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Vulnerable Dem senator who touts record 'fighting' lobbyists has long history of hiring them

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Vulnerable Dem senator who touts record 'fighting' lobbyists has long history of hiring them

FIRST ON FOX: One of the most vulnerable Democratic incumbents in the U.S. Senate, who has a history of railing against the influence of lobbying in Washington, ranks as one of the most active senators when it comes to lobbyists entering and exiting his office.

Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown ranks in the top-15 all time on Legistorm’s revolving door rankings that tracks congressional staffers who enter offices as lobbyists or leave offices to become lobbyists.

According to Legistorm, 64 individuals have lobbied before or after working for Brown’s office, which ranks him tied for #15 all time. 

Brown ranks #7 when it comes to senators who are actively serving in Congress.

OHIO SENATE CANDIDATE RIPS ‘DEPRAVED’ POLITICIANS FOR SPRINGFIELD MIGRANT CRISIS: CITIZENS ‘PAY THE PRICE’

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Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from Ohio and chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, during a hearing in Washington, D.C., on June 22, 2023. (Nathan Howard/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Staffers who previously worked for Brown are now lobbying for companies that include TikTok, Planned Parenthood, Exxon Mobil and Kroger.

Brown, chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, has hired at least 3 former lobbyists to serve as his chief of staff, Fox News Digital previously reported, including James Heimbach, who was once referred to as “hot commodity” in the lobbying world. After leaving Brown’s office, Heimbach continued lobbying including time with Bank of America, one of the country’s largest financial institutions.

Heimbach also lobbied for the Cigna Corporation, a company sued by Ohio for allegedly driving up the costs of prescription drugs by charging high fees for pharmacy benefit management services.

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US Senator Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from Ohio, during a rail safety event in Columbus, Ohio, US, on Wednesday, April 12, 2023.  (Maddie McGarvey/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Brown has a long history of lamenting the influence of lobbyists in politics as he frames himself as a populist Democrat in Ohio, a state Trump won by 8 points in 2020.

“Something’s wrong with corporate America, and something’s wrong with Congress and administrations listening too much to corporate lobbyists,” he told the Rolling Stone last year.

Brown has also claimed he “took on corporate lobbyists” to get the Inflation Reduction Act passed and often talks about how he has “fought” lobbyists throughout his career.

“Sherrod has always stood up to special interests to level the playing field for Ohioans,” Brown’s website states. “Whether it’s Big Pharma, Big Oil, or Big Banks, Sherrod is fighting back against the Wall Street, profit-at-all-costs business model to make sure hard work pays off for all Ohioans.”

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A spokesperson for the Brown campaign defended the senator’s record and claimed his Republican opponent “only looks out for himself and his special interest allies.”

“Ohioans know that Sherrod always fights for them and will stand up to anyone who gets in the way, which is why special interests are spending record amounts to defeat him,” the spokesperson said. “While Bernie Moreno only looks out for himself and his special interest allies, Sherrod is fighting for stronger ethics and transparency rules for lobbyists, supports bipartisan legislation to crack down on foreign actors, and is fighting to lower costs for Ohioans by holding corporations accountable.” 

L – Bernie Moreno R – Sen Sherrod Brown (Getty Images)

The campaign pointed to Brown’s support of the Lobbying Disclosure Improvement Act last year, which was bipartisan legislation aimed at cracking down on foreign actors lobbying and increasing disclosure requirements for foreign lobbyists. The Ohio senator also co-sponsored the Honest Leadership and Government Act, which overhauled congressional lobbying and ethics rules for Senators and their staff.

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Reagan McCarthy, a spokesperson for Brown’s GOP opponent Bernie Moreno, told Fox News Digital in a statement that, “Sherrod Brown parades around as an average Ohioan, but he is nothing more than a career politician who rewards the Washington swamp.”

“In November, Ohioans will finally retire Sherrod after 50 years in politics and send an outsider to DC who will actually work for Ohio.”

The race between Moreno and Brown is expected to be a close one as Republicans view it as one of their strongest opportunities to take back control of the Senate in November. The Cook Political report ranks the race as a “toss up.”

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Illinois

Prevent plant claims likely in soaked southeastern Illinois – Brownfield Ag News

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Prevent plant claims likely in soaked southeastern Illinois – Brownfield Ag News


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Prevent plant claims likely in soaked southeastern Illinois

Photo by Carah Hart, Brownfield

A technical services representative with BASF says some southeastern Illinois farmers have struggled to find windows to plant this year. 

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Mike Probst, who’s based in Effingham County, says his area has been inundated with heavy rains throughout the spring.

“Weather event after weather event of two to three inches of rain really made it tough on folks in that area.”  He says, “I think there’s fields that have probably been replanted 3 times. I know a lot of the corn that went in at the end of April, most of that didn’t make it or wasn’t a quality enough stand, so it got worked up.”

He tells Brownfield it’s causing farmers to adjust plans on the fly and to consider prevented plant insurance claims.

“We’ve already had several questions where folks have asked if they can come back and plant soybeans based off of what they’ve applied on their corn crop that year, especially in river bottom ground that’s been flooded multiple times.”  He says, “But yeah, I know for a fact that’s going to impact a good number of growers.”

Probst says the disjointed planting season has led to crops in varying stages of development, which could pose management challenges for producers throughout the rest of the growing season.

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Maybe the yield potential is not there, but we have actually seen in some of our data, some of that later planted corn is actually where we see some of our biggest fungicide responses.”  He says, “It actually goes through more of its life cycle where it is combating disease if that disease does show up early like this year.”

He says the crops in the area that were planted timely and have withstood the storms are doing well and have benefited from the rains.

AUDIO: Mike Probst – BASF

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Indiana

Indiana BMV, ISP dispel rumours about Blackout license plates

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Indiana BMV, ISP dispel rumours about Blackout license plates


INDIANA (WPTA) – The Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles and Indiana State Police are addressing online rumors about the BMV’s new license plate design.

The BMV says that when they post about the Blackout plates on their social media accounts, they receive comments claiming the design makes it easier for plate recognition cameras, like Flock, to read.

WATCH: Fort Wayne Flock camera showdown reflects nationwide debate | Story continues below

ISP confirmed that Automated License Plate Recognition cameras can read all Indiana plates with the same efficiency and accuracy as the Blackout version.

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Police say the color and design of a license plate do not impact the camera’s ability to read it.

“I wouldn’t want Hoosiers to miss out on the Blackout plate because of incorrect information,” Indiana BMV Commissioner Kevin Garvey says. “The Blackout plate’s purpose is to give our customers more choices when it comes to their plate design. It’s simply a fun style choice.”

The BMV says more than 240,000 Hoosiers have purchased the Blackout plate since its release in August 2025. Learn more about it here.

Copyright 2026 WPTA. All rights reserved.



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Kansas

Linn County, Kansas, man killed in early Thursday crash

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Linn County, Kansas, man killed in early Thursday crash


KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Linn County, Kansas, man died in a single-vehicle crash early Thursday morning.

The Kansas Highway Patrol says just after midnight Thursday, a 41-year-old Centerville, Kansas, man was driving south on Mills Road about 6.5 miles southwest of La Cygne when he lost control of a 2012 Hyundai Elantra.

The vehicle left the roadway and struck an embankment, causing the Hyundai to overturn before coming to rest on its top.

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The driver and sole occupant of the car, Edward Schultz, was pronounced deceased at the scene.

If you have any information about a crime, you may contact your local police department directly. But if you want or need to remain anonymous, you should contact the Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers Tips Hotline by calling 816-474-TIPS (8477), submitting the tip online or through the free mobile app at P3Tips.com. Depending on your tip, Crime Stoppers could offer you a cash reward.

Annual homicide details and data for the Kansas City area are available through the KSHB 41 News Homicide Tracker, which was launched in 2015. Read the KSHB 41 News Mug Shot Policy.





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