Toledo Ledger - Local News for Toledo and Northwest OhioLocal news for Toledo and Northwest Ohio: city hall, schools, events, business, public safety, weather, sports, and arts.https://toledoledger.com/69% of Ohioans struggle to afford at least one basic need, new report sayshttps://toledoledger.com/posts/69-percent-of-ohioans-struggle-to-afford-basic-needs-georgetown-report-finds/https://toledoledger.com/posts/69-percent-of-ohioans-struggle-to-afford-basic-needs-georgetown-report-finds/Families are finding it difficult to pay for food, housing, healthcare, and childcare, the Georgetown Center on Poverty and Inequality analysis says.Mon, 28 Sep 2026 16:45:09 GMTNational security leaders endorse Acton, blast Ramaswamy over FBI shutdown plan, public safetyhttps://toledoledger.com/posts/national-security-leaders-endorse-acton-blast-ramaswamy-fbi-shutdown/https://toledoledger.com/posts/national-security-leaders-endorse-acton-blast-ramaswamy-fbi-shutdown/A coalition of more than 1,600 former military, diplomatic and national security officials is backing Democrat Amy Acton for Ohio governor — while taking direct aim at Republican Vivek Ramaswamy over his proposal to shut down the FBI and what the group says are policies that would weaken public safety.Mon, 28 Sep 2026 16:23:36 GMTRepublican tells Ramaswamy to ‘park the damn jet’ after nearly $700K in campaign aircraft spendinghttps://toledoledger.com/posts/ramaswamy-aircraft-spending-690000-ohio-governor/https://toledoledger.com/posts/ramaswamy-aircraft-spending-690000-ohio-governor/Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign has spent nearly $700,000 leasing private aircraft, including for roughly 30-minute flights between Ohio cities. Now criticism of that spending is coming from inside his own party.Mon, 28 Sep 2026 15:19:46 GMTOhio’s work to lower infant mortality rate shows progress, but certain communities still strugglehttps://toledoledger.com/posts/ohio-infant-mortality-progress-racial-disparities-persist/https://toledoledger.com/posts/ohio-infant-mortality-progress-racial-disparities-persist/Black infants in Ohio die at more than double the rate of white infants, as state funding for maternal programs shrinks and a paid leave bill stalls in committee.Mon, 28 Sep 2026 08:00:33 GMTOhio gets a failing mark on sex education policy from national grouphttps://toledoledger.com/posts/ohio-receives-failing-grade-sex-education-siecus/https://toledoledger.com/posts/ohio-receives-failing-grade-sex-education-siecus/Ohio's teen birth rate tops the national average as lawmakers push abstinence-focused mandates like the success sequence law and Baby Olivia bill.Mon, 28 Sep 2026 07:55:44 GMTOhio economists: Abatements may attract data centers, but is that a good thing?https://toledoledger.com/posts/ohio-economists-data-center-abatements-effective-but-questionable/https://toledoledger.com/posts/ohio-economists-data-center-abatements-effective-but-questionable/One economist calls the incentives a race to the bottom with few local jobs, while another says Ohio's $2.3 billion likely bought data centers it would have gotten free.Mon, 28 Sep 2026 07:50:04 GMTOhio farmers are getting crushed by our politicians’ failure to fight for ushttps://toledoledger.com/posts/ashland-county-farmer-husted-miller-failing-ohio-agriculture/https://toledoledger.com/posts/ashland-county-farmer-husted-miller-failing-ohio-agriculture/Ashland County farmer Joe Stimmell says Husted and Miller's war votes and tariffs pushed fertilizer near $850 a ton and cut cattle values by 20%.Mon, 28 Sep 2026 07:35:20 GMTOhio families are paying the price for the government-induced energy crisishttps://toledoledger.com/posts/ohio-families-pay-energy-crisis-trump-husted/https://toledoledger.com/posts/ohio-families-pay-energy-crisis-trump-husted/Analysis ties Sen. Husted's 14 votes and the Iran war to $2,175 in added costs per Ohio household this year, plus $190 more annually by 2035 from clean energy cuts.Mon, 28 Sep 2026 07:30:29 GMTDoctors and hospitals to see lower Medicaid payments in three dozen stateshttps://toledoledger.com/posts/medicaid-payment-cuts-36-states-50-billion/https://toledoledger.com/posts/medicaid-payment-cuts-36-states-50-billion/A 2025 federal law forces 15 states, including Michigan, to cut Medicaid payments up to 25% by 2028, which researchers say could shrink patient access.Mon, 28 Sep 2026 07:10:53 GMTHusted helped fuel Ohio’s data center boom. His consumer bill is built on Big Tech’s voluntary pledge.https://toledoledger.com/posts/husted-ratepayer-bill-echoes-pledge-big-tech-fought-ohio/https://toledoledger.com/posts/husted-ratepayer-bill-echoes-pledge-big-tech-fought-ohio/Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Meta fought Ohio's binding cost-sharing tariff, then signed the voluntary pledge Husted's federal bill only requires states to consider adopting.Sat, 26 Sep 2026 16:08:28 GMTMax Miller voted to block states from regulating data center developmenthttps://toledoledger.com/posts/miller-voted-block-data-center-regulation/https://toledoledger.com/posts/miller-voted-block-data-center-regulation/The Ohio Republican representative voted for billions of dollars in tax cuts for companies building large AI data centers.Fri, 25 Sep 2026 14:42:51 GMTMillions of dollars of waste found in Trump administration push for immigration detentionhttps://toledoledger.com/posts/gao-finds-20-million-wasted-trump-immigration-detention-expansion/https://toledoledger.com/posts/gao-finds-20-million-wasted-trump-immigration-detention-expansion/GAO found DHS wasted $2.85 million on unused Guantanamo tents and now plans to sell 7 of 11 warehouses bought for $1.07 billion in detention expansion.Fri, 25 Sep 2026 11:05:39 GMTOhio lawmakers turn their backs on public schools againhttps://toledoledger.com/posts/ohio-legislature-abandons-fair-school-funding-plan/https://toledoledger.com/posts/ohio-legislature-abandons-fair-school-funding-plan/A Cleveland Heights education coalition says lawmakers sat on a $2.4 billion surplus instead of closing the Fair School Funding Plan's $2.75 billion gap.Fri, 25 Sep 2026 07:30:27 GMTCircuit court allows Ohio BMV to require proof of citizenship for voter registrationhttps://toledoledger.com/posts/sixth-circuit-allows-ohio-bmv-citizenship-requirement-voter-registration/https://toledoledger.com/posts/sixth-circuit-allows-ohio-bmv-citizenship-requirement-voter-registration/The 2-1 ruling comes days before Ohio's registration deadline, with a Biden-appointed dissenter warning the majority created a Catch-22 for voters.Thu, 24 Sep 2026 18:00:07 GMTFact check: Ramaswamy claimed to ‘lead’ on gas tax relief. Acton beat him to it by nearly 7 hours.https://toledoledger.com/posts/ramaswamy-follows-acton-gas-tax-data-center-proposals/https://toledoledger.com/posts/ramaswamy-follows-acton-gas-tax-data-center-proposals/The Republican nominee declared “Vivek Leads” after calling for a gas tax suspension hours after Amy Acton called for one.Thu, 24 Sep 2026 17:25:01 GMTLobbyists call on Rob McColley while he campaigns as Vivek Ramaswamy’s running matehttps://toledoledger.com/posts/mccolley-meets-nationwide-energy-lobbyists-while-ramaswamy-running-mate/https://toledoledger.com/posts/mccolley-meets-nationwide-energy-lobbyists-while-ramaswamy-running-mate/The Senate president – the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor – held meetings and calls with dozens of lobbyists this year, his official calendar shows.Thu, 24 Sep 2026 16:28:34 GMTOhio GOP lawmakers tee up votes for gas tax holiday after Acton, then Ramaswamy, back ideahttps://toledoledger.com/posts/ohio-gop-gas-tax-holiday-ramaswamy-acton/https://toledoledger.com/posts/ohio-gop-gas-tax-holiday-ramaswamy-acton/State officials say ODOT has no surplus cash for the $640-700 million plan, and Democrats want it funded by money earmarked for Jimmy Haslam's NFL stadium.Thu, 24 Sep 2026 16:15:36 GMTFlock surveillance cameras raise constitutional questions, bipartisan US senators sayhttps://toledoledger.com/posts/senators-flock-surveillance-cameras-privacy-constitutional-rights/https://toledoledger.com/posts/senators-flock-surveillance-cameras-privacy-constitutional-rights/Flock's CEO skipped the hearing after a Florida woman testified about a wrongful homicide arrest and an Arizona sheriff described the company dodging his privacy questions.Thu, 24 Sep 2026 14:12:41 GMTFederal judge orders White House must restore press passes to 3 banned news outletshttps://toledoledger.com/posts/federal-judge-orders-white-house-restore-press-passes-cnn-politico-msnow/https://toledoledger.com/posts/federal-judge-orders-white-house-restore-press-passes-cnn-politico-msnow/Hours after the order, journalists were still turned away at the gate until Secret Service confiscated badges were returned around noon, court filings show.Thu, 24 Sep 2026 14:09:59 GMTUS Senate Republicans spotlight trans athletes issue as midterms approachhttps://toledoledger.com/posts/senate-republicans-trans-athletes-womens-sports-hearing/https://toledoledger.com/posts/senate-republicans-trans-athletes-womens-sports-hearing/Durbin blasted the hearing as a distraction, citing NCAA data showing fewer than 10 of over 500,000 college athletes are transgender.Thu, 24 Sep 2026 14:05:33 GMTOhio’s 2026 governor race: Where the candidates stand on frackinghttps://toledoledger.com/posts/2026-governor-race-candidates-fracking-positions/https://toledoledger.com/posts/2026-governor-race-candidates-fracking-positions/Ramaswamy touts a 15,000-acre fracking approval on public land while Acton and Kissick back a Washington County injection well moratorium over water contamination fears.Thu, 24 Sep 2026 08:00:40 GMTWealthy interests in Ohio and America entrench power in the name of philanthropy, report sayshttps://toledoledger.com/posts/wealthy-foundations-entrench-power-while-barely-meeting-charity-requirements/https://toledoledger.com/posts/wealthy-foundations-entrench-power-while-barely-meeting-charity-requirements/The Lilly Endowment, boosted by Eli Lilly's GLP-1 profits, paid out just 3% in 2024 while an Ohio voting-rights group faced an FBI search.Thu, 24 Sep 2026 07:55:25 GMTPoliticians continue campaign of dehumanizing trans people as affordability crisis crushes familieshttps://toledoledger.com/posts/politicians-scapegoat-trans-people-amid-affordability-crisis/https://toledoledger.com/posts/politicians-scapegoat-trans-people-amid-affordability-crisis/Ohio Democrats like Amy Acton and Marcy Kaptur have shifted toward anti-trans messaging in tight races, drawing backlash from transgender activists who feel abandoned.Thu, 24 Sep 2026 07:35:23 GMTFamilies of ICE victims tell panel that falsehoods, obstruction amount to ‘dual assassinations’https://toledoledger.com/posts/ice-victims-families-congress-dual-assassinations/https://toledoledger.com/posts/ice-victims-families-congress-dual-assassinations/Democrats say they've documented over 1,000 abuses and 20 shootings by ICE, with no subpoena power to force administration officials to testify.Thu, 24 Sep 2026 07:05:31 GMTDemocrats, experts call for revocation of school voucher program under adoption by stateshttps://toledoledger.com/posts/democrats-call-for-repeal-school-voucher-program/https://toledoledger.com/posts/democrats-call-for-repeal-school-voucher-program/Treasury plans to release rules by month's end for the 2027 program, which at least 30 states have already joined despite Democrats' repeal push.Wed, 23 Sep 2026 13:53:05 GMTWhat’s going on with your power bill and what Ohio’s candidates for governor will do about ithttps://toledoledger.com/posts/ohio-power-bills-rising-candidates-data-centers/https://toledoledger.com/posts/ohio-power-bills-rising-candidates-data-centers/A former PUCO commissioner calls Ramaswamy's free-power pledge doomed to fail, while a consumer advocate says $10 billion in transmission costs go unreviewed.Wed, 23 Sep 2026 08:00:40 GMTICE’s culture of fear in Ohio is an un-American betrayal of our fundamental valueshttps://toledoledger.com/posts/ice-electric-shock-gloves-culture-of-fear/https://toledoledger.com/posts/ice-electric-shock-gloves-culture-of-fear/An Oberlin historian who lived through Pinochet's Chile compares ICE tactics, including a $16.7 million shock-glove contract, to authoritarian fear campaigns.Wed, 23 Sep 2026 07:35:49 GMT30 years of Republican dominance of Ohio politics: The resultshttps://toledoledger.com/posts/30-years-republican-ohio-politics-results/https://toledoledger.com/posts/30-years-republican-ohio-politics-results/Ohio's median income rank fell from 23rd to 39th since 1999, while K-12 schools dropped from 5th to 21st nationally, the analysis finds.Wed, 23 Sep 2026 07:30:42 GMTMedical groups, patients sue Trump administration over Medicaid work requirementshttps://toledoledger.com/posts/medical-groups-patients-sue-trump-medicaid-work-requirements/https://toledoledger.com/posts/medical-groups-patients-sue-trump-medicaid-work-requirements/Enrollees with cancer, HIV and mental illness argue a June rule narrows medical frailty exemptions, burdening cities that cover the uninsured.Wed, 23 Sep 2026 07:10:11 GMTRamaswamy called market crash ‘medicine,’ ‘good thing’ as Ohio public pensions lost $32 billionhttps://toledoledger.com/posts/ramaswamy-called-2022-crash-medicine-ohio-pensions-lost-32-billion/https://toledoledger.com/posts/ramaswamy-called-2022-crash-medicine-ohio-pensions-lost-32-billion/The Republican candidate for governor wrote that the 2022 market crash would “ultimately be a good thing for the country.” Elsewhere in the same book, he acknowledged a crash could hit middle-class and poor Americans harder while his own life remained “mostly the same.”Tue, 22 Sep 2026 16:55:48 GMTDiesel prices shoot upward as top farm-state GOP senator begs Trump for export embargohttps://toledoledger.com/posts/diesel-prices-hit-record-grassley-urges-trump-embargo/https://toledoledger.com/posts/diesel-prices-hit-record-grassley-urges-trump-embargo/The White House rejects Grassley's embargo request as Trump blames Russia's war for the price spike and seven House Republicans defect on Iran authorization.Tue, 22 Sep 2026 14:37:48 GMTCNN, MS Now, Politico sue Trump over White House banhttps://toledoledger.com/posts/cnn-ms-now-politico-sue-trump-white-house-ban/https://toledoledger.com/posts/cnn-ms-now-politico-sue-trump-white-house-ban/A Trump-appointed judge will hear arguments Wednesday, as other TV networks refuse to fill CNN's pool coverage role in solidarity.Tue, 22 Sep 2026 14:34:59 GMTGrants coming to Head Start programs in Ohio, other states after years of funding struggleshttps://toledoledger.com/posts/federal-grants-ohio-head-start-programs-225-million/https://toledoledger.com/posts/federal-grants-ohio-head-start-programs-225-million/The $2.05 million for 17 Ohio programs follows a government shutdown that closed sites and a GAO finding that Trump officials illegally withheld Head Start funds.Tue, 22 Sep 2026 07:55:57 GMTOhio taxpayers face a $1,670 deportation bill, and a smaller workforcehttps://toledoledger.com/posts/ohio-taxpayers-face-1670-deportation-bill-workforce-loss/https://toledoledger.com/posts/ohio-taxpayers-face-1670-deportation-bill-workforce-loss/Federal data show 47% of Ohio ICE detainees had no criminal history, while immigrants fill outsized shares of Ohio's care, farm and factory jobs.Tue, 22 Sep 2026 07:35:44 GMTOhio needs economic development accountability and a workforce system that works for workershttps://toledoledger.com/posts/ohio-jobsohio-workforce-accountability-300-million/https://toledoledger.com/posts/ohio-jobsohio-workforce-accountability-300-million/A confidential RFP marked for recipients only underlies JobsOhio's $300 million training plan, drawing scrutiny amid fraud findings in other state workforce programs.Tue, 22 Sep 2026 07:30:22 GMTTrump administration says developers, loggers can kill endangered specieshttps://toledoledger.com/posts/trump-endangered-species-rollback-nesvik-memo/https://toledoledger.com/posts/trump-endangered-species-rollback-nesvik-memo/A leaked memo lets hunters, developers and loggers off the hook if killing endangered species wasn't the stated purpose of their action, experts warn.Tue, 22 Sep 2026 07:15:06 GMTRural women who got C-sections more likely to be prescribed opioids at home, study findshttps://toledoledger.com/posts/rural-women-c-section-opioid-prescriptions-study/https://toledoledger.com/posts/rural-women-c-section-opioid-prescriptions-study/The Truveta analysis of 540,000 C-sections found in-hospital pain care was similar nationwide, but rural discharge prescribing gaps raise questions about post-birth addiction risk.Tue, 22 Sep 2026 07:10:59 GMTAmy Acton calls for emergency Ohio gas tax holiday as fuel prices surgehttps://toledoledger.com/posts/amy-acton-calls-emergency-ohio-gas-tax-holiday/https://toledoledger.com/posts/amy-acton-calls-emergency-ohio-gas-tax-holiday/Ohio's Democratic candidate for governor is calling for the state to temporarily suspend its gas tax as regular gasoline averages about $4.52 a gallon and diesel reaches a record $6.77 statewide.Mon, 21 Sep 2026 18:39:43 GMTCrypto super PAC drops $30M to keep Sherrod Brown out of Senatehttps://toledoledger.com/posts/crypto-super-pac-fairshake-30-million-sherrod-brown/https://toledoledger.com/posts/crypto-super-pac-fairshake-30-million-sherrod-brown/Fairshake is launching at least $30 million in spending against the Ohio Democrat just days after the Senate blocked the crypto industry's top legislative priority.Mon, 21 Sep 2026 18:37:04 GMTHusted accepted $10,000 from Nazi SS reenactor before firing aide over Nazi social media postshttps://toledoledger.com/posts/husted-accepted-10k-nazi-ss-reenactor-iott-before-firing-aide/https://toledoledger.com/posts/husted-accepted-10k-nazi-ss-reenactor-iott-before-firing-aide/Iott's SS reenactments made national news in 2010, years before Husted's campaign accepted his donations, records show.Mon, 21 Sep 2026 17:21:47 GMTTrump likes data centers. Congress seems stuck. The midterms could deliver a verdict.https://toledoledger.com/posts/house-passes-data-center-ratepayer-bill-trump-objects-senate-stalls/https://toledoledger.com/posts/house-passes-data-center-ratepayer-bill-trump-objects-senate-stalls/A poll shows just 11% of Americans back local data centers, as Trump attacks critics and Senate Democrats block Husted's ratepayer bill.Mon, 21 Sep 2026 13:13:02 GMTJudge says case challenging Trump’s anti-weaponization fund ‘still alive and kicking’https://toledoledger.com/posts/judge-trump-anti-weaponization-fund-case-alive/https://toledoledger.com/posts/judge-trump-anti-weaponization-fund-case-alive/Judge Brinkema gave DOJ 30 days to produce documents on who structured the deal, questioning whether a functional equivalent to the fund still exists.Mon, 21 Sep 2026 13:06:00 GMTTrump administration faces second lawsuit to block ICE agents at pollshttps://toledoledger.com/posts/civil-rights-groups-sue-trump-block-ice-at-polls/https://toledoledger.com/posts/civil-rights-groups-sue-trump-block-ice-at-polls/Nine groups including the NAACP and SEIU cite a federal law barring armed men at polls, as DHS denies any plan to target polling locations.Mon, 21 Sep 2026 13:03:06 GMTChildcare affordability among the top issues for Ohio votershttps://toledoledger.com/posts/ohio-voters-see-childcare-affordability-as-crisis/https://toledoledger.com/posts/ohio-voters-see-childcare-affordability-as-crisis/A GOP bill offering free childcare to workers in the industry has sat in committee for a year, with lame-duck session the last chance to pass it in 2025.Mon, 21 Sep 2026 08:00:38 GMTWorker files lawsuit one year after orphan well explosion in Ohio’s Wayne National Foresthttps://toledoledger.com/posts/worker-sues-after-wayne-forest-orphan-well-explosion/https://toledoledger.com/posts/worker-sues-after-wayne-forest-orphan-well-explosion/ODNR's investigation blamed Monroe Drilling for improper well control barriers on the unplugged well that killed two contractors and burned Chazz Bates.Mon, 21 Sep 2026 07:55:00 GMTOhio data center tax boondoggles just one example of Kasich corporate giveawayshttps://toledoledger.com/posts/kasich-corporate-giveaways-data-centers-jobsohio-clean-ohio/https://toledoledger.com/posts/kasich-corporate-giveaways-data-centers-jobsohio-clean-ohio/Kasich's 2011 JobsOhio scheme also gutted Clean Ohio, a bipartisan brownfield program that generated $1.16 billion for the state before its 2021 partial revival.Mon, 21 Sep 2026 07:35:30 GMTBack-to-school isn’t just for Ohio’s kids. It’s also for tomorrow’s teachers.https://toledoledger.com/posts/adults-returning-school-become-teachers-ohio/https://toledoledger.com/posts/adults-returning-school-become-teachers-ohio/As Ohio districts struggle with teacher shortages, flexible online degree programs are helping working adults with families and jobs enter the classroom.Mon, 21 Sep 2026 07:30:06 GMTBlack voters urged to cast a ballot in ‘most consequential election of our lifetime’https://toledoledger.com/posts/black-voters-urged-vote-consequential-election/https://toledoledger.com/posts/black-voters-urged-vote-consequential-election/Redistricting after a Supreme Court ruling could cost up to 20 Congressional Black Caucus members their seats this fall, panelists warned.Mon, 21 Sep 2026 07:00:16 GMTHusted took $630K from data center interestshttps://toledoledger.com/posts/husted-received-630k-data-center-donors/https://toledoledger.com/posts/husted-received-630k-data-center-donors/Husted personally championed a sales tax exemption that helped bring a Google data center to New Albany, and his top aide has taken $94,000 in donations.Sat, 19 Sep 2026 01:05:44 GMTFirstEnergy wants rate hike as consumers in Ohio face record priceshttps://toledoledger.com/posts/firstenergy-seeks-rate-hike-amid-hb6-scandal-fallout/https://toledoledger.com/posts/firstenergy-seeks-rate-hike-amid-hb6-scandal-fallout/Consumer advocates say the utility tied to the state’s largest public corruption case needs to rebuild trust and be held accountable.Fri, 18 Sep 2026 20:13:50 GMT