Today is Oct. 30, 2025.

• And we’re back. When last we met a couple weeks ago, fall still had kind of a summery feel to it. Now here we are, in the middle of that transitional portion of autumn that eventually will lead us straight into … winter. And today will be Exhibit A: Windy and cooler with rain, a high of 48 degrees and a low of 39. Friday’s forecast for Halloween is pretty much the same: A couple of showers in the morning; otherwise, cloudy and windy with a high of 52 and a low of 37 — in other words, a perfectly chilly and spooky night.
  

• WE’LL BE A DAY EARLY NEXT WEEK: The Spotlight is back to our normal publishing schedule — until next week. After taking our fall hiatus last week, we’re going to bump next week’s newsletter up by one day to accommodate the results of the November General Election. Therefore, the next edition of The Spotlight will be sent to your inbox the morning of Wednesday, Nov. 5.
  

• IT’S TIME TO FALL BACK: Don’t forget to move your clocks back one hour before going to bed Saturday night because we’re switching from Daylight Saving Time to Eastern Standard Time at 2 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 2. Sunrise and sunset will be about one hour earlier Nov. 2 than the day before, so plan accordingly to deal with having more light in the morning and less light in the evening. We’ll switch back to DST — or spring forward — at 2 a.m. Sunday, March 8.
  

• SILVER LAKE VETERANS DAY EVENTS: Residents are invited to join the Silver Lake Veterans Committee for brief daily Witness Tree Ceremonies followed by a Veterans Day Ceremony on Tuesday, Nov. 11. Here’s the schedule: The Witness Tree Ceremonies will take place at 11 a.m. every day from Saturday, Nov. 1 through Tuesday, Nov. 11; Witness Tree Ceremonies consist of a short ceremony recognizing veteran suicide. The Veterans Day Ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. Nov. 11, followed by “Coffee with Comrades” (a quarterly coffee and donuts gathering). All events are free and open to the public and will be held in the Silver Lake Veterans Tribute Garden at 2961 Kent Rd.
  

• VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR RIVER CLEANUP: The Village of Silver Lake River Cleanup Event will take place from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 8, and the village is inviting volunteers to participate. Those interested can RSVP to Sarah at [email protected]. The event starts at the Silver Lake Recreation Campus at 2961 Kent Rd., and participants will clean up Silver Lake’s section of the Cuyahoga River and the Marcia Mandala Trail.
  

• SILVER LAKE TEST ALERTS: On the afternoon of Monday, Oct. 27, Silver Lake Village Hall sent out a test text and email alert to one cell phone number and one email address per household. Because the village is using a bill pay service (NexBillPay) to send these messages, each text or email included the following footer: Pay online: https://villageofsilverlake.com/ Pay by phone: 8442040596. The village says residents can disregard this portion of the message. To ensure you receive important communications from the village, residents are encouraged to add the text alert phone number and email address to their contacts. Any Silver Lake residents who did not receive this test alert are advised to send their preferred contact details — one cell phone number and one email address per household — to Lora Wilmoth at [email protected] so that you will receive any future communications.
  

• 2025 NOVEMBER GENERAL ELECTION: Polls are open Tuesday, Nov. 4 from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Go to this page for more information, including early and absentee voting, or call 330-643-5200.
  

• “Reader Spotlight” is a forum where you can send us your comments, concerns and suggestions on anything going on in our communities of Stow, Munroe Falls and Silver Lake. Send your email to [email protected], put “Reader Spotlight” in the subject line, and please include your name and town (recommended but not required for publication). We will publish comments as we receive them.
  

• If you just subscribed or missed something in an earlier newsletter, don’t fret: Subscribers have access to every edition of The Spotlight at www.stowmunroefalls.com. Check out back issues to catch up on everything that’s going on in our communities — you never know what you might have missed!

⭐ Several stories in this issue are only available to premium subscribers: ShotStop update, Veterans Day breakfast, fun for Swifties, Munroe Falls winter tips and more local news. Get full access for just $2.99/month.

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Munroe Falls

Bottleneck: Water main breaks on Route 91 causing traffic headaches in Munroe Falls

Between water main breaks, boil alerts and traffic disruptions, it’s been a frustrating week and a half for residents and motorists in Munroe Falls. And it’s not over yet.

Here’s what’s been going on:

• It all started when the City of Munroe Falls issued a “Water Main Break Alert” the morning of Oct. 20. The break occurred on Route 91 in Munroe Falls north of the railroad crossing at the bridge over the Cuyahoga River.

• The northbound lane of Route 91 was closed during daytime hours while crews worked to repair the water line and road. The City of Munroe Falls advised motorists that traffic would be slow in that area, to expect delays and to avoid the area if at all possible.

• Munroe Falls also issued a “Boil Water Advisory,” although it was not in effect across the city. The advisory affected a limited number of businesses on Route 91 between 21 N. Main St. and 59 N. Main. St. Lemongrass Grille, Fabric Shop, Subway, Gionino’s, Computer ER, Spice Delight and Gray Mart were not part of the boil alert.

• Then, after a few days of aggravation, good news: The city announced the morning of Oct. 24 that the boil advisory had been lifted, Route 91 was open in both directions and that construction would resume Oct. 27. So all good, right?

• Not so fast. The city announced Oct. 29 that a new water main break had occurred in the same location as before — on Route 91 north of the railroad crossing — the northbound lane was again closed, and motorists should again expect delays or avoid the area.

• A boil water alert has not been issued at this time, but the city says that could change so stay tuned.

Go here for updates on this situation.

More from Munroe Falls …

• J.J. Mesko-Kimmich was recently sworn in as the newest Munroe Falls City Council member. Mesko-Kimmich fills the at-large council seat vacated by John Impellizzeri, who resigned in August after his controversial comments on social media regarding the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk sparked national outrage. Mesko-Kimmich will serve out the remainder of Impellizzeri’s term, which expires Dec. 31, 2025.

• A Main Street Program partnering with Heritage Ohio kicked off recently to reimagine the downtown Munroe Falls area. “In the future, there will be a lot of opportunities for residents to get involved with this process,” Munroe Falls City Council President Ross Widenor said.

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