OHIO — Our digital journalists have covered stories from across the state, bringing attention to everything from milestone moments for establishments to the news that Ohioans need to know. Here’s a round-up of some of their top picks.
Casey Weldon
Kings Island 50th birthday: Former Kings Island employees reminisce, mark park’s big day
More than 150,000 people have worked for Kings Island over the past five decades, here’s a look at some of their stories.
Africa Fire Mission continues to support Ukraine fire service amid war with Russia
Africa Fire Mission is working to find other ways to provide resources to Ukraine firefighters during the war.
BLINK 2022 aims to ‘change lens’ through which people view OTR, Cincinnati
BLINK is viewed as transformational — not just for its four-day run, but its overall impact on downtown Cincinnati. The annual festival operates across 30 city blocks between Cincinnati and Covington, Ky.
The ‘Sister City’ mural on Dunlap Street in Over-the-Rhine. (Photo courtesy of Jenny Ustick)
Cincinnati’s first female interim police chief has long had eyes on job
Teresa Theetge is the first female to hold the position of chief – interim or permanent – on a full-time basis in the history of the Cincinnati Police Department.
Jenn Conn
Gorge Dam planned to come down by 2026, improving river health, boosting water recreation
While the world was under pandemic restrictions, environmental officials were pushing forward in planning a project to take down the Gorge Dam. More than 50 agencies, businesses and civic organizations are participants in the $130 million project, believed to be the final impediment in northeast Ohio to a healthy Cuyahoga River. Now, the work is finally underway, with the dam expected to come down in 2025, opening world-class whitewater that will boost river recreation/economic development.
Sojourner Truth Project Committee reveals preliminary designs for national monument in Akron
As the anniversary nears of Sojourner Truth’s celebrated “Ain’t I a Woman” speech in Akron, a dedicated group of women is at work, bringing a years-long dream to fruition — a tribute as memorable and powerful as the life and work of the slave-turned-suffragette, built on the site where she made history.
Near the center will be a sculpture of Sojourner Truth seated on an Impala lily, a petal design radiating outward from her feet. (Courtesy of GDP Group)
Each year, the CoC distributes about $5 million to member agencies to move people into housing with support that meets the individual’s specific needs to keep them from returning to the streets. EveryJanuary, COC teams go out before 4 a.m., into the streets, visiting homeless shelters, bus stations and tent encampments, to conduct a physical head count of all the homeless in Summit County. The agency also created a Youth Advisory Board of formerly homeless people 18 to 24 to help with outreach to a growing youth homeless population.
Akron Metal Etching creating elements of Triangle Factory Fire memorial
More than a century after one of the greatest tragedies in the history of U.S. labor, Akron Metal Etching has been selected to help craft the featured design elements for a permanent artistic memorial being built to honor the victims of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. The design features engraved mourning ribbons once draped on the building as symbols of grief. The 300-foot-long textured, stainless-steel ribbon created by Akron Metal Etching will begin at the corner of the ninth floor, and descend down to the street.
