Midwest
Ohio governor signs 'bathroom bill' into law, restricting students from using opposite-sex restrooms
Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has signed a bill into law that will prevent schools from allowing students of the opposite sex into restrooms and locker rooms.
The legislation, the Protect All Students Act, dubbed the “bathroom bill,” was sent to DeWine’s desk earlier this month after the state Senate passed the bill 24-7 on a party-line vote. The House version of the bill was passed before the chamber went on summer break in June.
The law will take effect in 90 days and will restrict transgender students from using facilities associated with their gender identities.
Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has signed a bill into law that will prevent schools from allowing students of the opposite sex into restrooms and locker rooms. (Kyle Robertson/USA TODAY NETWORK | Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
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It applies to public K-12 schools and institutions of higher education. It requires schools to designate separate bathrooms, locker rooms and overnight accommodations “for the exclusive use” of either males and females, based on one’s gender assigned at or near birth, in both school buildings and facilities used for a school-sponsored event.
DeWine’s signature was not guaranteed and Democrats, teachers unions and civil rights groups had hoped that his veto earlier this year to a ban on sex changes for minors and hormone therapies for transgender individuals under 18 would yield a similar course of action. In the end, the state’s Republican-dominated Senate voted to override that veto and the ban came into force.
DeWine did not release a statement announcing he signed the bathroom bill on Wednesday.
“Common sense is on a winning streak in America today,” said Aaron Baer, president of the Center for Christian Virtue, which backed the bill, in a statement.
“No student should be forced to go into the bathroom or locker room with a student of the opposite sex, and Ohio’s kids are better protected now because of Governor DeWine’s decision to sign this bill.”
Riley Gaines, a former 12-time All-American swimmer at the University of Kentucky and an advocate of keeping biological males out of female sports, echoed those words.
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The “bathroom bill” will take effect in 90 days and will restrict transgender students from using facilities associated with their gender identities. (iStock/gerenme)
“Common sense is making a comeback nationwide,” Gaines wrote on X.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost thanked DeWine “for siding with biology, history, safety and common sense.”
The ACLU of Ohio was among the groups that had lobbied for a veto and condemned the measure as a violation of the right of privacy of transgender Ohioans that would make them less safe.
“We will always have the backs of our trans community,” the organization wrote on X. “Every Ohioan deserves the freedom to be loved, to be safe, to be trusted with decisions about healthcare and to access the facilities that align with their gender identity. We will not leave anyone behind. Trans Ohioans belong.”
School employees, emergency situations and people assisting young children or someone with a disability are exempted from the restrictions, and schools can still offer single-use or family bathrooms.
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The ACLU of Ohio was among the groups that had lobbied for a veto and condemned the measure as a violation of the right of privacy of transgender Ohioans that would make them less safe. (Allison Dinner/AFP via Getty Images)
Various battles regarding the issue of transgender people using bathrooms that align with their gender as well as participating in female sports are playing out across the nation. President-elect Trump has repeatedly vowed to keep men out of women’s sports.
At least 11 states have adopted laws barring transgender girls and women from girls’ and women’s bathrooms in public schools and, in some cases, other government facilities.
The laws are in effect in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Utah. A judge’s order putting enforcement on hold is in place in Idaho.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Missouri
Missouri consumers file class-action lawsuit against Good Day Farm
A marijuana dispensary chain with locations in Springfield and Columbia is again facing allegations of creating a monopoly to take advantage of the Missouri recreational marijuana market.
Damon Toussaint Frost Jr. filed a class-action lawsuit May 4 in Jackson County Circuit Court against Good Day Farm, Missouri’s largest dispensary chain.
Frost, who is identified in the court filing as a Missouri resident who has purchased recreational cannabis from GDF, alleges that the dispensary chain’s and its affiliates have conspired to monopolize recreational cannabis sales in Missouri, resulting in Missouri consumers paying significantly higher prices than they would have in a free market. Frost and other class members — defined in the suit as Missouri citizens who have purchased recreational cannabis products from Good Day Farm or its affiliates in Missouri — are seeking that the “illegal conspiracy” be dismantled and that they be compensated for damages.
Frost is represented by Michael Williams of Williams Dirks Dameron in Kansas City. Williams did not respond to a request for comment as of publication.
A spokesperson for GDF denied the allegations.
“The claims in this lawsuit are baseless and without merit. Our company operates in full compliance with all applicable Missouri state laws and regulations, and we will vigorously defend that record,” the spokesperson wrote in an email Friday, May 15, afternoon. “We will not allow aggressive legal tactics to distract us from what matters most: our mission to deliver uninterrupted service and exceptional products to the patients, customers and employees who rely on us.”
This isn’t the first class-action lawsuit filed against the dispensary chain. In April, two Missouri-licensed cultivators and manufacturers alleged that GDF violated the Missouri Constitution and created a “cartel.”
Like in the April lawsuit, Frost’s lawsuit alleges that the “GDF consortium” — which includes Good Day Farm Dispensaries, Codes Dispensaries, Greenlight, 3Fifteen Primo and Fresh Karma — has control of about 25% of dispensary licenses in Missouri. The Missouri Constitution mandates that entities are limited to owning, controlling or managing no more than 10% of the total dispensary licenses in Missouri.
In order to circumvent the 10% cap, GDF “arranged for investors to invest into limited liability companies” that would then acquire already-licensed entities from owners, court records said, and would then be operated by GDF. The lawsuit alleges that GDF created four limited liability companies.
It also alleges that GDF employees, including the compliance director, general counsel and former director of investor relations, were listed on paperwork for various Codes, Greenlight and Fresh Karma dispensaries.
“Defendants anticompetitive conduct (i) robs consumers of choice and selection of products, and (ii) leaves third parties to compete for a significantly (and increasingly) small sliver of shelf space in the overall Missouri market,” the petition said. “In addition, Defendants misconduct will likely result in fewer competitive brands on the market, substantially reduced diversity of products available and sold, and, ultimately, to fewer choices, lower quality, and higher prices for consumers.”
Nebraska
Cornfield Baptism Near Omaha, Nebraska
What the hell happened to my life?
My inner monologue was deafening in the stillness of the Nebraska morning. I hadn’t heard myself this clearly since high school five years ago, before I pushed off into life as an actress in New York City. I couldn’t be sure what made my thoughts so loud—maybe it was whiplash, my abrupt move from filming HBO’s High Maintenance to my childhood stomping grounds.
North Dakota
Cramer: ND-Norway defense partnership strong
Submitted Photo
U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-ND, spoke about the connection between North Dakota, the United States and Norway at the 12th annual Norwegian-American Defense Conference held April 17, where he delivered the congressional keynote address.
WASHINGTON – North Dakota’s deep Norwegian roots reflect the broad, long-standing relationship between the United States and Norway, one built on shared values, cultural ties and security cooperation.
U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-ND, spoke about the connection between the two countries at the 12th annual Norwegian-American Defense Conference held April 17, where he delivered the congressional keynote address.
He described the bond as historic and strategic, but also personal. His great-great-great grandfather, Erik Hjelden, fought in the Norwegian War of Independence prior to Norway adopting a constitution on May 17, 1814, Norway’s Independence Day known as Syttende Mai.
Starting in the 1870s, Scandinavian immigrants from Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland settled across what is now North Dakota. Today, one-third of the state’s population is of Norwegian descent, and North Dakota has the highest percentage of citizens with Norwegian ancestry of any state in the nation.
“I love the theme of this year’s conference, ‘From Seabed to Space,’ because I do think the size of the country is not nearly as important as the dynamic that happens when one plus one equals more than two,” Cramer said. “At a time when there’s talent on the factory floor, and talent in the executive suites, and talent in the engineering room, that we may have one or the other, maybe all. But together the dynamic of it is so much greater.”
Cramer emphasized how this foundation now supports a modern defense partnership. He said the United States and Norway are working together on Arctic security, aiming to strengthen interoperability and improve readiness across multi-domain operations. This alliance plays a key role in addressing today’s international security challenges.
Cramer also recognized the U.S.-Norway partnership through the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), as well as the history between the two countries.
“When you look at a globe, it illustrates why the Arctic is so important,” continued Cramer. “None of us can protect our silo without protecting our country, without protecting our continent, without protecting our hemisphere, without protecting ourselves. We protect one another by protecting ourselves, and we protect ourselves by protecting one another.”
Throughout his years in Congress, Cramer has been active in the House and Senate Friends of Norway caucuses. He hosted former Norwegian Ambassador to the U.S. Anniken Krutnes when she visited North Dakota in 2024, highlighting the state’s Norwegian heritage, economic strength and its role in advancing U.S.-Norway defense and national security cooperation. During the visit, Krutnes and Cramer emphasized the importance of strong alliances and the longstanding partnership between the two nations during various community stops, including events at the Sons of Norway Kringen Lodge and First Lutheran Church. The visit also focused on defense priorities, with a briefing at the North Dakota National Guard’s 119th Wing regarding the mission of the “Happy Hooligans,” before concluding with a public reception ahead of the Fargo premiere of the Norwegian film Songs of Earth.
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