Local
With support from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, local nonprofit Rising Appalachia is transforming a former Sugar Creek Coal mine into a recreational, educational and economic community space. Rising Appalachia hopes to establish a 900+ acre public forest around the site. (The Ohio Newsroom)
Carthage Township Fire Department will receive over $11,000 through the state’s equipment funding program, allowing it to purchase personal protective clothing, a self-contained breathing apparatus and communications equipment. A state fund for firefighter training also issued grants to the Carthage Township, York Township, Jacksonville and Richland Area fire departments. (Ohio Department of Commerce)
David Funk was the first in the state to participate in Ohio’s Family Forest Carbon Program. Established last year, the conservation program pays private landowners to protect their forest and capture carbon. (WOUB)
Regional
One hundred twenty-five workers who were fired from a federal office in Parkersburg have been offered their jobs back, following a federal court ruling that their terminations were illegal. The Trump Administration is appealing the ruling. (The Parkersburg News and Sentinel)
State
Fewer children in Ohio are being vaccinated for preventable diseases like polio and measles, according to the Ohio Department of Health. Between the 2023–24 and 2024–25 school years, the number of students entering kindergarten with all their recommended shots slipped from 86% to 85%. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly 90% of kindergarten enrollees were fully vaccinated. (Statehouse News Bureau)
Ohio’s proposed budget could strip nearly 770,000 people of Medicaid coverage. The budget makes state support for a portion of its Medicaid program contingent on a continued federal match, which is on the chopping block in the U.S. House of Representatives. (Statehouse News Bureau)
A proposed bill seeks to allow the immediate euthanization of dogs in Ohio that bite humans in unprovoked attacks. If it were to become law, dog wardens would be authorized to seize animals found responsible for serious injuries or death after a probable cause hearing. (Statehouse News Bureau) Tariffs imposed by the federal government have disrupted the global flow of agriculture. Ohio farmers are concerned, since half of the state’s soybeans are shipped overseas to destinations including China and Mexico. Earlier in March, China imposed a 10% retaliatory tariff on soybean imports from the U.S. (The Ohio Newsroom)
