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Reporting for the People
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By David DeWitt | Editor-in-Chief
Good morning Ohio!
The Butler County Sheriff's office has again been accused of mistreating an immigrant it was holding for the federal government.
Security fencing surrounds a county jail. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
By Marty Schladen
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. district court in Cincinnati, alleges that a jailer used racial slurs against an Ecuadoran man, Luis Tenelanda, as he punched Tenelanda so hard that the detainee ended up in the hospital.
STATELINE
The big challenges and policy issues that cross state lines.
By Shalina Chatlani
Budget constraints are forcing liberal-leaning states that spend their own money on healthcare for noncitizens to scale back that aid, as they grapple with federal Medicaid cuts and the expiration of federal subsidies that helped people buy Obamacare plans.
THE RUNDOWN
News from other states
By Baya Burgess
Four Johnson County public school districts want to sue the state of Kansas for more than 15 years of inadequate special education funding.
NATIONAL NEWS
By Jonathan Shorman and Jacob Fischler
Public polling shows most voters are dissatisfied with President Donald Trump’s job performance and historically, the party not in the White House wins seats in the midterms. The GOP gerrymandering could offset some losses, analysts say. But whether voter displeasure with the president translates into enough Democratic gains to retake the House and usurp the GOP trifecta in Washington also remains to be seen, five months out.
By David Lightman
Proponents of ethanol, including lawmakers from corn-growing states, say year-round sales of a gasoline blend containing 15% of the biofuel would give consumers a less expensive alternative to fill their gas tanks, boost energy supplies and benefit agricultural interests.
By Jonathan Shorman
President Donald Trump is again demanding Congress pass a sweeping set of voting restrictions and refuses to rule out sending troops to the polls, as Democrats and voting rights groups assemble a sprawling effort to guard against federal election interference.
By Shauneen Miranda
The U.S. House passed a bill Wednesday that would require parental consent before a public elementary or middle school can update a student’s pronouns, gender markers or preferred name on records in order to receive federal funding.
CATCHING OUR EYE
Memorial Day. The Statehouse News Bureau’s Jo Ingles is reporting, “Wreath laying ceremony at the Ohio Statehouse honors fallen members of the military.”
Every year, Ohio’s governor and state leaders collaborate with military leaders to honor members of the military who have lost their lives in the line of duty.
At the 2026 wreath-laying ceremony, three service members killed on March 12 as part of Operation Epic Fury were honored by Secretary of State Frank LaRose. He’s a member of the Ohio Army National Guard and was serving overseas when he heard news of their deaths.
"I remember going into a team meeting and telling my teammates that some of our fellow Ohioans had made the ultimate sacrifice. This unit at the air refueling wing is really our neighbors out at Rickenbacker. My unit is just down the flight line. I can tell you it was a heavy moment for all of us," LaRose said.
Data centers. Signal Ohio’s Jake Zuckerman is reporting, “Ohio data center tax break cost $1.4 billion more than expected in 2025.”
Ohio’s biggest tax break for data centers is more expensive than once thought. A lot more expensive.In 2024, the state sales tax exemption for data centers cost Ohio about $555 million in revenue, four times more than the state Department of Taxation forecasted.
In 2025, it cost a whopping $1.6 billion, eleven times more than the original estimate of $136 million.
THE POD
THAT'S ALL FOR NOW, FOLKS.
Mahalo!
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