Category: The Midwest

Conservative Group Announces Seven-Figure Early Vote Push in Ohio and Endorses Bernie Moreno for Senate

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Bernie Moreno and Sherrod Brown

The conservative Sentinel Action Fund (SAF) announced on Wednesday its first seven-figure investment in Ohio to encourage early voting, and endorsed Republican Senate candidate Bernie Moreno, the Daily Caller News Foundation first learned.

SAF’s announcement is the first of multiple seven-figure investments it plans to make in Ohio this cycle, with the super PAC also launching a “Skip The Line Ohio” website urging Republicans to request and return their absentee ballot, according to the group. Moreno secured the GOP Senate nomination in March, beating out two other prominent Republicans to take on longtime Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in November.

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Ohio School System Faces $90M Deficit From COVID-19 Spending

The Center Square

Continued hiring and millions in building projects pushed an Ohio public school system to a financial cliff, including a projected $90 million deficit by 2028, state Auditor Keith Faber said.

A new state performance audit says the Mt. Healthy City School District in suburban Cincinnati hired dozens of new teachers and staff and advanced $18 million in building projects without formal plans or funding to sustain operations.

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Ohio Governor Signs Bill Requiring Schools to Implement Official Policy Limiting Use of Cellphones by Students

Kaitlin Housler
Cellphones students

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed House Bill 250 on Wednesday, requiring schools to implement official policy governing students’ use of cellphones during school hours.

The bill aims to “minimize student use of cellphones in K-12 schools” by requiring school districts to create a policy that reduces cellphone-related distractions in classroom settings.

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Ohio Secretary of State Orders Removal of Non-Citizens from State Voter Rolls

Just the News
Frank LaRose

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R) ordered the removal of non-citizens from the state’s voter rolls after more than 100 were found registered despite confirming their lack of U.S. citizenship.

On Tuesday, LaRose directed all 88 counties to begin a removal process for non-citizens on Ohio’s voter rolls following a review by his office’s Public Integrity Division and Office of Data Analytics and Archives. The review analyzed data from the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) and found 137 voter registrations of non-citizens who had twice confirmed their lack of U.S. citizenship.

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Toll-Free Brent Spence Bridge Project Connecting Cincinnati to Northern Kentucky Allowed to Move Forward

The Center Square
Brent Spence Bridge project

Ohio and Kentucky announced Friday they received federal approval to move the $3.6 billion Brent Spence Bridge Corridor project forward without tolls.

The environmental approval means the massive project connecting Cincinnati to Northern Kentucky moves ahead the project that transforms an 8-mile stretch of I-71/75 and includes a new companion bridge immediately to the west of the existing bridge.

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Challenging Federal Overreach: Ohio Case Seeks to Redefine Commerce Clause Powers

Christy Kelly
Robert Alt

Robert Alt, president and CEO of the Buckeye Institute and lead attorney in the case, Ream v. U.S. Department of Treasury, told  The Ohio Star that this Ohio case could “rebalance federalism” and rein in the Commerce Clause. He also noted that Ream could supersede the 1942 Wickard v. Filburn case, which significantly broadened federal regulatory powers under the Commerce Clause.

The Buckeye Institute initiated the case in January on behalf of John Ream from Licking County, Ohio.

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Ohio Schools Likely to Have to Develop Cellphone Policies

The Center Square
Kids on phones in class

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine will have to settle for school districts establishing respective cellphone policies rather than the state limiting use for students during the school day.

In his State of the State address last month, DeWine called on lawmakers to establish statewide cellphone restrictions. Instead, the legislature passed a bill that would require districts to come up with policies.

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Republican Lawmaker Wants to Raise Ohio Minimum Wage

The Center Square
Louis Blessing III

If a push to increase Ohio’s minimum wage fails to make the November ballot, there’s a backup plan in the state Senate.

That plan, though, moves increases more slowly and eventually keeps the tipped wage at half of the non-tipped wage. If the proposed constitutional amendment reaches the ballot and is passed, the tipped- and non-tipped wage would eventually become equal.

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Federal Court Case in Ohio Could Reverse SCOTUS Precedent That Expanded Commerce Clause

Kaitlin Housler
Brewing

Michael Patrick Leahy, CEO and editor-in-chief of The Tennessee Star, said he believes an Ohio court case, Ream v. U.S. Department of Treasury, may succeed in rolling back federal overreach regarding Congress’ power to regulate interstate commerce under the U.S. Constitution’s Commerce Clause.

The Buckeye Institute, an Ohio think tank, filed Ream v. U.S. Department of Treasury in January on behalf of John Ream of Licking County, Ohio.

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Many Popular Ohio Jobs Qualify for Government Assistance

The Center Square
Food Workers

Nearly half of the most popular jobs in Ohio pay the average worker so little employees qualify for government assistance to feed a family of three, a new report based on information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows.

The findings in the Still working for too little in Ohio report from Policy Matters Ohio also showed that those four occupations employ 476,000 or 8.7% of all workers in the state.

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Ohio Property Tax Levy Issue Could See House Vote This Week

The Center Square
Suburban home

The Ohio House could take up a bill this week that would force clear language on ballots for potential property tax increases and stop school districts from using individuals to challenge tax assessments.

House Bill 344 could be on the House agenda when it meets Wednesday after it passed the chamber’s Ways and Means Committee on a Republican-majority 10-6 party-line vote.

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Ohio Grants Nearly $90 Million to Focus on Women and Minority-Owned Tech Businesses

The Center Square
Woman Business

Ohio is handing out $86 million in federal taxpayer money to private investment funds to be passed on to early-stage tech companies that are women- or minority-owned or in underserved areas by venture capital.

The money comes from the federally-funded State Small Business Credit Initiative Venture Capital program, and Ohio Department of Development Director Lydia Mihalik says the money helps level the playing field.

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Ohio Senate Gets Bill to Increase Penalties for Drug, Human Trafficking

The Center Square
Cindy Abrams

Stronger fentanyl-related drug trafficking penalties and a requirement to teach high school students the dangers of fentanyl now wait on the Ohio Senate to move closer to becoming law.

House Bill 322, which passed the House with an 80-13 vote but has yet to be introduced in the Senate, is a direct response to both drug and human trafficking, according to sponsor Rep. Cindy Abrams, R-Harrison.

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Auditor Puts Ohio Community College on Notice over Bloated Staff, Underused Buildings

The Center Square
Lakeland Community College

A Cleveland area community college is overstaffed and struggling with debt related to underused buildings all while enrollment continues to fall.

Those issues became more serious following a recent review of the Lakeland Community College’s operations by State Auditor Keith Faber, who raised concerns about whether the school can remain open.

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Push Begins to Guarantee Free Speech on Ohio College Campuses

The Center Square

An Ohio lawmaker believes the state’s current political climate creates a negative environment for some speech on college campuses and wants to make sure staff and students are protected.

Rep. Adam Holmes, R-Nashport, said legislation prohibiting colleges and universities from requiring support of specific ideas or political movements is becoming increasingly necessary.

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Ohio Secretary of State’s Office Launches Initiative to Prepare Election Officials for the November Election

Kaitlin Housler
Frank LaRose

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced a new statewide initiative his office will facilitate to ensure election officials are “trained and prepared” for the November general election.

The Ready for November initiative will “offer a series of collaborative training opportunities between Ohio’s 88 county boards of elections and the Secretary of State’s elections, public integrity and communications staff,” according to LaRose’s office.

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Ohio Affordable Housing Market Target of New Legislation

The Center Square
Construction on Home

A bipartisan group of Ohio lawmakers wants to give taxpayer money to local communities that adopt pro-housing policies they say will create a healthier housing market.

Sponsors say the new bill introduced Tuesday would stabilize both home prices and rents and “revolutionize” how local governments approach housing supply by using state policy and resources to encourage innovation and access.

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