Each month, Ray Horner will sit down and conduct in person interviews with Akron dignitaries of the past and present. This month, Ray sat down with Joey Arrietta, Owner/GM of the Akron Racers.
Donny Osmond joined Ray on the Ray Horner Morning Show. They talked about his career and his upcoming show at the Akron Civic Theatre on July 6th.
Two lucky couples will tie the knot during this afternoon's total solar eclipse, courtesy of Akron Municipal Court.
Court officials say even though they had originally planned to pick just one winning couple for their Eclipse Wedding essay contest, they wound up picking two; Toni Auvil and Ryan Arce, along with Timmy Bryan and Kylie Thanasiu.
Timmy and Kylie say they have been sweethearts since meeting at the age of 16 at Firestone High School, while Ryan and Toni have been together since they met while working together at Main Street Gourmet in Cuyahoga Falls, back in 2010.
Judge David Hamilton will officiate at the ceremony, which begins at 1 p.m. at the Mustill Store Museum. It will be followed by an eclipse party that will last through the moments of complete darkness known as the "totality", which starts at 3:15, and the party will continue until 4 p.m.
Timmy Bryan and Kylie Thanasiu
Toni Auvil and Ryan Arce
Each week WAKR's Ray Horner profiles a local business. This week he talked with Dawn Distler. Dawn is the Chief Executive Officer of Metro RTA.
Guardians Owner, Paul Dolan, joined Ray on the Ray Horner Morning Show. They discussed the Renovations of Progressive Field, the transition from Tito to Vogt, and more.
Film Study Professor Joe Fortunato joins the Ray Horner Morning Show every Friday to discuss classic films. This week, Jeanne Destro filled in for Ray. She and Joe went back to 1984 to discuss the film, DUNE.
Golf Pro, Dan Dauk, joins Ray every Friday with tips and info for golfers. Nick Hershey stepped in for Ray this week and talked with Dan about the difficulties Spring brings to the game.
Golf Pro, Dan Dauk, joins Ray every Friday to talk about local golf courses. This week Nick Hershey stepped in for Ray and Dan talked about Boulder Creek Golf Club.
Connecting Today's Kent State Students To The Lessons Of May 4, 1970
Written by Steffany MurdockDr. Roseann “Chic” Canfora was an eyewitness on May 4, 1970, and her late brother, Alan, was one of the students wounded when Ohio National Guardsmen opened fire on students demonstrating against the war in Vietnam.
Canfora is currently a Professional in Residence, and Assistant Professor of Journalism at Kent State, where she also chairs the May 4 Presidential Advisory Committee and the May 4 Commemoration Committee.
Listen now, as she talks with Jeanne Destro, about how the University is gearing up for their annual May 4 remembrance, and what she is doing to help today's students understand and relate to the tragic lessons learned when four students were shot, and nine were wounded, on May 4, 1970.
Dr. Roseann "Chic" Canfora, Kent State University
*Story written by Steffany Murdock, and Jeanne Destro
Student Athletes of the Week: Cassidy Perry & Blaise Donatelli
Written by Steffany Murdock
The Student Athlete of the Week segment is powered by NECA-IBEW and Akron Children’s Hospital.
This week's athletes are from Manchester High School.
More...
Highland Square Film Festival Salutes DEVO in May
Written by Jeanne Destro
Organizers of the upcoming Highland Square Film Festival on May 18th at the Highland Square Theater in Akron are hoping to "whip" up a little Akron rock nostalgia, with films created by the iconic 70's New Wave band.
Author, David Giffels, who will be a featured speaker at the event, will reflect on the band's early days in Akron and Kent, and on the films they made before hitting it big on the pop charts in 1980, with "Whip It".
Giffels, along with co-author, Jade Dellinger, has written two books about the band; 2008's "We Are Devo! Are We Not Men?", and "The Beginning Was The End: DEVO in Ohio", which came out in 2023.
Listen now as Giffels talks about it, with WAKR's Jeanne Destro.
David Giffels, Author
Akron Mayor Shammas Malik joined Jeanne Destro on the Ray Horner Morning Show. The search for a new Police Chief continues. There is some concern about the law requiring the city to hire from within. The Mayor discussed the situation, the importance of diversity, and more.
Pushing Back Against Domestic Extremism: Why It Matters
Written by Jeanne Destro
When a guy told me a few years ago, "You know, there's going to be another Civil War"; I told him to grab a tinfoil hat.
But then, more and more scary, violent, and downright weird things kept happening; egged on by increasingly inflammatory political rhetoric, and amplified by social media and cable TV.
It all came to a head, but most certainly didn't end, during the insurrection at the US Capitol, on January 6th, 2020.
Now, the federal Judge overseeing former President Donald Trump's upcoming trial in New York for alleged election interference, has filed gag orders, seeking to keep him from making threatening statements against prosecutors, witnesses, and even the judge's own daughter.
But that's just the tip of the iceberg, or perhaps the spear; as we learn that next week, a brand new feature film starring Kirstin Dunst will be released nationwide, called "Civil War", which imagines what seemed like crazy talk a few years ago, just in time to put even more of a spanner in the works ahead of the upcoming Presidential election.
So, what can the average person do?
Are we all just doomed to be battered pillar-to-post each day by with worrisome thoughts and fears that our country is coming apart at the seams? Can't we just get a little peace, and a more calm and reasoned perspective, without sticking our heads so far down in the sand that we miss what is actually going on?
To find out; I asked Dr. Karl Kaltenthaler, who Directs the University of Akron's Michael J. Morell Center for Intelligence Studies, and is an expert on Domestic terrorism.
Listen now:
Dr. Karl Kaltenthaler, University of Akron
Dr. Toni Cooper, Psychologist and Author, joined Jeanne Destro on the Ray Horner Morning Show. Aging can have an impact on your personality and demeanor. Dr. Cooper discussed staying open and positive through the years.