Ohio Governor DeWine Nominates Kara Wente as New Department of Children and Youth Director

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced he is nominating Kara Wente as the new Ohio Department of Children and Youth director.

Prior to this nomination, Wente (pictured above) worked as the governor’s Children’s Initiative director since January 2023. Wente served as the chief operating officer of Future Ready Columbus before her hire.

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Ohio Republican Leader Scott Pullins Announces Exploratory Campaign for House District 98 in 2024

Longtime Ohio conservative Republican leader Scott Pullins announced on Thursday he is exploring a second run for Ohio House District 98 in 2024. State Representative Darrell Kick (R-Loudonville), who is currently in that seat, will not be able to run again because of term limits which, in theory, would create an open seat, but new districts will have to be drawn again.

Pullins, from Knox County, ran for election to the Ohio House District 98, which includes all of Knox County and parts of Morrow and Holmes counties, against Kick in the August 2022 Republican primary. He lost to Kick but gained 43 percent of the vote.

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Ohio Attorney General Yost Unanimously Elected President of National Association of Attorneys General

The National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) elected Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost as president for the year 2023.

The association voted unanimously to elect Yost during the NAAG Capital Forum in Washington.

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Ohio State University Adjusts COVID-19 Protocols for Students, Faculty, Staff, and Visitors

Aerial view of Ohio State University

The Ohio State University is adjusting some COVID-19 health and safety protocols for students, faculty, staff and visitors, according to a Monday press release by the university.

In a message from Senior Vice President for Student Life Melissa Shivers and Senior Vice President and Wolfe Foundation Endowed Athletics Director Gene Smith, Buckeyes are asked to follow “local and university mask mandates, appropriate physical distancing, availability of PPE and hand sanitizer, limited distribution of literature and other items, and any other recommendations event planners, coordinators and public health advisors may have” when it comes to in-person gathering.

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Despite Increased Measures, Security Concerns Remain at Ohio State University

Safety concerns remain an issue for students at the Ohio State University (OSU), despite increased funding for security measures across the campus.

Two individuals were arrested after a stabbing occurred in a parking garage on the campus of OSU. According to law enforcement and university officials, none of the individuals involved were connected to the college.

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Exclusive: FBI Probing Ohio GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Blystone Campaign Finances Says Whistleblower’s Attorney

Joe Blystone

  In an exclusive interview with The Ohio Star, the lawyer representing a whistleblower and former co-campaign manager for Joseph K. Blystone‘s quest for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, Sarah Chambers that the Federal Bureau of Investigation agents are probing Blystone’s campaign finances. “Sarah and I met with them on Thursday,…

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Ohio Consolidates COVID Restrictions

Gov. Mike DeWine COVID press briefing

During the Monday COVID briefing Ohio Republican Governor Mike DeWine announced that Ohio Department of Health (ODH) Director Stephanie McCloud would release a consolidated order to simplify state-imposed COVID restrictions.

The “order does consolidate several orders and transfers important items we want to focus on into one order,” said McCloud. The crux of the order will be “the mask, staying in smaller groups, distancing from others, sanitizing.”

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Ohio State Offers Prize Incentives for COVID-19 Testing at Branch Campus

LIMA, Ohio – The Ohio State University-Lima is recruiting students to voluntarily submit COVID tests by entering them into a raffle for prizes each time a student tests.

“The more often you test, the better odds to win!”  That is the statement sent to Ohio State University-Lima Students March 17 when the Spring COVID-19 testing protocols were announced.

Airpod Pros, a MacBook, gift cards, and more prizes are promised in a raffle style drawing, as well as a free Ohio State shirt the first time a student tests.

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Commentary: After a Year DeWine Sets Goal to Lift COVID Restrictions but It’s Based on Inaccurate Tests

When Governor Mike DeWine announced March 4 that Ohio’s COVID related restrictions would be lifted based on a specific case rate, it didn’t take long to get people talking.

The announcement came on the same day that Connecticut set a date to lift capacity requirements on most businesses and organizations.  Two days prior, Texas and Mississippi had announced an ending plan to mask mandates, as well as opening businesses without capacity restrictions. And the Friday after DeWine’s announcement, West Virginia and Arizona declared they are reopening all businesses. 

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Ohio Governor DeWine Rescinds Quarantine Guidance for Classrooms and Schools, Not Sports and Extracurriculars

During a COVID briefing on Wednesday Ohio Governor Mike DeWine rescinded the State of Ohio guidance suggesting students quarantine after being in close contact with other COVID-positive students in school and the classroom.

“Today we are changing our guidance,” said DeWine, who continued “I know that there’s been a great deal of pain – students not being able to do things because they are in quarantine. I fully understand that and I’m sorry that happened, but we had to follow the CDC guidance.”

The Governor said the decision was based on an evaluation of Ohio students, a CDC report involving students in Mississippi, and priority the Governor has given to teachers and staff to receive the COVID vaccine.

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Counselors Blame Common Core, Over Testing and ‘Trophy Culture’ for College Student’s Increased Mental Health Demands

The Associated Press (AP) investigated the state of student mental health on the largest college campuses in America and found students receiving mental health treatment has increased by 35% since 2014. The news service cites reduced stigma for seeking help, increased anxiety, depression and disorders as some reasons for the jump.

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DeWine’s Working Group Calls OSU’s Handling of Dr. Richard Strauss an ‘Astounding Failure’

For decades male students and student athletes at The Ohio State University had reported sexual abuse by Dr. Richard H. Strauss. On Friday, Gov. Mike DeWine held a press conference to announce the findings of the investigation into the handling of those allegations.

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Ohio State Reviewing Millions of Dollars in Donations Linked to Jeffrey Epstein

  The Ohio State University announced Tuesday that it is reviewing millions of dollars in donations linked to billionaire sex-offender Jeffrey Epstein, who was recently arrested and charged with sex trafficking. “In 1990, Epstein donated $1,000 to the Wexner Center for the Arts Membership Fund. In partial fulfillment of a…

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