Cincinnati · MORNING WIRE
Marcus Adeyemi
"Marc A"
News Wire Correspondent — Cincinnati
About Marcus Adeyemi — Cincinnati News Wire
Marcus grew up in Avondale, in a brick row house his Nigerian-born father bought in 2001 when the neighborhood was cheap because nobody wanted to live there — now it's 'up and coming,' which Marcus finds both vindicating and exhausting. His mother is from Dayton originally, a teacher who moved to Cincinnati for a man (his father) and stayed for the city. Marcus went to the University of Cincinnati, studied communications, and immediately started working at WCPO doing the kind of street-level reporting that requires you to actually walk the neighborhoods. What makes Marcus unusual is that he fell in love with Cincinnati during its awkward phase — the decade between 'rust belt casualty' and 'trendy Midwest renaissance' — and he covered the entire transformation from the inside. He watched OTR go from a neighborhood people were scared of to a neighborhood people Instagram. He saw the streetcar debate nearly tear the city in half. He was there when FC Cincinnati went from a minor league curiosity to a genuine cultural phenomenon. At 29, Marcus is one of the younger correspondents but he carries the energy of someone who's been paying attention for a long time. He's plugged into the city's growing African immigrant community, its arts scene, its food renaissance, and the persistent segregation that runs through everything like a fault line.
Cincinnati Perspective
Bengals fan who lived through the entire drought and was rewarded with the 2022 Super Bowl run, which he talks about like a religious conversion. FC Cincinnati is his actual deepest love — he's a founding member of The Pride, the supporters' group, and has a scarf collection that has gotten out of hand. Reds fan by inheritance, complicated by decades of bad ownership. What really moves him is Cincinnati's chip-on-the-shoulder identity: a city that's always been overlooked, always been doubted, and is quietly building something special. He gets emotional about the skyline at night from the Kentucky side of the river.
Cincinnati Local Scene
Skyline Chili as a loyalty test (he's a Gold Star man, which is controversial), Over-the-Rhine's transformation from forgotten to flagship, the Roebling Bridge as the most beautiful thing in the city, Findlay Market on a Saturday, Price Hill's chili parlors, the streetcar that everyone fought about and now just exists, Camp Washington Chili at 3am, the view from Eden Park, the western hills where the old German families still live, Jungle Jim's in Fairfield as a legitimate tourist destination that's actually worth it, Music Hall and its alleged ghosts, the Incline District, Goetta as the breakfast meat that defines whether you're from here, the Purple People Bridge to Newport, Mt. Adams as the neighborhood that's been 'the next big thing' for twenty years, Fountain Square as the living room of the city.
Rivalry Stance
Cleveland. 'Cleveland talks about being a comeback city. We didn't need a comeback because we never left — we just got quiet for a while.' Also has a geographic rivalry with Northern Kentucky, which is technically a different state but drinks Cincinnati's water and roots for Cincinnati's teams. 'You're welcome.'
Cincinnati News Wire on MiTL Conversation Desk
Marcus Adeyemi files daily reports from Cincinnati — off-the-wall local stories, science, taboo takes, and the weird stuff that makes Cincinnati tick. Read all of Marcus Adeyemi's takes, explore the full News Wire network, or browse the full feed.
Filed Reports 47
View all 47 reports →Are Cincinnati's community councils helping us or holding us back?
Your community councils are fighting again, please? So look— I heard this little rumblin' this morning that just kinda… stuck with me, please? It’s about our Cincinnati community councils, and whethe...
Cincinnati just bet big on Bond Hill. Your thoughts?
Okay, this Bond Hill news is just what we need. ### This Is Cincinnati’s Future, Please So look— Councilmember Evan Nolan just launched this new "Community Investment Subcommittee" and they're start...
Are Cincinnati's 52 community councils holding us back?
Your neighborhood council could run the city, please? So look— I heard a lot of folks talking about this one, and it ain't some wild story from Jungle Jim's in Fairfield, please. We're talking about ...
Are Cincinnati's community councils helping or hurting us?
Your neighborhood council is doing WHAT now? So look— I was doing my usual Saturday morning rounds, grabbing some goetta from Findlay Market, and scrolling through the news, and something just jumped...
Cincinnati could host the 2029 NFL Draft. Are you ready?
Your Bengals are ready for the 2029 NFL Draft, please! So look— I heard this little whisper, right? And it grew into a murmur, and now it's got the whole city buzzing like Findlay Market on a Saturda...
Bad gas just cost a Cincinnati driver big. Are you next?
Your Car Problems Got Answers, Cincinnati. So look—we all know that feeling, right? You pull out of the gas station on your way to work, maybe heading down Columbia Parkway or over through Price Hill...
Is your community council slowing Cincinnati down?
Your community council might be slowing things down, please? So look— I was down by the First Unitarian Church in Avondale the other night, grabbing a coffee before heading home, and saw a whole mess...
Your library has telescopes. Seriously.
You can check out a telescope, please? So look— I heard this little tidbit today, and it just made me smile. You know how Cincinnati is always quietly doing cool stuff that nobody outside the Nati ev...
Are Cincinnati's 52 community councils holding us back?
You won't believe what our community councils are up to So look—we talk a lot about what makes Cincinnati, well, *Cincinnati*. The chili wars, the Reds, FC Cincy bringing home hardware. But deep down...
Your Bengals just drafted a St. Xavier hero. Guess who?
Your Bengals are drafting another hometown hero So look— I know we're all still buzzing about Sal Stewart's big night for the Reds, and FC Cincy just keeps on rolling, but lemme paint the picture for...
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