The Midwest

Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Mike Johnson (R-LA-04) endorsed Kevin Coughlin’s campaign for Ohio’s 13th Congressional District this week.

It’s not just college athletes’ name, image and likeness on the radar of the Ohio House of Representatives. Normal Ohioans could receive protection from unauthorized use of their identities under a new bill that addresses the growing use of artificial intelligence.

Bernie Moreno, the Republican nominee in the Ohio U.S. Senate race, used Wednesday’s inflation report to call out his opponent, incumbent U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and President Joe Biden for their economic policies that are “crushing Ohio workers.”

A year after language was approved for a constitutional amendment to raise the minimum wage in Ohio, organizers are still collecting signatures to get the issue on the ballot. A coalition, Raise the Wage Ohio, received approval for the proposed amendment nearly a year ago from the Ohio Ballot Board and has been collecting the more than 413,000 signatures since.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine delivered his 2024 State of the State Address to a joint State House and Senate session on Wednesday. The governor laid out his agenda, which focused on Ohio’s youth, specifically improving access to child care and children's health care.

Norfolk Southern Corporation announced Tuesday that it reached a $600 million settlement in a class action lawsuit in response to the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, last year. The railroad company said in a press release that if the court approves the settlement, all class action lawsuits within a 20-mile radius of the derailment and all personal injury claims within a 10-mile radius of the derailment will be resolved.

Norfolk Southern Corporation on Tuesday announced it reached a $600 million settlement in a class action lawsuit brought in response to the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.

Arkansas U.S. Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) recently endorsed Republican nominee Bernie Moreno in the Ohio U.S. Senate race.

Ohio law and the planned date for the Democratic National Convention could keep President Joe Biden off the state’s November ballot. Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s chief legal counsel wrote Ohio Democratic Party Chairwoman Liz Walters over the weekend, explaining the deadline to certify a presidential candidate in Ohio is Aug. 7.

Two Ohio lawmakers want to make sure state schools follow federal law and allow groups like the Boy Scouts and Girls Scouts to be present during the school year. Proposed legislation in the House of Representatives requires schools to allow U.S. Title 36, which permits patriotic organizations to provide information to students. Those organizations could be the Boy Scouts, Girls Scouts, 4-H, Future Farmers of America, Civil Air Patrol, Boys & Girls Clubs of America and many other groups.

State Auditor Keith Faber placed a southwest Ohio school district in fiscal emergency Friday after it projected an operating fund deficit of nearly $11 million. A fiscal analysis by the Auditor of State’s Local Government Services Section certified a projected operating deficit of $10.8 million for the Mt. Health City School District in Hamilton County, near Cincinnati. The figure represents 26% of the district’s general revenue funds for the fiscal year that ends June 30.

A plan to more stringently scrutinize voter registration data and citizenship verification during Ohio’s elections sits before the Ohio House of Representatives. The proposed legislation, which has yet to be assigned to a committee, also focuses on security of individual voting machines and would require the state’s board of voting system examiners to contain a person with cybersecurity expertise and credentials.

A Hamilton County judge now must decide on parts of Ohio's heartbeat law after Attorney General Dave Yost agreed the law banning nearly all abortions is unconstitutional. In court filings, Yost said Ohio's 2019 law that banned most abortions in the state was unconstitutional after voters guaranteed the right to an abortion in the state’s constitution in November.

Two Ohio Republican lawmakers want to make it easier for criminals to have records sealed to help the state’s workforce participation. Sponsors say the plan – Getting Rehabilitated Ohioans Working or Grow Act – could also reduce revictimization and create an environment of safer and healthier communities and families.

Dennis Kucinich, former Cleveland mayor and longtime Democrat U.S. representative, has garnered enough signatures to be on the ballot for Ohio’s 7th Congressional District as an independent candidate.