(WLIO) — From positive economic developments to the demolition of a longtime Lima anchor store and a fire that severely damaged a historic church, 2025 proved to be a busy year for local news. Your Hometown Stations looked back at some of the most popular stories on hometownstations.com over the past year.
During the summer of 2025, significant public interest surrounded the demolition of the former Macy’s building at the Lima Mall, which is being cleared to make way for a new Target store expected to open in 2026. The demolition was partially funded by a $1.3 million grant from the Ohio Brownfield Remediation Program. Throughout the process, many people stopped to watch the building come down and reminisce about shopping and dining there when it operated as Lazarus.
Another highly viewed story involved the discovery of a wooden coffin during a construction project at the Allen County Regional Transit Authority garage. Construction workers uncovered the coffin and skeletal remains while digging for new fuel tanks at the site. The location was once one of Lima’s earliest cemeteries. The coffin dated back to the 1800s and may have contained the remains of Private Elijah States, who served in the Revolutionary War. The remains were later released to a funeral home for reburial.
Local data center development also drew strong reader interest in 2025. Van Wert Economic Development announced that a mega site on the city’s east side will become home to a data center, with construction expected to begin in 2026. The company that will operate the facility has not yet been identified. Additionally, land in American and Sugar Creek townships in Allen County was sold for another data center project, and the city of Lima has agreed to provide water service to the site.
In May, a fire caused extensive damage to St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Maria Stein. The church was more than 125 years old, and fire departments from across Mercer County and surrounding areas responded to battle the blaze. While the parish received widespread support to help rebuild, strong winds in late December caused additional portions of the remaining structure to collapse. The church is now expected to be completely demolished in early 2026.
A fatal workplace accident in July also ranked among the year’s top stories. One person was killed and another injured when a wall collapsed at a St. Marys building on July 31. Christopher Brown died after being crushed by part of the building’s west exterior wall, while coworker Kevin Sharp suffered multiple fractures. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined Pro Fit HVAC more than $40,000, citing a failure to properly train employees to recognize and avoid unsafe demolition and excavation conditions. Owner Todd Klosterman has contested the citations before the U.S. OSHA Review Commission.
In October, St. Marys City Schools were placed on lockdown following an anonymous phone call threatening a shooting at the high school. Law enforcement officials said the caller used an internet-based phone and a virtual private network or VPN, making the threat difficult to trace.
Another widely read story involved the closure of Tracy’s Appliances after 75 years in business. Owner Jeff Tracy estimated the store had served three out of every five homes in the Lima area. Big Sandy Superstore has since purchased the property and plans to open a Lima location in spring of 2026.
Rounding out the year, Amazon announced plans to build a delivery station in Shawnee Township. The 110,000-square-foot facility will support the final stage of Amazon’s delivery network by receiving packages from fulfillment centers and sorting them for delivery to customers’ homes. The site is expected to be operational by fall 2026.
