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Cincinnati’s Mayor-elect Aftab Pureval (left) and his vice mayor, Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney P H OTO : A L L I S O N BA B K A
20 Greater Cincinnati News Stories from 2021 That We’ll Never Forget BY A L L I S O N BA B K A
W
hat can we say about 2021? Year two of the COVID-19 pandemic was slightly more interesting than 2020 was, since safe, effective vaccines emerged and we could finally leave our homes and hug relatives again (unless they remained unvaccinated). But there were plenty of other interesting happenings in Cincinnati that had nothing to do with a virus that continues to wipe out the country’s population at a pretty devastating clip. Below, read the Greater Cincinnati news stories that made 2021 memorable in both good and bad ways.
Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley Finally Enters Ohio Governor Race, with Legal Weed as a Platform Centerpiece After months of teasing that he’d make a run for a higher office, Cranley announced in August that he would officially enter the race to become Ohio’s next governor in 2022. Cranley’s campaign largely is framed around Cincinnati’s population and civic “comeback,” as he calls it, with criminal
justice reform, job creation and legal recreational marijuana as focuses.
Cincinnati Elects Aftab Pureval as Its First New Mayor in Eight Years A changing of the guard is coming in 2022. By defeating opponent and longtime politician David Mann in November’s election, the 39-year-old Pureval cemented two important firsts: the first new mayor since Cranley took office two terms ago, and Cincinnati’s first Asian American mayor. Cincinnati City Council member and Cincinnati Herald publisher Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney will join Pureval’s administration as vice mayor.
Kentucky Sees Its Most Devastating Tornado Ever More than 20 tornadoes descended
upon the Midwest and mid-South on Dec. 10 and early Dec. 11, hitting Kentucky, Arkansas, Illinois, Missouri and Tennessee. At least four of them zipped through the Commonwealth during the multi-state blitz, including one that the National Weather Service says stayed on the ground for at 227 miles. The tornado cluster is considered to be one of the most devastating in history. At least 75 people were killed in Kentucky, ranging in ages from 2 months old to 97, and the death count still could rise as recovery efforts continue. U.S. President Joe Biden said the U.S. government will cover 100% of the disaster relief costs for the first 30 days.
Cicadas Invade Cincinnati — and We Were Ready Following a 17-year residency underground, billions of cicadas emerged throughout Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky this summer. Brood X, as this generation of insects
DECEMBER 22, 2021 - JANUARY 11, 2022 |
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