Check out the latest news, features, opinions, and more from Appalachia, the Midwest, and other Postindustrial Communities.
ASHEVILLE
Woodfin opens new whitewater wave on French Broad River
Blue Ridge Now: Taylor’s Wave, a freestanding whitewater wave in the French Broad River, cost more than $4 million to create and is part of a much larger project, said Woodfin Town Manager Shannon Tuch.
ATLANTA
Georgia secretary of state downplaying Anthropic AI bot that accessed election data
Atlanta News First: An artificial intelligence bot associated with Anthropic accessed publicly available voter data through Georgia’s data hub, state officials confirmed. The bot did not access the state’s voter file or voter registration system, the company and the secretary of state’s office said.
BALTIMORE
Maryland rolls out new grant program for solar, battery projects
Maryland Matters: Maryland is beginning to accept applications for a program to bolster solar, wind and battery storage developers with state grant funding.
Movies with a political message among top flicks at Chicago International Film Festival
Chicago Sun-Times: The 62nd Chicago International Film Festival delivered an especially strong lineup this year. An impressive number of shows were sold out soon after tickets went on sale.
CINCINNATI
How Ramaswamy is refocusing message in his controversial ad in Ohio
Cincinnati Public Radio: The race for governor has escalated with an ad from the Republican candidate for governor, featuring the Democratic candidate’s estranged mother. There have been bipartisan calls for the ads to be taken down, but some prominent Republicans have endorsed the ads.
CLEVELAND
Cleveland’s lakefront after the Browns: A new neighborhood takes shape on paper
Cleveland.com: An entirely new downtown neighborhood could replace the Browns stadium area, featuring a grid of streets lined by housing, offices and restaurants, a “central park” where the field now sits, and public spaces stretching along the Lake Erie shoreline.
COLUMBUS
Early voting in 2026 midterm surpasses all of 2022 in Franklin County with one week left
Ohio State Public Media: Over the weekend, Ohio’s most populous county hit 54,000 early in-person voters, which is 6,000 more than all the in-person voters by Election Day in 2022. There is still a little more than one week to vote early, meaning this total will only grow ahead of contentious elections for Ohio’s governor and the U.S. Senate.
DETROIT
Jocelyn Benson focuses on costs in her run for governor
Detroit Public Radio: Benson, the Democratic nominee, says her campaign is about lowering costs, raising wages and protecting public safety. She says her experience as Secretary of State makes her the best candidate.
INDIANAPOLIS
Good Question! More Hoosier women are delivering at home. Is it safe?
Indiana Capital Chronicle: A series of infant and maternal deaths overseen by unlicensed midwives led Hoosier lawmakers to a conclusion in 2013: legalize and regulate the practice to make it safer.
LOUISVILLE
What Louisville’s nonpartisan elections mean for voters
Louisville Public Radio: This year marks the first round of mayoral and Metro Council elections under a state mandate that those offices be officially nonpartisan. That means candidates will not have a party affiliation next to their names on the ballot.
MEMPHIS
University of Memphis brings “RENT” to the stage
Memphis Public Radio: Darel Snodgrass spoke with University of Memphis MFA candidate and director Max Robinson about the groundbreaking musical, loosely based on Giacomo Puccini’s opera “La Bohème.”
MILWAUKEE
Governor candidate David Crowley on data centers, budget surplus and elections
Wisconsin Public Radio: Wisconsin has a multi-billion dollar budget surplus, and voters surveyed by the most recent Marquette University Law School poll said some of the most important issues to them revolve around affordability, healthcare, taxes and data centers.
MORGANTOWN
Secretary of state provides initial early voting numbers
West Virginia Public Broadcasting: Secretary of State Kris Warner has announced that 66,855 ballots have been cast across the state in absentee voting and the first four days of early voting. That represents 5.5% of West Virginia’s 1,210,290 registered voters.
PHILADELPHIA
Gov. Shapiro signs bell-to-bell cell phone ban for all Pennsylvania schools
Philadelphia Public Radio: The law comes amid growing concern over young people’s mental health, as rates of anxiety, depression and even suicide are on the rise, even among elementary-age children.
PITTSBURGH
TV Talk: “The Pitt” prepares to film in Pittsburgh for season 3 scenes
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Locations used for filming will include AGH’s LifeFlight helipad, entryways to the hospital and a faux homeless camp the production built on the North Side under I-279. The majority of the series continues to film on soundstages at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, Calif.
“Take back our city” Event held to educate, stop completion of data centers in the Ohio Valley
WTRF.com: Amanda McWhorter, a member of the group, Organized Residents of Ohio County, said that today they plan to be able to put together a plan based on what has happened and what is going on regarding data centers and being added to communities.
YOUNGSTOWN
Why Youngstown is taking top spots in housing market stats
WKBN 27 Youngstown: “It’s good to know that we are strong nationally compared to the rates that other people are paying and the other prices that people are paying. Our housing market is very strong here,” said realtor Kelly Warren of Kelly Warren and Associates.
