Cleveland Monsters fans will soon see a hometown favorite at Rocket Arena. Malley’s Chocolates has signed a multiyear partnership to become the official chocolate partner of the Monsters and the arena, with signature confections available at multiple locations, including CLE/MKT and private suites. The rollout aligns with the Monsters’ March 29 home game against the Utica Comets.

Cleveland Hopkins International Airport says operations are back to normal after major construction on the lower roadway, reopening all terminal doors for arrivals pickups. The work focused on the RTA-level pedestrian tunnel linking the terminal to the Red Line station, including structural reinforcement, waterproofing and electrical system relocation. More updates are posted on the airport’s website.

Demolition crews have moved in at Cedar and Miramar in University Heights, clearing a 2.1-acre site for a new Aldi. The project will raze the Waterstone Medical Center and a former Huntington Bank branch, with site work expected to take six to eight weeks. City leaders say the store will anchor broader Bell Tower Center redevelopment and traffic signal upgrades now underway.

Great Lakes cruising is forecast to generate more than $300 million in economic impact in 2026, with officials citing rising shoreside spending and a jump in port visits. Ten ships and seven cruise lines are slated to run 148 itineraries, driving an estimated 175,000 passenger visits at regional docks and intensifying competition on the water.

Sandusky’s Ghostly Manor Thrill Center offers nearly a dozen indoor attractions year-round, from its nationally recognized haunted house to 3D blacklight mini golf, laser tag, a 4D dark ride, a roller rink, an arcade and more. The Epic Pass bundles multiple activities with a meal and an arcade card, giving families an all-in-one option just off Route 250 on Milan Road.

A touring flock of 12-foot-tall “Giant Quackers” rubber ducks begins rolling through Northeast Ohio on March 19, building buzz for the Ohio Rubber Duck Dash Festival in downtown Cuyahoga Falls, April 23-25. The multiday event features a six-story “World’s Largest Rubber Duck,” an All-City Art Walk, food vendors, and a Saturday dash with prizes.

The Northern Ohio Mountain Bike Series has released its eight-race 2026 schedule, opening April 26 at Camp Tuscazoar in Dover and building toward the Ohio Mountain Bike State Championship on Aug. 2 in Ravenna. The lineup includes technical stops, a women-focused weekend at Mohican State Park, and a season finale with double points at Vultures Knob.

Many Clevelanders think they speak without an accent, but linguists say the city sits at the center of the Inland North dialect and the Northern Cities Vowel Shift — a sweeping change in vowels that reaches across the Great Lakes. From “cat” sounding like “kee-yat” to a sharp “cot-caught” split, researchers trace how history, class and generation shape the region’s speech.

America’s data center boom is accelerating as AI replaces general-purpose cloud demand, driving massive new builds and unprecedented pressure on the power grid. A new outlook projects up to $3 trillion in investment by 2030, with 100 gigawatts of capacity coming online fast. Ohio is emerging as a key hub as policymakers weigh who pays for the upgrades.

Seven Hills has reopened its renovated fire station, featuring specialized sleeping quarters designed with University Hospitals Parma Sleep Medicine Center standards. City leaders say the upgrades, including expanded locker rooms, a new training room and remodeled kitchen, will modernize the aging facility and support the department’s ability to retain staff while serving roughly 11,000 residents.

The Cleveland International Film Festival is gearing up for its 50th anniversary, with the main slate opening April 9 and a special retrospective launching first. The 7x7+1=CIFF50 series runs Feb. 17 through April 4, featuring seven programs of award-winning shorts from the CIFF archives, plus a new bonus short made for the 50th season. Tickets are $15.

Case Western Reserve University is now the fastest-growing research institution in the Association of American Universities, with R&D spending up 37.5% from 2022 to 2024, according to the National Science Foundation. The university reported $643 million in research spending in FY 2024 and plans to open a $300 million science and engineering building later this year.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are moving ahead with a plan to remake the “Meet Me Here” plaza into a permanent tribute to the team’s 2016 NBA championship. The redesign includes a full-size, Cavs-branded basketball court open to the public, along with tiered seating, landscaping and art. Construction is slated for completion by June 1, 2026.

Golfers in Northeast Ohio are finding a way to play year-round at X-Golf, an indoor golf simulator facility with multiple locations across the region, including Broadview Heights. The venue combines high-tech golf simulators, instruction from a PGA professional, food and drinks, and event space designed for casual players, leagues and private gatherings.

According to the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, the updated barn provides double the room for the animals compared with the previous facility. It is equipped with several high-tech features, including heated floors and an improved ventilation system to maintain air quality during the colder months. Outside the main structure, the exhibit now includes a large shade structure and a heated patio. These additions ensure the kangaroos and emus have access to comfortable microclimates e

More adults are showing up at clinics with new allergies to foods or pollens they have tolerated for years, experts say. Doctors point to immune-system shifts, new environments and factors like microbiome changes or hormones. Symptoms can be mistaken for recurring colds or sinus infections, making a proper diagnosis key.

The Akron Art Museum will be the only Midwest stop for Kent Monkman’s major traveling exhibition “History Is Painted by the Victors,” opening April 11, 2026. The show brings rarely seen loans and large-scale paintings that rework European styles to spotlight Indigenous and queer stories, with a free artist talk and opening celebration on April 10.

A rare calendar alignment will give 2026 the maximum three Friday the 13ths, including an unusual back-to-back pairing in February and March. Calendar math explains why the consecutive dates happen only under specific conditions, and why the pattern is uncommon but not extremely rare.

Mentor has finalized the 2026 Mentor Rocks summer concert schedule, bringing national acts like Phillip Phillips and Night Ranger to the Mentor Civic Amphitheater. The free Tuesday night series runs June 2 through Aug. 25, with weekly food trucks, a beer garden and festival-style amenities for crowds across Northeast Ohio.

The latest weekly update of “What in the World w/ Paul Seaburn,” produced in conjunction with Cleveland 13 News, delivered another roundup of odd, bizarre and quirky headlines from around the globe, continuing its mission to present unusual news stories in fun and relatable ways. The broadcast opened with host Paul Seaburn setting the tone for the long running program. “Real news, sometimes strange, always funny. That's our motto,” he said, describing the show’s focus on offb