Cleveland, OH
Cleveland Heights family with a transgender child faces an uncertain future in Ohio
The Burkle family’s home in Cleveland Heights is warmly lit, filled with the sounds of laughter and joy — a contrast to the grey winter weather outside. The family’s two children laugh as they play video games and leaf through magazines with their parents, Alicia and Aaron.
However, that joy is mixed with a sense of dread about the future and what that future means for the Burkles’ younger child, 11-year-old Astrid, who is transgender.
The Ohio Senate is expected to override Gov. Mike DeWine’s veto of House Bill 68 this week, which would ban transgender youth from receiving gender-affirming medical treatments or playing on girls’ sports teams.
Astrid said she knew she was a girl very early in her life.
“That was right around when I could talk. I started voicing my feelings about who I was to my parents about preschool or pre-K,” she said.
With her family’s support, she decided to socially transition when she was 8.
“When I did transition, I realized I needed this to live as a full person of who I am,” Astrid said.
She added: “It makes me feel happy. I can’t explain how happy I am to just be who I am.”
Community support
Astrid and her family said their interactions with her classmates, school officials, neighbors and the community have been mostly positive.
Ryan Loew
/
Ideastream Public Media
Alicia, Astrid’s mom, said school officials in Cleveland Heights actively worked with the family to support her daughter.
“We put together a plan on what bathrooms Astrid would use, how could we communicate this transition and change to her classmates so that anybody who knew Astrid before, we could communicate that with them,” Alicia said. The family also established the name and pronouns Astrid now uses.
Aaron Burkle, Astrid’s father, said the school system acts quickly whenever there are any problems.
“When there was any kind of negative talk or bullying language, the school administration, the teachers and staff really handled it swiftly and appropriately,” he said.
Most of their neighbors have been accepting, too.
“Most of them are just like, ‘Oh, OK, cool’ or they might say, ‘What does that mean?’ or ‘How did you know?’ We’re always willing to share our story, explain the process. Astrid is willing to tell them her story, just so they can understand better our journey,” Alicia said.
An uncertain future in Ohio
Astrid said the support of her neighbors and school makes her feel accepted in her community.
“I just feel so happy that people are accepting where I am and who I am,” she said.
Astrid knows not everyone feels the same — that they think she’s too young to express a gender other than the one she was assigned at birth. But she rejects what she views as their prying into a personal matter.
“Why is it anybody else’s business? They should be worrying about other things. I’m just a kid going to the doctors. You don’t need to worry about it,” she said.
Astrid has not received any medical treatments related to her gender. Yet she and her family resent the idea that she will likely be unable to receive such treatments in Ohio should she seek them in the future.
Her sibling, Abs, who is 15, said legislation banning medical treatment is a tremendous concern, not only for Astrid, but the entire LGBTQ+ community.
She added lawmakers need to understand “the fear that they’re striking into the hearts of young, queer people everywhere,” and that the long-term impact of such legislation is frightening.
“I, myself, am queer,” Abs said. “And it’s more than just they’re attacking young, transgender folk because then they’re going to move to transgender adults, and then they’re going to move to gay marriage, and they’re going to continue to attack our community as a whole.”
Alicia said if HB 68 becomes law, as is expected to happen, her family will be left with a terrible choice.
“We love our community,” she said. “We love our school, we love our church. We love our family and friends that we have here, so we don’t want to leave here. But that’s not something we’ve taken off the table because there’s more legislation coming down the pipeline [that] could make it ultimately unsafe for Astrid to continue to live in the state.”
That’s the dilemma facing transgender children and their parents throughout the state, Alicia said. But in the meantime, Astrid said she’s going to continue to live the fulfilling life she and her family have created in the city and state they call home.
“Just because I’m transgender doesn’t mean I’m not a normal person,” she said. “There’s lots of normal people who are transgender, and I’m just one of them.”
Cleveland, OH
Cleveland Water Department truck falls into sinkhole and breaks gas line on Cleveland’s West Side
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – A Cleveland Water Department truck working on a water main break in Ohio City was partially swallowed up into a sinkhole, breaking a gas line underneath the street.
The incident occurred near West 28th Street and Chatham Avenue late Thursday afternoon.
There was no fire or injuries, according to Lt. Michael Norman of the Cleveland Fire Department.
The gas company is on scene working to fix the leak.
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CLEVELAND, Ohio — Music legend Bob Dylan is bringing his “Rough And Rowdy Ways World Wide Tour” to Ohio in 2026, making major stops at Cleveland’s Playhouse Square’s KeyBank State Theatre on April 10, along with the Palace Theatre in Columbus on April 9 and Winsupply Theatre in Dayton on April 12.
This Ohio leg of the tour continues Dylan’s ongoing 2026 concert run in support of his 2020 release, “Rough And Rowdy Ways,” an album widely celebrated as among his finest entries in decades.
How to get tickets to see Bob Dylan in Ohio
Tickets for the upcoming Ohio concerts are selling fast, with some vendors reporting fewer than 100 tickets remaining. However, you can still get pass discounts on trusted third-party ticket platforms including Vivid Seats, SeatGeek, StubHub, Viagogo and Ticket City.
New customers can save more with these discount codes:
- Vivid Seats customers get $20 off ticket orders of $200 or more by using the code CLEVELAND20 at checkout.
- SeatGeek customers get $5 off orders of $300 or more with code TAKE5.
Here are the cheapest ticket prices currently available to the upcoming Bob Dylan concerts in Ohio, as of Dec. 11:
April 9, 2026: Columbus, OH — Palace Theatre
- Vivid Seats: $196
- SeatGeek: $194
- StubHub: $198
- Viagogo: $192
- Ticket City: $204
April 10, 2026: Cleveland, OH — KeyBank State Theatre
- Vivid Seats: $217
- SeatGeek: $282
- StubHub: $332
- Viagogo: $322
- Ticket City: $218
April 12, 2026: Dayton, OH — Winsupply Theatre
- Vivid Seats: $261
- SeatGeek: $288
- StubHub: $252
- Viagogo: $245
- Ticket City: $262
What Ohio fans can expect from Dylan’s shows
Ohio fans will experience more than just great seats. For his first date in Columbus, Dylan takes the stage at the historic Palace Theatre, a venue known for its warm acoustics and lavish 1920s-style charm.
Then comes Cleveland, where Playhouse Square’s KeyBank State Theatre will host an intimate, phone-free performance. Fans will have electronics secured in Yondr pouches to ensure a fully immersive concert experience. The embedded nostalgia of the theater pairs perfectly with Dylan’s timeless classics like “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “Like a Rolling Stone.”
Finally, Dayton fans can join the celebration of Dylan’s vast musical legacy at Winsupply Theatre. By choosing acoustically superior venues throughout Ohio, Dylan seems to be deliberately crafting a more personal connection with audiences, transforming each stop into a storytelling event rather than just another headlining show.
Cleveland, OH
US Marshals arrest 2 men accused of killing Maple Heights man in robbery outside Angie’s Soul Café
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – The U.S. Marshals confirmed the two suspects wanted by the Cleveland Division of Police for the murder of a Maple Heights man robbed outside Angie’s Soul Café in June have been arrested.
Members of the U.S. Marshals’ Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force arrested 20-year-old Dominick Newby and 19-year-old Jayshawn Collins early Wednesday morning without incident, USMS stated.
They were found in the 1100 block of East 58th Street in Cleveland, USMS said.
Cleveland police said officers rushed to the 700 block of Carnegie Avenue at 2:30 p.m. on June 17 for a reported robbery outside Angie’s Soul Café.
Officers then learned the victim was shot in the parking lot during a robbery, according to police.
He was taken to University Hospitals where he died.
The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner identified him as 34-year-old Patrick Carner of Maple Heights.
Restaurant staff told 19 News the victim was a customer who had come to purchase food and was shot while getting in a car.
A representative from the restaurant released the below statement on June 17:
19 News confirmed through officials that Carner was the man sentenced in connection to the death of his pregnant ex-girlfriend.
Vonnashia Akins died after falling out of a moving car on I-90 in downtown Cleveland during rush hour back in October 2019.
Carner was behind the wheel, and police said he left the scene.
He was sentenced to a total of four years for obstruction of official business and tampering with evidence.
Newby and Collins were identified as suspects in this murder late this summer, USMS said, and the NOVFTF recently started searching for both of them.
“This shooting left one person dead and could have been significantly worse as the shooting took place outside of a busy restaurant in the middle of the day,” U.S. Marshal Pete Elliott stated. “The community is a safer place with these two violent individuals off the streets and behind bars.”
Anyone with information on a wanted fugitive can call the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force at 1-866-4WANTED (1-866-492-6833), or you send a tip online.
Reward money is available for tips leading to the arrest and conviction of a wanted fugitive, and tipsters can stay anonymous.
This is a developing story. Return to 19 News for updates.
Copyright 2025 WOIO. All rights reserved.
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