Central Ohio
Columbus and the fast-growing counties around it.
New: Auditing Dublin, our records-only review of one city's council, contracts and audits.
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- Auditing Dublin
On the record: who votes no on Dublin City Council
Council split on nine of its 2026 votes, most over the West Innovation District. First-year member Wendy Johnson cast six of the 10 no votes. No one recused.
- Auditing Dublin · Explainer
Auditing Dublin: what we're reading, and how we label what we find
A records-only review of Dublin's council votes, contracts, incentives, audits and campaign money, with every claim tagged by how we know it.
- Sports
No. 4 Ohio State visits No. 5 Indiana with both unbeaten in the Big Ten
Kickoff is noon Saturday on FOX in Bloomington. Jeremiah Smith needs 315 yards to break the Big Ten career receiving record.
- Money & banking
Ohio's three biggest home-grown banks report third-quarter results next week
Fifth Third goes Monday, KeyCorp Tuesday and Huntington Thursday. Their banks held about $771 billion in assets at midyear.
- Sports
Crew beat Charlotte 3-1; FC Cincinnati falls to New England before Sunday's derby
FC Cincinnati is ninth in the East with 36 points and the Crew 13th with 32. They meet at TQL Stadium at 5 p.m. Sunday.
- Education
Columbus City Schools proposes closing more buildings
About 13,000 desks sit empty across 109 buildings. The plan would close 10 schools and two other buildings over time.
- Sports
Unbeaten teams lead 18 of Ohio's 28 high school football playoff regions with two weeks left
Sunbury Big Walnut and Gahanna Lincoln have the highest ratings in the state. The top 12 in each region make the playoffs when the final ratings come out Oct. 25.
- Outdoors & Lake Erie
Ohio's fall color should peak around Oct. 19 to 24
Most of the state was still rated as changing on Oct. 12, with one pocket east of Columbus near peak.
- Auditing Dublin
Dublin City Manager Megan O'Callaghan resigns, effective Nov. 13
Council accepted the resignation 7-0 on Oct. 12. The city hasn't named an interim manager or described its search.
- Sports
No. 5 Ohio State beats Maryland 45-16 and heads to unbeaten Indiana
Jeremiah Smith and Bo Jackson scored twice each, but eight penalties and two turnovers drew Ryan Day's attention.
- Politics
Acton and Ramaswamy close on costs: taxes, gas and data centers
With early voting underway, both candidates for governor are making pocketbook pitches in the race to succeed Mike DeWine.
- Money & banking
Columbus-chartered Erebor Bank reportedly tops $7 billion in deposits
The digital bank started by Palmer Luckey and Joe Lonsdale reported $4.66 billion in assets at midyear, ranking 11th among banks based in Ohio.
- Growth & housing
Ohio has more than half of the nation's local data center ballot measures
Ballotpedia counts 21 Ohio measures in 18 communities this year, from outright bans to a vote-first rule in Grove City.
- Business
State backs five projects expected to add 1,173 jobs, led by a Fayette County battery plant
The Tax Credit Authority approved credits for projects totaling more than $431 million in investment and $79 million in new annual payroll.
- Politics
Columbus voters will choose between two plans to change City Council
Issue 8 would elect all nine members by district. Issue 9, placed by council, would grow it to 13 with four citywide seats.
- Auditing Dublin
Dublin's biggest 2026 contract came in 14% over the estimate, and another drew one bidder
Council approved about $25.6 million in contracts, bids and grants with stated amounts this year. It skipped competitive bidding once, for festival beer.
- Money & banking
NexTier completes legal merger with Riverside Bank of Dublin
The Pennsylvania bank counts about $3.2 billion in assets after the deal and names Riverside's founder its Columbus regional president.
- Auditing Dublin
Dublin promised up to $1.3 million to four employers this year
The agreements with Northwest Bank, John W. Danforth Co., Ruscilli Construction and InnoSource mostly pay out as payroll grows. Ohio State is buying 16.3 acres of city land for $2.93 million.
- Auditing Dublin
Dublin rezoned 370 acres for research and industry, and took data centers off the table
Council approved the West Innovation District rezoning 5-2 on July 1, minutes after removing data centers as allowed uses 6-1. Other Ohio towns are putting the question to voters.
- Auditing Dublin
Dublin's last three audits were clean; long-term obligations stood at $202 million
Independent auditors found no material weaknesses or reportable noncompliance for 2022 through 2024. We did not find the 2025 audit in the state's database.
Local businesses
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