Valvoline Moving Headquarters to Cincinnati

Valvoline Global Operations is moving its global headquarters from Lexington, Kentucky, to 312 Elm St. in downtown Cincinnati.

The company plans to renovate 50,000 square feet and open in the spring of 2027. The move brings at least 54 jobs and a $10.4 million payroll, with JobsOhio projecting up to 120 employees.

Lexington keeps more than 400 workers and becomes the company’s hub for the Americas, covering the United States, Canada, and Latin America.

According to JobsOhio, the Cincinnati office puts executive leadership minutes from Valvoline’s largest production plant.

Valvoline Global, owned by Saudi Aramco, traces its roots to 1866. The quick-lube chain that shares the name is a separate company, still run from Lexington.

Court Rejects $900 Million Benefits Case

The Ohio Supreme Court on Friday threw out a lawsuit seeking $900 million in pandemic unemployment checks for 300,000 Ohioans.

The suit argued that only state lawmakers, not Gov. Mike DeWine, could end the $300 weekly federal checks. DeWine cut them off in May 2021 at the request of business groups that said the payments kept people from taking jobs.

A Franklin County judge and the Tenth District Court of Appeals sided with the plaintiffs in 2025. The state appealed, and the justices called the case moot because the federal program expired in September 2021.

Marc Dann, the attorney who filed the suit and a Democrat who served as Ohio attorney general, said he’ll ask the justices to reconsider. He puts the average claim at about $3,000.

Dann said the fight is really about separation of powers, accusing DeWine of claiming “broad executive power and the ability to ignore statutes” passed by the General Assembly.

Cleveland Church Fire Ruled Arson

The fire that destroyed Cleveland’s historic Friendship Baptist Church was intentionally set, and arrests are expected soon, the city’s fire division said Tuesday.

Flames were shooting from every angle when crews reached East 55th Street and Central Avenue just before 2 a.m. Friday. Nearly 60 firefighters fought the blaze, and the roof collapsed.

Lt. Mike Norman put the loss around $500,000 but called the building irreplaceable. No one was hurt.

The building went up in the mid-1890s as a synagogue before becoming Friendship Baptist, and former members say it had sat empty about seven years. Some came back Monday to photograph the rubble.

A social media post showing the flames and naming the church is now evidence in the case.

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➤ Statewide: The Bureau of Moter Vehicles stopped accepting the Declaration of Gender Change form, used since 2009 to alter the sex listed on a license, saying it conflicts with a 2025 state law recognizing two sexes. Licenses will now follow a birth certificate or passport. (More)

➤ Columbus: Les Wexner, 88, stepped down Thursday as chair of Ohio State’s Wexner Medical Center Board and stays on as a non-voting chair emeritus. Robert Schottenstein of M/I Homes replaces him. (More)

➤ Dayton: Dayton Public Schools issued 28 checks Friday evening after employees missed the first paycheck of the school year. At an emergency board meeting, the treasurer blamed missing licenses and paperwork. (See Details)

➤ Cleveland: U.S. Marshals arrested Thomas Spurlock, 27, after an hours-long standoff at a home in the 3300 block of West 46th Street in the Stockyards neighborhood. Spurlock, wanted for fleeing and parole violations, gave up after officers used pepper spray. No one was hurt. (More)

➤ Cincinnati: Jim Abbott, a high school official for more than 40 years, had his leg amputated after he was caught in a tackle while umpiring an Aug. 14 scrimmage at Withrow High School. He says he plans to work varsity football again. (Read Story)

➤ Toledo: University of Toledo researchers developed a four-microliter blood test for bile acids, an early liver-stress marker standard panels don’t measure. It separated 23 patients with liver disease from 23 healthy people, potentially catching damage before symptoms show. (See Report)

➤ Canfield: Mahoning County Career & Technical Center has partnered with Flashpass, an online workforce development program, to help people interested in getting into the oil and gas business. (More)

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➤ Akron football’s viral promotion letting a season ticket holder call the opening offensive drive of its home opener has generated ticket sales from 38 states and three countries. The school sold out its suite level for the first time in program history. (More)

➤ LeBron James is partnering with the PGA Tour to host a new tournament in Akron next July aimed at spotlighting underrepresented aspiring pro golfers. Proceeds will benefit his I Promise program. (More)

➤ Ohio tapped Nick Poulos as its starting quarterback for the season opener at Nebraska on Sept. 5. The 6-foot-6 graduate student has spent three years with the program but has minimal game experience as a career backup. (More)

➤ The Ohio Sports Hall of Fame’s 2026 class includes 21 inductees with Xavier ties, headlined by two-time NBA champion David West and 12-year NBA veteran James Posey. The induction banquet is Oct. 17 in Dayton. (More)

➤ Yesterday’s Results: MLB | WNBA | Tennis | Little League World Series

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➤ A U.S. Commerce Department audit faulted Ohio’s oversight of $20.9 million in federal manufacturing aid over a decade, citing unauthorized spending and self-dealing by affiliate board members. Auditors recommend ending the state’s funding for good. (See Report)

➤ Westerman, the tank maker, will add 210 jobs and $13.3 million in annual payroll at its plant in Bremen, expanding for data center and nuclear work. (More)

➤ Chicken Salad Chick, an Atlanta-based chain, opened its first Greater Cleveland restaurant at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Westgate Shopping Center in Fairview Park. (More)

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Final Days to Invest in The Company Unlocking $2.1T in Energy Potential

Founders Matt McKean and Joseph Witherspoon are on the path to commercializing a technology that extracts valuable resources (like jet fuel and diesel) from coal without burning it. For their team at Frontieras, it’s an opportunity to address up to $2.1 trillion worth of annual markets. 

Their latest progress speaks for itself. You have until tomorrow to invest in this limited-time opportunity: 

• “FASF” ticker reserved on the NASDAQ

• $850M flagship facility in development

• $50+ million raised from investors so far

Under a White House that favors domestic energy production, Frontieras is set up for potential growth. Final call to become an early-stage Frontieras shareholder. Invest by 11:59 p.m. PT tomorrow.

➤ Donors have given more than $28,000 to the deaf Toledo woman who lost $12,000 to someone posing as a Deaf Services Center employee and was evicted after she stopped paying rent. (Read Story)

➤ Jay Leno is coming to Youngstown for a show on Jan. 7 at Stambaugh Auditorium to benefit the United Way of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley. Presale tickets are available Thursday, and regular tickets are available Friday. (See Details)

➤ Halloween Haunt at Kings Island runs select nights Sept. 25 through Oct. 31 in Mason, with seven haunted mazes, four scare zones, and four live shows. New this year: a maze built on Friday the 13th and a heavy-metal-themed one. (See Details)

➤ Dolly Parton, who called Ohio her “second state” in 2022 due to the number of relatives she had living there, passed away Tuesday. Her impact lives on through the Imagination Library, which helps provide free books to children in Ohio and nationwide. (See Video)

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The following stories are featured exclusively on The Flyover Podcast—a daily show that gives you the most important headlines in under 15 minutes. 

➤ Ten of America’s most trusted breakfasts, ranked worst to best for your long-term health. (See List)

➤ Ghislaine Maxwell pointed to newly released Epstein files in her push for freedom, but a federal judge rejected every claim. (Hear Episode)

➤ United Airlines is planning what it calls its largest expansion ever, adding flights to eight cities that no other U.S. carrier serves nonstop. (See Cities)

What’s your favorite Dolly Parton hit song?

1. Jolene
2. I Will Always Love You
3. 9 to 5
4. Coat of Many Colors
5. Islands in the Stream
6. Here You Come Again
7. Other (reply to let us know)

Yesterday’s Results:

When did you last get a speeding ticket?

1. More than five years ago: 56%
2. Never: 21%
3. Don’t remember: 11%
4. In the past five years: 8%
5. This year: 4%

American troops gave which Ohio town the nickname “Dreamsville, USA” during World War II?

Show me the answer