‘The anchor around Husted’s neck’: Data centers are dominating Ohio politics
News and insights from the State Signals newsletter. Plus, we have thoughts on the political ads that are everywhere right now.
LATEST NEWS FROM SIGNAL STATEWIDE
Election 2026
Amy Acton backs Issue 3, the voter ID amendment, breaking with Ohio Democrats
The Democratic governor candidate says she’ll support the voter ID amendment, putting her on the same page as her Republican opponent, Vivek Ramaswamy.
Vivek Ramaswamy unveils plan that goes beyond requiring Ohio data centers to pay for their own costs
Ramaswamy’s plan, which he claims will guarantee completely free electricity to residents near newly-built data centers, otherwise bears similarities to a plan Democrat Amy Acton previously unveiled.
Ballot language set for Issue 3, the Ohio voter ID amendment
A state panel approved the ballot language for Issue 3 on Monday in a bipartisan 4-1 vote. If voters approve the measure, it would make Ohio’s existing voter ID law more difficult to undo or change in the future.
GOVERNMENT
Kratom to remain illegal in Ohio, judge rules, handing DeWine a win on drugs
A Franklin County judge denied an industry request to freeze a state rule banning processed kratom products. Until recently, the drug was sold over the counter, alarming public health and addiction experts.
EDUCATION
Ohio State won’t say if it will answer Trump administration’s latest call to colleges
U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon recently sent an open letter to universities asking leaders to publicly share ‘statements of principle.’
HEALTH
Vape sellers to Ohio Supreme Court: crackdown is unconstitutional
The Ohio Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday in one of two lawsuits over state efforts to crack down on the sale of flavored vapes and e-cigarettes. The rulings could reshape state power on what some see as a looming public health crisis.
STATE SIGNALS NEWSLETTER
Vivek Ramaswamy, Sherrod Brown say they’d like to debate their opponents. Will they?
Ohio politics news and insights from the State Signals newsletter. Plus, Sen. Jon Husted is pitching himself as a “firewall” preventing Democrats from impeaching President Donald Trump.
PUBLIC SAFETY
It Was Supposed to Be a Haven for Troubled Teens. They Risked Everything to Escape.
At Fox Run, one of Ohio’s largest youth residential treatment centers, kids and former staff detail a litany of trauma.
NEWS FROM NOTUS
DOGE Cut Off Small Town America’s 250th Birthday Money
Ohio Humanities was planning history projects for the 250th when DOGE axed its funding last year. Then Trump redirected federal money for his own beautification projects.
Local Newsrooms
Signal Ohio is a nonprofit statewide network of local newsrooms.
Why Local News
Local news is in crisis. Across the country, including here in Ohio, the commercial news industry has been on the decline, leading to the loss of nearly three-quarters of journalism jobs since 2005, leading to less accountability, more polarization, and more government waste. With the volume of original reporting in Ohio communities reduced to a small fraction of what it once was, nonprofit news offers a path forward