Town Hall Ohio

If you ever wanted to see grassroots political action in action, you’d have been impressed by this past week’s Ohio Farm Bureau Ag Day at the Capital. Farmers from all corners of the state battled level two snow emergencies to come to Columbus to meet and inform their state lawmakers and to hear from the new governor of the state of Ohio. Governor Mike DeWine joins us as we look back at Ag Day at the Capital, on this episode of Town Hall Ohio.

There is hardly a day that goes by that nearly every one of us is not touched, in some way, by The Ohio State University. Our jobs. Our families. Our food, and our communities. To some extent, Ohio State is an integral part of Ohio’s economy, environment and society. Since the middle of 2014, the caretaker of Ohio State’s mission has been Dr. Michael Drake. He’s back for his fourth visit with all of our listeners, on this episode of Town Hall Ohio.

Sadly, we’re in a time where far too many folks seem to be on their worst behavior when discussing important topics. Ranting and yelling and their online equivalents, seems to have become the ways to share an opinion. In Ohio Farm Bureau, we believe there’s a better way to solve problems. Thoughtful, courteous discussion. Farm bureau’s annual Discussion Meet competition is intended to develop young people’s skills in working that way. This year’s Discussion Meet finalists are our guests, on this episode of Town Hall Ohio.

At the Mid-American Restaurant Expo, held in Columbus two weeks ago, you would expect to see vendors selling pizza ovens, deep fryers and ice cream machines. For the first time this year, the exhibit space made room for farmers from Ohio looking for more places to market their home grown goods. Find out more about this developing relationship between food producers and the restaurant industry on this week’s edition of Town Hall Ohio.

For the first time in eight years, Ohio has a new governor. We have a new republican house speaker, who largely can thank democrats for landing the job. We’ll soon begin the debate over Ohio’s next two year budget and the usual wrangling over dozens of policy issues. Today we look ahead to the year ahead in state government with three folks who pay attention to those things for a living. Our statehouse reporter roundtable, on this episode of Town Hall Ohio.

What’s in store for 2019 as far as economic issues? Your family budget, the economies of Ohio, nation and the world? Conditions facing governments and industries? Today we engage in our annual early year visit with Dr. David Berson, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist for Nationwide. We’ll talk about jobs, interest rates, securities, commodities and a host of other financial and policy topics. It’s all things economy, on this episode of Town Hall Ohio.

Today we continue the tradition of Town Hall Ohio's Greatest Hits. As we close out the year for 2018, we're going to go back an visit some of the highlights of this year's broadcasts: the election, farm and food issues, short and long term economic concerns and opportunities especially in rural areas. You're going to hear some pretty smart and interesting people who were in our studio over this past year. The 2018 Review, on this episode of Town Hall Ohio.

It’s estimated that somewhere around the year 336, Christmas became an official holiday. Then, in 1621 it was the very first Thanksgiving. So one could argue between those two events, the official holiday season was essentially born. It’s interesting to consider how that celebration has evolved over the years. Certainly it can’t resemble now much of what it looked like back then. But how do we keep alive that holiday spirit? Today we talk Christmas and all things holiday on Town Hall Ohio.

At the close of World War 1, Ohio farmers organized to preserve their livelihoods and lifestyles. In 1919, they gave birth to the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation. And since its origin, Farm Bureau has gone on to significantly shape the culture and economy of the Buckeye state. Today, we celebrate the centennial of the state’s largest and most influential farm and food organization. We’ll hear from and about it’s leaders, it’s accomplishments and its plans for the future.

We live in a complicated world. We do what we can for ourselves, but so much of what affects our families, jobs and communities is seemingly outside of our control, or more to the point, under the control of politicians and bureaucrats. Today’s guest is uniquely qualified to talk about governance, the economy, national security and host of other big picture issues that we all should be better informed about. Matt Mayer of Opportunity Ohio, joins us, on Town Hall Ohio.

Hard numbers are hard to find, but one source indicates more than 80 million Americans participate in sports. Many of them are our kids and grandkids starting with little league and continuing through high school. With so many youngsters involved in dozens of different sports, it seems worth spending a little time thinking about how their participation is, or should be, impacting their minds and bodies and their future lives. I’m loosely calling today’s show “a parent’s guide to sports”, on Town Hall Ohio.

In a state known for big cities and big stretches of flat, productive farmland, a part of our state we don’t often give a lot of attention to is Appalachian Ohio. That eastern and southern area of Ohio accounts for 40% of the state’s land mass, but only 17% of our population. It’s also an area that’s tough to economically thrive in. Today, we are joined by a couple of folks who want to help fix that. Revitalizing Appalachian Ohio, on this episode of Town Hall Ohio.

In 1870, the Ohio General Assembly chartered the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College. The doors opened three years later, and five years after that, the college changed its name to The Ohio State University. While OSU now goes far beyond strictly an ag and mechanical focus, Ohio State remains a land grant institution, with community betterment a key purpose. OSU’s engineering and agricultural engineering programs remain crucial to that mission. On this episode of Town Hall Ohio, we talk about the role engineers play in our lives.

For the past 10 years or so, the new player on the scene is the podcast. Online, on demand and as specialized as you could want. Alex Hastie is an attorney and the managing partner of Hastie Legal. He’s active in numerous community organizations and projects. And he’s a historian. Alex is on the Board of Trustees with the Ohio History Connection (formerly the Ohio Historical Society). His popular Ohio history podcast is “Ohio v. the World.” Today, we talk podcasting, on the radio, on Town Hall Ohio.

Election Day is just over a week away. One of your biggest choices, if you’ve not already cast your ballot, is to decide who will serve the next four years as governor of Ohio. Today, you get to hear from democratic candidate Richard Cordray. Mr. Cordray’s visit follows up last week’s show with republican candidate Mike DeWine. What are Ohio’s biggest issues and how will they be handled? Hear what Richard Cordray has to say, on Town Hall Ohio.

Democrat Richard Cordray and Republican Mike DeWine want to be the next governor of the state of Ohio. Over the next two weeks, both candidates will talk with us about the challenges facing Ohio, their solutions and their vision for the state. We’re concluding our series of shows with the candidates for all statewide offices by spending an hour each with the two major party gubernatorial candidates. This week, Republican Mike DeWine is our guest, on Town Hall Ohio.

Election day is just a little over 3 weeks away. Do you know who you’ll vote for to serve as Ohio’s top law enforcement official? Democrat Steve Dettelbach and Republican Dave Yost both want to be your next attorney general. What do they believe are the top issues affecting Ohioans? How will they carry out their jobs? We’ll get into those topics and more as we continue our series of shows introducing you to Ohio’s statewide candidates. The race for Attorney General on this episode of Town Hall Ohio.

As a taxpayer, you want someone to take good care of the money you provide to the state of Ohio. Today’s guests want that job. Democrat Rob Richardson and Republican Robert Sprague are the candidates for State Treasurer, who collects, invests and protects your tax dollars. You’ll hear them talk about issues important to Ohioans, and make their case for your vote. Our pre-election visits with the statewide candidates continue, on this episode of Town Hall Ohio.

National political pundits are saying that control of the U.S. Senate is up for grabs. Among the key states being watched closely ahead of the November election is Ohio. Incumbent democrat, Senator Sherrod Brown is facing off against republican challenger, Congressman Jim Renacci. Both Mr. Brown and Mr. Renacci sat down in the Town Hall Ohio studio to spend some time talking about key issues that probably will be on your minds when you vote. Ohio’s senate candidates, today, on Town Hall Ohio.

Ohio Representative Kathleen Clyde and Ohio senator frank LaRose are both seeking a new job. The same job. They want to be Ohio’s next Secretary of State. Today, we continue our series of pre-election shows in which you’ll hear first-hand from the statewide candidates. Today, we focus on the democrat and republican who wants to serve as Ohio’s Chief Elections Officer and leads the state’s programs that authorize businesses in Ohio. Kathleen Clyde and Frank LaRose, on this episode of Town Hall Ohio.