CINCINNATI — During 2022, we experienced everything from tornadoes to a blizzard, the finale of a historic Bengals season and the triumphant return of iconic local events in their fullest forms for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Those moments were captured on camera, photographed and documented so — for better or worse — the events of 2022 can be remembered.
Here are the top 9 moments of 2022 in photos:
Opening Day returned with a bang
The Reds' Opening Day Parade packed the streets of Cincinnati for the first time in two years on April 12.
The parade endured a bit of a scheduling snafu after MLB commissioner Rob Manfred announced that Opening Day and the first two series' of the season were canceled after players rejected owners' "best and final offer" amid the MLB lockout. The Reds Opening Day parade otherwise would have been held March 31.
The parade's grand marshal was former Cincinnati Reds player and Hall-of-Famer Barry Larkin, who signed baseballs, hats and other memorabilia for young fans before ringing the bell to kick off the festivities.
While the regular season started April 7 when the Reds traveled to Atlanta, fans instead flooded Great American Ballpark April 12 for the Reds' home opener against the Cleveland Guardians. The MLB moved the start of the game from 6:40 p.m. to 4:10 p.m. to accommodate the festivities before the game.
The Reds not being in Cincinnati on Opening Day marked only the second time the team was scheduled to start the season on the road.
The Bengals take fans on a wild ride
Throughout 2022, Bengals fans were on a rollercoaster that has continued to shock and excite the city.
It started with history when, for the first time in more than three decades, the Cincinnati Bengals reached a Super Bowl.
That's when the ride got a little rocky.
Captured in photos was the most gut-wrenching moment of that Super Bowl, when quarterback Joe Burrow was chased down by Aaron Donald in the final seconds of the game, ending the Bengals chance at clinching the title.
The Bengals ultimately lost to the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium, but fans were still proud of the players and flooded Paul Brown Stadium to greet them on their return home.
In the offseason, the team lost fan-favorite C.J. Uzomah to the New York Jets. Then, a firm hired to conduct a capital assessment of Paul Brown Stadium declared it would cost more than $493 million to renovate the aging structure.
Fans sat with their fingers crossed at the end of April as they hoped Bengals officials would shore up the team's weak offensive line in the 2022 draft. Though the team selected several defense players in the draft, they did pull in new blood on the offensive line in free agency, including La'el Collins, who signed in March.
In June, the Bengals announced they were considering selling naming rights to the stadium the team calls home — a topic that gave many a fan pause and sparked plenty of discussion over who should score those rights.
It was nearly all forgiven almost the next day, though, when the Bengals brightened fans' spirits with a shiny, white helmet design, to be worn with the team's old color block uniforms.
But before fans could begin to cheer on the Bengals in the 2022 season, quarterback Joe Burrow delivered some worrying news: His appendix had to be removed. After losing Burrow to a torn ACL in his second year as quarterback and watching him hit the ground in a record-breaking number of sacks the previous season, fans were understandably nervous — but Burrow bounced back and was soon seen throwing footballs at training camp.
In the meantime, discussions around the formerly-known-as Paul Brown Stadium abounded — renderings of possible renovations for the building were released and fans got a first look at what could be, if only the funding could be secured.
Then, Paycor Stadium was born — and so were new debates into how renovations could affect taxpayers, whether the name change or subsequent signage changes were approved by county officials, to name just a few. Still, Hamilton County spent $3 million for more riverfront land specifically for fan parking.
But then Burrow led the Bengals to beat the Cleveland Browns for the first time in his career and the team clinched a spot in the upcoming playoffs, bringing fans one step closer to another chance at the dream of winning a Super Bowl.
FBI office attacked by man after search of Mar-a-Lago
In August, a standoff between law enforcement and an armed man who attempted to break into the FBI office in Cincinnati ended after officers shot the man dead, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
Law enforcement officials briefed on the situation told ABC News and the Associated Press that 42-year-old Ricky Shiffer called for violence against the FBI after the agency executed a search warrant at former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home.
Officials said Shiffer attempted to break into the Cincinnati field office before leading law enforcement on a chase up I-71 into Warren County; police said he fired shots at them from his vehicle as he drove up the highway.
He led law enforcement up I-71 to I-73 in Clinton County, where the chase turned into a standoff that closed both highways and surrounding local roadways for hours.
Two videos released by the Warren County Sheriff's Office showed part of the pursuit. The dash camera footage showed officers speeding up I-71 before following Shiffer off the highway to Smith Road where he stopped his car.
The footage showed officers pull up and exit their vehicles with guns drawn before multiple pops are heard.
"Shots fired, shots fired," officers can be heard saying over the radio to dispatchers.
A second video showed the final moments of the standoff from a nearby field. Shiffer can be seen sitting behind his car. The timestamp of the video begins at 3:16 p.m. At one point, Shiffer can be seen standing up, opening one of the car doors and leaning inside. Bullet holes are visible in the vehicle's back window. Shiffer pulls something out of the car and sits back down.
A half-hour later, at 3:41 p.m., armored trucks pull up next to Shiffer's vehicle and several heavily-armored officers get out. The vehicles sit there for several minutes, obstructing the view of what occurred, but it was at this time of day the Ohio State Highway Patrol said Shiffer raised his gun toward officers and police fired on him, killing him at around 3:42 p.m. The officers eventually return to the vehicle and drive off. A few moments after that, a robot appears to search the car, presumably for any explosives.
The Associated Press reported that a law enforcement official briefed on the situation said Shiffer is believed to have been in D.C. in the days leading up to the attack on the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6, 2021. Shiffer was never charged with any crimes in connection to the riots.
An EF2 tornado tore through Goshen
In July, an EF2 tornado touched down in Goshen, Ohio, tearing homes and businesses from their foundations and leaving a path of damage through the Clermont County town.
The National Weather Service defines an EF2 as a "strong" tornado with wind speeds between 111 mph to 135 mph. In a report issued Thursday afternoon, it estimated the tornado started in Newtonsville and traveled to Pleasant Plain between 3:08 p.m. and 3:12 p.m. Wednesday afternoon.
The tornado reached maximum wind speeds of 130 mph, traveled 2.5 miles and cut a swath 750 yards wide, NWS said.
The tornado injured two people, though Steve Pegram, Goshen Township administrator, said at the time those injuries were not serious.
“At this time, only two confirmed injuries — that’s a blessing," Pegram said in July. "One was a firefighter injured by a chainsaw, transported to a hospital likely for stitches. One was a citizen, injured by falling debris — conscious, alert.”
Over 200 structures were damaged by the tornado and the homes and businesses that were left intact were without power for days.
Business owners and residents described their experiences as the tornado tore through their town, destroying some buildings and heavily damaging others. Pegram said there had been extensive damage to the fire and police departments, which were partially collapsed.
Other buildings in the area, including one that housed an Allstate Insurance branch, had their roofs torn off. A building that houses Bick's Driving School was also destroyed.
Eric Beavers and employees inside the Allstate agency had about 10 seconds to run for cover as the tornado touched down.
"It's a miracle that I'm talking to you," Beavers said. "Said we gotta go ... before we made it, the ceiling crashed down on us. We ran, tried to dive down under the table, four or five of us. The ceiling collapsed in the kitchen on top of us. The walls blew out. We were under the table calling our kids, seeing if they're OK, telling them we loved them ... didn't know if we'd make it out."
The NWS also confirmed an EF1 tornado hit the Lake Lorelai area in Brown County the same day.
Cincinnatians protests the repeal of Roe v. Wade
Protests began in Cincinnati in May, when a leaked Supreme Court draft opinion declared Roe v. Wade would be overturned and continued into June, when SCOTUS officially overturned the case that declared abortion legal in the U.S.
Abortion rights advocates gathered at Fountain Square in May, holding a rally that mirrored multiple other rallies nationwide that pushed back against the possible repeal. Other cities that had rallies included New York, Washington D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles and more.
The rallies were part of the nationwide "Bans Off Our Bodies" day of action. Pro-choice supporters of all ages came together to support their right to choose what women can do with their own bodies.
The Cincinnati event was organized by Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio.
In June, once the repeal was official and a flurry of states began enacting restrictions on abortions, more protests sprang up across the country and Cincinnati was not to be left out.
Hundreds filled downtown streets to march to both the county and federal courthouses.
A separate march, planned by two sisters, took place in July with the support of the American Civil Liberties Union, which sent the sisters signs and resources on how to plan a protest.
“It’s a direct attack on reproductive rights, definitely not just women rights because as we know not only women have uteruses, so we can’t really pigeon hole that," said Breanna Jeffery, one of the planners of the protest, at the time. "I’m hurt and angry that people of my generation are going to have less rights than my mom and my grandma."
Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval, members of the Cincinnati City Council and several community members spoke at the protest, expressing support for abortion rights advocates and protesters in attendance.
Fiona got a baby brother
After weeks of indicating she was ready to go into labor, Bibi gave birth to a new member of the Hippo Cove bloat on Aug. 4.
Zoo officials said the new baby looks huge compared to its first baby hippo star, Fiona, who was born prematurely. Keepers estimated that the newborn weighed about 60 pounds.
"Fiona only weighed 29 pounds when she was born six weeks premature and wasn't able to stand on her own," said Christina Gorsuch, director of animal care at the Cincinnati Zoo.
It wasn't until a few weeks later that Cincinnati would learn Fiona's new sibling was a brother. The Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden dubbed him Fritz and animal lovers in the region sat glued to screens in the weeks before the new baby was able to be seen in the outdoor exhibit.
Cincinnatians watched as Fritz slowly but surely met his sister and, later, his father. As each week passed, it became clear he shared many traits with his famous sister, from a penchant for underwater barrel rolls to the ear wiggle that earned Fiona her name.
George Wagner IV guilty of 2016 Pike County massacre
On Nov. 30, a jury in Pike County found George Wagner IV guilty on all 22 counts he faced, including eight counts of aggravated murder for the 2016 murders of 40-year-old Christopher Rhoden Sr., 37-year-old Dana Rhoden, 20-year-old Hannah "Hazel" Gilley, 16-year-old Christopher Rhoden Jr., 20-year-old Clarence "Frankie" Rhoden, 37-year-old Gary Rhoden, 19-year-old Hanna May Rhoden, and 44-year-old Kenneth Rhoden.
Most notably, George's mother and brother — who have both accepted deals from the prosecution in exchange for guilty pleas — both testified against him during the trial. George's father, Billy, is also charged with 22 counts related to the homicides. He is expected to stand trial in 2023.
The trial was the first time a person faced a jury for the deaths of the Rhoden family. George was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for each of the aggravated homicide charges with an additional 120 years in prison for firearm specifications attached to the other charges he faced.
The case was one of the biggest criminal investigations in Ohio's history. From suspected Mexican cartel involvement to the custody of a then-3-year-old girl to the state of Alaska, the six years since the murders has delivered twists and turns in an investigation that culminated in George's trial.
The trial spanned nearly three months, during which the jury heard from investigators, family members of the victims, family members of the defendant, forensic experts and first responders who arrived to the four different crime scenes in 2016.
The prosecution entered hundreds of evidential exhibits for the jury to consider while making their decision, from shell casings to shoes to a video clip from the Boondock Saints series.
BLINK 2022 lit up the city, despite founding partners departure
One day after BLINK Cincinnati announced plans to return to Northern Kentucky in 2022, one of its founding partners announced it ended its involvement with the art and light festival while planning this year's event.
Despite that, the festival kicked off on Oct. 13 and ran for four nights total.
This year's festival was also the first time the streets of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky glowed with light sculptures and shows in full force since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The festival was outright canceled in 2020 and had several false starts in 2021.
In March 2021, former mayor John Cranley said he planned to use funding from the American Rescue Plan (ARP) to help arts organizations and events, including BLINK, get back on their feet after the COVID-19 pandemic devastated the industry.
The first night opened with the BLINK parade that featured everything from dancers and marching bands to local libraries.
Less than 24 hours after the lights and effects were shut off, signaling the end of BLINK, organizers said they were already looking to what’s next.
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