Ohio
Former Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel to be next Lieutenant Governor of Ohio
Jim Tressel has always had a way with people. So much so, the former Ohio State football head coach was often referred to as “The Senator.” The nickname was an ode to his calm demeanor and being able to relate to all. Tress won’t be heading to the Senate anytime soon, but he will be joining a different branch of government as Ohio Governor, Mike DeWine has named Tressel Lieutenant Governor.
The position became available after the 2024 Presidential Election when newly elected Vice President, J.D. Vance, had to vacate his U.S. Senate seat in January when he began his new job as VP. Jon Husted, the former Lieutenant Governor, replaced Vance in the Senate, leaving the Lieutenant Governor position open.
After leaving Ohio State in 2011 amid turmoil from players receiving free tattoos for memorabilia, Tressel has served in a variety of administrative roles, most recently as the President of Youngstown State University where he was the head football coach before coming to OSU in 2001. Tressel retired from YSU in 2023.
DeWine made the announcement during a press conference on Monday where Tressel was present and answered questions as well.
“I wanted someone that knew Ohio … I wanted someone whose judgment I felt was very, very good,” DeWine said. “I wanted someone who was a leader. Someone who is used to making decisions. Someone who listens, weighs the different options, and then comes to a conclusion. I want someone, frankly, who shared Ohio values – my values, Ohio’s values. Someone also, though, who could pull people together.”
The former head coach was asked if he might consider running for Governor when DeWine’s term comes to an end in 2026. Tressel harkened his words from the famous speech given at an Ohio State basketball game. “I remember about 25 years ago, I said to a group in Columbus that I had my sights set on 310 days later, and that was my singleness of focus,” Tressel Said. “Now I have a 699-day singleness of focus.” Sounds like he’s not ruling the idea out and would probably be a popular pick.
You can see the entire press conference below.
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — As concerns have grown over the impact of social media on young people, lawmakers are pushing to keep protections in tact to keep children safe online.
This week the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Ohio’s law, the Social Media Parental Notification Act, requiring parental consent for children under the age of 16 to use social media must be restored. Gov. Mike DeWine signed the act into law in July 2023.
Netchoice, the trade group that represents Tik Tok, Snapchat, Meta and other tech companies contested Ohio’s law in 2024, arguing that it was overly broad, vague and represented an unconstitutional impediment to free speech.
“An unconstitutional law protects no one, and we remain focused on ensuring the First Amendment rights of Ohioans are protected,” Paul Taske, NetChoice Litigation Center Director said.
Cincinnati-based Sixth Circuit’s panel does not agree with this view point, determined that the law is not unconstitutional and had the block on the law’s enforcement vacated.
“At bottom, the Act imposes a parental consent requirement,” Judge Eric Clay wrote. “That requirement constitutes a marginal burden that precisely targets the multi-faceted problem that Ohio has identified: Children’s unsupervised assent to terms and conditions for use of platforms that take advantage of and harm them.”
The Social Media Parental Notification Act is a way to protect children’s mental health against the “intentionally addictive” nature of social media, according to U.S. senator Jon Husted.
The law requires companies to get parental permission for social media and gaming apps and to provide their privacy guidelines so families know what content would be censored or moderated on their child’s profile.
Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson says the ruling is “a win for Ohio families.”
“The court agreed that parents –- not social media companies –- should get a say in what kids see online,” he said in a statement. “We have an obligation to keep our children safe, and today, the most dangerous place for our kids is the internet. This decision gives parents the tools to be involved and provide oversight.”
LICKING COUNTY, Ohio (WCMH) — When you think of wild animals in central Ohio, a black bear likely isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. That’s why one Licking County family said they couldn’t believe their eyes.
It was an average afternoon drive home for father and son, Justin and Aaron Rhodes, when something walked into the road in front of them.
“I didn’t even think it was real at first, so that’s why I had to do the double take,” Justin said.
Aaron said he thought it was “just a weird looking dog”.
To their disbelief, it was a bear. The sighting comes just one year after the animal was spotted in Licking County for the first time in more than two decades.
“It’s kind of hard to believe that they’re even around this area,” Justin said. “I’ve lived in this area for about 24 years now, so it’s been quite a while, and I’ve never seen one before.”
These sightings are becoming more common. The Ohio Division of Wildlife said the black bear population is growing in the state, and they expect those trends to continue. Ohio saw a record number of confirmed sightings in 2025.
Lindsey Krusling, a wildlife communications specialist with the Ohio Division of Wildlife, said they are seeing more breeding females establish homes in the state, signaling the species is returning. Experts said the work restoring natural forest land is a big reason why.
“We’re starting to get some black bears coming in from neighboring states like Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Kentucky,” Krusling said. “They’re naturally crossing those state borders and coming back to Ohio because we have more of that habitat available to them, especially those forested areas.”
As the black bear population grows, the Division of Wildlife is expanding its research. They are putting radio collars on some bears they find in the state to help track data, such as if the bears are staying here, how far they’ve traveled and if they’re successfully having cubs.
“We’re trying to get quite a bit of data from these bears, and we’re super excited to see where this takes us,” Krusling said.
The research is in the beginning stages, but they expect population growth to continue, Krusling said.
Sighting reports can be submitted here to help the Division of Wildlife track black bear populations throughout the state.
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