Midwest
Ohio commission awards bids to frack oil and gas under state parks, wildlife areas
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio commission awarded bids to frack oil and gas under state parks Monday, despite statewide backlash and an ongoing investigation into possibly fraudulent support.
The Ohio Oil and Gas Land Management Commission granted the mineral rights to several oil and gas companies, allowing them to frack for oil and gas under land owned by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the Ohio Department of Transportation, including state parks and designated wildlife areas.
RFK JR’S VOW TO BAN FRACKING MET WITH INTENSE CRITICISM
The Texas-based Encino Energy Partners was granted the rights to frack under Valley Run Wildlife Area and Zepernick Wildlife Area. The West Virginia-based Infinity Natural Resources, LLC, can frack under Salt Fork State Park. These and other entities are now cleared to receive leases from the state and must discuss permits and other details with state regulators.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources will receive $59.7 million in bonuses under the fracking leases and each lease includes a 12.5% royalty paid to the state for production.
Protesters pack a meeting of the Ohio Oil and Gas Land Management Commission in Columbus, Ohio on Monday, Feb. 26, 2024. The commission awarded bids to frack for oil and under public land Monday, including state parks and designated wildlife areas, to several oil and gas companies.
Fracking is a technique used to extract natural gas or oil from impermeable rock formations. Water, chemicals and sand are blasted into these formations at pressures high enough to crack the rock, which allows trapped gas and oil to flow to the surface.
The department said in an emailed statement that the leases include provisions such as water quality testing and restricted drilling times.
Commission chair Ryan Richardson also emphasized at the Monday meeting that according to the language in the awarded leases, no surface areas of the parks would be disturbed by drilling as it would occur underground and the well pads would be offsite.
Richardson did not make herself available for comment Monday.
Protesters filled the meeting room as they have consistently since last year, when nominations for the land to be fracked were first discussed. Many cried “shame,” and held signs in front of the meeting’s livestream cameras. Some had makeup on their faces to appear diseased and wore sacks with signs that read “disease” and “drought” among other effects of climate change.
The commission has faced multiple legal challenges, including an appeal brought by Earthjustice, a nonprofit that helps litigate environmental issues. The organization filed it in Franklin County Court of Common Pleas last year, on behalf of advocacy groups including the Ohio Environmental Council and Save Ohio Parks, among others.
The groups were appealing the state’s decision to open up the land to bids last November, arguing that the commission did not follow the bidding process outlined in state law and violated the state’s open meetings requirements.
But a Franklin county judge said that the groups lacked authority to bring the appeal in the first place and dismissed the appeal Friday.
“Climate change is real, and it is here,” Save Ohio Parks’ steering committee said in a statement. “Salt Fork State Park, Valley Run Wildlife Area, and Zepernick Wildlife Area are just the first to come under attack. Save Ohio Parks will continue advocating to protect our public lands.”
Fracking opponents decried the commission as being “sheep” and giving in to corporate greed at the expense of Ohio greenspace. They also say the commission lacks transparency, as there have been no public hearings on the bids and they didn’t know who was bidding on the land, despite the lands being taxpayer funded.
State law mandates that the entities who nominated the land for fracking and those that bid on the land must remain anonymous until the bidding process is complete. The amounts that companies paid for land mineral rights was not immediately disclosed.
Opponents have also criticized the commission for continuing the process amid an investigation by the Ohio Attorney General’s office into possibly fraudulent letters sent in support of fracking.
A Cleveland.com investigation last fall found that over a hundred Ohio residents said their names were attached to form letters sent to the commission in a public comment period without their knowledge — all of them urging state parks to allow fracking.
The letters could be traced back to multiple pro-oil entities, including Consumer Energy Alliance, a Texas-based pro-oil and gas organization. The alliance has denied collecting names without permission and has called Cleveland.com’s coverage of the situation “libelous.”
“CEA has cooperated fully with the Attorney-General’s Office at every step. While the situation is ongoing, we can make no further comment,” Bryson Hull, a spokesperson for the alliance, said in an emailed statement.
A spokesperson for the Ohio Attorney General’s office said they are still completing the investigation and will make information available “at the appropriate time.”
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Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey vetoed the second attempt by the Minneapolis City Council to give tenants more time to pay rent in the aftermath of Operation Metro Surge, which has pushed immigrant families into housing instability.
Currently, housing providers are required to give renters in Minneapolis 30 days to come up with money to pay their rent before filing an eviction case against them, which is called a pre-eviction notice period. The City Council voted last week to increase that timeframe to 45 days through the end of August.
During the federal operation, many immigrants sheltered at home and did not go to work because they feared being detained by federal immigration agents. As a result, many are struggling to pay rent. Supporters of the ordinance said the measure will give renters more time to access rental assistance, mutual aid or another paycheck to avoid an eviction case in court.
Other council members, housing providers, and Frey have voiced concern that giving residents more time to pay rent will push them into more debt. In his veto letter on Thursday, Frey wrote that rental assistance is the best solution to support renters.
“The City of Minneapolis has a longer pre-eviction notice period than most cities in the country,” Frey wrote in his veto letter. “I am not convinced that more time will result in improved outcomes.”
The city has allocated $3.8 million in emergency funds, and the Wilson Foundation agreed to match another $3 million.
Rental assistance at the state level to help immigrant renters due to the surge has stalled at the Legislature. A bill that would allocate $40 million in rental assistance passed the Senate, but is unlikely to pass a divided House.
“This would have been a tremendous relief for all families, as we would have more time to apply for rental assistance without facing the threat of eviction,” said Alibella Rodriguez, a member of Inquilinxs Unidxs por Justicia (United Renters for Justice) in a statement. “Instead, the Mayor’s veto is a terrible blow to all families, leaving us vulnerable to losing our homes through eviction — homes that served as the greatest refuge we had during the occupation.”
The 45-day pre-eviction notice period ordinance passed with a 8-5 vote. Nine votes are needed to override a mayoral veto. The council will likely vote on overriding the veto at their next meeting on May 7.
This is not the first time the council has tried to extend the pre-eviction notice period.
Last month, Frey vetoed the council’s vote to increase the pre-eviction notice period from 30 to 60 days. The council failed to override that vote. Council members brought forward an ordinance with a shorter time period hoping it would gain more support.
“We’re looking at a mere 15 days,” Council Member Aurin Chowdhury said at a news conference last week. “We changed the policy, we compromised, and it was so consequential, it was worthy of us taking up another cycle to bring it back.”
The St. Paul City Council unanimously approved temporarily extending the city’s pre-eviction notice period to 60 days last month.
According to data from the tenant advocacy group Home Line, eviction filings in Minneapolis increased by 3.4% in the first quarter of the year compared to the average between 2023 and 2025. Housing advocates have said that mutual aid efforts have likely helped keep many renters in their homes for now.
The city will be rolling out more than $6 million in rental assistance to help those affected by the surge. Information about how to access the Minneapolis specific funding can be found here. The Minneapolis funding does not require an eviction case to be filed against the tenant already. Funding is also available through Hennepin County, but an eviction case is required.
Hogsett promised this would be his “final term.” But in weighing another run, he may be looking to overcome scandals and project delays, experts say.
Tony Cook and Peter Blanchard on their reporting of Mayor Joe Hogsett
Indy Star reporter Tony Cook and Mirror Indy reporter Peter Blanchard talk to Mirror Indy’s Ibby Ahmed about reporting on Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett.
As Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett openly considers a fourth term, political experts say that Hogsett’s musing shows he may want to exit office on stronger footing after a third term dogged by scandals and development delays.
With three Democrats already running for Indianapolis mayor in 2027, Hogsett, 69, refused to rule out a reelection bid when reporters asked him about his plans on April 29.
“Any mayor who has put enough time into the development of our downtown would like to see it completed. So it’s one thing to shovel in a new development. It’s another thing to open the doors and welcome people in and see them enjoy it,” Hogsett told reporters with WISH-TV and WRTV.
“So that tugs at my heartstrings,” he added. “But ultimately, I’ll make a decision that’s based on whatever legacy I’d like to leave our city and how far along we are in promoting that legacy.”
Hogsett did not agree to IndyStar’s request for an interview April 30, made through campaign spokesperson Emily Gurwitz. In a statement, Gurwitz said the mayor remains focused on finishing out his third term by delivering investments in roads and public safety, as well as stewarding the Indianapolis Public Education Corp., the state-mandated entity tasked with reshaping public education in Indianapolis.
“Mayor Hogsett made it clear in his comments yesterday: with the 2027 election still more than a year and a half away, he is focused on the work immediately before him to continue shaping a safer and more vibrant Indianapolis,” Gurwitz said. “This includes developing the 2027 City-County budget, moving forward the critical work of the Indianapolis Public Education Corporation, delivering on important infrastructure investments with triple the funding in the strip-patching budget in 2026, and continuing to drive meaningful public safety improvements for neighborhoods across the city.”
When he announced his reelection bid in 2022, Hogsett said multiple times that he was seeking his “third and final term.” But the mayor’s recent comments and campaign finance reports have sparked curiosity about his intentions now. Hogsett raised more than half a million dollars in 2025 and ended the year with $1.2 million on hand.
Hogsett, who would be 76 at the end of a fourth term, told reporters that he will announce his decision toward the end of this year, ahead of the May 2027 city primary election.
If he enters, he’ll compete with fellow Democrats Indianapolis City-County Councilor Vop Osili, Indiana Sen. Andrea Hunley and Department of Public Works official David Bride.
Each mayoral candidate told IndyStar April 30 that the mayor’s remarks don’t affect their plans.
“I’m running for mayor. I’m talking with residents, visiting every corner of our city, and focused on affordability, housing, roads, and public safety,” Osili said in a written statement April 30. “Everyone has the right to decide their own political future, but the real question isn’t about one candidate, it’s about the future of our city.”
Will Hogsett move beyond ‘third and final term’ he promised?
The 2022 speech where Hogsett announced his bid for a third term — which came after he’d previously called for mayors to be limited to two four-year terms during his 2015 campaign — may shed light on some of the unfinished business he has in mind.
Addressing a crowd gathered inside City Market in November 2022, he mentioned several major redevelopment projects that he hoped to see finished in a third term, after the COVID-19 pandemic brought the “train of progress” to a “screeching halt.”
“Over the next three years, a historic public-private partnership will revitalize the historic City Market while transforming an entire city block,” Hogsett said.
“New development next to old City Hall? It’s on its way,” he later added. “Downtown heliport redevelopment? Won’t be far behind. The old downtown jail? It’s coming down and we’re going up.”
Of that partial list, the only projects that may wrap up by the end of Hogsett’s third term are downtown’s two jail redevelopments. Jail I was demolished and the Indiana Fever are building a $78 million practice facility, set to open in 2027. Although construction started years late on the Jail II redevelopment, it’s expected to bring more than 200 residential units to downtown’s east side by 2027.
The delayed or failed redevelopment plans, meanwhile, have stacked up.
Earlier this month, the city backed out of plans to build a museum hotel, housing and office space at old City Hall. The renovated City Market won’t open until at least 2028, after the city cut ties with the initial developers.
While the downtown heliport — eyed as a potential site for a Major League Soccer stadium — has closed, Indiana Senate leader Rodric Bray recently dashed hopes for an arena on the site in the near future, saying it “doesn’t look like there’s much chance there.”
“We are confident that Major League Soccer puts Indianapolis at the top of its list of places it would like to see a club,” Hogsett Communications and Policy Director Aliya Wishner said in February in response to Bray’s remarks. “We realize there is still challenging work before us to provide the framework for how state and local support will accomplish this goal.”
Scandals, delays could sway Hogsett to seek reelection
Experts say Hogsett may want to secure more wins to overshadow scandals tied to his handling of sexual harassment allegations within his administration and his oversight of city development deals involving conflicts of interest.
An IndyStar/Mirror Indy investigation dubbed “Mr. Clean” found that Hogsett allowed his former chief of staff Thomas Cook, whose sexual misconduct allegations the two outlets investigated in 2024, to cash in on millions in city incentives overseen by a city official with whom he had a romantic relationship. The stories also showed that the Hogsett administration routinely awards no-bid contracts to former staffers and top campaign donors.
Hogsett has said he’s confident that multiple layers of legal, administrative and legislative oversight ensured that tax incentives and no-bid contracts were in the best interest of the city and taxpayers. Cook, who has not been charged with any crime, has apologized for “consensual relationships that violated a trust placed in me” but denied that he used his professional role to further those relationships.
Still, experts say, the incidents may mar Hogsett’s record.
“He has not been able to cement his legacy in the way that I think he hoped,” Gregory Shufeldt, an associate professor of political science at the University of Indianapolis, told IndyStar in an April 30 interview. “The sexual assaults and corresponding cover-ups, the Mr. Clean series of articles and kind of broader insights into corruption, I think have really weakened his political capital. The types of things that he has tried to make the capstone or kind of lasting contributions — for example, the MLS team — have not really seen significant progress.”
By keeping the door open to a fourth term, Hogsett can maintain influence over the debate about who will replace him, Shufeldt said. If a candidate wants the mayor’s endorsement or access to his campaign finance largesse, Hogsett can persuade them to focus on issues that further his legacy.
Paul Helmke, who served as mayor of Fort Wayne from 1988 to 2000, told IndyStar he thinks Hogsett has to weigh whether he may want to hold onto power for the right reasons. Helmke, now 77, said his decision not to seek reelection to a fourth term in 1999 was tough, even though he felt he’d accomplished his major goals.
About 50 years old at the time, Helmke chose to devote his next few decades to pursuing other work. He led an organization working to end gun violence and in 2013 became a faculty member at Indiana University, where he founded a civic leadership center and teaches courses on law and public affairs.
“If Hogsett has things he wants to accomplish that he’s making progress on, that he’s not sure will go well if he’s not there, that’s a reason to run again,” Helmke said. “But if you’re just doing it because you don’t know what else to do, or you get to the stage where you’re not sure you’ll have the energy or enthusiasm, then you probably shouldn’t do it.”
Email Indianapolis City Hall Reporter Jordan Smith at JTSmith@indystar.com. Follow him on X @jordantsmith09 and Bluesky @jordanaccidentally.bsky.social.
Kendalle Cobb, MD, age 55, of Shaker Heights, Ohio, passed away on April 29, 2026. She was the loving wife of Andrew Cleminshaw, the loving mother of Catherine Cleminshaw, the loving daughter of Emmett Cobb Jr. and Erma L. Cobb of San Francisco, and the loving sister of Cheryl Chambers (Michael) and Jan Cobb.
Kendalle was born and spent her childhood in San Francisco, California, happily ensconced on Grove Street just a few doors down from the famous Victorian homes known as the Painted Ladies. As she grew up, she studied and danced with the San Francisco Ballet while attending the French-American Bilingual School and Lowell High School. During this time, she also began her lifelong fandom of General Hospital, which provided her with a precocious introduction to the field of medicine. She left for the East Coast to attend Harvard University and George Washington University Medical School. She then returned to California for a family medicine residency and later a faculty position at the Kaiser Permanente Fontana Medical Center.
In 2004, she became a staff physician at the Cleveland Clinic. During her time there, she rose to assume numerous leadership roles, including membership on the Board of Governors and, most recently, Associate Chief of Staff. Throughout her time, she gave many keynote addresses and worked with numerous constituencies, all with the goal of making the Clinic a place where all community members, patients, and caregivers could thrive.
One of Kendalle’s core teachings was adapted from the author Leo Bascaglia: if a person is a plum, they should be the best plum they can be, not attempt to be a banana. A plum trying to be a banana will only be a second-rate banana. In other words, be true to yourself.
Kendalle practiced family medicine at the Clinic’s Solon Family Health Center, and her patients and colleagues celebrated the empathetic care she provided, the listening she offered, and the emphatic advocacy she delivered.
Kendalle was deeply invested in educating the next generation of doctors. She was a beloved Physician Advisor at the Cleveland Clinic Learner College of Medicine, where she also designed curricula and implemented initiatives, including the diversity dinner program. Among many awards for her work, she received the Outstanding Faculty Contribution Award from CCLCM in 2022. She served as chair of the Diversity Scholars Program steering committee at Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, supporting another cohort of future doctors. Her legacy will live on in the doctors whom she mentored and nurtured, holding high standards while helping them bring their full selves to the medical profession.
As part of her commitment to medical education and the training of physicians, Kendalle was selected to serve on and then chair various National Board of Medical Examiners committees, writing and reviewing questions for the USMLE Step 3 exam. She enjoyed meeting regularly with peers from across the country to determine which questions best assess physician readiness.
Kendalle was a treasured friend who curated a beloved “inner circle” whom she supported and who supported her throughout her life. Her Christian faith was a core part of her identity and guided her throughout her life. She was an active member of Plymouth Church of Shaker Heights, serving in many capacities, including president of the Church Council. She had a knack for pastoral relations, nurturing faith leaders up until the very end.
While being a strong, determined leader and role model, Kendalle took time to savor the lighter, human side of life, whether lingering over a meal in the college dining hall, going to concerts with friends, or taking road trips with her family. Kendalle supported the performing arts with a special affinity for musical theater. She often celebrated special occasions in Catherine’s life with a mother-daughter trip to a show, be it at a local venue or across the country. As Catherine took to the theater both on and backstage, Kendalle could always be found in the audience, attending every show, flowers at the ready, leading a standing ovation as the cast took their bows. Kendalle was a beloved wife and mother whose nurturing presence, positive, faithful outlook, and commitment to making the world a better place will be deeply missed.
The family prefers that those who wish may make contributions in her name to VelloSano/Cleveland Clinic, 9500 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH 44195, or Plymouth Church of Shaker Heights, 2860 Coventry Rd., 44120, where Memorial Services will be held Saturday, May 23rd at 11 am.
Friends may call at Brown-Forward, 17022 Chagrin Blvd., Shaker Hts., OH 44120, Friday, May 22nd, from 5-7 pm.
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