PAULDING, Onio (WANE) – From the coastline along Maine to the Washington State shore, Jesse Ward is riding his bike across America.

The 4,300-mile trip is along the northern part of the United States.

The trip started on May 6 in Bangor, Maine. He hopes to reach his final destination of Anacortes, Washington in early August.

WANE 15 ran into Ward in Paulding, Ohio last week. He was almost back to his hometown of Payne, Ohio to visit family along his quest.

Ward, who now lives in Ashville, North Carolina, got into cycling in college and decided to go for a coast-to-coast trip about five years ago.

“As I was looking at different routes, following the Northern Tier route, I noticed that it actually went through my hometown, so that was pretty appealing, and it’s going through a lot of states I’ve never been to or thought about, so I thought that would be a great way to discover and see the country,” Ward said.

A tradition of cross-country rides is to dip the bike tires in one ocean at the beginning of the journey and dip them in the other ocean at the end. From Bangor, Ward rode to Bar Harbor, Maine to see the ocean before heading west again.

“I’ve never been to the Pacific, so I’ll swim, and I know that they have quite a few ferries that go up to the islands there, so I want to go discover some of that stuff too, but probably take a day off,” he laughed.

His road bike is designed to absorb road vibration and carry heavy loads. It also has 27 gears to help with climbs.

Ward is staying at hotels, AirBnBs and camping along the way.

He pushes through the challenges,

“Rainy days with lots of climbing are the hardest,” he said. “Back in New Hampshire and Vermont, I had about two and a half days of rain, and I had the most climbing during that spell as well.”

And he soaks in the majestic moments along the way.

“Niagara Falls, definitely. I went over to the Canadian side and saw the falls from there, and it was first time I’ve ever done that, so that was a really rewarding experience, like just felt like, you know, the peak of the mountain. It’s like you’re here. This is a really good, finale for that section of the country,” he said.

As of June 12, Ward was about half way finished and in Iowa. When his trip is over, he plans to take a train from Seattle back to Charlotte.

“Then I’ll either bike back home or I have some friends with trucks. They can come pick me up,” Ward laughed.

• A warming atmosphere is increasing evaporation, leading to conditions that can produce more humidity and rainfall in Ohio.
• The collision of warm Gulf air and cooler northern air has created a persistent storm corridor over the Great Lakes region so far this spring.
• Changes in the jet stream and a faster-than-usual transition to El Niño conditions have contributed to the severe weather patterns.

The summer weather in Ohio could be hot with a mix of rainy and dry conditions, recent storms have hit the Buckeye State as summer looms. Those storms led to flood warnings in Franklin County after Memorial Day and flooding risk near Cincinnati in June.

Where exactly is all the moisture coming from? What is causing the cloud cover and rainy days? Here’s what we know.

Why is it raining so much in Ohio? The climate is ever-changing

The Earth keeps getting warmer – and it’s bringing precipitation to the Buckeye State.

As the atmosphere gets warmer, evaporation increases, which brings increased humidity, average rainfall,the frequency of heavy rainstorms as well as droughts, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

The agency also states that the average annual precipitation in the Midwest has increased by 5% to 10% over the last half century, rainfall during the four wettest days of the year has increased by 35%, and water flowing in most streams during the worst flood of the year has increased by 20%, according to their data from 2016.

Spring brought repeated storm systems to Ohio, Great Lakes

As the region moved into spring, the Great Lakes have remained a focal point for severe weather stretching from Minnesota to Pennsylvania.

That’s because warm, moisture-rich air lifting north from the Gulf repeatedly collides with lingering cooler air across the northern part of the country, creating a persistent corridor for storm development, said AccuWeather Meteorologist Chad Merrill.

Cincinnati Children’s is expanding its access to care across the region, including in Northern Kentucky.

The health system reported in its latest Community Impact Report, released to the public June 9, that six new locations opened in 2025, including facilities in previously underserved communities such as Clermont and Clinton counties. Rural areas often have limited access to specialized and emergency care, placing residents at a higher risk of health challenges and death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Here are the new locations:

• Brandon and Kelly Janszen Union Building, 2015 Children’s Way, Union, Kentucky.
• Crestview Hills Urgent Care, 2765 Chapel Place, Crestview Hills, Kentucky.
• Children’s Eastgate, 4315 Ivy Pointe Blvd., Union Township, Ohio.
• Loveland Primary Care, 10554 Loveland-Madeira Road, Loveland, Ohio.
• Wilmington Primary Care, 1150 W. Locust St., Suite 500, Wilmington, Ohio.
• New Richmond School-Based Health Center, 1135 Bethel-New Richmond Road, New Richmond, Ohio.

Cincinnati Children’s is one of the top-ranked children’s hospitals in the Midwest. The medical professionals at the system’s more than 50 sites provided care in 1.75 million encounters with patients during the July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025 fiscal year, spokesman Barrett Brunsman said.

Some locations are first of their kind

In Boone County, the Brandon and Kelly Janszen building opened at the hospital’s Union location in April 2025, becoming the first in Northern Kentucky to offer both primary and specialty care, including offering behavioral health counselors, lab services, X-ray and ultrasound.

In Kenton County, the hospital opened its first urgent care in Northern Kentucky in July 2025 as part of renovations at the Crestview Hills location, offering residents access to pediatric providers on evenings and weekends.

In Ohio, the Eastgate location opened in October, combining specialty clinics, outpatient surgery and an urgent care center in “the first of its kind on the East Side for Cincinnati Children’s,” where some main campus surgeons and providers now see patients, Brunsman said.

Two primary care centers also opened in 2025: Wilmington, the only primary care in Clinton County dedicated exclusively to children from newborns through teens; and Loveland, which offers closer care to families who once drove farther.