Ohio

Iowa DNR hires Ohio-based company for Palisades-Kepler dam mitigation project

Published

9 months ago

March 25, 2025

Iowa DNR hires Ohio-based company for Palisades-Kepler dam mitigation project

MOUNT VERNON, Iowa (KCRG) – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has hired a company to help make changes to the dam at Palisades-Kepler State Park.

That dam at the park is called a low-head dam. These types of dams are particularly dangerous because of the reverse currents they create. These currents can trap people under the water and drown them.

The dam at Palisades-Kepler State Park was built in the 1930s to create an area for boating and fishing upstream.

Along with the risk of drowning, the dam is now falling apart. There’s a breach on one side, and steel girders are sticking out of the ground.

A company from Ohio, Stantec Consulting Services, will gather information and devise a plan to either remove the dam or transform it with a series of boulders called a ‘rock arch rapids.’

The first step in the project is to gather input from those who use the park regularly.

“The way that people use the park is really important to us. We do intend for this whole area to be a public amenity. Something that people really enjoy. Getting people’s thoughts on how they use it, what they like to be close to. Oftentimes that’s water, right? If there’s things we can do within the project to incorporate all those ideas, with the paramount one really being public safety, can we hit all of that at the same time,” said Nate Hoogeveen, director of river programs at the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

The project is estimated to cost between one million and 2 and a half million dollars.

It could take between a year and a half to 3 years for construction to begin at the dam. From there, construction itself could take up to a year.

”It would be reasonable to assume in a 1 and a half to 3 year time frame that we could be talking about equipment being in the channel and changing things around to something that looks a lot more aesthetically pleasing,” Hoogeveen said.

Public input will be collected for the project in either late May or early June .

One of the top priorities in this project is safety. But the DNR also wants to protect recreation and fish in the area.

Source link

Related Topics:dam Featured head Kepler low palisades park state

Click to comment

Ohio

$50K Powerball ticket sold in Northeast Ohio; jackpot reaches $1.5B

Published

9 hours ago

December 20, 2025

Press Room

K Powerball ticket sold in Northeast Ohio; jackpot reaches .5B

CANFIELD, Ohio (WJW) – Nobody took home the massive Powerball jackpot on Wednesday, but one Canfield man is still celebrating after purchasing a winning ticket worth $50,000.

According to Ohio Lottery, Bryan decided to try his luck after realizing the Powerball jackpot was over $1 billion. He bought a ticket from the Meijer grocery store on Boardman-Canfield Road in Boardman.

The next morning, Bryan woke up and checked the ticket, stunned to discover that he won $50,000.

After mandatory state and federal taxes, the lucky winner will take home more than $36,000.

Bryan told lottery officials that he doesn’t have specific plans for money yet, but the big win will certainly make for “a very good Christmas.”

It has been months since someone won the Powerball jackpot, which now sits at a massive $1.5 billion. There is also a cash option worth $689.3 million up for grabs.

The next drawing will be Saturday night at 11 p.m. Learn more about the Powerball right here.

Source link

Ohio

After her son died in car wreck, Ohio mom fought for public records

Published

21 hours ago

December 19, 2025

Press Room

After her son died in car wreck, Ohio mom fought for public records

A mom searching for answers about her son’s death in a car wreck won a victory on Dec. 19 when the Ohio Supreme Court ordered the Richland County Sheriff to release records to her.

The court ruled in a unanimous decision that Andrea Mauk is entitled to three sets of records withheld by the sheriff, with only Social Security numbers being redacted. Mauk will be awarded $2,000 in damages but will not receive attorney fees.

On June 23, 2023, 18-year-old Damon Mauk lost control of his 1998 Ford Mustang and slammed it into a tree. His mother wanted to piece together what happened, collect his belongings and grieve the loss of her child. She didn’t think she’d have to fight for public records and take her case to the Ohio Supreme Court.

Following the crash, Richland County Sheriff’s deputies, a township fire department and the Ohio State Highway Patrol responded.

During the investigation, a trooper told a deputy to leave Damon’s iPhone and wallet in the car, according to Mauk’s court filings. Instead, the deputy took the belongings to the hospital and handed them off to someone who said he was Damon’s dad.

Mauk didn’t understand. Damon’s father was largely absent from his life. How could he have been there to pick up the wallet and phone?

A few weeks after the fatal crash, Mauk asked for records, including: the sheriff’s report and inventory of items taken from the car, body camera footage from deputies who gave away the belongings, the report, photos and videos created by the patrol and more.

Mauk, of the Mansfield area, received some but not all of the requested records. Mauk hired attorney Brian Bardwell to pursue records she believes exist but weren’t provided or were improperly redacted.

The sheriff’s office claimed that some of the requested records were exempt from disclosure because they are confidential law enforcement records or personal notes. The court privately reviewed the records withheld from Mauk and determined that they should be released.

The decision in favor of releasing records runs contrary to recent rulings from the high court.

In 2024, the court held that the cost of sending troopers to protect Gov. Mike DeWine at a Super Bowl game weren’t subject to disclosure and that the Ohio Department of Health should redact from a database the names and addresses of Ohioans who had died, even though that death certificate information can be released on an individual case basis.

In 2025 the court ruled that police officers’ names may be kept confidential if they’re attacked on the job, giving them privacy rights afforded to crime victims.

State government reporter Laura Bischoff can be reached at lbischoff@usatodayco.com and @lbischoff on X.

Source link

Ohio

No. 21 Ohio State women beat Norfolk State 79-45

Published

1 day ago

December 19, 2025

Press Room

No. 21 Ohio State women beat Norfolk State 79-45

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Kylee Kitts scored 13 points, Jaloni Cambridge added 11 and No. 21 Ohio State rolled past Norfolk State 79-45 on Thursday night for its eighth straight win.

Dasha Biriuk added 10 points for Ohio State, which is 10-1 overall and 7-0 at home.

Kitts was 6 of 12 from the field, and grabbed 10 rebounds to go with two steals and two blocks. Cambridge was 4-of-8 shooting and had eight rebounds and two steals.

Cambridge scored seven points in the first quarter as the Buckeyes jumped out to a 20-10 lead and built a 43-21 halftime advantage. Kitts and Cambridge each scored nine first-half points.

Ohio State outrebounded Norfolk State 55-32 and scored 21 points off 17 turnovers.

Jasha Clinton scored 18 points to lead Norfolk State (5-9). Ciara Bailey had 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Up next

Norfolk State plays at Elon on Sunday.

Ohio State hosts Western Michigan on Mondahy.

___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball

Source link