Ohio Politics

09/19/2025

Despite making up just 14.3% of the U.S. population in 2023, immigrants accounted for 23.6% of entrepreneurs and 25% of all new businesses. In 2023 alone, immigrant-owned businesses generated $116.2 billion in business income, according to an analysis by the American Immigration Council.

Immigrants are far more likely than native-born citizens to start their own businesses, and leaders in Dayton-area entrepreneurism say these small business owners both power the local economy and make the region look more appealing to industries looking to expand to Ohio.

09/19/2025

A crowd of more than 100 people packed Thursday’s Miamisburg school board meeting after two teachers were placed on paid leave for remarks concerning conservative political figure Charlie Kirk.

09/19/2025

Dayton’s city manager has gone without an annual performance evaluation for three years as her pay has steadily risen, a Dayton Daily News investigation found.

09/17/2025

This included a nearly $6.2 million bonus, spiking his compensation — from $7.9 million in 2022, including a nearly $1.3 million bonus — in a year when the Dayton-based health insurer recorded a drop in revenues of more than $1 billion.

CareSource CEO Erhardt Preitauer’s total compensation in 2023 exceeded $12 million, making him by far the highest-paid executive among nonprofits in the region, according to a Dayton Daily News analysis of IRS data.

09/16/2025

The members of the three largest education unions have filed a lawsuit in Franklin County Common Pleas Court challenging a provision in the most recent state budget bill that reduces the number of elected representatives to the 11-member state board and replaces them with more appointed members.

09/16/2025

Federal law requires transparency of nonprofits in exchange for getting tax breaks, donations from the public and often considerable government funding. For many, that includes listing on publicly accessible tax forms how much they pay their top executives.

09/16/2025

“At this point it seems a bit political to me,” said Al-Hamdani, who also is chairman of the Montgomery County Democratic Party. “They’re trying help their Republican colleagues to avoid a legitimate race.”

A split along party lines means the Montgomery County Board of Elections appears unlikely to schedule a hearing to consider whether a candidate for Kettering city council can appeal his exclusion from the Nov. 4 ballot.

09/16/2025

Wittenberg’s former president's salary grew 15.7% to $365,133 while the university’s revenues dropped 13.1%. The school this year was designated in “financial distress” by the Higher Learning Commission despite cuts to programs, faculty and staff.

Private educational institutions saw particularly large differences between revenue declines and compensation increases in a Dayton Daily News investigation of nonprofit leader compensation.

09/15/2025

“So much of the success we’ve had in this administration traces directly to Charlie’s ability to organize and convene,” said Vance. “He didn’t just help us win in 2024, he helped us staff the entire government.”

Vice President JD Vance traveled to Utah last week to meet with the family of Charlie Kirk, a conservative political commentator who was assassinated at Utah Valley University.

09/15/2025

President Donald Trump on the campaign trail pledged “the largest deportation operation in the history of the United States.” And while we’ve seen large immigration enforcement efforts in other states, it has been unclear how much efforts have stepped up in Ohio – until now.

Editor’s note: Every Sunday Josh Sweigart, editor of investigations and solutions journalism, brings you the top stories from the Dayton Daily News and major stories over the past week you may have missed. Go here to sign up to receive the Weekly Update newsletter and our Morning Briefing delivere...

09/15/2025

“It’s going to be mandatory for everyone. Everyone,” Young said in an interview with this outlet. He said there’s about 6,000 taxing jurisdictions in Ohio that would be required to comply with the bill, if it became law.

Ohio House Rep. Tom Young, R-Washington Twp., is sponsoring legislation to track how every public dollar in Ohio — from state agencies to counties to cities to public library districts and more — is raised and spent.

09/15/2025

A monthslong investigation by the Dayton Daily News looked into how area nonprofits compensate their top-paid executives as they face revenue challenges and financial headwinds.