Today From The Ohio Newsroom

A sign welcomes visitors to East Palestine. The Ohio village was the site of a massive train derailment on Feb. 3, 2023.

Research projects look at health of humans and dogs in East Palestine, 3 years after train derailment

February 3, 2026

This story was originally published on Jan. 28, 2026 by the Allegheny Front.

Rural hospitals in Ohio, like the Southern Ohio Medical Center, could face deeper financial strain as a result of federal Medicaid cuts passed in the July 2025 budget reconciliation bill.

Ohio was awarded $202 million for rural health. It's not enough to offset federal Medicaid cuts

February 2, 2026

Ohio is receiving more than $200 million from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid as part of a newly created federal program to strengthen health care in rural communities.

The Nature Conservancy is enhancing thousands of feet of shoreline in the Sandusky Bay by building natural barriers like this one. The sandy slopes will weaken waves before they hit the shore, reducing erosion and creating a calmer environment for plants to grow.

From muddy waters to a "mosaic of vegetation": how a project aims to restore the Sandusky Bay

January 29, 2026

On a calm November day on Lake Erie, the air wasn't filled with the sounds of squawking seabirds or even passing boats.

Rather, a dump truck rumbled down a rocky bank, depositing its load into the shallow water.

A sign shows electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards used for SNAP benefits is accepted at a store in Columbus.

SNAP benefits are vulnerable to theft. In Ohio, there's no recourse for victims

January 28, 2026

Ohioans who rely on SNAP benefits, also known as food stamps, pay for groceries with cards that are lacking a vital protection against cybercrime: a chip.

Yarenci Hernandez reported her abuse 13 years ago, but only now is her abuser facing justice. Pictured here at a Mother's Day event at her church, Hernandez says she's found a new life through her faith and her own family.

Years after reporting her abuser, one Ohioan gains closure

January 28, 2026

Yarenci Hernandez's abuse started the night she met her father. Born in Mexico City, she lived with neighbors until, when she was about seven or eight, her father came to take her to Columbus, Ohio.

"Even from the moment that I met him – because that was really the first time I had met him – I can remember the uncomfortable feeling I felt," said Hernandez.

Ohio families filed federal lawsuits after students were strip searched for minor contraband, like vape pens.

Ohio students are being strip searched – and traumatized – over minor offenses

January 27, 2026

Across the country, children and teenagers are being strip searched by school administrators and staff, who are often looking for vape pens or other minor contraband.

Jefferson County's only homeless shelters closed in October. Three months later, there's no replacement for people experiencing housing instability there.

What happens when a community's homeless shelter closes? This eastern Ohio city is finding out

January 26, 2026

Community members in Steubenville are working together to help unhoused people, after the eastern Ohio city's homeless shelters closed.

Urban Mission Ministries shuttered both its emergency shelter and one for women and children in October, citing financial strain.

Now, three months later, the community has yet to find a long-term solution to shelter people in need.

Mastodon skeletons stand on display at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. The Museum of Fulton County will now have a bone of the prehistoric mammal.

How an Ice Age relic was rediscovered in rural Ohio

January 23, 2026

In 1978, residents in the small community of Winameg in rural northwest Ohio discovered several bones of a mammal dating back to the Ice Age: a mastodon.

Bowling Green State University studied the mastadon skeleton, then sent it to the University of Michigan Museum of Paleontology collection, where much of it still resides today.

But not every bone made it out of Fulton County.

The city of Marietta in southeast Ohio is filled with places of historical significance, like the Betsey Mills Club, which was started as a sewing class for girls in 1898. Residents like Dee Wells Arnold cite the town's history as a reason for speaking out against injection wells.

In southeast Ohio, state and local officials fight over the future of injection wells

January 22, 2026

Last July, a short notice appeared in the back of the Marietta Times.

A sign posted on a Marietta building says, "No More Injection Wells in Washington County." Some residents in the area are concerned wastewater from injection wells could get into the local drinking water supply. In a bipartisan move, the city passed a resolution asking the state to pause injection well activity in the area.

Why some Washington County residents are worried about the future of their drinking water

January 20, 2026

When the Ohio Department of Natural Resources issued permits to construct two injection wells, to store waste from oil and gas drilling, within two miles of the city of Marietta's aquifers, residents in the area grew concerned.