Town Hall Ohio

15 percent of Americans are 65 or older and in the next 12 years that will jump to 21 percent. That has implications for the elderly, their families and society. To help us walk through the challenges and solutions to aging issues, our guests today are Beverley L. Laubert, who was appointed interim director of the Ohio Department of Aging in December 2017. Director Laubert has been an ombudsman for nearly thirty years, including twenty-three as the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman in Ohio. Our second guests is Dr. Jim Bates is an assistant professor and Extension Field Specialist of Family Wellness in the Family and Consumer Sciences program in Ohio State University Extension in the College of Food, Agriculture, and Environmental Sciences. He also holds an appointment in OSU’s College of Education and Human Ecology.

The economy performed pretty well last year, and most forecasts say 2018 should be a decent year, too. But we’ve already seen a brutal return of stock market volatility, growing fears of what interest rates and inflation will do and concerns over a variety of political issues at home and abroad. Today, Nationwide Sr. Vice President and Chief Economist David Berson is in to help us sort through what might be awaiting us around the corner. The economy, today, on 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, today, on Town Hall Ohio. Congrats to our 2018 winner Annie Specht from Tuscarawas County!

Agriculture is big in Ohio, and features a diversity of people and production practices for hundreds of different kinds of crops and livestock. Today we’re talking about a part of farming that is expanding rapidly – Organic agriculture. Here in the Buckeye state, organic farm numbers and economic output continue to grow. What’s the organic story in Ohio? How does it fit into the overall farm industry? And can organic and conventional agriculture coexist? We cover those questions and more, on this episode of Town Hall Ohio.

Ohio businesses and farms sell a lot of product to foreign countries. Some fifty-five percent of our state’s exports go to Canada and Mexico, who happen to be our partners in the North American Free Trade Agreement, best known as NAFTA. With that as a backdrop, you can understand why Ohio’s business and farm communities are more than a bit concerned when President Trump says he may want to back away from the trade deal. Why NAFTA is important, to all Ohioans, on this episode of Town Hall Ohio.

By this time next year, the Ohio political landscape will look a lot different, or at least will include a lot of new faces, or new faces in new places. Nine Ohioans have their hat in the ring to be our next governor. There are several potential ballot measures in the works, and the general assembly has plenty of business to attend to. We look ahead to policy and politics in 2018 with three members of the Ohio Statehouse Media Corp, on this episode of Town Hall Ohio.

Pulitzer winners, educators, scientists, farmers and political leaders all were in the Town Hall Ohio studio in 2017. This week we hit a few highlights from the past year's broadcasts.

Farm Bureau members had some great accomplishments in the past year. Members of the the organization's public policy team look back at the wins, plus, Extension Educator Jenny Lobb shares some great tips on saving money at the grocery store.

Most days you can’t pick up a newspaper or turn on the radio or TV without reading or hearing about the opioid crisis. Ohio leads the nation in opioid related overdose deaths. The opioid crisis is found in adults and young people and teenagers. What’s being done to prevent the epidemic from becoming even worse? Hope for Ohio, an opioid forum today, on Town Hall Ohio.

Those of us of a certain age can remember hearing Walter Cronkite close the CBS evening news with his famous sign-off – “and that’s the way it is” and, we believed him. We have a president prone to proclaiming news stories as fake. His charges aside, there’s plenty of evidence that some, maybe a lot of what we consider news, isn’t. Fake news. Real news. How do we know the difference? And the ramifications of even having to ask this question, on this episode of Town Hall Ohio.

There is no shortage of people who want to tell us how to eat, or to tell farmers how to farm. The food movement is growing in size, and in influence, and is already having an impact on public policy. What are the consequences of disagreements between members of the food movement and the traditional farm community, and can they find common ground? Well known food and ag economist Dr. Jayson Lusk helps us sort through it all, on this episode of Town Hall Ohio.

Since the early 80’s, Jo Ann Davidson has been a fixture in state and national politics. In a recent story in the Columbus Dispatch, Joe Hallet referred to her as a sentry for tradition and a protector of honor, decorum, conciliation, hard work and progress. He also referenced another moniker – “the velvet hammer.” Today we get to hear from one of Ohio’s most influential political leaders, as Ms. Davidson and Farm Bureau Exec Adam Sharp have a friendly chat, on this episode of Town Hall Ohio.

This probably won’t “shock” you, but Ohio is big in electricity. We produce a lot, and consume a lot. It’s also in our best interests to do both efficiently. Today’s guests can help us out. Eric Romich is with Ohio State University and Jim Miller is with AEP as well as Farm Bureau’s Dale Arnold are in today to talk about what’s going on in electric generation and usage and how we all might be able to save some money.

This Tuesday, Ohioans will have the chance to vote on State Issue 2, the Ohio Drug Price Relief Act. On this week's Town Hall Ohio, we hear the arguments of proponents and opponents. Matt Borges is the former chairman of the Ohio Republican Party. He now represents the Ohio Taxpayers for Lower Drug Prices campaign, which is the vote yes side. Dale Butland was press secretary and Ohio chief of staff for Sen. John Glenn and is now representing the Ohioans Against the Deceptive Rx Ballot Issue, which is the vote no side.

The Farm and Food sector is a huge part of the Ohio economy. And at Central State University, they’re interested in preparing Ohioans to be part of that industry. Central state is an 1890 land grant institution, and as such, is charged with teaching, research and outreach activities while providing students with a quality, affordable education. How they’re carrying out the mission is our topic today with Dr. Alton Johnson, Mr. Chris Widener and Farm Bureau’s Yvonne Lesicko, on Town Hall Ohio.

How do we have a food secure world? How do we do it without a harmful environmental impact? What are the relationships between the environment, animals and people? And what are the implications of 11.5 million Ohioans smack in the middle of 15 million acres of farmland? Cathann Kress would like to find some answers to these questions, and as Ohio State’s new ag college dean, she’s in position to move the effort ahead. Dr. Kress joins Farm Bureau’s Adam Sharp, today, on Town Hall Ohio.

How’s the economy doing? Depends who you ask. A small business owner looking for labor to expand might have one answer. A retiree living off her 401k returns might have another. You would also get other views by asking farmers, politicians, salesmen or heads of households. Today, we get some broad thoughts on the state of the economy, plus hear some thoughts on long term economic trends. Economists Bill Lafayette and Matt Roberts are in to sort it all out, today, on Town Hall Ohio.

After a summer where the budget took up much of the state legislature’s time, lawmakers are turning their attention to other issues. Meanwhile, Democrats and Republicans are starting to shake out their candidates for next year’s statewide races. Keeping an eye on all of the above are Julie Carr Smyth of the Associated Press and Jim Siegel of the Columbus Dispatch. They’re in to help us all get a handle on what’s hot at the capitol, this week, on Town Hall Ohio.

It’s hard to not be constantly reminded that the world is a risky place. But as Americans, how much attention do we really pay to foreign affairs and to what extent do we support military action abroad. A leading political scientist who studies our views on global conflict is our guest today and, his analysis of the current Korean situation is something we all need to hear. OSU’s Dr. John Mueller is our guest, on this episode of Town Hall Ohio.

Call it climate change, global warming or any other term and you’re likely to stir up some emotions. Regardless of your opinions, there is one fact that is hard to argue with - our weather and weather patterns are changing. Today, we talk with two members of the state climate office of Ohio about the science of measuring and predicting climatic occurrences, and what we can do with the facts that science delivers. The science of climatology and adapting to change, is our subject today, on Town Hall Ohio.