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Northeast Ohioans share their experience viewing rare total solar eclipse

A couple front and center in a sea of people on a lawn looking up at the sky.
Ryan Loew
/
Ideastream Public Media
People watch the total solar eclipse in awe from outside the Great Lakes Science Center.

It is safe to say that Monday may have eclipsed — pun intended — any opportunity many have had or will have of a collective experience from a celestial event this year and for the next 75 years in Ohio - that's when the next total solar eclipse in the state will occur - 2099.

It wasn't just Northeast Ohio residents, but also the thousands who made the trek in from other states to share in this experience.

The solar eclipse engulfed the region in a veil of darkness for a magical three-plus minutes as it reached totality, but we could still see the awe in each other's faces.

It was all many of us could talk about for months and now that it's happened, let's talk about what it felt like to be part of this totally rare event.

On Tuesday's Sound of Ideas, we'll start by hearing from Ideastream's reporters on yesterday's festivities.

Our reporters were embedded in festivities happening across the region, from eclipse weddings in Cuyahoga Falls, to baseball fans catching the viewing before the Home Opener at Progressive Field, and beyond.

Later this hour, seven Ohio nonprofits are among 361 groups nationwide to receive funds from author and philanthropist, MacKenzie Scott's organization "Yield Giving." Scott divorced Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos in 2019 and remains a part-owner of the company.

The grants totaling $640 million will be allocated among these organizations, which were chosen from a pool of 6000 applicants.

We invited four of the local nonprofits in Cleveland and Akron that were on the list to learn more about what they do for the communities they serve about how this funding will further impact their work.

Guests:
- Zaria Johnson, Environmental Reporter, Ideastream Public Media
- Abigail Bottar, Akron/Canton Reporter, Ideastream Public Media
- Adaora Schmiedl, Chief Advancement and Community Engagement Officer, Towards Employment
- Jerilyn Mason, Program Manager of Workforce Development, Fairfax Renaissance Development Corporation
- Jazmin Long, President, and CEO Birthing Beautiful Communities
- Gulnar Feerasta, Managing Director, LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland

Jay Shah was an associate producer for the “Sound of Ideas” until May 2024.