Gas drillers ask Ohio to open public-owned Monroe Lake Wildlife Area for fracking
The request comes as the industry-receptive Oil and Gas Land Management Commission has opened 22,000 acres of state parks and wildlife reserves to oil and gas exploration since 2021. The next governor could shape future deals.
LATEST NEWS FROM SIGNAL STATEWIDE
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Election 2026
Ohio insurers, utilities drop millions on governors’ races
Investor-owned electric utilities and insurers that help run Ohio Medicaid gave millions of dollars to groups trying to influence Ohio’s governor’s race and similarly close contests in other states. One Democratic group received $75,000 from the scandal-plagued FirstEnergy Corp. and $10,000 from its CEO.
Vivek Ramaswamy talks gun control, death penalty, data centers and more
The Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate responded to questions on top issues during a Columbus public forum.
Barack Obama to campaign in Ohio for Democrats Sherrod Brown, Amy Acton
The former president is the latest national political figure to visit Ohio in the midterm election, which includes the state’s high-stakes U.S. Senate race. Obama, a Democrat, last campaigned in the Buckeye State during the 2018 election.
GOVERNMENT
Ohio cracks down on prediction markets as they flood elections with cash
The Ohio Casino Control Commission last week demanded that the self-described ‘prediction markets’ halt what regulators say are plainly illegal sports betting operations. The market makers say they should be regulated by the federal government, not states.
EDUCATION
Cleveland State becomes latest Ohio university to offer state residents free tuition
High school graduates whose families earn up to $125,000 annually – along with several other requirements – will be able to enroll for free.
HEALTH
Ohioans receive Obamacare ‘rebate’ checks from Trump
Nearly 1 million ACA enrollees are getting $500 checks weeks before the November election, including in Ohio and other U.S. Senate battlegrounds.
STATE SIGNALS NEWSLETTER
Ohio data center legislation attracted hordes of lobbyists, records show
Ohio politics news and insights from the State Signals newsletter. Plus, why a mysterious $400,000 push for a socialist could matter in Ohio’s Senate race.
PUBLIC SAFETY
ODOT avoids liability for 2017 Toledo overpass death after Ohio Supreme Court ruling
Republicans on the Ohio Supreme Court nixed a lawsuit brought by the mother of a man who died after teenagers threw a sandbag off an overpass. The family blamed ODOT for failing to put up protective fencing.
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.
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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