Editor's note: there's no mincing words — members of the Kent Police Department work in sub-par conditions because of the aging police station. Many Kent residents agree, but voters could not agree on how to pay for a new police station and that's why a proposed 0.25 percent income tax increase failed on the November ballot. But this issue isn't dead. Kent City Council will talk about other options for replacing the police station in 2013. For 2012, this story is one of my picks for top 10 stories of the year. RECENT COVERAGE: Sunset Provision a Possibility for New Police Station UPDATE: Kent…

Editor's note: the Kent State Golden Flashes football team had an incredible season in 2012 — and it's not over yet. The team will face Arkansas State in the GoDaddy.com Bowl Jan. 6 after tearing it up in the Mid American Conference by winning the MAC East title and earning a spot in the 2012 MAC Championship Game. Kent State may have lost the MAC title game, but the GoDaddy.com Bowl marks the team's first bowl game in 40 years. The winning season has drawn tighter the ties that bind town-gown relations in Kent and helped elevate Kent State on the national sports stage, but sadly it also …

Editor's note: this year marked the clichéd return to its roots for The Davey Tree Expert Company, which, along with AMETEK, moved about 90 employees to downtown Kent. Davey Tree got its start downtown, and the firm moved its Stow-based Davey Resource Group back to downtown Kent this year to anchor the first of two new buildings built by Fairmount Properties as part of Kent's redevelopment. AMETEK followed suit by moving into the second building. Combined, both firms brought closed to 200 well-paid professionals downtown. The two new buildings also brought with them about a dozen new shops …

Editor's note: For the most part, downtown Kent's $100 million redevelopment has been full of nothing but positive news for the Tree City and its surrounding communities. But that work came with a price to bear for a Barberton, OH family. Russell Hirschfelt, 49, of Barberton, died in March 2012 after an accident at the construction site for PARTA's Kent Central Gateway transit center. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the U.S. Department of Labor are investigating the sub contractor Lockhart Concrete, which employed Hirschfelt. OSHA has not issued any penalties so far. For…

Editor's note: after 30 years in business in Kent Spin-More Records shut down in March. The record store closed to make way for a higher-paying tenant, Jimmy John's, which had to move to clear the way for the new Kent courthouse. The sandwich shop has since reopened in the remodeled former record store. The store was among downtown Kent's longest-running businesses, and its departure is surely a sign of the digital age. For 2012, this story is one of my picks for top 10 stories of the year. RELATED COVERAGE: Spin-More Moves on so Jimmy John's can Move In Spin-More Records Closes After 30 …

Editor's note: in 2012 Kent has seen a tremendous amount of construction, from downtown to the neighborhoods and the Kent State University campus. Smack in the middle of all that is construction of two of the key elements of downtown's redevelopment: PARTA's Kent Central Gateway and the Kent State Hotel. The PARTA facility will provide a much-needed boost to parking downtown with the addition of 362 parking spaces and some new retail space. The hotel's 94 rooms and 300-seat banquet center will provide space for wedding receptions and other large gatherings along with regular guests to support…

Editor's note: this year Kent residents bore witness to something many people thought impossible — the restoration of the old Kent hotel. The sale of the building to Acorn Alley developer Ron Burbick was a big story in 2011, and in 2012 renovations started. The restored building is expected to open in mid March with anchor tenant Buffalo Wild Wings on the first floor. For 2012, this story is one of my picks for top 10 stories of the year. RECENT COVERAGE: LOOK: Inside Acorn Corner's Renovation Snapshot: Elevator, Stair Shaft at Acorn Corner Acorn Corner gets License to Occupy Sidewalk No …

Editor's note: as a journalist I've covered presidents and presidential candidates before. But the fever that swept Kent this fall truly was something to witness. It started when word broke that President Barack Obama would make a campaign stop at Kent State University. It ballooned when thousands lined up to get tickets for the campaign rally, which packed the MACC. And it ended when 73 percent of the city's voters picked Obama over Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. For 2012, this story is one of my picks for top 10 stories of the year. RELATED COVERAGE: Kent Picked Obama in …

Editor's note: this year marked an incredible season for the Kent State Golden Flashes men's baseball team, which made the university's first-ever appearance in the College World Series. Baseball fans from Kent and beyond cheered the team on as they made the historic run. The run ended when Kent State lost to the South Carolina Gamecocks, but not before beating the No. 1 national team Florida in dramatic fashion. For 2012, this story is one of my picks for top 10 stories of the year. RELATED COVERAGE: VIDEO: Kent State Baseball Welcome Home Kent State Falls to South Carolina, Ending College …

Editor's note: For almost a hundred years it towered over Kent, but in moments the C.L. Gougler and Machine Co. smokestack was erased from the landscape. The smokestack, along with the plant that employed thousands over the years, was demolished. The building had been vacant for decades and the property owner, Furukawa Rock Drill USA, wanted to turn the area into greenspace. FRD USA did a great job of documenting the process, saving what could be saved (a restored lamp post from the property stands outside the Kent Historical Society) and involving past employees in the factory's final days. …