Akron Digest
September 26, 2025

Good Morning, Akron!

Tomorrow the city laces up for one of its biggest traditions — the Akron Marathon.

If you’ve never stood on the sidelines or hit the pavement yourself, you’ve missed the kind of electricity that only thousands of pounding feet and cowbells can bring. The streets buzz with locals and runners from across the globe, all cashing in on months (sometimes years) of training.

Neighborhoods hold block parties. Volunteers pass out cups of water. Everyone cheers for each other. It’s really something special.

To everyone racing: may the miles fly by, your knees hold strong, and your post-race beer be ice cold.

Let’s dive into this week’s issue.

🗞️ The Digest

Firestone Plant Gets 60-Day Reprieve 🏫 

Akron's 115-year-old Firestone Plant #1 building has until November 21 to find a developer or face demolition. City Council approved the short extension on Monday, but preservation advocates say it's not enough time to save the landmark tied to Akron's "Rubber Capital" legacy.

The building could unlock $15-20 million in historic tax credits if preserved, but the city risks losing $5 million in state demolition funding without a viable redevelopment plan. Any interested developer must provide financial guarantees and present a credible proposal to save this piece of industrial history.

Green Finally Gets to be Green, OH 💚 

After decades of postal confusion, the U.S. Postal Service confirmed that all Green addresses can use "Green, OH" along with their current ZIP code. The city has been split across six different ZIP codes for over 60 years, forcing residents to use Akron, North Canton, or Uniontown as their mailing addresses instead of their actual hometown.

The U.S. House recently passed legislation requiring the Postal Service to give single, unique ZIP codes to 74 communities across the country, including Green as the only Ohio city on the list. While waiting for that bill to move through the Senate, Mayor Rocco Yeargin's persistence has at least secured the right for Green residents to finally put their real city name on their mail.

Smucker's Serves Up Major Donation to Regional Foodbank 🍓 

The J.M. Smucker Co. made a truly jam-packed donation to the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank, gifting their entire 30-acre Orrville retail facility complete with a 19,000-square-foot building and pollinator garden.

But wait, there's more—the iconic jelly and jam maker is also establishing a $1 million fund with the Wayne County Community Foundation to support expanded foodbank services. With over 15,000 Wayne County residents facing food insecurity, this "transformational donation" will help the foodbank think creatively about addressing growing demand.

CEO Mark Smucker emphasized the company's commitment to thriving alongside their Northeast Ohio community, proving that sometimes the sweetest gestures come from your own backyard.

🔥 Top 5 Events This Week

Here is our list of hand-picked events around the area:

📌 Everything Else Worth Knowing

Some bonus picks from us:

🎬️🎥 Akron Weekend Movie Action

Nightlight Theatre

Note: For a full list of showings, please visit one of the links below.

• Eleanor The Great
  “In Eleanor The Great, June Squibb brings to vivid life the witty and proudly troublesome 94-year-old Eleanor Morgenstein, who after a devastating loss, tells a tale that takes on a dangerous life of its own. Scarlett Johansson’s directorial debut is a comically poignant exploration of how the stories we hear become the stories we tell.”

  Rotten Tomatoes: 66%

  Showtimes

• Naked Ambition
  “Bunny Yeager, once heralded as the world's prettiest photographer, had a huge influence in 20th-century pop culture though few people know her name. Whether by popularizing the bikini, helping discover Bettie Page, shaping the image of Playboy or inventing the selfie, Bunny was a trailblazer whose work bucked against conservative 1950s America and helped pave the way for the feminist movement and the sexual revolution. Yet the very changes she helped usher in would soon render her a forgotten relic...till now.”

  Rotten Tomatoes: n/a

  Showtimes

• Yi Yi

  “Each member of a family in Taipei asks hard questions about life's meaning as they live through everyday quandaries. NJ is morose: his brother owes him money, his mother-in-law is in a coma, his wife suffers a spiritual crisis when she finds her life a blank and his business partners make bad decisions.”

  Rotten Tomatoes: 97%

  Showtimes

Highland Theatre

• The Conjuring: Last Rites
  “Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren take on one last terrifying case involving mysterious entities they must confront.” (IMDB)

  Rotten Tomatoes: 59%

  Showtimes

Weather

Today

75 🌡️ 51 | 🌤️ | 25% 🌧️

Saturday

78 🌡️ 53 | 🌤️ | 1% 🌧️

Sunday

78 🌡️ 52 | 🌤️ | 1% 🌧️

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Talk to you next Friday!