Cleveland, OH
Buckeye Chuck: Cleveland Museum of Natural History is home to Ohio’s weather-predicting groundhog
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – The Cleveland Museum of Natural History announced that one of their newest animal ambassadors has officially been named Ohio’s “Buckeye Chuck!”
First thing’s first, the state’s official weather-predicting groundhog is actually named Murray – a nod to Bill Murray’s portrayal in Groundhog Day.
Murray was found injured on the side of the road, CMNH stated.
While he was nursed back to health, CMNH said his caretakers determined he could not be released back into nature.
Now, Murray calls the CMNH’s Ralph Perkins II Wildlife Center & Woods Garden his home.
When he’s not fulfilling his stately duties, Murray will be participating in live animal programs to help educate others on the importance of Ohio’s native wildlife, according to CMNH.
While CMNH announced Murray’s role on Jan. 15, Murray arrived at the museum back in June 2023.
Since then, CMNH said he has been training for both educational programs and veterinary checkups while also enjoying new enrichment items.
“All animal ambassadors at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History participate in voluntary training and enrichment,” CMNH explained. “In preparation for this event, the Museum’s Wildlife staff will begin to introduce Murray to a ‘den’ and platform so he can choose to participate in a hands-off weather prediction.”
“Not only does Murray have a safe and nurturing new home, but our guests also have a chance to learn from him, so it’s a perfect pairing,” Director of Wildlife Jim Nemet stated. “The goal of the Perkins Wildlife Center is to allow people to get up close and learn about Ohio Wildlife, and Murray’s addition helps out with that tremendously.”
Now, Murray is preparing to make his debut as Buckeye Chuck during iHeart Media’s Groundhog Day live broadcast on Feb. 2, according to CMNH.
It’s up to Buckeye Chuck to predict if there will be six more weeks of winter… If Murray does not see his shadow, then he will predict an early spring.
“Murray will choose to participate on his terms, just like he does for educational programming at the Museum,” said Nemet.
The Ralph Perkins II Wildlife Center & Woods Garden is an outdoor space on the Museum’s University Circle campus that can be accessed with general admission tickets.
This center is home to rescued animals that cannot return to the wild, along with wildlife and plants native to Ohio to be a living educational collection.
Copyright 2024 WOIO. All rights reserved.
Cleveland, OH
Woman killed, several children injured in Ohio Turnpike crash in Lorain County
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – A 28-year-old woman is dead, and three children are hospitalized following a one-car rollover accident in Elyria Township in the eastbound lanes of the Ohio Turnpike.
The crash happened around 11:54 a.m. at milepost 146.3.
During the investigation of the crash OSHP learned that the crash happened when the Toyota RAV4, driven by Najalee N. Rivera, drove off the right side of the road, struck a guardrail, and overturned.
The vehicle was also occupied by three children. A 7-year-old boy, a 8-year-old girl, and 4-year-old girl all from Lorain, they all suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were transported by LifeCare Ambulance to University Elyria Hospital.
Rivera was not wearing a safety belt at the time of the crash, according to OSHP.
Two of the lanes were reopened about 4:15 p.m., according to a social media post from the Ohio Turnpike.
Check back with 19 News for the latest on this story.
Copyright 2026 WOIO. All rights reserved.
Cleveland, OH
LOOK: Remembering the Cavs championship win, victory parade 10 years later
CLEVELAND (WJW) — Ten years ago, Cleveland experienced one of the most unforgettable moments in the city’s history.
The Cavaliers became the first-ever team to overcome a 3-1 deficit to win a championship. By winning the 2016 NBA Finals, they also ended a 52-year championship drought for Cleveland.
Mr. Cavalier, Austin Carr, said he still relishes that moment 10 years later.
“The odds we overcame to win that championship,” he said. “Not only did we have to win three straight games, but we also had to have the right things happen at the right moment in order to win it. And that just tells me how difficult it is … with ‘The Shot’, ‘The Block’, and the defensive move. All those. It was just meant to be.”
The victory over the Golden State Warriors catapulted LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, J.R. Smith and the rest of the crew into essential Northeast Ohio sainthood.
When Akron’s own James screamed the now-famous phrase, “Cleveland, this is for you!” following the game, a whole legion of Cleveland fans around the country wept and cheered along with him.

When Smith refused to put a shirt on for what seemed like a whole summer in honor of the win, it felt right and proper.
Whenever the long-since traded Irving comes back to town, he’s remembered for his important 3-pointer at the end of Game 7 and not the way he left the team.
And the city made history again just a few days later, when more than 1.3 million people flooded downtown Cleveland for the championship parade. According to the Cavs, it remains the largest NBA championship parade ever.
The current Cavaliers (now in their Donovan Mitchell era) haven’t been back to the NBA Finals. They reached the conference finals this past spring for the first time since 2018. But a finals appearance has still eluded the wine and gold.
Cleveland, OH
Violent crime crackdown leads to 11 felony arrests and gets eight guns off Cleveland’s streets
CLEVELAND, OH — Cleveland police and Gov. Mike DeWine’s office touted the results of a violent crime reduction operation that led to 11 arrests and took eight illegally possessed guns off the city’s streets Wednesday.
“We got bad people off the street, and we’ll continue to get bad people off the street,” said Cleveland Police Sgt. Wilfredo Diaz.
The operation was a collaboration between police, Ohio State Highway Patrol, Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s deputies, U.S. Marshals Service and the Ohio Investigative Unit.
Diaz said it focused on both traffic enforcement and executing search warrants and arrest warrants targeting suspected criminals identified through ongoing investigations.
“[We] use intelligence-led policing to really saturate specific areas where we believe there’s an influx of crime, violent crime in particular,” said Diaz.
The numbers were music to the ears of Councilman Mike Polensek.
“We want this presence,” said Polensek, who chairs the council’s Safety Committee. “We want this presence in our neighborhoods. You’ve got to lay the law down. Our residents want this to take place.”
Polensek previously called on Mayor Justin Bibb to ask for help from the state and county to address what he called ridiculous levels of violence in the city.
Polensek cited numbers showing Cleveland police have lost hundreds of officers over the last two decades.
‘If we’re going to reclaim our streets, that’s what it’s going to be, all hands on deck,” said Polensek.
Diaz said more of the special details are already planned, but he would not reveal specific details.
He did offer this warning to the criminals terrorizing the city.
“If there are any bad actors that watch Channel 5, we want this message to get out,” said Diaz, “that we didn’t get you this time, we’re going to get you next time.”
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