Former President Donald Trump cemented his status as a "kingmaker" in Tuesday's Ohio primary. Backed by Trump, businessman Bernie Moreno, a relative political newcomer, won the U.S. Senate Republican primary and will now face incumbent Sherrod Brown this fall. Brown is seeking a fourth term, and Republicans want to flip that seat as part of an overall strategy to regain control of the chamber.
Moreno won the three-way race, defeating State Senator Matt Dolan and Secretary of State Frank LaRose.
The ongoing rift in the Ohio House Republican caucus was also on the ballot in the primary. Republicans who along with Democrats backed Jason Stephens for the speakership, and denied Derek Merrin the gavel, faced well-funded primary challenges. Several of those Stephens loyalists lost.
Eastern Gateway Community College's board of trustees has voted to dissolve the college by May 31 if it cannot get funding to continue operations. The community college with locations in Youngstown and Steubenville announced last month.
The Akron Board of Education approved this week a long-awaited redistricting plan. The plan calls for both changing the geographic boundaries for student attendance at some schools and closing others.
As families contend with that school redistricting plan, the superintendent and chief financial officer of Akron Public Schools are recommending that a combined bond and operating levy be placed on the November ballot. The recommendation is for a 1.3-mill bond issue to rebuild North High School and a new 7.6-mill levy to fund operations.
A group of students from the Cleveland Metropolitan School District will be traveling to Greece this weekend after an anonymous donor stepped forward to help. The students were trying to raise money for the trip through a Go Fund Me site called "Who Says Inner City Students Can't Travel Abroad?" but came up short. The donor chipped in nearly $35,000 to make the trip a reality.
A number of Ohio nonprofits will be receiving money from philanthropist Mackenzie Scott. Her organization, Yield Giving, will distribute grants totalling $640 million to 361 groups. Those groups include about half a dozen in Ohio.
An Akron Zoo employee is expected to make a full recovery after being bitten by a Komodo dragon. The worker suffered the bite while within the zoo's resting area for its dragons. Ideastream's Anna Huntsman interviewed the zoo CEO exclusively and he chalks the bite up to an "error."
We will discuss these stories and more of the week’s news on this week’s Reporters Roundtable.
Guests:
-Josh Boose, Associate Producer for Newscasts, Ideastream Public Media
-Gabriel Kramer, Reporter, Ideastream Public Media
-Karen Kasler, Statehouse News Bureau Chief, Ohio Public Radio/TV
