Poll Shows Democrats Leading Ohio Races

Democrats lead Republicans in both of Ohio’s top races in a new Marist poll, with Sherrod Brown up eight points on Sen. Jon Husted and Amy Acton up six on Vivek Ramaswamy.

Brown led 51% to 43% and Acton 50% to 44% among 1,298 registered voters surveyed Sept. 24-27, with a 3.8-point margin of error. Independents favored both Democrats by roughly 25 points.

Other recent polls show tighter races, with the RealClearPolitics average putting Brown up 3.7 points. And by 53% to 43%, voters in the Marist poll still expect Ramaswamy to win.

The poll put President Trump’s approval in Ohio at 42%. Early in-person and mail-in voting begins today, and Election Day is Nov. 3.

Springfield Truck Plant Lays Off 1,400

Nearly 1,400 workers lost their jobs last Wednesday when the former Navistar truck plant in Springfield shut down.

Owner International Motors is selling the 500-acre site to Roshel, a Canadian maker of armored and commercial vehicles, after a contract manufacturing deal expired. The layoffs erase roughly a year of job growth in the Dayton region.

Roshel says it plans to eventually more than double the plant’s workforce. Some laid-off workers told the AP they expect to be rehired within six to 12 months.

The layoffs came three days before President Trump held a rally in nearby Vandalia. There, he pointed to new projects like Bayer’s $2.2 billion drug plant in New Albany as evidence his policies are creating jobs.

The White House said its tax cuts and trade deals have helped Ohio. Some laid-off workers said rising prices and scarce overtime have left them skeptical.

Canton Haunt Ranked Among Nation’s Best

Canton’s Factory of Terror has been named one of America’s five best haunted attractions for Best Scream for Your Buck.

The list comes from America Haunts, a national association of premier haunted attractions. It’s the third straight year the Canton haunt has landed on one of the group’s top-five lists, after making its 2025 bucket-list haunts and topping its 2024 scream tourism list.

Housed in a 160,000-square-foot former automotive foundry, this year’s experience stretches more than a mile, with more than 100 live actors, moving walls, and animatronics. It has been scaring visitors in Canton for 25 years.

Two Michigan haunts, San Diego’s Haunted Trail of Balboa Park, and Bates Motel and Haunted Hayrides outside Philadelphia round out the 2026 list.

Factory of Terror’s season runs through Nov. 13.

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➤ Franklin County: Residents hit by the Aug. 10-22 storms can now apply for FEMA aid, including grants for temporary housing and home repairs. The disaster declaration also covers Clermont, Hamilton, Licking, Morgan, Muskingum, and Perry counties, and the deadline to apply is Dec. 1. (See Details)

➤ Sharonville: Princeton City Schools is offering limited alternate busing as a strike by First Student drivers enters its second week, affecting more than 5,200 students. The drivers’ union wants higher pay and employer-paid health care, while First Student says it offered raises averaging 27% over four years. (See Details)

➤ Symmes Township: A resident has Hamilton County’s first confirmed human case of West Nile virus this year, likely from a local mosquito, health officials said. Crews have treated standing water near the person’s home. (More)

➤ Boardman: The fire department kicked off Fire Prevention Week with a weekend event at its firehouse, and firefighters will visit local students this week to teach fire safety. (More) 

➤ Chillicothe: The Pickaway-Ross Career and Technical Center closed its main and adult education campuses Monday after bomb threats so law enforcement could sweep the buildings. A separate threat put Waverly City Schools in Pike County on a two-hour delay. It’s not clear whether the threats are connected. (See Details)

➤ Lakewood: At a city council hearing, FirstEnergy Vice President Sally Thomas said the utility had “not lived up to” expectations after seven major outages in the city this summer and pledged more investment in reliability. Council President Sarah Kepple asked how the city ended up with 100-year-old cables. (More)

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➤ The Cleveland Guardians face elimination after a 4-3 loss to the Chicago White Sox in Game 2 of the ALDS last night despite 11 strikeouts from Gavin Williams, one shy of the franchise postseason record. Cleveland visits Chicago tomorrow for Game 3. (More)

➤ Cleveland Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel is now eligible to come off injured reserve, setting up a roster decision for the 3-1 Cleveland Browns. Activating him would give Cleveland four quarterbacks alongside Deshaun Watson, Shedeur Sanders, and Taylen Green, and the team hasn’t announced plans to trade any of them. (More)

➤ The Buckeyes’ Oct. 17 game at No. 7 Indiana, the defending national champion, will kick off at noon in Bloomington. It’s a rematch of last season’s Big Ten title game, which the Hoosiers won 13-10, and Indiana brings a 21-game winning streak. (More)

➤ Ohio State softball hosts their third annual Hit-A-Thon at 2 p.m. Wednesday, with free admission. Each player gets 10 pitches of front toss, and donors pledge per foot of the longest hit, with home runs counted as 220 feet. Proceeds support the program and a team international trip. (See Details)

➤ Yesterday’s Results: NFL | MLB | NHL | WNBA | NBA | Soccer

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➤ Pixelle Specialty Solutions will shut down its Fremont paper mill after selling off its carbonless paper business, the mill’s primary product. Pixelle closed its Chillicothe mill last year, eliminating about 800 jobs. (More)

➤ Kroger, a Cincinnati-based grocer, opened a $33 million, 118,000-square-foot Marketplace store on Sunbury Road in Delaware, with a fuel center and more than 220 jobs. Another new central Ohio store, in Canal Winchester, is set to open late this fall. (More)

➤ Cincinnati chicken spots The Eagle and CityBird opened Monday under one roof, in a 4,600-square-foot beer hall at the District at Deerfield in Mason. Newport cocktail bar The Beeline follows Oct. 16, and Over-the-Rhine Italian restaurant Pepp & Dolores is set for early November. (See Details)

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Could Your Retirement Budget Use Some Breathing Room?

Retirement should be about enjoying what you’ve worked for, not worrying about every expense. FinanceBuzz highlights practical ways retirees can trim unnecessary costs, from forgotten subscriptions and everyday purchases to larger recurring expenses that may no longer fit their lifestyle.

Small changes can add up and help your savings stretch further without sacrificing the things you enjoy. See the money moves FinanceBuzz recommends for cutting retirement costs.

➤ Lake Erie’s midges are back. Clouds of the tiny, mosquito-like insects are rising off Lake Erie again this fall, a sign of a healthy lake. Adults live only a few days. (See Video)

➤ Cincinnati Magazine rounded up the region’s best spots to dig for fossils. Caesar Creek and East Fork state parks yield brachiopods and bryozoans roughly 450 million years old, though collectors need an Army Corps of Engineers permit to take finds home. Sharonville’s Trammel Fossil Park adds trilobites. (See List)

➤ The Greater Columbus Arts Council is celebrating the city’s creative community all month with ARTober, featuring special arts and cultural promotions and ways for residents to support local artists. (More)

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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. 

➤ Your dog’s sleep twitches aren’t random, and researchers can now decode what’s behind them. (Listen Now)

➤ Amazon is issuing a new wave of refunds worth up to $200 after regulators accused it of deceptively enrolling Prime customers. (Hear Episode)

➤ Gen Z students are fueling a Catholic surge at nearly 60 college campuses, from Texas A&M to Silicon Valley. (Hear Details)

Have you seen any midges this year?

1. Yes
2. Maybe
3. No
4. What are midges?

Yesterday’s Results:

When do you plan to cast your ballot in the Nov. 3 election?

1. Election Day: 46%
2. Early, in person: 31%
3. Absentee, by mail: 18%
4. Haven’t decided: 4%
5. Don’t plan to vote: 1%

Which Ohio city is known as the birthplace of the tomato?

Show me the answer