Tuesday, August 4, 2026

Good Morning! On this day in 1936, Ohio State track star Jesse Owens won the Olympic long jump in Berlin, earning the second of his four gold medals at the Games.

Columbus City Council will hear public comments on the use of Flock cameras next week. Learn more in Around Ohio.

What if the biggest threat in your diet isn’t sugar or fat, but something hiding in more than half of everything you eat? Ultra-processed foods have been linked to plenty of chronic conditions, all of which can shorten your life. And they’re lurking in products you’d never suspect, from your morning bagel to the sauce on your stir fry. The good news? You don’t have to overhaul your kitchen or your budget to cut them out. On today’s episode of The Flyover Podcast, Ayla reveals six everyday swaps that push these foods off your plate, plus the one trick that exposes them on any label. Tune in here!

If you haven’t compared your car insurance in a while, there’s a good chance you’re paying more than you need to. Even if you checked rates a year ago, the market has changed. That’s why today’s sponsor, Insurify, makes it easy to compare quotes from more than 120 insurers in just a few minutes.

Meander Dam Rebuild Gets Its Money

The Mahoning Valley Sanitary District’s board approved the first phase of an $83 million rebuild of the Meander Reservoir dam on Wednesday.

The earthen dam holds back the only water source for about 220,000 people in Mahoning and Trumbull counties. FEMA awarded $38 million toward the work, then warned last year that its resilience grant program was ending and unstarted projects would be cancelled.

The money is back, and Chief Engineer Scott Verner called that a “game changer.” The district will seek a $29 million state loan and cover the last $16 million itself, which means higher rates in Youngstown, Niles, and McDonald.

Whether rates actually rise is up to a two-judge court of jurisdiction, Mahoning County’s Anthony Donofrio and Trumbull County’s Sean O’Brien, which has not set a hearing date. Verner has previously called talk of doubled Niles rates speculative.

Ohio Keeps Pressure on Prediction Markets

Ohio’s case for shutting prediction markets out of the state went before a federal appeals panel in Cincinnati on Thursday.

Kalshi is appealing a March ruling by U.S. District Judge Sarah Morrison, who found sports event contracts are not the swaps federal law shields from state rules. The Ohio Casino Control Commission wants to fine Kalshi $5 million for what it calls unlicensed sports gaming.

Kalshi says it runs a commodity exchange, not a sportsbook, and needs a national standard rather than a “state-by-state regulatory patchwork.” At a national legislative summit in Chicago this week, Iowa Sen. Dan Dawson said students at his son’s high school signed up to bet on World Cup matches.

Then-Attorney General Dave Yost said he “wouldn’t bet on how long Kalshi will be operating in Ohio.” Legislators have also filed bills to license and tax the platforms and to bar public employees from trading.

Cincinnati’s Wettest Two Months on Record

More rain fell on Cincinnati’s East Side in June and July than in any two-month stretch in National Weather Service records.

The worst of it came July 17, when a single evening storm swamped Oakley, Madisonville, and Pleasant Ridge. Cincinnati firefighters answered 40 calls, and one person was taken to a hospital.

Mayor Aftab Pureval declared an emergency four days later and confirmed a Duck Creek floodgate on Madison Road never closed during the storm. Six feet of water sat in homes on one Oakley street.

The city’s stormwater utility and the Army Corps of Engineers are reviewing video and sensor data to see whether the gate worked as designed. In Oakley, Mainly Art co-owner Mark Fisk lost furniture, artwork, and several classic cars, saying, “All these cars are toast.”

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Your Insurance Rate Might Be Higher Than It Should Be

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Many drivers simply renew their policy every six months without checking what else is available. A quick comparison could be one of the easiest ways to lower a monthly bill.

Compare your rates with Insurify today and see if you could save.

➤ Vinton County: The bipartisan sponsors of Senate Bill 341, which would bar marriage before 18, say they will push it through the lame duck session, possibly inside a larger bill. Interest revived after 16 children were removed from a Hamden home June 30; their mother married at 15 in West Virginia. (More)

➤ Columbus: City Council is hearing public testimony Aug. 10 on police use of Flock license plate readers, with the department and the company both set to appear. Testimony must be emailed ahead of time. (See Details)

➤ Also Columbus: The Supreme Court of Ohio will welcome the public for free after-hours tours of the Thomas J. Moyer Ohio Judicial Center this September as part of the Ohio History Connection’s annual Ohio Open Doors program. (Details)

➤ Euclid: Police are investigating after a car drove through Cebars Euclid Tavern on East 185th early Monday morning. The East Tech Rescue Team responded and provided structural shoring to stabilize the building.(See Photo)

➤ Springfield: Clark County commissioners signed a first-ever 50-year lease with the Clark County Agricultural Society, keeping the county fair on the South Charleston Pike grounds it has used since 1948. (More)

➤ Butler County: West Chester and Liberty townships and the county engineer will widen Hamilton Mason Road between Ohio 747 and Quail Run Drive, going from 10-foot lanes with no shoulder to 11-foot lanes with 2-foot shoulders. (See Details)

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➤ Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and his teammates have been bonding over chess at training camp, setting up a chessboard on the offensive linemen’s table in the locker room, which has become the team’s go-to hangout. (More)

➤ Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell says he’s unbothered by recent reports that LeBron James would have considered returning to Cleveland if Mitchell weren’t already there. James signed with the 76ers instead. (More)

➤ Ohio State men’s basketball opened their exhibition trip to Puerto Rico with a 117-75 rout of a local select team on Sunday. Five Buckeyes scored in double figures, led by Jimmie Williams with 20 points on 6-of-7 three-point shooting. (More)

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

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➤ Beat the heat without blasting your whole house with air conditioning. evaCHILL is a compact personal evaporative cooler that cools, humidifies, and purifies the air around you while using minimal power. Just add water, plug it into any USB power source, and enjoy hours of refreshing comfort at your desk, bedside, or on the go. (LEARN MORE)

➤ A federal judge denied the Teamsters’ bid for a restraining order that would have forced Schwebel Baking Co.’s unresolved grievances into arbitration, citing an earlier order placing the company in receivership. Schwebel’s laid off 673 workers across 13 Ohio sites, including 370 at the Youngstown plant. (See Details)

➤ Buc-ee’s, a Texas travel center chain, sued Beaver’s Mini Mart in Beavercreek, claiming the corner store’s cartoon beaver sign infringes its trademark. Buc-ee’s opened its first Ohio store in Huber Heights in April and sued the owner of Ohio’s Mickey’s gas station chain for trademark infringement in February. (See Details)

➤ Omega Psi Phi’s 85th Grand Conclave brought an economic boost to downtown Cincinnati last week. “When we have the opportunity to get (our) name in front of all these people, it’s amazing,” said Deneen Glenn, whose Peach Cobbler Factory franchise was selling downtown from a food truck. (More)

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➤ Mark Pariano, a Seven Hills native and private chef, has written The History of Champagne and Recipes to Celebrate, pairing the drink’s history with his own recipes and party menus. (Read Story)

➤ Ghost, a Union City police K9, turned 2 years old on Saturday, a milestone the department marked with a photo and a thank-you on Facebook. (See Photo)

➤ Dozens of kids sold their own products and services at Future Founders Day, held at Penguin City Brewing in Youngstown on Sunday. Kinsley Bowser, 14, turned baking with her mom into a sweets business funding a marching band trip. (Read Story)

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➤ The Real Reason Skin Starts To Thin After 50 (It’s Not What You Think. Remember when bruises faded fast and skin bounced back? New research shows a particular deficiency impacts strength and dark spots too—and you don’t have to accept paper-thin, discolored skin as the “new normal.” Unfortunately, most people don’t know that thinning, aging skin is often caused by this. Learn More

The following stories are featured exclusively on The Flyover Podcast—a daily show that gives you the most important headlines in under 15 minutes. Clicking the links will take you directly to these stories:

➤ Hidden ultra-processed ingredients lurk in over half your diet, but there are six simple swaps to fight back. (Hear Details)

➤ The first deaths have been reported in the nationwide cyclosporiasis outbreak, with two victims confirmed in Michigan. (Hear Episode)

➤ New Yorkers can finally camp overnight in Central Park, but scoring a free spot means winning a coveted citywide lottery. (Listen Now)