The Ohio State Highway Patrol is sharing video on social media of a close call involving troopers from the Toledo Post to raise awareness about the dangers of impaired driving.

On Saturday, a suspected drug-impaired driver nearly struck troopers conducting sobriety tests on another driver. Both drivers were arrested for operating a vehicle while impaired, according to the social media post.

No injuries were reported from the incident.

So far in 2026, troopers have arrested 12,540 drivers for impaired driving in Ohio, including 2,968 for drug-impaired driving.

If you witness suspected impaired driving, call #677.

Check back for updates.

Environmental researchers urged North Toledo residents to take precautions against possible chemical exposure during an online town hall Wednesday, a week after a hazardous chemical leak forced nearly 1,000 people from their homes.

“EPA declaring things safe, and then the media reports things safe, and they haven’t looked for formaldehyde; that’s not helpful for the community ... if the people are still breathing in that formaldehyde and reporting health symptoms,” said Scott Smith, an independent Massachusetts-based scientist with the Blue Shirt Justice League, a group testing at industrial accidents nationally.

A shelter-in-place order issued after the leak has since been lifted.

Mr. Smith spoke Wednesday during a Zoom town hall that the group said it held “due to the amount of residents reaching out” to him related to last week’s chemical leak at MC Tank Transport, 1266 Progress Ave. in North Toledo. A couple dozen people took part in the online meeting, with participants submitting questions in writing.

“We want to get that information out so people have the discretion to go to their doctor because the calls I’m getting are simple,” Mr. Smith, the event host, continued. “You really don’t need my testing ...  or anybody’s testing. People did not have these symptoms, these bloody noses, asthma, prior to this chemical fog invading their property.”

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said its air monitoring and sampling had not detected glycidyl methacrylate or other hazardous chemicals above risk-based screening levels. The agency stopped monitoring and sampling at 11 p.m. Monday.

Sampling data from its specialized Trace Atmospheric Gas Analyzer mobile unit will be posted on its website, the agency said.

Although the U.S. EPA’s latest monitoring did not detect glycidyl methacrylate above screening levels, independent researchers say they found elevated levels of formaldehyde, a potential byproduct, in the air. Formaldehyde is known to cause cancer with prolonged exposure, while glycidyl methacrylate is considered a possible carcinogen.

Attorney Mindy Bish, the event’s co-host, urged residents to avoid joining class-action lawsuits, arguing that the attorneys involved often benefit from settlements. Instead, she advised residents to wait for additional testing to identify potential health hazards before consulting local attorneys they trust.

Ms. Bish is managing partner of the Atlanta-based Keenan Law Firm, which funds Mr. Smith’s independent environmental testing. The testing is provided at no charge to affected communities.

“So just to give you an idea, we’ll be out there probably until January because with the holidays, I have a feeling it’ll slow down some of the testing,” she said. “Then that’ll give us a better idea of what we’re looking at.

“[It] will then help Scott understand what further testing he needs to do and where we do the testing in quadrants, which means if your neighbor got tested, you may not get tested because we have some idea of what your quadrant looks like,” she continued. “We want to make sure that everyone at least has some idea of what is there and what we need to do with it.”

At least two class-action lawsuits have been filed in response to last week’s massive chemical plume. MC Tank Transport and the company that acquired it in 2025, Kenan Advantage Group of North Canton, Ohio, have not responded to the lawsuits.

The two companies have said in prior statements that they regret the incident and are cooperating with authorities.

Ms. Bish also urged anyone showing symptoms of exposure, such as prolonged coughing, throat irritation, shortness of breath, headaches, nosebleeds, or dizziness, to seek help from their doctor or other medical professionals.

Additionally, she said people in the area should make sure they don’t wear outdoor footwear indoors, cover all their skin while working in their yards or mowing a lawn, keep their pets off the grass, and change air filters at home and in their vehicles. 

Robert Kroutil and Mark Thomas, scientists from Kansas-based Spectral Systems Integration who detected the formaldehyde on Oct. 22, also participated in the Wednesday online event.

They said they used highly selective equipment to detect potential carcinogens, such as formaldehyde and acrolein, whose levels were above risk-based chemical concentration thresholds. The EPA, they claimed, did not use the proper equipment. 

“I think the thing is we bring the equipment that we look at all the problems associated with the release, and we bring the right piece of equipment to actually do the detection,” Mr. Kroutil said.

“And that was a comment that Mark made: that there’s nobody at EPA really researching these chemicals and then making a decision,” he continued. “They have a standard playbook, and they bring X, Y, you know, first piece of equipment out, which [they think] is probably a fit, and then they go down the roll of equipment, never looking at the chemistry of the event, and never understanding exactly what kind of equipment you need to bring out.

“So that is very lacking in the EPA currently today, and lacking in the way that they approach emergency response.”

Neither the U.S. EPA nor the Ohio EPA immediately responded to requests for comment.

Toledo’s police and fire union leaders warn that potential layoffs if Issue 16 fails could further strain departments they say are already struggling to keep up with calls for service.

“Losing one officer is too many,” said Toledo Police Officer Michael Haynes, president of the Toledo Police Patrolman’s Association. “We’re already below where we should be.”

Joe Cira, president of Toledo Firefighters Local 92, pointed to the growing demands on firefighters in West Toledo.

“We have a crisis right now,” Mr. Cira said. “The fire department’s crisis is that West Toledo has become so busy, so hyperbusy that there’s four stations out there with 10 rigs. ... We are, on a routine basis, not able to keep up, and there’s other rigs coming into those districts to take the runs.”

The warnings come as Toledo officials prepare for the possibility that voters will reject Issue 16, a proposed temporary 0.25 percent income tax increase that would generate approximately $25 million annually for neighborhood safety expenditures.

The city outlined two potential 2027 budgets to Toledo City Council’s finance committee Wednesday, including one that contemplates laying off 73 employees, eliminating police and fire recruitment classes, and reducing city services if the levy fails.

Deputy Mayor Abby Arnold said roughly half of the potential layoffs would come from the police and fire departments.

Staffing concerns

Officer Haynes said a reduction in police staffing would force the department to prioritize which calls receive a response.

“You’re going to send your resources to the highest priority crimes, and then so those lower priority crimes that citizens expect to see an officer at will most likely suffer,” he said.

Both union presidents said they would fight to protect their members’ jobs if layoffs occur.

The city’s proposals remain preliminary, and no final decisions have been made.

If Issue 16 passes, the city plans to expand its fire investigation unit and police gang task force, establish a residential speed enforcement program, and increase funding for demolitions.

Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz has also promised recruitment classes of 40 police officers and 40 firefighters annually for the next four years.

If the levy fails, the city is considering reductions to the fire investigation unit and gang task force, along with the potential layoffs.

Other possible cuts include closing city pools, eliminating the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement and youth programming, reducing blight removal services, and ending curbside recycling.

The city must submit its proposed 2027 budget to Toledo City Council by Nov. 15, less than two weeks after voters decide Issue 16 on Nov. 3.

Budget outlook

Even if voters approve Issue 16, Toledo would continue drawing millions of dollars from its capital improvement and rainy day funds to balance its budget, according to projections presented to City Council.

The city expects to transfer $24 million from its capital improvement fund this year.

If the levy passes, the city projects transfers of $20 million annually from 2027 through 2029. If it fails, the annual transfers would remain at $24 million.

The city also expects to withdraw $37.8 million from its rainy day fund this year.

If Issue 16 passes, projected withdrawals would decline to $17 million in 2027, $8.3 million in 2028, and $1.7 million in 2029.

If voters reject the levy, the city projects withdrawing $22.4 million in 2027, $15.9 million in 2028, and $9.3 million in 2029.

Under the scenario in which the levy fails, the rainy day fund would be depleted by 2029, according to the city’s projections.

In March, Toledo City Council passed a resolution calling for the administration to reduce transfers from the city's rainy day fund by $10 million annually in 2027 and 2028.

Councilman George Sarantou, chairman of council’s finance committee, said council will still expect those reductions even if Issue 16 passes.

“Council will be expecting that,” Mr. Sarantou said. “And if the administration doesn’t want to do it, then council will do it.”

Ms. Arnold said the administration has accounted for the reductions by decreasing its projected reliance on the rainy day fund.

Tax revenue falls

Adding to the city’s financial challenges, Toledo now expects to collect $14.7 million less in income tax revenue this year than originally budgeted.

The city budgeted $246.5 million in income tax collections for 2026 but now projects approximately $231.8 million, a shortfall of nearly 6 percent.

Melanie Campbell, the city’s finance director, said collections from income tax withholding have declined.

“Withholding is our biggest category, so that’s the money that gets withheld and you see on your W-2 as income taxes paid,” Ms. Campbell said.

The city reported a decrease of approximately $2.3 million in withholding collections compared with the previous September.

Ms. Campbell said the decline could reflect fewer people working in Toledo or lower wages. An early analysis of October’s financial figures suggests withholding collections remain down.

“I am concerned about where that tax revenue is trending, and that is another reason why we must have reductions in every department in the city, not just police and fire,” Mr. Sarantou said.

If approved, Issue 16 would increase Toledo’s municipal income tax rate from 2.5 percent to 2.75 percent, placing it among the highest municipal income tax rates in Ohio.

The city’s existing income tax consists of a permanent 1.5 percent tax, a temporary 0.75 percent tax, and a temporary 0.25 percent tax dedicated to road improvements. Issue 16 would add another temporary 0.25 percent tax for public safety.

A proposal to guide future development along I-75 in Perrysburg is raising concerns among residents who fear it could pave the way for data centers and the annexation of neighboring township land.

The city’s proposed I-75 Corridor Land Use Plan update would establish a new “Highway Innovation” designation for approximately 1,225 acres between Roachton Road and the city’s southern boundary. The designation would guide future development, including advanced manufacturing, research and development, logistics, and offices.

But residents of Perrysburg and surrounding townships questioned what that development might look like and whether it could eventually bring data centers to the area.

More than a dozen people attended an open house Wednesday at the Schaller Memorial Building, where city officials explained the proposal and answered questions.

Joe Fawcett, Perrysburg’s city administrator, said economic development has been a priority as the city looks for ways to broaden its tax base and help address financial pressures, particularly school funding.

“One of the focus areas over the last few years has been economic development and, specifically, how to broaden the tax base,” Mr. Fawcett said. “How to bring in large industrial utility users into the community to help alleviate some of the issues we’ve been seeing with various community topics but most specifically, school funding.”

Although the proposed land use plan extends into Perrysburg Township, officials emphasized that it would not force property owners to annex into the city or change how they use their land.

Mark Easterling, Perrysburg’s planning and zoning administrator, described the proposal as a long-term vision rather than a commitment to specific development.

“This is a dream,” Mr. Easterling said. “This is what we envision for our future. This plan will change. It may not look like this as trends change, but we, as responsible planners, as responsible administrators, we have to have plans in place.”

Chris Coultrip of Perrysburg Township was among those who attended the open house with concerns about the possibility of data center development.

She said the growing number of data centers proposed or under development across Ohio has made her wary of plans to designate more land for industrial use.

“I just think they’re looking ahead to something,” Ms. Coultrip said.

Lyn Cox of Monclova Township, a member of Conserve Ohio, expressed similar concerns.

Ms. Cox said she joined the organization to advocate against data center development and push for legislation restricting it. She attended the open house to learn whether Perrysburg’s proposal could encourage similar projects.

“If I’m right, eventually the Meta data center in Middleton Township, which is continuing to buy land, is going to end up meeting Perrysburg Township, Perrysburg,” Ms. Cox said. “It’s going to be one small data center [after another] all the way from Rossford, Perrysburg, Perrysburg Township, Middleton Township, maybe even eventually Bowling Green.”

She also characterized the city’s vision for land in a neighboring township as “predatory.”

Mr. Fawcett rejected suggestions that the proposal was intended to accommodate data centers or force annexation.

“This has nothing to do with a data center,” he said. “[The plan] is not changing the land use. It’s not changing the zoning. It’s not changing any of that.”

Officials stressed that adopting the plan would not itself change zoning regulations or require any property owner to join the city. The document would instead guide future land use decisions, which could change as development trends evolve.

Perrysburg City Council will hold a public hearing on the proposed plan at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday, followed by a council meeting at 6:30 p.m., when members are expected to vote on its adoption.

COLUMBUS — Ohio’s three candidates for secretary of state have sharply different ideas about how to run the state’s elections, from tightening voter identification requirements and eliminating ballot drop boxes to expanding voting access and protecting voter information.

Republican Robert Sprague, Democrat Allison Russo, and Libertarian Tom Pruss are competing in Tuesday’s election to succeed term-limited Secretary of State Frank LaRose.

Mr. Sprague, the current state treasurer, wants to strengthen voter identification requirements and eliminate ballot drop boxes, which he contends are vulnerable to fraud. Ms. Russo, a state representative, wants to expand access to voting, including making it easier to return absentee ballots. Mr. Pruss, a Toledo businessman, says the office should be nonpartisan and has emphasized voter participation and data privacy.

The race comes as Ohio voters also consider Issue 3, a proposed constitutional amendment that would enshrine the state’s existing photo identification requirements for voting in the Ohio Constitution. The amendment would not immediately change voting procedures but would make those requirements more difficult to change in the future.

The secretary of state oversees Ohio’s elections and voter registration and is also responsible for business registrations, giving the office a central role in both election administration and the state’s business operations.

All three candidates discussed their priorities and qualifications in separate interviews.

Robert Sprague

Mr. Sprague, a Findlay native who currently serves as the state treasurer, said he’s been focused on speaking with unaffiliated voters about election security.

“They’re not these ideological Democrats or Republicans, and when I arrive at a doorstep, or I’m talking with a voter out in the street or in a small business, I tell them that I’m running for secretary of state ... and that it’s my belief that every ballot should be cast with a photo ID so we know people are who they say they are,” Mr. Sprague said.

“So I ask people, ‘What do you think?’” he continued. “After they think about it for just a second, they’re like, ‘Yeah, you should have to show a photo ID to make sure that there’s no cheating going on in the elections.’” 

The Ohio General Assembly placed Issue 3 on the ballot by adopting Senate Joint Resolution 10, co-sponsored by state Sen. Theresa Gavarone (R., Bowling Green). Lawmakers moved quickly on the amendment after Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy publicly called for it. 

Mr. Sprague noted that Ms. Russo, a state representative from Upper Arlington in central Ohio, voted against House Bill 458, the measure passed during the lame duck session in December, 2022, putting photo ID requirements in the Ohio Revised Code. Ms. Russo also voted against S.J.R. 10. 

He said he also supports legislation creating a photo ID requirement for mail-in ballots, but Gov. Mike DeWine vetoed House Bill 472.

“Those are the issues that I’m running on, and that’s the clear contrast between me and my opponent,” Mr. Sprague said.

Mr. Sprague also supports eliminating ballot drop boxes at county boards of elections and making Election Day a state holiday. 

Mr. Sprague said he has experience starting a small business, so he’s excited about that aspect of the job. 

“The number one thing you need is capital, you need money,” he said. “I’d like to put an engine on the front end of those business filings that if you’d like to type in about your business, this engine will go out and search for all the federal grants, state grants, and local grants that you would qualify for, and maybe even fill out the application for you.”

Allison Russo

Ms. Russo said voters have told her they’re concerned about losing access to convenient voting methods because of rhetoric from President Trump and Mr. Sprague alleging that elections aren’t currently secure.

“Getting rid of ballot drop boxes, like Bob Sprague wants to do, or making mail-in voting more difficult — people don’t like that,” said Ms. Russo, who still serves as a state representative but stepped down from her position as Ohio House minority leader after announcing her run for secretary of state.

Ms. Russo has introduced House Bill 761 — legislation allowing voters to return mail ballots to drop boxes at their precinct voting locations on Election Day. She said such a bill would help ensure Ohioans’ voices are heard, especially considering the enactment of legislation eliminating the four-day grace period for mailed ballots to arrive at county boards of elections. 

She said it doesn’t make sense that Ohio only allows one drop box per county — especially considering the high number of voters in large counties such as Lucas, Franklin, Hamilton, and Cuyahoga counties. 

“People like having access to the ballot drop boxes,” she said.

“They are used by older voters, those with disabilities, and just people who are busy,” Ms. Russo continued. “They have the mail-in ballot, and for a variety of reasons, they think it’s just convenient to drive through and drop it off.”

Mr. Sprague has said drop boxes are vulnerable to ballot harvesting and fraud, and they just aren’t worth the money. Ms. Russo called his concerns a conspiracy theory.

“He seems to have no understanding of how these ballot drop boxes actually work,” Ms. Russo said. “They are secure. They are monitored by cameras. You have to have a Republican and Democrat access a drop box to open them up and remove ballots. ... There is zero evidence of fraud as it relates to these ballot drop boxes.”

Ms. Russo said she would work to expand voter outreach programs if elected.

“Only 26 percent of 18-year-olds are registered in the state of Ohio,” she said. “That is one of the lowest voter registration rates among that group in the country, and certainly the lowest in the Midwest.”

She said the state should work harder to ensure that 18-year-olds are registered to vote by the time they graduate high school and can easily access a free state ID. 

“I don’t think that a single senior graduating from any of our public high schools should be leaving without being registered to vote and having some form of identification,” Ms. Russo said. 

Ms. Russo said voters are also worried about data privacy.

“Obviously, it’s coming up in the context of Flock cameras and data centers, but people are also really upset at the thought that their nonpublic, private voting information would be shared with the federal government with no protections on how that data would be used,” she said.

Tom Pruss

Mr. Pruss, a business owner from Toledo, should be a familiar name to voters in the 9th congressional district because of his campaign as a Libertarian for the northwest Ohio seat in 2024.

Mr. Pruss said he’s running for secretary of state because that office should not be partisan.

“It has to be the most neutral office statewide because you are dealing with multiple parties,” he said.

“We saw where Frank LaRose handed over 8 million voters’ information to the feds,” he continued. “That would never happen under a Pruss administration, because the first question I would ask is, ‘Where’s your warrant?’”

Mr. Pruss said another one of his priorities is to increase voter participation, and he pointed to Lucas County specifically.

“You look at the primaries we have here in Lucas County, and we only manage to get like 9 or 10 percent of the voters out,” he said. “And then in the general, you only get like 40 or 43 percent. That is horrible. We need to get more people involved.”

Mr. Pruss said Ohioans and citizens across the country should be more engaged in current events.

“In France, they’re literally rioting because of costs rising because of a war that we created in Iran. It’s the reason for the prices of their baguettes,” he said.

“Here, we’re like, ‘Meh, I don’t care about it. I’ll pay a little bit more for the gas,’” he continued. “It’s like, you’re kidding me! Our Founding Fathers fought a war over a 3 percent tax. It’s insane.” 

Other priorities for Mr. Pruss include protecting ballot access for all, securing elections without suppressing the vote, ensuring government transparency, and supporting small businesses.

Ad featuring Amy Acton’s mother

While other Ohio Republicans such as Gov. Mike DeWine, former Gov. John Kasich, and Auditor Keith Faber have criticized Mr. Ramaswamy’s campaign ad featuring Dr. Amy Acton’s estranged mother, Mr. Sprague said it’s up to Ohioans to decide whether the ad is offensive or not.

“I saw him say in the media that he’s going to put like $4 million behind it,” Mr. Sprague said. “Everybody in the state of Ohio is going to see it, and the people of Ohio are smart. The voters are smart, and they’re going to make a decision as to whether the ad is good and whether or not it’s fair.”

In the ad, Donna Arthur calls her daughter — the Democratic candidate for governor — a person who “lies about her past.” 

Dr. Acton has spoken for years about her rough childhood in which she suffered from intermittent homelessness and poverty. She has also openly discussed the childhood sexual abuse she experienced at the hands of her stepfather. 

“Between the ages of 10 and 12, I was sexually abused by her husband while my birth mother did nothing to protect me,” Dr. Acton said. “I’ve always known that she was deeply sick and unwell, and it’s sad to see Vivek Ramaswamy exploit her all for his own political gain.”

Records provided by the Mahoning County clerk of courts back up Dr. Acton’s claims about her stepfather being arrested and indicted for raping her and then fleeing the state with her mother to avoid prosecution. 

Ms. Russo, who was among the first elected officials to condemn the ad when it began circulating online, sarcastically called Mr. Sprague’s comments a “real profile in courage.”

“As secretary of state ... we will be called upon to make tough calls, and to put aside the personal politics and partisanship of what is happening around us. Showing courage is going to be essential,” she said.

“We have Republicans and Democrats who are speaking out about this because this is about decency,” Ms. Russo continued. “This is not hard. It should not be hard to say this was wrong.” 

Ms. Russo also noted that the original version of the ad was circulating online without a disclaimer at the end, so it’s possible the ad violated campaign finance laws.

Mr. Pruss said he couldn’t believe that Mr. Ramaswamy decided to double down on the ad and put it on TV.

“Talk about being tone-deaf,” Mr. Pruss said. “That doesn’t play well.” 

Births

ProMedical Toledo Hospital

Katelynn Marble, of Toledo, twin girls, Oct. 19.

Michelle and Douglas Kemerer, of Antwerp, Ohio, boy, Oct. 22.

Tyasiya Schaber, of Toledo, boy, Oct. 22.

Alizabeth Ward, of Toledo, girl, Oct. 22.

Carlee and Troy Wight, of Erie, Michigan, girl, Oct. 22.

Morgan Coffman and Conor Hill, of Toledo, boy, Oct. 23.

Vanessa and Jared Dawson, of Erie, Mich., boy, Oct. 23.

Karina Kranwinel, of Bryan, girl, Oct. 23.

Elena Moore-Bonomo and Jordan Bonomo, of Perrysburg, boy, Oct. 23.

Jessica and James Wilson, of Ada, Ohio, boy, Oct. 24.

Mercedes and Ryan Strausbaugh, of Perrysburg, boy, Oct. 26.

Divorces granted

Lucas County

Amanda Kamann from Matthew Kamann,

Jenyl Linkey from Yaya Kobo.

Kedric Vo from Aaliyah Campbell.

Alvin Willis, Jr., from Laura Mora.

Loren Shaffer III from Brittany Wietrzykowski.

Cecelia Dahn from Marcus Dahn.

April Black from James Davis.

Brooke Broughton from Michael Broughton.

Loren Underwood, Jr., from Melissa Traver.

Alford Brown from Jennifer Brown.

Darlene Goatley from Richard Wheeler.

Terri Benson from William Benson.

Darrick Harris from Charlotte Ash.

Lisa Wilson from Roosevelt Wilson.

Daphne Katafiasz from Todd Cherry.

NAPOLEON  — It was a chance meeting in a Henry County soybean field that brought two veterans from different generations together on Wednesday. 

“I was out flying last week, and the owner of Farmland News, their cousin was taking a soybean field out ... combining it,” said Barry Behnfeldt, a Napoleon resident. 

Mr. Behnfeldt is a Navy veteran and pilot who rose to the rank of captain during his career. He made headlines in 2023 for flying to and landing in all 48 contiguous states in 44 hours and 16 minutes with a copilot — a Guinness World Record. 

He was a longtime airline pilot and is currently president of a nonprofit called 48N48, which promotes aviation and inspires future pilots.

Mr. Behnfeldt also dabbles in barnstorming, a practice dating to the early days of aviation in which pilots traveled from place to place, landing in fields to offer airplane rides or perform aerial stunts.

It was “kind of like what they used to do in the barnstorming days,” the pilot said, that brought him to the soybean field last week. 

“I ended up landing in that field where they had taken out the soybeans and taxied up to the combine. ... I got talking to the farmer, the owner of the farm there, and he was telling me about his uncle who is a World War II veteran that served on the USS Enterprise. I said I need to get him up in the airport and take him on an airplane.”   

In another connection, Mr. Behnfeldt served aboard the nuclear-powered USS Enterprise in the 1990s. Its predecessor, on which the farmer’s uncle served, was the most decorated U.S. Navy ship of World War II.

Just a few days later, that World War II veteran, Robert “Bob” Masters, was arriving with his family at the Henry County Airport for his promised ride. 

Mr. Masters, who is turning 101 on Saturday, said he had some doubts about the idea initially. 

“My nephew farms around here and he called me ... he said ‘Do you want to go fly?’ ... No,” Mr. Masters said, recalling his initial response.

His daughter Janet called afterward. 

“She said we have it lined up for you for Wednesday. She was coming here too for vacation. So it was strange how it happened,” Mr. Masters said. “I am glad they got Barry involved too ... heck of a nice guy.”  

Mr. Masters, a longtime Perrysburg resident and current resident of Genesis Village retirement community, said he joined the Navy soon after graduating from Liberty Center High School in 1943. 

“Anybody could walk in, and they took you in the service,” the centenarian said. “And I didn’t want to go into the Army. [The Army] wouldn’t have taken me until I was 18, and maybe the Navy took me at 17. As a homeless kid, no place to go, it was wonderful. I enjoyed it.” 

He spent three years in the service doing mostly clerical work. He was stationed in places from Rhode Island to California and recalled encountering Adm. Chester Nimitz one day while delivering papers to administrative offices. Adm. Nimitz commanded Allied forces in the Pacific during World War II.

He never flew in the military, but he said aviation had always been part of his life. He once co-owned a plane with several friends and flew it occasionally. He also worked as a salesman at Toledo Mirror and Glass.

Still, Mr. Masters expressed some nervousness as the flight was being prepared. 

“I am concerned,” Mr. Masters said before the flight. “But I can’t fly anything because I cannot see the artificial horizon or anything. I never flew a plane with a stick.” 

Mr. Masters was referring to the control stick in the Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-3 plane he was about to ride in. The yellow 1941 biplane belongs to Mr. Behnfeldt, who said it would have been used by the military as a “trainer” or a teaching vehicle for young pilots.  Mr. Behnfeldt’s nonprofit hosts an open house day each fall where he gives rides in planes like the N3N-3. 

Despite his initial misgivings, Mr. Masters was in good spirits when the plane returned from its short flight, which reached altitudes of 500 to 1,000 feet.

He described seeing farmland and how small Liberty Center looked from the air. 

“Will you fly me at 102?” he asked Mr. Behnfeldt. 

Mr. Masters’ daughter was happy for him, too. She said her father loved watching planes land on aircraft carriers during his Navy service.

“By the time you get to 101, how many new opportunities in life do you have?” said Janet Masters, a Fort Collins, Colo., resident. “This is really unique. He was more excited about meeting a captain in the Navy than going on the actual plane.” 

Ms. Masters, who was joined by a small crowd including her brother and sister and some Henry County public officials on Wednesday, said she thinks her dad enjoyed a day in the spotlight, too. 

“At his age, you kind of become invisible,” Ms. Masters said. “People ignore older people, and this gives him an opportunity to actually spend the day getting a lot of attention.” 

“That’s why I didn’t give him the choice,” she added. 

For U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.), this midterm election is a “bridge election.”

Looking ahead to the next presidential election, Mr. Johnson told supporters at the Lucas County Republican Party’s headquarters that “2028 is a presidential cycle ... many of you know we have a much deeper bench than the Democrats do for the presidential.”

“We’re going to have a great ’28, then we get to 2030,” he said, noting that “2030 is the decennial census.” He predicted a shift in congressional seats because of population changes: “There’s been a mass exodus, a mass population shift out of the blue states to the red [states] … here’s what’s going to happen, when the census reflects the population, guess which big blue states are going to lose congressional seats?”

When the House of Representatives is reapportioned following the 2030 census, Mr. Johnson said Republicans could build a majority of 10 to 25 seats.

“That’s how we build a durable, governing, common sense, conservative majority for a generation or longer,” he said.

But before he gets to 2030, Mr. Johnson is going to have to get through Nov. 3.

Republicans are hoping not only to retain their majorities in both chambers of Congress but also to expand them.

The outcome of 21 seats will determine the majority, and for Mr. Johnson, Ohio’s 9th congressional district is one of the most important.

“To me ... this is the number one race because we came so close last time,” Mr. Johnson said. “I want this one more than any other seat.”

Ohio’s 9th congressional district is one of the most-watched races across the country. Republican nominee Derek Merrin is attempting to unseat the longest-serving woman in Congress, U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo).

The pair faced off previously in 2024. Ms. Kaptur won re-election by less than 1 percentage point, but the district has since been redrawn to give Republicans an advantage of 9 percentage points.

Mr. Johnson’s visit to the Lucas County Republican Party’s headquarters in Holland on Wednesday to stump for Mr. Merrin was his second public visit to the district. He visited Defiance earlier this month.

Mr. Johnson touted Mr. Merrin’s experience in local and state government, emphasizing that he has “fought for all the conservative principles.”

Mr. Johnson said he has already selected committee assignments for Mr. Merrin if he wins, although he did not specify which committees.

Unlike his Defiance visit, neither Mr. Merrin nor Mr. Johnson took questions from the media following Wednesday’s event.

“For Derek, public service has always been about personal ambition,” a spokesman for Ms. Kaptur’s campaign said. “Speaker Johnson has already picked out Derek’s committee assignments, because Johnson knows what we all know. Derek will gladly work the system if it helps Derek Merrin, whether or not it helps Northwest Ohio.”

Mr. Johnson’s visit comes just one day after U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene (D., Wash.), the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, rallied with voters outside of the Lucas County Early Vote Center in Toledo.

Mr. Merrin praised Mr. Johnson’s leadership, citing legislative achievements on immigration, border security, and the One Big Beautiful Bill.

“Why did that happen? Well, a lot of it has to do with President Trump,” Mr. Merrin said. “But those that know government know that those legislative achievements have to go through Congress, and they had to go through the U.S. House of Representatives in a very narrow, narrow majority.”

While Mr. Johnson stumped for Mr. Merrin in northwest Ohio, President Trump was preparing to take the stage in southern Ohio’s Chillicothe.

Mr. Merrin said his campaign has focused on “exposing Marcy Kaptur’s liberal record,” adding that it is time for new leadership in northwest Ohio.

While Ms. Kaptur has a D next to her name, the Democratic congressman has broken from her party many times, including opposing the North American Free Trade Agreement and voting in favor of the Stopping Indoctrination and Protecting Kids Act, which requires public elementary and middle schools to obtain parental consent before changing a minor student’s pronouns, preferred name, or facility accommodations in order to receive federal funding.

Still, Mr. Merrin attacked Ms. Kaptur for voting against bills like the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, which would amend Title IX to prohibit school athletic programs from allowing biological males to participate in programs for women and girls, and the One Big Beautiful Bill, which provided temporary tax deductions for qualifying tips and overtime pay, along with an additional deduction for eligible older taxpayers.

Mr. Johnson said the most dangerous person running for Congress is a Democrat pretending to be a moderate.

“If she’s trying to pretend that she will be able to act as a moderate in the new Congress, she will not be able to do that,” he said. “The radicals have taken over.”

A spokesman for Ms. Kaptur’s campaign said the congressman has a proven track record of delivering for northwest Ohio while both parties “waste time fighting partisan battles.”

“When politicians tried to gut funding for the Great Lakes, she worked across party lines to restore it,” the spokesman said. “When American workers faced unfair competition from China, she took on President Biden and President Trump to take a tougher stand. Marcy represents America’s Big Middle — not the political extremes, the billionaire class, or the Washington power brokers.”

In the final days of the election season, both candidates are expected to continue campaigning and encouraging their voters to get out and vote.

The last day to vote early is Sunday. Election Day is Nov. 3.

Click on icons in the map to find details of reported crimes. For a full list of all reported crimes in Toledo this week, consult the table below.

Two years from now, Metroparks Toledo hopes to open a new Metropark along the Maumee River in the heart of Toledo’s historic Vistula District.

The future park’s working name is Vistula Meadows Metropark, said Jennifer Van Horn, Metroparks Toledo chief planning and construction officer.

Its goal is to provide “clean, safe, natural spaces” in one of Toledo’s oldest neighborhoods, and to “connect the Toledo community back to the waterfront,” she said.

The Metroparks Toledo Board of Park Commissioners got an update on the $23 million project at its monthly board meeting at Brookwood Area in South Toledo on Wednesday but did not vote on the name.

It will decide at a later date whether to go with that name or something else, Ms. Van Horn said.

Vistula Meadows Metropark is a nod to environmental characteristics that were once along the river’s shoreline.

The future park’s planning and design were authorized by the park board at its February meeting.

Design is now 60 percent completed.

The park will be mostly along Water Street, north of Toledo Pickle Co., between Olive and Magnolia streets.

Improvements to a smaller site near the Martin Luther King, Jr. Bridge will be part of the project.

The board’s presentation was delivered by three people working with Ms. Van Horn’s staff on the project: Ryan Bunch, Toledo Design Collective studio director; Timothy Bockbrader, a principal with Edge landscape architecture urban design and planning; and Andy Langenderfer, Tetra Tech vice president.

The trio said the project has a common theme of making the Maumee River more accessible to visitors for recreation and inspiration as the downtown era continues to transition away from its industrial past.

One of the biggest features will be a waterfront playground, with a boardwalk along the shoreline. Other features will include a trail designed for people with disabilities and large green spaces where festival tents and portable music stages can be set up.

Plans also call for a large crosswalk to be created across Summit Street so residents from the Vistula neighborhood can access the site more safely on foot, the group said.

The future park is one of the larger projects in the Glass City Riverwalk being built along both sides of the Maumee River.

“What this project has done, along with the other Riverwalk projects, is really carry on this community vision to give people back access to water and the riverfront,” Mr. Bunch said. “This is why this is so important.”

During the presentations, data was presented on greater challenges faced by many residents of the Vistula neighborhood because of a lack of services there.

The belief is that more recreational opportunities provided by a new Metropark could help improve their physical and mental health to some degree, while also providing a chance for more face-to-face socialization.

Signage will be installed to help educate people about the riverfront’s natural history.

The judge overseeing the death penalty case in Kei’mani Latigue’s killing agreed Wednesday to postpone three unrelated rape trials against Darnell Jones until after his capital case is tried.

Judge Michael Goulding also agreed that all four cases should be reassigned to the same judge after his expected resignation from Lucas County Common Pleas Court following his likely election to the Ohio 6th District Court of Appeals bench.

Jennifer Liptack-Sutphin, chief of criminal prosecution for the Lucas County Prosecutor’s Office, told Judge Goulding that publicity surrounding the three rape cases for which Jones, 35, of the 600 block of Willard Street, was indicted in early August could taint his pending trial for the March, 2025, death of his daughter Kei’mani, 13.

She noted in particular that evidence from the rape cases also pertains to the sexually violent predator specification attached to several counts in his indictment for Kei’mani’s death, including one of the capital specifications attached to his four alternative counts of aggravated murder.

Ronnie Wingate, Jones’ defense lawyer in the rape cases, joined the prosecution’s request to delay those trials and agreed with Ms. Liptack-Sutphin that the same judge should preside over all four cases.

Judge Goulding said he expected to issue an order either later Wednesday or first thing Thursday morning directing Lucas County Children Services documents relating to one of the alleged rape victims be provided to case attorneys on an “attorneys-only” basis. 

The prosecutor said all other evidence discovery had been provided to Mr. Wingate, who then said he is working through the “voluminous” information.

Still pending from the judge is a ruling on a defense motion in Jones’ capital case to suppress statements Jones made to Columbus police after his March 25, 2025, arrest there the day after Kei’mani’s body was found in an abandoned East Toledo house. Jones was in a Columbus hospital at the time, receiving treatment for a gunshot wound to one of his legs during his arrest.

Judge Goulding set Nov. 23 as the date of the next pretrial conference for all of his pending cases.

With no incumbent on the ballot for Ohio’s 44th House District, residents in the uniquely drawn region will have new representation in the next General Assembly, and three candidates are making their cases for the job.

Northwood Mayor Ed Schimmel, a Republican, Democratic attorney David Fournier, and Sylvania City Councilman Lyndsey Stough, an independent, are all vying for the seat currently held by state Rep. Josh Williams (R., Sylvania Township).

Mr. Williams decided not to run for re-election, instead jumping into a crowded Republican primary for Ohio’s 9th congressional district, but he came up short in the primary election.

Mr. Fournier, who is a full-time attorney, is the only candidate in the race who has not held an elected office.

“My approach to the campaign has been trying to be myself,” he said. “Just kind of putting my positions out there unambiguously.”

A key component of his campaign has been sharing his platform through casual, conversational videos on Facebook. Mr. Fournier often films the videos outside his Whitehouse home, breaking down his policy positions on school funding, the Local Government Fund, and affordability in just a few short minutes.

If elected, Mr. Fournier said he would prioritize updating the cost inputs for the Fair School Funding Plan and working with his colleagues to finish phasing it in to fully fund public schools. He also supports restoring the Local Government Fund to prerecession levels and reinstating funding for the state’s public libraries.

When it comes to data centers, Mr. Fournier said he does not want to turn investment away from Ohio but acknowledged that the state needs to develop them in a responsible way.

“I do support a moratorium until we’ve established at least certain guidelines and threshold requirements for putting these large facilities in place,” he said. “And that would include things like independent monitoring of noise, water usage and discharge, air pollution, or other environmental concerns.”

Mr. Schimmel, who has been the mayor of Northwood since 2016, said he would not support a statewide moratorium on data center developments but agreed that the state needs to look at regulating them. 

“I think that if localities want to do [a moratorium], a temporary one ... so they can get their zoning in line with how they want their master plan to look, how they want their community to look, I would be in favor of localities doing that,” he said.

Mr. Schimmel, who is also a full-time attorney, said he thinks the state should look at requiring data centers to recycle water and produce their own electricity, as opposed to relying on the public grid.

“I think the state needs to do more funding for brownfield cleanup, whether it be grants or low-interest loans through the Ohio EPA,” he said. “And then once we get those brownfields cleaned up, that’s where the data centers need to go.”

If elected, Mr. Schimmel said he would prioritize funding the U.S. 23/I-71 connector in the state’s transportation budget, expanding the Homestead Exemption on property taxes for seniors or people living with disabilities, and producing more energy, whether it is nuclear, natural gas, or solar. Mr. Schimmel is endorsed by Mr. Williams.

Ms. Stough, an independent candidate, is hoping her experiences on Sylvania City Council will prove to voters she has what it takes to represent the area in Columbus.

City council members are nonpartisan in Sylvania, and Ms. Stough said she is tired of the two-party system.

Ms. Stough, who is a full-time architect, said she supports “practical solutions over partisan gridlock.” She has never been involved in either major party, although she voted in the 2016 Democratic presidential primary for U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.).

The councilman said she supports open primary elections, ranked choice voting, and the state’s petition process, but she acknowledged the challenges independent candidates face when running for office.

Independent candidates often have less funding and less media coverage, and they typically have to collect more signatures than a major-party candidate to get on the ballot.

If elected, Ms. Stough said her priorities are focused on lowering everyday costs, restoring money to the Local Government Fund, fully funding public schools, reducing hyper-partisanship, and demanding accountability for corruption.

“We had the largest corruption scandal less than a decade ago, and since then there has not been any ethics legislation passed to help make sure that it doesn’t happen again,” she said. 

Ms. Stough has spent the past six years in elected office, building up her name recognition, but she is also the daughter of former Sylvania Mayor Craig Stough, who led the city for 29 years before retiring in 2024. 

“I grew up getting to see my city as a place of involvement but also getting to see behind the scenes,” she said. “To understand how to keep a level head while hearing very emotional, passionate things sometimes, or very mundane things at other times.”

Ohio’s 44th House district is known for its unusual shape. It includes parts of Sylvania, Sylvania Township, Berkey, and Richfield Township in western Lucas County before following the Maumee River into northeastern Wood County and extending into the Clay Center and Genoa areas of western Ottawa County.

Mr. Williams won the district in 2024 by 15 percentage points, but President Trump won the district by only 10 percentage points the same year.

Springfield schools will have to cut an estimated $500,000 even if voters approve an income tax levy Tuesday, but that figure could rise to $2.5 million if the levy fails, Superintendent Matt Geha told the board of education.

“We have made cuts already in the last two years,” Mr. Geha explained. “If the levy fails, we will have to make $2.5 million in cuts prior to the fall of 2027.”

The district has a 0.5 percent income tax on the ballot. The five-year tax would generate an estimated $4.5 million annually. 

The district projects deficit spending of $3.4 million this fiscal year and a cash deficit of $923,548 by fiscal year 2029, an amount equal to 2.1 percent of projected revenue.

“There will have to be cuts in food service, health, classes, secretarial, staff, extracurricular activities, and transportation services,” Mr. Geha said on Wednesday. “Cuts will have to be made across all departments. It will affect the opportunities we give kids if the levy does not pass.”

The district eliminated 11 teaching positions through a work force reduction in February. One high school counselor and nine teachers moved into new positions for the 2026-27 school year. An additional four teachers and an eighth-grade football coach either resigned or were terminated.

Mr. Geha attributed the deficits to changes made in the state’s biennial budget in July, 2025, as well as increased operating costs and higher costs for required student services.

“The Fair School Funding Plan has not changed since 2022,” he said. “In 2022 we received 26 percent of funding from the state. This year we got 10 percent.”

Mr. Geha said that 131 districts across the state have a levy on the ballot. Ninety-six of the districts’ ballots are operational, like Springfield’s, he said.

Mr. Geha said the income tax is not a “golden ticket” for Springfield even if it is passed.

“Because it is an income tax, the money won’t come in all at once in January,” he said. “We will get some in 2027, but we will get the full amount in 2028.”

The district will have to make cuts before July 1 regardless of the levy outcome, Mr. Geha said.

“We will have to have tough conversations regardless,” he said. “We have to wait to see who the governor is and then we have to put pressure on politicians in January through March to get them to work with the Fair School Funding Plan.”

Board member Ken Musch said the levy is very important.

“It is a very stressful time right now,” Mr. Musch said. “We need the money; it is as simple as that. Regardless, our kids, teachers, staff, and administrators are doing wonderful things.”

Mr. Musch said the board tried to be fair and protect senior citizens and those on fixed incomes by placing the earned income tax on the ballot.

“Property taxes are hard on seniors,” he said. “This levy is only one half of 1 percent. And it is not charged to pensions, Social Security, or annuities. We tried to keep it as low as we could. The state of Ohio is trying to destroy public education.”

Board President Sherri Koback said the district has tried to trim what it could.

“It is a tough time for public education,” Mrs. Koback said. “Taking care of the kids, educating them, is important. This is not just Springfield making bad decisions. It is across the state and the loss of Fair School Funding.”

After the meeting, Mr. Geha elaborated on the cuts that would be necessary even if the levy passes.

“We are probably looking at $500,000,” he said. “We are encouraging those who can retire to really consider doing so. We will know more when we hear from the state next year.”

A “technology outage” that disrupted internal data systems at the CSX Transportation railroad sharply curtailed its operations in its second day Wednesday, including in the Toledo area.

Austin Staton, CSX’s director of media relations, said the company’s security team had confirmed that the failure of computer networks for crew management and shipment tracking and billing “was not a cyberattack and there has been no associated data breach.”

But the breakdown was blocking CSX’s interchange of freight traffic with most other railroads, which among other things made it unable to exchange railcars with the railroad that provides switching service at Stellantis’ Toledo Assembly Complex.

CSX’s technology section “is working diligently to correct the outage, and systems are coming back online on a rolling basis,” Mr. Staton said, “but not all functions are fully restored.”

The computer problems did not extend to the systems used by dispatchers who control train movements on CSX tracks nor to the Positive Train Control system that enforces safe train operations. Nor are any systems belonging to other railroads or CSX customers affected, the spokesman said.

“We remain focused on moving freight safely while restoring the systems that support our operations,” he said.

The outage does compromise CSX’s ability to assign crews to trains, to create documents that give trains procedural authority to operate, and to create freight waybills for shipments originating at online shippers or from other railroads.

“Limited interchange” was occurring with Conrail, which operates certain lines in the Detroit area and in and near New Jersey, and with the Belt Railway of Chicago using those companies’ documents and procedures, Mr. Staton said.

“Crew calling requires significant manual work, which is contributing to a slower pace of operations,” the spokesman said. “We are in regular communication with the other railroads and with the Federal Railroad Administration and the Surface Transportation Board.”

Besides handling some of Stellantis’ rail shipment of Jeeps, CSX in Toledo handles coal and iron ore shipments at the Port of Toledo, petrochemicals and other freight at the Cenovus Toledo Refinery in Oregon, and numerous other northwest Ohio customers including GM Powertrain in Defiance and an array of agricultural businesses.

CSX also interchanges freight shipments with the Canadian National railroad in Toledo and operates a major intermodal freight terminal in North Baltimore, Ohio.

The railroad’s overall network stretches from the Mississippi River to the Atlantic Ocean and from central Michigan and Maine to southern Florida and New Orleans.

A statewide effort to mobilize Black voters stopped in Toledo, rallying turnout ahead of a close midterm election by knocking on doors, parading through the city, and promoting events.

The Black Voters Matter bus was joined on Wednesday by the Ohio Unity Coalition and local organizers, who encouraged eligible Black voters to go to the polls on Nov. 3 or vote early at a free event Saturday.

Anita Madison, the Ohio Unity Coalition’s Toledo coordinator, said Black voters are frustrated, but they need to voice their frustrations at the polling booth.

“Here in Toledo, we often hear conversations about the issues affecting our community: the economy, the cost of living, public safety, education, housing, opportunities. But here’s the question I want to ask today: Are we making our voices heard where decisions are made?” she said. “We cannot afford to become disconnected from the democratic process simply because we’re frustrated, disappointed, or feel that our voices don’t matter.”

Shayla L. Davis, president and CEO of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus Foundation, cited a report estimating that 33,000 eligible Black voters in Lucas County didn’t cast a ballot in the last midterm election. Across the state, 603,000 didn’t vote, which represents a large bloc of voters with the ability to sway upcoming midterm elections.

“What our research found was these voters ... are not disinterested, they are disengaged,” Ms. Davis said. 
“Our people are not being asked to vote during midterm election season because no one is putting money into our communities but Black organizations and entities.”

Crystal Taylor, executive director of Hope Connections, a community nonprofit, said many Black voters don’t think their vote makes an impact. While knocking on doors at the John Holland Estates in central Toledo, she said it is hard to convince people otherwise when local officials ignored their neighborhoods for years and left them struggling. 

“It’s a constant mistrust. The city comes in and they say these great things are going to happen, and they don’t happen,” she said. “After a while, you just recognize that [voting] is another process that’s not necessarily in anybody’s favor that lives here.”

One of the bus’s stops was a voter rally at Scott High School. MiKayla Evans, the senior class vice president who attended the event, said she’s encouraged friends and classmates to vote.

“I tell them, vote whatever you think is best for our future, for our now, for our present, for our everything. It dictates who we are today, who we are tomorrow, who we are next week,” she said. “The things that are happening right now; we need a change”

Several community organizations are hosting Soles to the Polls at the Ottawa Park Amphitheater and will offer rides to the early voting center Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event also includes free food and activities for children and adults, karaoke, entertainment, food trucks, a bounce house, and table treats.

Festival Park in downtown Toledo will be transformed into a science and nature lab free for all to explore and learn.

The new Outdoor STEAM Lab, which will focus on science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics, was announced Wednesday by Imagination Station, which is spearheading the $1.1 million project.

“We’re reimagining Festival Park, this beautiful piece of property in downtown Toledo,” Lori Hauser, chief executive officer of the science center, said during a news conference at the park. “We’re creating a space to embrace science and nature.”

The project is expected to be completed in three phases. The first is fully funded by the state and by private donors, she said. Fund-raising for the other phases will commence soon.  

Talk about an outdoor science and nature lab at Imagination Station has been ongoing for about 10 years, Ms. Hauser said. First there was the center’s KeyBank Discovery Theater project, which redefined the face of Imagination Station and created an entrance on Summit Street. Then came delays with the pandemic. 

“We’re thrilled to see it come to reality,” Ms. Hauser said. 

A spring groundbreaking is anticipated, with construction completed in fall 2027, said Matthew Willbur, architect and senior project manager of the Collaborative. The architectural firm is designing the project, which will be constructed by the Rudolph Libbe Group. 

The lab will “strengthen the community and create a gateway along the downtown riverfront,” said Bill Rudolph, chairman of the construction company. “I’m really impressed by the vision.”

Its design will be accessible to all and “based on a science of nature philosophy,” Mr. Willbur said. 

People will be able to climb on, splash in, and find shade there with the art and sculpture, he said.

“Native plants and habitats will change with the seasons,” Mr. Willbur added.

The ever-changing physical environment is ideal for educational programming, said Sloan Eberly Mann, Imagination Station’s chief education officer. 

From the young explorers program to summer camps and science story time, the nature-based play area and outdoor lab will offer expanded opportunities, she said. As an example, she cited connecting to the river with water quality testing once things are established.

The Outdoor STEAM Lab creates “a space where science concepts become tangible for young learners. Research also shows that natural play environments increase creativity, independence, cooperation, and discovery, which are all skills that STEAM careers rely on,” Ms. Eberly Mann said. 

Ms. Hauser reiterated that point.

“By introducing foundational concepts at the earliest stages of development, the new learning lab will strengthen Toledo’s educational and work force pipeline and help prepare the next generation of innovators and problem solvers,” Ms. Hauser said. 

During the news conference, Metroparks Toledo Chief Outreach Officer Matt Killam joked that his 7-year-old daughter, who goes to Imagination Station every other weekend, is finally proud of him. 

“According to her, this is the most meaningful day of work in my entire life,” he said.

Metroparks’ Glass City Riverwalk is adjacent to the site, and the STEAM Lab will be “another regional destination,” Mr. Killam said. 

Ms. Hauser said she’s excited about the expansion project.  

“We have wanted to expand our campus and experiences, and the Outdoor STEAM Lab takes what we do inside Imagination Station and sets it free,” she said, “because science is always all around you.”

Summit Street’s ongoing reconstruction in North Toledo will result in two new detours Thursday, the Toledo Department of Transportation announced.

Eastbound Galena Street will close at Summit and southbound Summit will close on the southeast side of the Galena intersection, both for four weeks.

Eastbound Galena will be detoured via Champlain and Lagrange streets to Summit, while southbound traffic on Summit will be detoured via Galena, Greenbelt Parkway, and Cherry Street to reach downtown Toledo.

Utility work that closed Superior Street between Buckeye Street and Galena on Wednesday, meanwhile, will be finished Thursday, officials said.

And on Thursday, State Street will close at Spielbusch Avenue during window maintenance at a building. Access to State will be maintained via Canton Street, the city said.

Toledo could lay off 73 employees, eliminate its police and fire recruitment classes in 2027, and end curbside recycling and other city services if voters reject a proposed income tax increase next week.

Those are among the potential consequences outlined by city officials as they prepare two versions of the city’s 2027 budget, one anticipating passage of Issue 16 and the other contemplating its defeat.

Issue 16 asks Toledo residents to approve a temporary 0.25 percent income tax levy for neighborhood safety expenditures. If approved, the city anticipates collecting approximately $25 million a year in new revenue.

If the levy fails, the city is considering cuts to the fire investigation unit and police gang task force, along with layoffs in both departments.

“I think one of the biggest impacts of this scenario is that it contemplates 73 layoffs, and roughly half of those coming from the police and fire departments,” Deputy Mayor Abby Arnold said.

Other potential cuts include eliminating youth programming, reducing blight removal services, ending the nuisance mowing program, eliminating the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement, and ending business incentives such as the Vibrancy Initiative.

The city also could close the Clean Toledo Recycling Center and eliminate curbside recycling.

“I think we’ve been predicting this moment for some time, and the moment we’ve been predicting is here,” Ms. Arnold said.

Ms. Arnold emphasized that the proposals are preliminary and that additional discussions are taking place. No final decisions have been made.

The city has not yet introduced its proposed 2027 budget to Toledo City Council. Under the city charter, the administration must submit it by Nov. 15.

Because voters will decide the levy Nov. 3, city officials have prepared budgets for both possible outcomes.

If the levy passes, the additional revenue would allow the city to double the size of its police and fire recruitment classes. Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz previously promised classes of 40 recruits each for the next four years if voters approve the tax increase.

The city also could expand its fire investigation unit and police gang task force, increase funding for demolishing abandoned buildings, and develop its first residential speed enforcement program.

But even passage of the levy would not resolve the city’s financial problems.

The city is operating with a roughly $50 million structural deficit, and Toledo City Council passed a resolution last year encouraging the administration to reduce the 2027 and 2028 budgets by $10 million annually.

As the administration continues preparing its budget proposal, Ms. Arnold said officials are considering consolidating management positions, eliminating vacant positions, reviewing fees against the cost of providing services, and identifying new revenue opportunities.

The possibility of layoffs has also drawn attention from the city’s firefighters union.

On Tuesday, Joe Cira, president of Toledo Firefighters Local 92, sent a letter encouraging members to volunteer at the polls and support Issue 16.

In the letter, Mr. Cira said he had received a call from Assistant Chief John Kaminski, who told him layoffs might be necessary if the levy fails.

On Wednesday, Mr. Cira said he had not been notified that any layoffs would occur and emphasized that the letter was intended to encourage union members to support the levy.

“At this point, I have not been given any information on layoffs,” he said. “I’ve been given no information on who might be laid off, who could be laid off, or what the number looks like.”

If layoffs occur, the union will fight to preserve every job, Mr. Cira said. But he emphasized that the need for additional firefighters goes beyond the possibility of job cuts.

“The important part of this levy is not whether or not the city needs to lay off employees. The factor for us is the amount of runs we’re taking in the city right now has grown substantially in the last 40 years,” Mr. Cira said. “We’re three to four times the number of runs in the city of Toledo that we were taking 40 years ago, and our staffing is roughly the same.”

Mr. Cira said the union is working with the mayor’s administration to encourage voters to approve Issue 16.

Ms. Arnold said the administration remains hopeful the levy will pass but must prepare for either outcome because of the tight budget timeline.

“The timing is the reason why we have to really prepare for both,” she said. “It’s not because we are making predictions one way or the other, but we just have to be prepared.”

If approved, Issue 16 would increase Toledo's municipal income tax rate from 2.5 percent to 2.75 percent, placing it among the highest municipal income tax rates in Ohio.

The city's existing income tax consists of a permanent 1.5 percent tax, a temporary 0.75 percent tax, and a temporary 0.25 percent tax dedicated to road improvements. Issue 16 would add another temporary 0.25 percent tax for public safety.

Next time you throw a used pizza box into a recycling bin, think about whether it’s an acceptable item.

The wrong decision can cost tens of thousands of dollars to the community.

“We are committed to making recycling accessible to all residents in Lucas County,” Lucas County Commissioner Anita Lopez said. “Our network of recycling drop sites give residents additional options for recycling accepted materials like paper, cardboard, and cans. Access is important. But so is knowing what belongs in the recycling bins.”

Ms. Lopez joined Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz, Toledo City Councilman Nick Komives, and Keep Toledo/Lucas County Beautiful Executive Director Adam Cassi at the Clean Toledo Recycling Center Wednesday morning to talk about the importance of recycling correctly. They declared November as Correct Recycling Month.

Items that are not recyclable are getting mixed in with acceptable items, costing the public thousands of dollars.

“Toledo buries about a quarter of a million tons of refuse every year at the Hoffman Road landfill,” Mayor Kapszukiewicz said. “The city pays $2.20 per ton for the generation fee, but almost another $5 per ton fee for everything that is buried. If we had to pay a company to do that, it would be between $32 and $40 per ton. So we’re saving money on one end. And that’s just for the refuse we put in the landfill.

“The reality is we have to transport our recyclables about 90 miles out of this region to be processed. Contaminated loads make that trip more expensive.”

The city is charged for rejected loads containing items like stained pizza boxes, the mayor said.

Every percentage point of contamination represents about 200 more tons in the landfill that shouldn’t be there, he said. 

“For every one percentage of recyclables we put in our recycling that shouldn’t be there — whether it’s smeared pizza boxes or textiles — it costs the taxpayers $10,000; 2 percent is $20,000,” Mr. Kapszukiewicz said. “Pretty soon, you’re talking about some real costs.”

Mr. Komives, chairman of council’s Sustainability & Beautification committee, said some people “treat the blue bins as if they’re garbage cans.”

“These resources are finite; there’s not an infinite amount of petroleum to create plastic and things to turn into other consumable items we use all the time,” the councilman said. “We have to do our part to recycle, upcycle, and reuse all of these items. We are simply asking people to think about what they’re putting in their recycling. Commit to recycling properly.” 

Mr. Cassi urged the public to reduce waste, especially around the holidays, when garbage and recycling bins at the curb are often overflowing.

“During the holidays, we do see a 30 percent increase in the amount of waste American households are creating,” Mr. Cassi said. “Recycling is our easiest and best tool as an American household to reduce your environmental impact. Recycling is important, it reduces how much waste we’re sending to the landfill.”

About 40 percent of people who are concerned about the environment put things in the recycling bin that don’t belong there, Mr. Cassi said.

“It makes them feel better; they don’t want it to go to the landfill,” he said. “But that’s not how that works. It is contamination. Only put things in your recycling bin that you know belong there.”

Ben Pushka, sustainability coordinator with the Lucas County commissioners, said bulk items like toilets and couches have been left at drop-off sites.

“These aren’t just items that can’t be recycled there,” Mr. Pushka said. “They create extra work and expenses to clean up. Recycling bins aren’t a catchall.”

Residents can drop off items that are typically harder to recycle during the Nov. 7 Sustainability Summit at the Franciscan Center.

Acceptable items include hardbound books; plastic bags; candy wrappers; clean white packaging Styrofoam (no food containers or packing peanuts); certain electronics and media including CDs, DVDs, VHS, and cassette tapes; vapes; batteries; campaign signs; greenhouse pots and trays; artificial Christmas trees; and holiday lights.

Members of the Toledo Police Department’s SWAT Team rappelled down the side of Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Toledo on Wednesday, giving patients and families a fun superhero show.

Click through the images above to view the full gallery.