Tana Weingartner

Central State University is launching a technology education program and will serve as a regional hub for historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) across the Midwest.

The Federal Reserve last month issued an order for Reserve Banks to ration their coin inventories. The move came as the COVID-19 pandemic "significantly disrupted" normal coin supply chains and circulation.

A typical Fourth of July usually has lots of flags, fireworks and parades. But this year is anything but typical as the pandemic has benched marching bands, banned floats, and sidelined spectators.

In Montgomery, Ohio — a small suburban Cincinnati community of about 10,000 where lawns are lush green and American flags abound — the annual Fourth of July parade is a long tradition. So when the pandemic threatened to cancel the annual parade, they decided to retool it.

The University of Cincinnati is furloughing 360 employees for the summer.

Schools across the country are figuring out how to recognize graduating seniors who are missing out on the usual pomp and circumstance of their final year of high school. Mason High School in suburban Cincinnati, Ohio's largest high school, says it will try to honor every student.

Richards Industrials in Oakley makes all kinds of valves. It's products can be found in chemical plants, pharmaceutical plants, refineries, food and beverage manufacturing plants - basically anywhere around the world where product is moved through a pipe, you might find a valve from the Cincinnati-based company.

That now includes in ventilator testing machines by companies making the life-saving pieces of equipment.

Ohio's bald eagle population is making a strong comeback, according to the 2020 nest census from the Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife.

Scientists and doctors noticed several weeks ago there seemed to be anecdotal evidence of a connection between the coronavirus and patients showing up with a decrease or complete loss of the sense of smell. They went to work studying the connection and say there's evidence that loss of smell is an indicator of COVID-19.

Researchers began studying the use of convalescent plasma several weeks ago as a possible treatment for COVID-19. Labs in  Dayton are collecting donations from people who have recovered from the disease.

Meals on Wheels of Southwest OH & Northern KY, formerly known as Wesley Community Services, is testing a phone outreach effort. Professional social workers will test a phone bank Saturday March 28. The agency is utilizing tech tools created by a company that would normally be doing phone banking and get-out-the-vote election efforts for campaigns.

Local leaders are pushing for Ohio to adopt a fuel quality testing program. House Bill 499 would authorize county auditors to test for octane level as well as sediment and water in fuel.

Neighbors concerned about loud roller coasters running late at night at Kings Island may be getting some relief. Parent company Cedar Fair tells the group it will add sand to the tracks of the Orion and Diamondback roller coasters.

The Ohio Dept. of Health is investigating another potential case of novel coronavirus. The agency reiterates the risk to Ohioans of contracting the disease remains low and there are no confirmed cases in the state.

Two Miami University students do not have the novel coronavirus, the Ohio Health Department confirmed Sunday night.

Updated 3:15 p.m.

The Butler County Health Department says two Miami University students are being monitored for the coronavirus. The students had recently traveled to China.

Two Ohioans are among the crew of the USS Cincinnati being commissioned Saturday in Gulfport, Miss.

Relief and recovery efforts in the Bahamas are hampered by the sheer devastation of Hurricane Dorian. Entire communities are gone and roadways disappeared, making it difficult for responders to even know where to look or go.

Libraries are pushing back against new e-book and e-audiobook policies by some of the biggest publishers. Companies like Macmillan and Simon & Schuster are adjusting how they sell to or allow libraries to use their content, and libraries say the new rules are bad news for patrons.

Kings Island will debut the world's seventh giga coaster in Spring 2020. "Orion" will feature a 300-foot drop and reach speeds of 91 mph with eight hills.

A University of Cincinnati professor is predicting the Arctic Ocean could have no September sea ice if global temperatures continue to rise.

A yard sale stretching from Michigan to Alabama is underway. The annual "World's Longest Yard Sale" draws buyers and sellers from all over to US 127 for four days.

The gorilla at the center of a dispute between the Cincinnati Zoo and the California-based The Gorilla Foundation is back in the Queen City. Ndume is a 37-year-old silverback. 

Federal officials are charging 60 defendants across five states in what they're calling the largest opioid prescriber takedown ever. These are the first arrests announced since an opioid strike force began late last year.

U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos made a swing through Ohio Friday to visit students at Butler Tech, a career and technical school in Butler County. In an event similar to a sports signing day, more than 30 students announced post-graduation jobs with local manufacturers.

After her precarious entrance into the world, the Cincinnati Zoo is celebrating another "Fiona" milestone: Cincinnati's beloved hippo now weighs in at 1,000 pounds.