Today From The Ohio Newsroom

Elk haven't been in Ohio in a hundred years. One state rep wants them back

Long ago, elk roamed the wooded-areas of Ohio. But after years of deforestation and over-hunting, the last native eastern elk was killed in Ashtabula in 1840.

For years, rural Ohio has lacked veterinarians. Now, the state has a plan

Amanda Wagner herds a set of goat horns into a stanchion at a farm in Allen County.

The rural veterinarian is performing an ultrasound on Nala: a shaggy goat that tap dances nervously as Wagner probes her hairy belly.

"So you see these C-shaped things?" Wagner points at the ultrasound screen. "That's mom's attachment to the baby. It tells us she's pregnant."

How a proposed bill could help homebound Ohio seniors access food assistance

On the second Friday of March, a steady stream of DoorDash drivers lined up outside Shared Harvest Foodbank in Fairfield, a small city north of Cincinnati.

Instead of restaurant takeout, volunteers squeezed cardboard boxes full of shelf-stable groceries into their back seats.

Youngstown's new LGBTQ+ adult homeless shelter is in high demand, just weeks after opening

A new homeless shelter opened in Youngstown earlier this March and it holds a certain distinction: Full Spectrum's Rainbow House of the Mahoning Valley is one of the only ones in the state to provide emergency housing specifically for adults in the LGBTQ+ community.

How an Ohio program is teaching nonviolence through cooking classes

Every day at the Garden of Joy Culinary Academy starts with a mindfulness circle. Before teens put on aprons and start chopping veggies, they grab fruit patterned pillows and sit down in the dining room of an old Frisch's in the Clifton neighborhood of Cincinnati.

Medical emergencies can lead to financial emergencies. A rural Ohio nonprofit aims to help

When Marsha Bullock was diagnosed with an aggressive form of lymphoma last year, the 62-year-old grandmother's life took up a pattern of doctors appointments and chemo treatments and prayer.

But as warm summer mornings gave way to chilly autumn nights, she grew increasingly worried about a concern even more immediate than her health: staying warm in the winter.

Emergency services in Hocking Hills are strained. Can a new source of funding help?

Tourism in Hocking Hills has soared in recent years, but funding for the region's emergency services has not.

Instead, local fire departments have been left to respond to rising numbers of emergency calls with stagnant levels of funding and staffing.

A recent change in state law could help.

Amid enforcement surge, Ohio cities are rethinking cooperation with ICE

As federal immigration efforts have intensified across the country, Ohio city councils are preparing for increased ICE presence.

Many cities have passed legislation to limit local law enforcement's cooperation with the federal immigration agency.

CrossFit isn't just for the gym-obsessed. In Ohio, it's reaching incarcerated youth

A jump rope slammed against the gym floor at the Circleville Juvenile Correctional Facility (JCF) in central Ohio, as about a dozen older teens and young men warmed up and stretched their arms.

Then, the real workout began.

"Pushups, everybody!" a coach shouted.

Pieces of LGBTQ Ohio history were at risk of disappearing. A digitization effort is rescuing them

In a conference room at The Ohio History Connection in Columbus, OHC interpretation and content specialist Wendy Korwin pulls up a clip from a 1969 Halloween drag ball and carnival. A jaunty voice sings over the crackling audio, welcoming guests to the ball.