranked

Looking back at classes featuring Chuck Berry, the Beatles, Blondie and more.

There are no bad <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Rock &amp; Roll Hall of Fame" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/cleveland/2026/04/14/2026-rock-hall-inductees-iron-maiden-wu-tang" data-vars-content-id="9ac3dd4e-cfd9-466a-a967-43585039c1d2" data-vars-headline="The 5 greatest Rock &amp; Roll Hall of Fame induction classes, ranked" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/cleveland/2026/04/14/2026-rock-hall-inductees-iron-maiden-wu-tang" target="_self">Rock &amp; Roll Hall of Fame</a> induction classes — only great, greater and greatest.Driving the news: In honor of the National Day of Rock &#x27;n&#x27; Roll on Tuesday, we&#x27;re counting down the five greatest classes over the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="40 years of inductions" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/cleveland/2025/09/19/greatest-moments-rock-roll-ceremony-monents" data-vars-content-id="9ac3dd4e-cfd9-466a-a967-43585039c1d2" data-vars-headline="The 5 greatest Rock &amp; Roll Hall of Fame induction classes, ranked" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/cleveland/2025/09/19/greatest-moments-rock-roll-ceremony-monents" target="_self">40 years of inductions</a>.

Remembering the Cavs' historic 2016 NBA Championship

The 2016 NBA title victory was Cleveland's first major team-sport title in 52 years.

Sports

Friday marks the 10th anniversary of perhaps the greatest moment in <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Cleveland sports history" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/cleveland/2023/06/09/cleveland-sports-moments-21st-century" data-vars-content-id="c99b499a-7515-4aa0-9030-f7033f30a551" data-vars-headline="Remembering the Cavs&#x27; historic 2016 NBA Championship" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/cleveland/2023/06/09/cleveland-sports-moments-21st-century" target="_self">Cleveland sports history</a>.Why it matters: The Cavaliers&#x27; 2016 NBA Championship was the city&#x27;s first major team-sport title since the Browns won the NFL Championship in 1964.

HBO's new Earth, Wind & Fire doc chronicles a musical revolution

The film, directed and produced by Questlove, looks at the history of the groundbreaking funk act.

Occasionally, a definitive documentary about a Rock &amp; Roll Hall of Fame act graces us with its presence.State of play: HBO has one in <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="&quot;Earth, Wind &amp; Fire (To Be Celestial vs. That&#x27;s the Weight of the World).&quot;" data-vars-click-url="https://www.hbomax.com/movies/earth-wind-fire-to-be-celestial-vs-thats-the-weight-of-the-world/6c778069-cfd5-402e-b8a1-01b423a5971f" data-vars-content-id="096455ae-fa48-4abc-9cf7-2139cb3994c0" data-vars-headline="HBO&#x27;s new Earth, Wind &amp; Fire doc chronicles a musical revolution" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.hbomax.com/movies/earth-wind-fire-to-be-celestial-vs-thats-the-weight-of-the-world/6c778069-cfd5-402e-b8a1-01b423a5971f" target="_blank">&quot;Earth, Wind &amp; Fire (To Be Celestial vs. That&#x27;s the Weight of the World).&quot;</a>

A Cleveland journalist's eyewitness account of D-Day

Roelif Loveland witnessed the invasion of Normandy Beach from a B-26 Marauder piloted by another Clevelander

<blockquote>We saw the curtain go up on the greatest drama in the history of the world, the invasion of Hitler&#x27;s Europe. We saw it from a balcony seat high up in God&#x27;s heaven, in a combat-bound Marauder piloted by a Cleveland boy, First Lieut. Howard C. Quiggle, 17118 Lipton Avenue S.E. </blockquote><cite>— Roelif Loveland, Cleveland Plain Dealer, June 7, 1944</cite>Cleveland journalist Roelif Loveland <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="published" data-vars-click-url="https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-plain-dealer-d-day-invasion-reportin/198904562/" data-vars-content-id="4260c7b8-f555-42dd-beab-db314948e627" data-vars-headline="A Cleveland journalist&#x27;s eyewitness account of D-Day" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-plain-dealer-d-day-invasion-reportin/198904562/" target="_blank">published</a> one of the first accounts of the Allied invasion of Normandy Beach that many Americans read. Flashback: Loveland was the Plain Dealer&#x27;s war correspondent and <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="often included" data-vars-click-url="https://historynet.com/journalist-roelif-lovelands-searing-account-of-d-day/" data-vars-content-id="4260c7b8-f555-42dd-beab-db314948e627" data-vars-headline="A Cleveland journalist&#x27;s eyewitness account of D-Day" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://historynet.com/journalist-roelif-lovelands-searing-account-of-d-day/" target="_blank">often included</a> stories of local soldiers in his dispatches. <ul><li>On June 6, 1944, he joined a fellow Clevelander on a bombing mission in support of the D-Day invasion. His eyewitness account ran the following morning on the PD&#x27;s front page. </li></ul>What they&#x27;re saying: &quot;Flak began to come pretty soon and tracer bullets shot in front of us like red hot rivets, but the expression on the face of the kid from Cleveland who was piloting the plane did not change in the slightest degree,&quot; <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Loveland wrote" data-vars-click-url="https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-plain-dealer-loveland-flies-to-view/198904482/" data-vars-content-id="4260c7b8-f555-42dd-beab-db314948e627" data-vars-headline="A Cleveland journalist&#x27;s eyewitness account of D-Day" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-plain-dealer-loveland-flies-to-view/198904482/" target="_blank">Loveland wrote</a>. <ul><li>&quot;He followed the course to the target and then the bombardier did his stuff and the plane fairly leaped up in the air and down below flames shot up.&quot; </li></ul>State of play: Loveland was one of 11 charter members of the Cleveland Journalism Hall of Fame when it was <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="established in 1981" data-vars-click-url="https://case.edu/ech/articles/c/cleveland-journalism-hall-fame" data-vars-content-id="4260c7b8-f555-42dd-beab-db314948e627" data-vars-headline="A Cleveland journalist&#x27;s eyewitness account of D-Day" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://case.edu/ech/articles/c/cleveland-journalism-hall-fame" target="_blank">established in 1981</a>.

How Cleveland was connected to the Titanic

More than 40 passengers aboard the ship had ties to Northeast Ohio.

Cleveland&#x27;s Great Lakes Science Center is an appropriate host for <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="&quot;Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition.&quot;" data-vars-click-url="https://greatscience.com/Titanic" data-vars-content-id="794d0830-47f6-4f6b-8ffb-2e955917f4cb" data-vars-headline="How Cleveland was connected to the Titanic" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://greatscience.com/Titanic" target="_blank">&quot;Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition.&quot;</a>Driving the news: The showcase, which features pieces from the ill-fated ship&#x27;s wreckage and re-creations of its interior, opens Thursday.

Paul McCartney's post-Beatles years get the Rock Hall treatment

The exhibition includes several of McCartney's guitars, notes from his diary and handwritten lyrics.

If most of what you know about Paul McCartney is from his time with the Beatles, the Rock Hall&#x27;s new exhibit will prove quite an eye-opener.The intrigue: The showcase, titled <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="&quot;Paul McCartney and Wings,&quot;" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/cleveland/2026/02/18/paul-mccartney-wings-rock-hall-exhibit-may" data-vars-content-id="5037fab1-1bba-4ab1-8377-af56c73530e1" data-vars-headline="Paul McCartney&#x27;s post-Beatles years get the Rock Hall treatment" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/cleveland/2026/02/18/paul-mccartney-wings-rock-hall-exhibit-may" target="_self">&quot;Paul McCartney and Wings,&quot;</a> opens Friday on Level 6 of the museum and details McCartney&#x27;s life from 1970 onward.

From Shawshank to tattoos: A history of the Ohio State Reformatory

The reformatory in Mansfield has existed for 130 years and been used for a variety of things.

One of the most distinctive landmarks in all of Ohio is a roughly 80-mile drive southwest of Cleveland.Why it matters: The <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Ohio State Reformatory" data-vars-click-url="https://www.mrps.org/" data-vars-content-id="6fcc7f21-c521-43e3-813c-1785c3ca2f05" data-vars-headline="From Shawshank to tattoos: A history of the Ohio State Reformatory" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.mrps.org/" target="_blank">Ohio State Reformatory</a> dates back 130 years, having been a prison, a premier <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="haunted destination" data-vars-click-url="https://usghostadventures.com/americas-most-haunted-trending/the-ohio-state-reformatory-mansifeld-ohio-dark-legacy/" data-vars-content-id="6fcc7f21-c521-43e3-813c-1785c3ca2f05" data-vars-headline="From Shawshank to tattoos: A history of the Ohio State Reformatory" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://usghostadventures.com/americas-most-haunted-trending/the-ohio-state-reformatory-mansifeld-ohio-dark-legacy/" target="_blank">haunted destination</a> and the site of major conventions and festivals.

History

Remembering the USS Shenandoah Disaster

Which Rock Hall "snubs" actually deserve induction?

Sherwin-Williams disputes lead paint series

🚂 Big Boy No. 4014 to stop in Rocky River

📸 Capturing Cleveland: The historic Samsel Supply Co. building