Cleveland Daily Local Headlines: March 6, 2026

Cleveland’s news cycle turned sharply toward public safety this week, with a developing homicide investigation on the East Side and fresh scrutiny on police staffing and overtime. Here are the local headlines to know for Friday.

1) East Side homicide investigation: DNA links 2 girls found in suitcases

Investigators say the two girls found buried in suitcases in Cleveland’s South Collinwood area are related. The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner reported preliminary DNA testing shows the children are half-siblings.

Police have said the girls have not yet been positively identified, and officials have not named any suspects publicly. The bodies were discovered March 2 near East 162nd Street and Midland Avenue after a passerby reported what looked like a shallow grave; a second burial site was found nearby.

2) Cleveland police overtime: $27M in 2025 as staffing remains below target

City payroll records show Cleveland police overtime spending reached about $27 million in 2025, as the division continues to operate below authorized staffing levels. The report also noted dozens of employees at least doubled their pay through overtime, with a small number of patrol officers earning total compensation north of $250,000.

Officials attributed overtime to both vacancies and spikes in demand, including special events and proactive deployments tied to traffic and quality-of-life enforcement. The numbers are now landing in the middle of budget-season debates about staffing, deployment, and how the city pays for visible patrol coverage.

3) State politics with local impact: ranked-choice voting ban moves in Columbus

Ohio lawmakers advanced a bill that would prohibit ranked-choice voting statewide, even as a couple of nearby communities have been exploring whether to adopt it for local elections. Supporters argue it prevents confusion and protects uniform election administration, while critics say it undercuts local control and blocks experimentation before it starts.

If enacted, the measure would shut down ranked-choice voting efforts in places like Lakewood and Cleveland Heights and could limit future election-rule changes pursued by communities across Greater Cleveland.

Sources

• https://www.ideastream.org/law-justice/2026-03-04/dna-links-bodies-of-girls-found-buried-in-suitcases-on-clevelands-east-side
• https://www.police1.com/police-recruitment/cleveland-police-ot-costs-reach-27m-as-staffing-remains-below-benchmarks
• https://www.axios.com/local/cleveland/2026/03/03/ranked-choice-voting-ban-ohio