How to vote in 2024

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October 3, 2024

Lucas Zielinksi, with Turning Point USA, hands Amelia Mathkour, a music, business and tech major at Owens Community College, a pamphlet about voting registration. Zielinksi said he was on campus for the day to help students register to vote. (TFP Photo/Lori King)

Lucas County Board of Elections explains voting details, process

Toledo – With Election Day a month away, preparations are in full swing at the Lucas County Board of Elections office.

“We’re up and running and getting everything ready,” said Timothy Monaco, deputy director of the elections office. “It’s a wonderful time. It’s important to exercise your right to vote.”

Logistics that the staff and officers have been handling for weeks on behalf of Lucas County’s 303 voting precincts include preparing ballots, training precinct election officials, and getting early voting dates and times posted on their website.

Monaco said the most commonly asked question from voters during the past couple of weeks has been when absentee ballots will arrive in the mail.

Here’s the answer: Ohio voters can look for the absentee ballots starting Oct. 8, which is one day after registration ends for the Nov. 5 election.

The Lucas County Board of Elections staff doesn’t give predictions on voter turnout, Monaco said. But, according to state election records, 67 percent of registered Lucas County voters participated in the 2020 presidential election, and 66 percent did so in the 2016 presidential election. This participation includes absentee voting, early in-person voting and traditional Election Day voting.

Those choices are meant to help all eligible voters participate, whether they prefer going in person to a local polling site or to cast a ballot before they travel out of town.

“It’s important to make your plan as to who you are going to vote for,” Monaco said. “Make sure you make a plan and know what is on your ballot.”

While the presidential campaign is the key race of the Nov. 5 election, there are also races in Lucas County for local judges and city officials. For those who want to see the list ahead of time, ballot proofs are available for review on the election board’s website.

“Ballots will be three pages for everyone and four pages for some,” Monaco said.

While some people remember how they wish to vote when going to the polls, others find it helpful to bring paper notes or refer to a list on their phone, Monaco said. “Some folks really come prepared,” he said.

“It’s also important to be respectful at the location,” he added, referring to an Ohio law that prohibits photos of marked ballots. “We do ask that you limit cell phone use at the ballot.”

Many other election details are explained at lucascountyohiovotes.gov.

Election calendar

Key dates for the November 5 election:

Military and overseas civilian voting: Started Sept. 20.
Voter registration deadline: 9 p.m. Oct. 7.
Early in-person voting season: Oct. 8.-Nov. 3.
Absentee ballot postmark deadline: Nov. 4.
Election Day: Nov. 5.

CAMPUS TALK

OWENS COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS SOUND OFF ABOUT VOTING

Question: How important is voting to you?

Voting is not my main concern, but it is pretty important because it is the future of America and I would like to have a say in what is gonna be my future. I usually try to vote on voting day, if I can’t I’ll do the absentee ballot.
Oliver Odendahl | EMT Major | Tontogany Resident

I am not a registered voter. If I was to lie to you I’d say yes. But honestly, I don’t have enough time … it’s not really a main priority, even though it should be. I do plan on voting at some point, maybe when I’m in my adult phase. Even though I’m not a registered voter I do think voting is important because it basically determines the society and the rules and regulations we live by.
James Johnson | Broadcast Media Technology Major | Toledo Resident

I’d say voting is very important. There’s certain aspects of it that do feel sort of depressing, when you think about it, because a lot of people would say people voting normally wouldn’t matter because of a small majority in the Electoral College – their votes matter 100 times more than your own. That’s what it feels like at least from what I know. It does feel a little degrading knowing that’s going to happen.
Nivant Dawson | Business Major | Toledo Resident

I think voting is important, but I’m not exactly sure why it’s important. I mean, there’s a lot of things that come from it. You’re voting for someone that you’re putting your trust and you’re faith into to guide us all in the right direction, but we just all don’t know what that direction is yet. So, we’re just kind of free-balling it, in a way. So, I don’t know … I’ve never voted before but this will be interesting. I really don’t know what all is involved. I just have a lot to learn about voting – like what I should be looking for in the leader I’m going to be voting for. So, yeah, it’s coming up soon. There’s a lot to learn.
Sydney Stanley | Chemistry Major | Millbury Resident

Voting is very important, especially in this day and age, when everything’s going on.
David Chase III | Literature Major | Toledo Resident

Registration details

Ohio voters must be registered by 9 p.m. Oct. 7 to be eligible to vote in the Nov. 5 election.

Residents can register to vote, look up voter registration, change their address, find an early voting location, look up Election Day polling location or track an absentee ballot at VoteOhio.gov.

Photo ID requirement

Bring your photo ID when voting. The options are:

- Current Ohio driver’s license or State of Ohio ID card.

- Interim ID form issued by Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

- U.S. passport or U.S. passport card.

- U.S. military ID card, Ohio National Guard ID card or U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs ID card.

A registered voter who has changed his or her name since the photo ID was issued will need to show proof of legal name change and sign a form. A photo ID card can show a former address if a current address is on file with the voting records. If you forget a photo ID, you can request a provisional ballot.

How to vote absentee

An absentee ballot in Ohio needs to be requested, signed, dated and submitted for each election. Military personnel and civilian overseas voters can file one application for all elections happening in a given year.

The application asks for the number on your Ohio driver’s license or Ohio ID card, last four digits of your social security number, or a photocopy of other eligible ID such as a U.S. passport or military ID.

Mailed absentee ballots must be postmarked by Nov. 4 and can be hand delivered to the Board of Elections on Nov. 5.

Additional instructions are on the Ohio Secretary of State’s website.

In-person early voting

Ohio’s in-person early voting season begins Oct. 8 and ends Nov. 3.

The Lucas County Early Vote Center is at 3737 W. Sylvania Ave. Suite 121 Entrance C (at the rear of the Lucas County Board of Elections building) in west Toledo.

Voting times and dates can be found at LucasCountyOhioVotes.gov.

Election Day voting

Polling sites are open in Ohio from 6:30-7:30 p.m. on Nov. 5. You can look up your polling location at VoteOhio.Gov.

What’s on the ballot?

A “ballot proof” is available for review on the Lucas County Board of Elections page. It lists candidates and ballot issues by precinct, so voters know what to expect.

For example: Six president/vice president candidate teams have declared in Ohio, with an additional write-in option available. Other candidate races include U.S. Senator, Lucas County Sheriff and openings on Toledo City Council.

Ohio Issue 1 is a proposed state constitutional amendment that has gained a lot of attention. This issue, if approved, would designate a redistricting commission to draw state legislative and congressional districts.

There are other issues locally, such as a proposed bond issue for the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library and a tax renewal request from the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority.

Are ballot “selfies” allowed?

Ohio does not permit photos to be taken of a marked ballot. It’s actually a fifth-degree felony should that take place, according to Ohio law.

The “I Voted” Sticker

A traditionally popular way to showcase voter participation is through an “I voted” sticker, picked up on Election Day at the polling site.

Ohio’s current “I Voted” sticker design was adopted in 2019 through a student art contest. A red squiggle depicts a map of Ohio, nestled in a blue circle outline, with the phrase “Ohio Voted.”

Voters are invited to download the image to share on social media at the Ohio Secretary of State website. That website also has also a “future voter” coloring page for children available for download.

Is campaigning allowed at election sites?

Ohio does not allow election campaigning, also known as electioneering, within 100 feet of a voting site. This means no campaigning messages on attire such as shirts or hats, Monaco said.

Two small United States flags are placed at each voting site to designate the “neutral” zone where this applies.

Where is the Board of Elections office?

If you need to visit the Lucas County Board of Elections regarding a voting matter, that office moved about two years ago from its former location at One Government Center to 3737 W. Sylvania Road in West Toledo.

When are election numbers official?

Ballots cast on Election Day will be delivered in person to the Lucas County Board of Elections for the counting procedures.

There will be numbers reported after that count is complete.

The Ohio Secretary of State does not consider voter counts to be official until two or three weeks later, after provisional ballots are accounted for and to give time for absentee ballots to arrive that met the postmark deadline.

The Humorists

By

Don Lee

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January 17, 2025

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Editorial Cartoon by Don Lee for the Toledo Free Press.

Heavy metal thrives at The Bridge

By

Rachel Boes

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January 17, 2025

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Infectious Waste performs on Aug. 7, 2024. (Courtesy Photo) — Infectious Waste performs at the Bridge on Aug. 7. (Courtesy Photo)

BOWLING GREEN – The Bridge is an emerging music venue out of Bowling Green that hosts concerts of all genres, but it has mostly facilitated shows for high-energy heavy metal bands. The venue has emerged from an organization wholly unassociated with heavy metal – the Bowling Green Alliance Church.

Drew Binkley, a member at BGCMAC since he was a child, spearheaded the music venue’s launch.

“About seven years ago, the church added a sanctuary addition to their building, and I’ve been active in the tri-state music scene for 10 years. About a year ago, I said, ‘Hey, we have sound equipment and a stage; why don’t we start hosting shows here?’ And the church has been more than supportive of this endeavor,” Binkley recalled.

After Instinct performs at The Bridge on March 30. (Courtesy Photo)

Binkley, a drummer, has played with many bands from Fort Wayne, Ind., Dearborn, Mich. and Toledo in several genres, like midwest emo, pop punk and post-noisecore. The experiences and relationships he built attending shows across the local music scene also inspired him to begin The Bridge.

Promoters can be difficult to work with and trust, and The Bridge has alleviated a lot of these hurdles musicians face when booking.

The Toledo Free Press spoke with a band member who appreciated working with the venue.

“It’s a really honest business,” claimed Joey Scigliano, a member of the band Wasted Time. “When you work with people in music, you can work with someone that doesn’t necessarily have your best interest at heart. But, anytime I go to The Bridge, or hear someone talk about it, it’s always a good conversation.”

The acts booked here are in line with the venue’s acceptance of anyone walking through the door.

Leavi the Poet (Levi MacAllister) performs on Sept. 28. (Courtesy Photo)

“We tend to be a hit with the hardcore and metal scene because they get a kick out of playing in a church,” added Binkley. The venue has expanded to artforms outside of music, hosting poetry and open mic events.

“The space is designed specifically for both Christian and non-Christian people to find unity through music in all of its forms,” Binkley said. “No one is going to be preaching at you; people are free to express themselves however they see fit.”

Scigliano, the guitarist in his three-man band, added, “We’ve been together a year and some change…all Toledo locals. We only play original music; our genre is part indie and heavy.” Their first show was hosted at The Bridge when their sound was more early West Coast punk.

“We wanted to play at The Bridge because it’s known as a venue with a heavier sound,” Scigliano noted.

In their first show in November 2024, Wasted Time was on the docket with bands of all stripes, like Sheller – a loud, indie Fort Wayne band headlining for the show – and an energy-charged punk band from Toledo called No Place.

Scigliano even enjoyed hanging out at the venue with his bandmates after playing the concert.

“We met a lot of new people; some of the church goers introduced themselves,” he said. “This one kid comes up to me and asks me questions about the music and was talking about how cool the show was. Drew told me afterwards that this kid goes to the church and is reserved there.”

Scigliano says that he’s felt very welcomed at The Bridge despite not attending the church.

“They cater to everyone at The Bridge. Although heavy music is associated with some adult themes, there were definitely kids there. They brought out pool noodles for them to dance with. There is a real communal sense there; they make it feel very welcoming.”

The Bridge has even reached global audiences after hosting an act from Japan in August 2024: self-proclaimed the “first” Christian heavy metal band from Japan, Imari Tones. Despite the increased traffic, Binkley doesn’t keep any money. Whatever The Bridge makes from ticket sales goes to the staff setting up the show.

Japanese band Imari Tones, front, poses with local bands on July 18. (Courtesy Photo)

Binkley is looking forward to the future of the venue. He has plans for its continued growth and reach.

“As we’ve grown this past year, we’ve started building networks for shows with other churches,” he said. “We also operate out of The Vineyard Church in Bowling Green and have had other churches express interest in hosting shows, too.”

The Bridge will host their next event, Winter Ruckus, at Bowling Green Alliance Church on Jan. 25. Doors open at 5 p.m. 

This will be their second year hosting Winter Ruckus, a winter concert event.

Ohio lawmaker plans to tighten Medicaid eligibility, expand private school vouchers

By

Lori King

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January 16, 2025

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hufman copy — Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman, a Lima Republican, addresses reporters at the Statehouse in Columbus on Tuesday, (Photo Credit: Andrew Tobias/Signal Statewide)

This story was originally published by Signal Statewide. Sign up for their free newsletters at SignalOhio.org/StateSignals. Statewide is a media partner of the Toledo Free Press.

By Andrew Tobias | Signal Statehouse

On Tuesday, new House Speaker Matt Huffman made his most expansive public comments since winning one of Ohio’s most powerful jobs earlier this month. He’s foreshadowing state law changes that would make it harder to qualify for Medicaid and easier to get a private-school voucher.

As he settles into the new legislative session, Huffman, a Republican from Lima, touched on those and other topics affecting millions of Ohioans during an 80-minute meeting with reporters on Tuesday. His comments, while short on specifics, were the most extensive he’s made publicly since becoming speaker at the beginning of the month.

As leader of the Ohio House, Huffman holds one of the three most powerful positions in state government. The others are the governor, and the president of the Ohio Senate, a job Huffman held until the end of December, when he left due to term limits.

The new Senate president is Rob McColley, another Northwest Ohio Republican who is Huffman’s political protégée. The two men are expected to work closely in crafting legislation that would be sent to Gov. Mike DeWine for his signature. That’s in sharp contrast to last session, which was complicated by a political rivalry between Huffman and former House Speaker Jason Stephens, whose old leadership job Huffman now has.

Huffman spoke with reporters at the Statehouse as he announced the leaders of dozens of legislative committees who will review proposed law changes. Among the few Republicans not to get a committee position – a job that comes with prestige and a pay bump – was Stephens and a few of his top supporters.

Here’s what Huffman said about Medicaid, school vouchers and a few other high-profile topics.

Medicaid eligibility

Huffman said he supports a move from the DeWine administration to add work requirements to some people enrolled in Medicaid, the healthcare program for the poor and disabled run by the state and federal government. The state has been soliciting public comments on the proposal since last month. State officials have estimated requiring these working-age people to hold a job or enlist in job training to receive Medicaid could affect 62,000 Ohioans. The Center for Community Solutions, a Cleveland-based health policy think tank, estimates the number could be more like 450,000 Ohioans.

The proposal affects those who got Medicaid coverage through Obamacare, which increased the amount of money someone could make and still be eligible. About 3 million Ohioans, or a quarter of the state’s population, currently are enrolled in Medicaid. Enrollment percentages are higher in urban counties and in Appalachia.

DeWine previously sought to impose similar work requirements, but was rejected by President Joe Biden’s administration. Republicans expect incoming president Donald Trump will be more receptive.

Huffman said he doesn’t have a lot of specifics on other changes that could be made to Medicaid. But, he said he believes there are people enrolled in the program who aren’t entitled to benefits. He cited people he believes visit Ohio only occasionally but largely live out of state. He said this view is based on conversations with social service officials in his hometown.

“Frankly, there are people who are on [Medicaid rolls] who we know shouldn’t be on,” Huffman said.

K-12 education, private-school vouchers

Huffman signaled earlier this month that he doesn’t believe public K-12 schools should get the full funding increases envisioned in a landmark 2021 bill that overhauled Ohio’s public-school funding formula. The measure, branded the Fair School Funding Plan, increased the state’s share of school funding by $2 billion, but phases it in over six years.

The final two years of the increase would be in the state’s next two-year budget bill.

But Huffman said Tuesday that the current legislature isn’t bound by the decisions lawmakers made four years ago, and that other elements of the plan dictating how schools were supposed to spend the money weren’t implemented. Previous budgets were approved in a time of greater financial prosperity, including hundreds of millions of dollars the state got thanks to federal coronavirus relief. Lawmakers are expecting the next budget bill to be tighter.

“Every General Assembly has to take into account what is happening when they pass the budget,” Huffman said. “You know, successful businesses and people, for that matter, make long-term financial plans. They don’t plan things one or two years.”

On the other hand, Huffman indicated he doesn’t think potential belt-tightening should affect his long-term goals of expanding eligibility for private-school vouchers, which use state money to pay for kids to go to private schools. The legislature in the last budget bill vastly expanded eligibility for vouchers, costing the state an extra $1 billion.

Huffman said spending to send kids to private school, rather than giving public school districts the extra money, can be a good value to the state. State vouchers cap per-student spending at around an average of $7,000, while the average public-school student costs around $15,000, he said.

“It saves taxpayers money when we implement these programs,” Huffman said.

Unemployment / workers compensation insurance

Ohio is a rare state that runs public insurance programs for workers compensation and unemployment. Employers fund both through premiums they pay into the systems.

Huffman didn’t describe any specific reforms but criticized both programs. He said the unemployment system is a “failed insurance company” that “goes bankrupt” every 10 years or so. He said the state needs to consider the two ways to change its financial picture – either increasing the premiums companies pay or reducing the benefits the program pays out.

“We want people to understand that we’ve got a problem with the unemployment compensation system, and we want to deal with it,” Huffman said.

And he said the workers compensation system collects too much money, as evidenced by the huge rebates it occasionally issues back to employers. He didn’t elaborate on what changes might be made to the program, though.

Marijuana

DeWine last year called for the state to ban Delta 8 products, the so-called “diet weed’ synthetic that contains THC and is available in convenience stores. He and Huffman also want to tweak the recreational marijuana law that voters passed in November 2023.

But both proposals stalled last year in the face of opposition of some House members.

One reason the debate bogged down was disagreement over whether the legislature should ban Delta 8 and change marijuana laws in separate bills, or do it in the same bill.

Huffman said Tuesday he thinks it should happen in the same bill.

Signal Statewide is a nonprofit news organization covering government, education, health, economy and public safety.

Special Report: The spread of LifeWise

By

Laurie Bertke

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January 16, 2025

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Opponents, supporters weigh in on Bible class program in Ohio

Part 2 of a limited series about Ohio-based LifeWise Academy.

NORTHWEST OHIO – Keith Comer didn’t set out to become an activist when he began looking into a program called LifeWise Academy.

While he never considered himself a “political person,” the father raising three children in the Old Fort Local School District outside Tiffin does pay close attention to all the bills introduced by his state representative in House District 88. Early last year, he said a bill proposing a one-word change to Ohio law governing religious release time education policy struck him as “fishy.”

The existing law said a school district board may adopt a policy that authorizes a student to be excused from school to attend a released-time course in religious instruction. House Bill 445 proposed changing the word “may” to “shall,” making the adoption of such a policy a requirement for all public school districts.

The state legislature ultimately passed the proposal after it was amended into House Bill 8, and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed the bill into law Jan. 8. The law takes effect 90 days after the bill’s signing.

Comer’s review of the legislation introduced by Rep. Gary Click (R-Vickery) was his gateway to a deep dive into LifeWise Academy, a nonprofit organization lobbying for the bill that promoted Bible classes during public school hours.

Keith Comer at his kitchen table, where he spends time deep diving into LifeWise Academy. (TFP Photo/Lori King)

“I was looking at their website, and I was just trying to figure out where they had programs, but you had to type in each school district and then see if it had a program or not,” said Comer.

With a professional background in software engineering, he took it upon himself to write a program to speed up this cumbersome process. Comer drew on his experience working on an application that would “scrape” and compile data from different websites.

In what he describes as a “watching TV project” in the evenings, he wrote a program that plotted the data from the LifeWise website onto a Google map so he could see at a glance all the districts where they operate. He was astonished to discover the scope of LifeWise, which now operates about 160 programs in Ohio, alone — more than a quarter of the state’s school districts. The map also shows many more proposed LifeWise programs in varying stages of development.

Comer initially created the map to satisfy his own curiosity, but it was met with shock when he shared it to Reddit and Facebook. “No one had ever seen the true spread of their push into the schools,” he said.

Last March, he launched a website called Respect Public Schools to share the map he made, as well as enrollment data and other statistics documenting the growth of the program.

LifeWise Inc., a nonprofit headquartered in Hilliard, Ohio that reported a total annual revenue of more than $35 million on tax documents filed in November, expressed its disapproval of Comer’s website with cease and desist letters and threats of felony charges in April 2024. Comer denies any wrongdoing and has no plans to take the website down.

“I worked for a software company that did this very specific thing, and as long as you are not using copyrighted, trademarked data in certain ways, it is just publicly available data,” he said. “If you went to their website, typed in all 600 school districts, gathered that info…that’s the same thing that I’m doing. I can do it in 15 minutes, and it would take somebody else 15 days.”

The map and other statistics on Comer’s website are updated regularly with information pulled from the official LifeWise site, as well as the National Center for Education Statistics, which provides total enrollment data for public schools broken down by grade. Comer also gathers information by combing through LifeWise program Facebook pages, contacting public school districts directly via email and submitting public records requests.

Keith Comer shares research with Parents Against LifeWise, and now has a yard sign in front of his home in Tiffin. (TFP Photo/Lori King)

He connected with the founders of Parents Against LifeWise, another group dedicated to documenting violations and other concerns about LifeWise expressed by parents in districts with the program, and they collaborate on sharing their research. The parent group has a website and a Facebook group with more than 7,000 members from multiple states where LifeWise operates.

LifeWise moves into Toledo suburbs

Comer’s map shows dozens of LifeWise programs operating in northwest Ohio, mostly in smaller cities and rural public school districts. The map also shows there are at least 30 schools within Toledo and its immediate suburbs where groups are working to introduce

Two of those schools where LifeWise recently opened for enrollment are in Toledo suburban public school districts: Perrysburg and Anthony Wayne.

Since Perrysburg has had a district policy governing released time for religious instruction (RTRI) on the books since 1996, local LifeWise program director Frank Zenner said introducing the program into Perrysburg schools involved getting approval from the superintendent. “It really wasn’t a difficult sell,” he said.

Their program began with two elementary schools during the 2023-2024 school year. It expanded this school year to serve students in grades one through four from all four district elementary schools, and Zenner said 74 students are enrolled. Classes are held during lunch and recess and range in size from two or three to a dozen students.

Zorach v. Clauson, the 1952 U.S. Supreme Court case upholding RTRI laws, stipulates they must meet off school property, so students are shuttled to area churches located in close proximity to each school. Host sites for the classes include First Baptist Church of Perrysburg, Bethel Assembly of God, Perrysburg Alliance Church and Grace Church Perrysburg.

Frank Zenner, LifeWise program director for the Toledo area, enters the classroom at Perrysburg Alliance Church. (TFP Photo/Lori King)

Zenner said the program uses three donated buses to transport students to the churches, which takes about 10 minutes round trip. This leaves about 50 minutes for the students to eat a pizza lunch provided by the Perrysburg LifeWise program while they view a video or listen to a lesson from the teacher. They usually participate in some other activity to incorporate the lesson, and their discussion continues on the bus ride back to school.

Frank Zenner, Perrysburg LifeWise program director, inside the LifeWise classroom at Perrysburg Alliance Church. (TFP Photo/Lori King)

Lessons are based on the Bible, Zenner said, but also highlight character traits such as forgiveness or perseverance.

While LifeWise Academy is not affiliated with any one Christian denomination, its website says its teachings align with “historic, orthodox Christian beliefs.” The LifeWise curriculum is based on The Gospel Project, which comes from Lifeway Christian Resources, an entity of the Southern Baptist Convention. According to the LifeWise website, this curriculum takes students through the entire Bible over five years and “each lesson reviews a Bible passage as well as a ‘Living LifeWise’ character trait, such as respect, love or kindness.”

Zenner acknowledges there can be tension between public and religious institutions, but said RTRI programs allow parents to choose how they want their children educated. “And I think the character development piece is pretty important stuff. That’s where my head and my heart is, and that’s why I’m involved with it,” he said.

With mostly local donors footing the bill for the program, there is no charge to participating students. Zenner said they come from a variety of backgrounds and are not necessarily affiliated with the sponsoring churches.

“We get kids that are churched. We certainly get kids that are nominally churched; the parents want their kids to be exposed or get the extra lesson. And then we get kids that are totally unchurched, that really don’t know what the Bible is,” he noted.

‘Living LifeWise’ character traits hang on the classroom wall at Perrysburg Alliance Church. (TFP Photo by Laurie Bertke)

Reaching kids who have never had a chance to hear the Gospel was an important motivation for Mariah Carroll in helping to bring LifeWise Academy to the Anthony Wayne district. The program began enrolling third graders from Monclova Primary School last fall and recently added a class for fourth graders.

Carroll, a mother of two who attend primary school in the district, originally heard about the program from a friend who serves as a LifeWise teacher in Eastwood Local Schools.

“I went home and talked it over with my husband and prayed about it, and I just knew that this was something that I wanted to help offer within our community,” she said.

Carroll got involved in bringing LifeWise to Anthony Wayne and was hired as the program’s first director. She said it’s important for kids to be able to hear about the Gospel because she knows it is something that changed her life and the lives of all her family members.

She added that the LifeWise program is not forced on anyone, but is an option she believes parents should have. In its first semester, five third graders from Monclova Primary attended LifeWise classes during their lunch and recess at a nearby, off-site location.

Jackie Haines and her daughter, Harper, at Monclova Primary School in the Anthony Wayne district. (TFP Photo/Laurie Bertke)

For Jackie Haines, the timing of when the program is offered was key to her decision to enroll her third-grade daughter, Harper. She said she probably would not have signed her up if it would have meant her daughter would miss a class to attend. “Education is the number one priority for me, even what they consider ‘specials’ are to me vital for kids’ education experience.”

Haines said her daughter enjoys attending LifeWise, a program she believes builds character, confidence and bonds with peers. “For me, I just think it really enhances their toolkit when they face, inevitably, some type of adversity at school. And, obviously, it introduces kids to Jesus Christ, which, for us, as a family, that’s a core value for us.”

After getting to know the local people running the program and viewing the curriculum, Haines disputes widespread accusations she has seen on the Internet about LifeWise teaching homophobia, transphobia or hatred about other religions. “I don’t ever want to teach that type of hate to my child,” she emphasized.

“I have friends, we have connections at the school that are of different faiths. I would never want someone to step on my beliefs as a Christian. It’s an important thing that they are very mindful of,” Haines said.

Kristin Hady, a parent with three kids in Perrysburg district schools, disputes the notion that Bible education during the public school day does not impact students of other faiths. Her family is Muslim, and she said her fourth grader has already had another student at school tell her that she is going to hell because she doesn’t go to church. Hady doesn’t know if the other child attended LifeWise, but expressed her fear the program could amplify a sentiment that already exists among some in the community.

“When we make it a part of the school day, whether or not it’s optional, it then becomes something to ‘other’ other children that are not Christian,” said Hady. “I always think it’s a slippery slope when we are introducing religion into the school system, and not from an educational point of view — when we are actually teaching children to be one of the religions.”

Districts officials from both Anthony Wayne and Perrysburg declined to be interviewed about the LifeWise program.

When students miss class, LifeWise enrollment grows

Both LifeWise directors interviewed by the Toledo Free Press cite convenience for busy families as a primary reason for the classes to be held during school hours. These local programs are fairly small and held during lunch and recess, but what happens when students miss other classes to attend LifeWise programming?

Buddy Workman, a LifeWise advancement representative for northern Ohio, gives his viewpoint on his beliefs during a LifeWise meeting. (Courtesy Video/Keith Comer)

The LifeWise website states that “the class schedule is set by school personnel in consultation with LifeWise representatives. Usually, LifeWise classes are scheduled as part of the ‘specials’ rotation or during times when other elective courses are offered.”

This means students attending LifeWise in many districts often miss out on special or elective classes, such as library, art, music, gym and technology. Some LifeWise classes are also offered during intervention or enrichment periods and study halls.

As Comer delved deeper and connected with other parents raising concerns about LifeWise, he discovered a direct correlation between attendance size and when the programs are offered.

“What I found, the deeper I got into this, is that when students miss an actual class, the enrollment for LifeWise doubles,” he said.

According to statistics Comer has compiled on his website, a survey of 272 schools with LifeWise shows just under half of them offering programs during lunch and recess.

While these programs often start small, Comer said the logistics of offering LifeWise during lunch and recess become more difficult when enrollment rises above a certain threshold.

“Once you are trying to get 300 to 400 kids to an offsite location during a lunch period, you can’t do it,” said Comer. “So now they have to find a time that works, so that’s when it usually gets pushed into the specials.”

Danielle Wirick is a mother with a second grader in Defiance City Schools, a district about 60 miles west of Toledo. There, nearly early 80 percent of students in grades kindergarten through fifth grade — more than 800 students — attend LifeWise. Wirick said her district eliminated a specials time slot to make room for LifeWise, and teachers have even listed it as a period on classroom newsletters.

Wirick said her child came home crying the first week of kindergarten because her child was the only one left behind during the LifeWise period. In past years, her child has been sent to the gym with other students not attending LifeWise.

This year, the district told Wirick the handful of students left behind during LifeWise are doing an online “character education” program, but she said it was never implemented as it was supposed to be, and there are no grades or assignments to hand in. She said her child spends that period in the library playing video games on the computer – with no structure or instruction.

Last year, Wirick shared her family’s negative experience with LifeWise when she testified against the Ohio House and Senate bills geared toward mandating schools to adopt RTRI policies. As a mother with a young child who is not in school yet, she said her goal is to get all the specials classes reinstated by the time her youngest is in kindergarten.

Her family’s experience demonstrates one way that public school students left behind during LifeWise classes can be adversely impacted. Comer said he doesn’t take issue with the religious aspect of the program, but rather the missed hours of instruction time, lack of accurate reporting on those hours, and how public schools are being forced to facilitate the logistics so LifeWise programs can operate.

“When you look at it on the scale of what they’re doing, it’s an impact,” he said. “I think everybody should know how much time is being missed. And I don’t think schools should be forced to come up with a plan to try to figure out what class do we drop to make this work.”

The Humorists

By

Steven J Athanas

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January 15, 2025

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Cartoon by Steven J Athanas for the Toledo Free Press.

Pause and ponder with singer-songwriter Peter Mulvey

By

David Yonke

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January 15, 2025

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petermulvey2 — Peter Mulvey will perform Jan. 18 in Toledo's Old West End. (Courtesy Photo/Elizabeth Witt)

TOLEDO – Peter Mulvey doesn’t want to win arguments; he just wants to tell stories that make people pause and ponder. And laugh.

There’s no end to the stories Mulvey can tell, from space travel and the environment to religion and social justice.

The singer-songwriter, who will be in concert Jan. 18 at the Flamb-OYE-nce Community House in Toledo’s Old West End, is a deep thinker and keen observer who holds a mirror up to society. That mirror helps people see the world – sometimes even the universe – from a different perspective.

“That’s it. That’s all I care about,” said Mulvey. “Let’s get in a room. I’ll sing some songs, I’ll tell some jokes, and we’ll all be together paying attention to the same thing – and that thing is not me. It’s the condition I’m trying to hold that mirror up to. That’s the thing we’re all here to contemplate.”

Take the latest developments in space technology, for example. What does the public think when they watch a rocket launch by Blue Origin, the company created by Amazon’s billionaire founder Jeff Bezos?

Chances are they don’t see the event the same way Mulvey does.

“Jeff Bezos could have paid everyone who ever worked for him a living wage and still been rich enough to buy a rocket ship,” Mulvey sings in his song A**hole in Space (Solo Mission).

“But no, he didn’t. He objectively didn’t. We should have moved the world before he came back down … we were too busy ordering a tripod with Prime delivery,” he complained.

This writer confessed a twinge of guilt to Mulvey that an Amazon Prime delivery had just arrived at his doorstep as the interview began.

“You know, I use Amazon,” Mulvey replied. “I do. It’s an incredible convenience. And it’s also hollowing out our world. And that strikes me as pretty much all of the 21^st century. And most of the 20^th.”

Peter Mulvey is a storyteller with a guitar. (Courtesy Photo/Elizabeth Witt)

He’s not against technology, not by a longshot. Mulvey has been an avid supporter for decades of the National Youth Science Camp, and gave a hugely popular TEDx Talk titled Vlad the Astrophysicist about life beyond planet earth.

“Yes, things are messed up. And yet things are also amazing,” he said. “Hepatitis C was fatal back in 2010, and it’s not fatal anymore.”

Mulvey grew up Catholic, and although he has parted ways with that church, he remains a person of faith and thinks going to church is a good thing.

Religion has done immense harm on earth, and it also has done immense good on earth. Just getting out of your house and getting together with your fellow humans to think about things in a public place on a weekly basis, that’s an incredibly valuable thing. And now that the church is in decline, we’ve lost that baby with the bathwater, right?
Peter Mulvey

“I always watched the New Atheists, you know, guys like Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins. God, they are just rude and combative. I mean, I get it. You’re in Toledo, right?” he asked.

“It’s winter time right now. And there’s a kid on the street because they’re gay or trans, and their religious parents have thrown them out of the house right now, within two miles of you, where you sit, and me where I sit. That’s going on. So I absolutely get it that religion needs to have a collision with modernity. But man, those New Atheists are just assholes.”

Mulvey doesn’t hope to resolve debates about religion, but he doesn’t hesitate to promote discussions on hot-button issues.

“I feel like we’re having this family squabble between science and religion, between the right and the left, between men and women, between, you know, country mouse and city mouse,” Mulvey said. “And I’m just more interested in telling stories about the way these things exist together than I am about winning arguments. That’s probably all of my work. I hope that’s all of my work.”

One of Mulvey’s most well-known songs is Take Down Your Flag, a heartfelt plea to lower the Confederate flag at the capitol building in South Carolina after the mass shooting at a Charleston church in 2015. The song has been covered by many artists, including Ani DiFranco, Keb’ Mo’, Jeff Daniels and Peter Yarrow.

“I wrote it in like six minutes, but in some ways it also took 44 years to write that song,” he said.

The song goes back to his childhood, growing up on the gritty northwest side of Milwaukee, where he felt like an outsider and bonded with another local outsider, Pamela Means.

“Neither of us fit in because she’s not black enough; she’s biracial and she’s queer. And I was an outsider because I was one of the only white people on the playground. We’re just good friends, and we’ve been talking about race and America since we were teens, specifically this black and white thing in America which, you know, is America’s biggest hang-up,” he said.

Mulvey was devastated watching news reports on TV after the June 17, 2015 shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in which an avowed white racist opened fire during a Bible study at the predominantly Black church, killing nine people and injuring one.

“The thing I couldn’t handle was one of the victims was 87 years old. How on earth? So I sort of wrote the song in a rush and I think it hit a nerve. I didn’t mean for it to be particularly political. It’s just that I couldn’t stand the thought.

“And that song just came tumbling out, and a lot of people decided that they wanted to cover that song, and I’m glad they did. And mostly we were white liberals trying to make sense of our view of things. I mean, we’re all human beings trying to make sense. But I should also point out that Bree Newsome, about eight days later, climbed that flagpole and just took the damn thing down. Hats off to her. Some people consider me an activist, and maybe I am, but not compared to Bree Newsome.”

Peter Mulvey said his song about the 2015 mass shooting at a Charleston, S.C., church took six minutes to write, but “in some ways it also took 44 years to write that song.” (Courtesy Photo/Elizabeth Witt)

While Mulvey has always cared about the world and the people in it, his priorities changed three years ago when he became a father for the first time.

“I’m suddenly deeply concerned about 2074. That’s when this guy [his son] will be 53 years old – and I’ll be dead or I’ll be 105; those are my choices. But all of a sudden, this whole landscape opens up of things that are very concerning for you.

“And not just for your own sake. All parents experience that shift where you suddenly are demoted from the main character of your life to a supporting role – for at least 18 years, and probably for the rest of your life if you have any grasp on what’s important,” Mulvey said, adding with a laugh: “I’ve been complaining to the management about it.”

Mulvey, who lives in the Pioneer Valley in Western Massachusetts, has released 19 albums in his career, including a retrospective that came out last year.

“I’m working right now on a new record. It’s going to be a duet record with an artist from Woodstock; her name is Jenna Nicholls, and she’s a tremendous singer and arranger. And we have in common a bunch of Tin Pan Alley tunes that we love, you know, (Duke) Ellington and Hoagy Carmichael tunes.”

Mulvey and Nicholls are collaborating on the new songs that carry the torch of Tin Pan Alley and the Great American Songbook.

“We pour our own musicality into those Jell-O molds,” he said.

Mulvey, whose music is a uniquely personal blend of folk, rock and jazz, plans to record an album of folk songs someday.

“One fine day I’ll make a record of folk songs because I’ve been called a folk singer my whole life, and I’m really not. Although I like folk songs and I certainly sing folk songs, but I’m not a folk singer, and one day I think I’ll make a record of folk songs just to sort of settle my own obstinacy.”

Meanwhile, Mulvey looks forward to performing in Toledo and going on tour across the country, but only for three or four days at a time so he can spend more time at home with his wife and young son.

“I’m sure that what I do is corny from many angles, and I’m sure that what I do is unintelligible from some angles,” he said. “Or, you know, maybe someone will consider what I do too obscure, and someone else will consider it too obvious. But I’m old enough now, we’re like, you know what, I do this thing, and I’m glad that I’m able to reach some audiences.”

Peter Mulvey performs at 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 18, at the Flamb-OYE-nce Community House, 2492 Scottwood Ave., Toledo. For more information go to overyonderconcerthouse.com or email overyonderconcerthouse@gmail.com

Daily Dose | The Humorists

By

Jerry King

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January 14, 2025

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Cartoon by Jerry King.

Profile: UToledo Interim President Matthew J. Schroeder

By

Paula Wethington

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January 14, 2025

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State of the University 10162024 copy — University of Toledo Interim President Matthew Schroeder gives the State of the University speech in October. (Courtesy Photo/Dan Miller)

TOLEDO – When Matthew J. Schroeder, interim president of the University of Toledo, speaks to community groups about his current responsibilities and the future of the institution, he hears familiar stories: Memories of attending classes or events on campus, and family members who were graduates or had medical care at a facility affiliated with the school.

Those are stories he knows first-hand – starting with his years on campus as a commuter student from Toledo, and at times working two or three jobs while studying for his bachelor’s degree in management.

“Toledo was my choice. I didn’t look anywhere else,” he said.

Interim President Matt Schroeder. (Courtesy Photo/Dan Miller)

The paths to the academic buildings and hallways in University Hall were quiet when Schroeder sat for an interview on Dec. 18 with the Toledo Free Press to discuss his experience, so far, in the role. Students had wrapped up their exams on Dec. 13, and staff members were the only ones still on campus.

While his title is interim president, Schroeder insists he is not treating the role that way. His plan is to explore and present a vision for what a college president can do. He said the board of trustees gave him all the responsibility, authority, pressures… but also all of the opportunities of a campus leader during this time.

“We are resetting what a modern day university president looks like,” he assured.

Schroeder earned his master’s degree in business administration at the University of Michigan. He then worked in various leadership roles at UToledo, and also at the former Medical College of Ohio, which merged with the university in 2006.

Schroeder had served four years as chief of staff to former UToledo president Sharon L. Gaber before beginning his role in May as the school’s interim president.

During the past few months, he’s had a closeup look at a race car built by engineering students; participated in the homecoming parade; visited tailgate parties; presented his first State of the University address; and shook hands with the newest Rocket alumni when fall semester graduation took place on Dec. 14.

Interim President Matt Schroeder rides in the Alumni Homecoming Parade in October. (Courtesy Photo/Dan Miller)

Meghan Cunningham, vice president for marketing and communications, said Schroeder even acted in a cameo in this year’s holiday video that featured UToledo’s mascot Rocky and student vocalists.

“He was a good sport!” she said about the filming.

On the topic of UToledo health services, his goals include making it easier to get appointments and recruiting physicians to serve in the community. The number of clinical trials are ramping up.

The success and reputation of recent faculty research also has resulted in bragging rights for the university, including winning competitive research grants.

“Matt Schroeder has focused UToledo on being the higher education powerhouse of northwest Ohio and beyond,” said Dr. Jerry Van Hoy, faculty senate president and associate professor of sociology, during the State of the University presentation in October.

Interim President Matthew Schroeder gives the State of the University speech in October. (Courtesy Photo/Dan Miller)

“He is developing and implementing a plan to leverage the education, the excellent educational research and clinical and community outreach successes of our institution to better serve our students and our region.”

Enrollment trends

One of the issues Schroeder has been blunt about is student enrollment trends. It came up in his State of the University speech, which was titled The Power to Do More.

“I often say we have a great story to tell. I know we do,” Schroeder said that day. “But I also will tell you that we can and must do more.”

Whether because of population demographics, overall questions about the value of a college degree, or the ripples of the COVID-19 outbreak (UToledo was among the schools canceling sports and shifting to remote learning in March 2020), it is a fact that the school has seen declines in enrollment during the past 10 years.

To reverse that trend, Schroeder called for a renewed focus on recruitment within the region, along with retention of students and a student success plan.

“We’re getting back to the fundamentals in terms of recruiting and retaining,” he said. The key to success is “winning in our backyard.”

Many of today’s students come from backgrounds similar to his – a working class family, from Toledo or just beyond, commuter student status, and having limited financial resources.

To address the concerns of those students, one of the pitches is that UToledo graduates end up with less federal student loan debt than their counterparts at other schools. Another pitch is providing and promoting innovative and relevant academics meant to prepare students for today’s workforce needs – a goal that faculty has been specifically asked to work on.

“We will review our degree programs to identify those that are in high demand now, in five years … and provide the resources to make them competitive,” he said during his remarks this fall. “If we do not have the programs students want to study, we will not be able to recruit them to UToledo.”

Now that the 2025-26 recruiting process is well under way, he is confident that the number of new students will be up in the incoming academic year.

“It will still take a number of years to be up in total enrollment,” he noted.

Schroeder encourages all students to get involved in campus events, organizations and activities – opportunities that he skipped as a commuter himself. “I missed out. It was my choice,” he said. Over time, he came to see that such activities complement and contribute to success in the classroom.

“Get engaged. Get involved,” he tells today’s students.

Matthew J. Schroeder, interim president of University of Toledo, poses for a photo Dec. 18 in a conference room at University Hall. (TFP Photo_Paula Wethington).

Interestingly enough, the students who experienced part of their high school or college years during pandemic restrictions are eager to do just that. Student participation in that demographic is much more noticeable than in previous years.

“You can see many of them making up for lost time,” he added.

Quick look at UToledo

University of Toledo is a regional public university serving northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan, with its origins dating to the creation of Toledo University of Arts & Trades in 1872.

The current main campus on West Bancroft St. began with the construction of University Hall in 1931. UToledo also has three other campus sites.

Significant steps include becoming part of the state university system in 1967 and a merger in 2006 with the former Medical College of Ohio. While it is a public research facility, it also is an academic medical center with health services run under the brand UToledo Health.

As far as athletics, student athletes compete in NCAA Division I sports through the Mid-American Conference. Students also can get involved in than 400 student organizations, including about 30 fraternities and sororities.

The fall 2024 enrollment was 14,400 students, or around 11,800 in full-time equivalent numbers. About 26 percent are first-generation students, according to the presidential leadership profile. The international students come from more than 80 countries.

Most of UToledo’s students are commuters, either from home or in privately run apartments in the neighborhood. There are five residence halls on campus housing about 1,600 students.

Presidential selection process

Interim President Matt Schroeder addresses new students during the New Student Convocation at Savage Arena. (Courtesy Photo/Dan Miller)

The University of Toledo Board of Trustees plans to have its next president in place before the fall 2025 semester begins, according to details posted on the university website.

The search is led by co-chairs UToledo Board of Trustees Chair Patrick J. Kenney and UToledo Trustee Stephen P. Ciucci; Education Executives is the consulting firm hired to assist.

The Presidential Profile Committee, announced in October, has issued its “leadership profile” report, which includes the following:

The University of Toledo seeks a President who understands the exceptional opportunity this University presents. The University is recruiting a visionary leader committed to imagining the potential of this institution and who will leverage its excellent resources for the 21st century. In so doing, UToledo will set the benchmark for what a public research university can and should do for its community and the world.

The formation of the Presidential Search Committee was announced Dec. 4. That group includes community leaders, university trustees, faculty and students – along with some people from the presidential profile committee.

New Toledo flag flying high

By

Stephen Zenner

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January 13, 2025

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ToledoFlag 20250107 8160 — Toledo mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz helps raise the City of Toledo’s new flag design for the first time at 1 Government Center on Jan. 7. The flag was designed by Mark Yappueying.

Story and photos by Stephen Zenner

TOLEDO – Immediately following Toledo city council’s vote on Jan. 7 to adopt a new flag, Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz went outside, lowered the old one, instated in 1994 by Carty Finkbeiner, and officially retired it.

Toledo mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz helps take down the city of Toledo’s 1994 flag for the last time at 1 Government Center.

Ceremoniously, Kapszukiewicz, along with the designer of the new flag, Mark Yappueying, senior manager of design for the Toledo Museum of Art, and Kid Mayor Lilly Joseph, 11, then raised the new design on Toledo’s 188th birthday.

Yappueying smiled as he watched his design, prominently featuring a Blockhouse, Toledo’s initial settlement and trading post, sway in the brisk wind in front of 1 Government Center.

He said of his heart behind the flag, “It’s about contributing to something larger, a shared symbol of pride and unity for everyone in Toledo.”

But making something for everyone can be a punishing undertaking, and the extensive process of choosing a new flag design for Toledo has been met with criticism.

“I typically ignore social media, as you can imagine, it can be vitriolic and not very constructive,” said Nathan Mattimoe, director of art in public places for The Arts Commission.

Mattimoe was a facilitator for Toledo’s flag design review board, and on this particular project he noted that most of the complaints he heard were ‘Why are we doing this?” and “We’re wasting money.”

“That’s the biggest complaint I’ve heard,” he said.

Vexillology and flag designers

Before 2021, not many people thought too much about the unilaterally decided Toledo flag of the ’90s, which consisted of the City of Toledo’s seal slapped on a white background between two dark blue vertical bars.

That version of Toledo’s flag fits easily into what Roman Mars, a prominent radio producer and designer, called an SOB or Seal On a Bedsheet in his 2015 TED Talk on poorly designed city and states flags.

A patchwork of 16 different flags with circular seals were displayed behind him during his talk, and Mars said, “If you can’t tell what city they [the flags] go to, that’s exactly the problem.”

The push for better design in state and local flags was fueled by the brief design principles outlined in Good Flag, Bad Flag: How to Design a Great Flag. The 16-page, full-color booklet was finalized in 2001 and published in 2006 by Ted Kaye and the North American Vexillological Association (NAVA); people who study and love flags.

According to the booklet, flags should be simple, have strong representative meaning, a basic color palette, no lettering or seals, and have distinctive attributes.

Local Toledo designer Jacob Parr, who’s flag design was one of the three finalists, heard Mars’ talk on flags, circa 2015, and said of the episode that it hooked him. Soon, Parr subscribed to Kaye’s philosophy of flag design, tossing around new design ideas to replace Toledo’s 1994 ‘seal on a bedsheet.’

A movement, not an individual

Parr was not the only designer with a heart to rebrand their city’s forgotten or forgettable flags. Again and again, Chicago and Washington D.C.’s flags were highlighted as prime examples of how simple, strongly designed flags could help grow unity and pride for their cities.

Royce Barner, 10, holds a small version of the new Toledo flag designed by Mark Yappuenying, while helping to hold the former 1994 Toledo flag in the lobby at 1 Government Center on Tuesday.

Designer Steve Kodis finalized a People’s Flag initiative for Milwaukee, Wisconsin, replacing a 1954 design with a new one from 2016. Cleveland is currently in the process of selecting a new People’s Flag; Mississippi finalized a new state flag design in 2021; and Minnesota followed the trend in 2024 with a new flag of their own.

Illinois, Michigan and Maine, all of which fall into the ‘Seal On a Bedsheet’ category of flags, are in process or are discussing changing their flag designs, as well.

“Here’s the thing about municipal seals,” Mars said in his talk, “they were designed to be on pieces of paper, where you can read them; not on flags 100 feet away flapping in the breeze.”

Something to rally behind?

For Parr, the 2020 pandemic gave him time to work on his design, and after it was finalized, he presented a blue and white banner with a yellow spark to Kapszukiewicz in 2021.

Parr recalled that they “ushered me through an additional year-long process meeting with people across the city…” This included a final meeting in August 2022, when Parr presented his design to city council.

“It was almost adopted as the official Toledo flag,” said Chloe Nousias, marketing communications manager for The Arts Commission. Parr’s presentation introduced his new design as, A New Toledo Flag: Something to Rally Behind.

Instead, Parr found people did not rally behind him.

Outcry

A 2022 reddit poll of 488 people found 56 percent rejected Parr’s flag design, with more than enough “vitriolic” comments to discourage the best of intentions. User abysmalsun summed up the majority of complaints against Parr’s design:

“I’m not against a new flag, but this design is horrendous. Nothing about it speaks Toledo. Why not the Anthony Wayne Bridge, or keep Fort Industry? Also why isn’t council calling for other designers to submit ideas? This shouldn’t be just whoever knows someone gets to design the city flag.”

Outcry led city council to committee to shelve the project indefinitely until 2024.

“I think what happened is it hit the press, and they [city council] got a little apprehensive to vote and decided to table it,” Mattimoe said.

1ohn Amato, president of Jupmode, has been selling items with Jacob Parr’s flag design, but said he’ll continue to sell Parr’s design if there is demand.

In the interim, friends and associates of Parr, most notably the custom clothing and design store Jupmode, began to sell Parr’s flag design in-store, while the 1994 flag was still the official design.

Mosaic of Jacob Parr’s flag at the front door of Jupmode on Monroe Street in Toledo.

“I like the flag design,” said John Amato, president and CEO of Jupmode, about Parr’s flag, which he still flies outside of Jupmode’s new location on Monroe Street. “I like it enough that we actually put it in a mosaic in the concrete in front of our building, and that will long outlast me.”

Support for Parr’s design caught a bit of growing-underground acceptance, and could be seen outside a few Uptown businesses.

Skeptics of Parr claimed he was only in it for the money, but Amato disagreed, citing that Parr was never given any money from Jupmode for his flag design or its use, at least not from his company.

The search process

The search for a new Toledo flag resumed at the beginning of 2024.

“The mayor decided that he would like to pursue a new process, which would be a kind of an open contest, where folks were able to submit designs that would be considered [for the new flag of Toledo],” Mattimoe said. “So, he reached out to us [The Arts Commission].”

Marc Folk, president & CEO of The Arts Commission of Toledo, addresses city council. He was a voting member of the review board.

“There’s a handful of cities that have either just recently gone through a flag redesign or are in process,” Mattimoe continued. “We adapted some of their practices, which we would consider ‘best practices’ to guide us through the process.”

Proposals for the new designs had to be made by residents of Toledo proper, which disqualified 19 of the original 87 submissions. Of the remaining 68 eligible designs, a review board was put together to whittle down the entries. All submitted designs, with the exception of Parr, since he had already revealed his design, remained anonymous to the review board.

The nine voting members of the review board were:

Dan Hernandez: Board president for The Arts Commission and University of Toledo professor

Carrie Hartman: Toledo City Council president

Tedd Long: Toledo historian

Terwase Ngur: main branch manager for the Toledo Lucas County Public Library

Laura Kaprowski: CEO of Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority (TARTA)

Valerie White: local artist

Tiffany Whitman: director of the Department of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for the City of Toledo

Kelli Fischer: research associate for the Toledo Museum of Art

Kapszukiewicz: Toledo mayor

The review board was facilitated by these non-voting members:

Rachel Hart: director of communication for the City of Toledo’s Mayor's Office

Marc Folk: president and CEO for The Arts Commission

Mattimoe: director of Art in Public Places for The Arts Commission

Ben Cook: project manager of Art in Public Places for The Arts Commission

When the review board got down to 10 designs, those flags were shared with the public for feedback.

“We created a form online to collect folk’s feedback on the designs. What people liked, what they didn’t,” Mattimoe said. “It played a big role in that final decision.”

Mattimoe managed an info booth to receive feedback on the flags during all three days of the Momentum Festival.

Altogether, The Arts Commission received more than 300 responses to the designs.

“327 people committed their opinions to the process,” said Marc Folk, president and CEO of The Arts Commission, when presenting the process of flag design selection to the city council for approval. “The committee met again in October, reviewed the public input and narrowed submissions to three finalists.”

Those three finalists were Parr, Jillian Hupp and Yappueying.

And we have a winner!

Last week during the city council meeting, anticipation was evident as all three designs were presented with their designer’s names below the flags. And it was Yappueying’s design that filled the city council TV screens to announce him the winner.

The public looks at the central symbol of the new flag of the City of Toledo, designed by Mark Yappuenying, presented for the first time to Toledo City Council.

Marc Folk, president & CEO of The Arts Commission of Toledo, from left, Mark Yappuenying, designer for the winning flag design, and Ben Cook, public art manager for The Arts Commission of Toledo, attend the city council meeting on Tuesday.

After expressing thanks, Yappueying read a summary of the representations and symbolisms in his flag.

“Central to the design was a modernization of the ‘Blockhouse,’ a representation of Toledo’s historical roots and industrial strength,” Yappueying explained to city council.

Yappueying’s use of the term “Blockhouse” led Councilwoman Cerssandra McPherson to ask for an elaboration on what he meant by Blockhouse.

When Yappueying clarified that “Blockhouse” was another name for Fort Industry, the original trading post and first settlement in Toledo she relented, seemingly satisfied. The historical nod to Fort Industry, or Blockhouse, appeared to be a major reason for the selection of Yappueying’s design.

“The Blockhouse is something that is recognizable, and the committee felt it created a lineage in the history of the city of Toledo’s flag,” Mattimoe said. “I think that was a big part of it.”

After the new design was passed by city ordinance, Kapszukiewicz displayed the 1909 design, the 1994 design and Yappueying’s design next to each other in the lobby of 1 Government Center for comparison.

Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz talks about all three flag designs held up for comparison in the Government Center lobby.

Mark Yappuenying, designer of the newly adopted Toledo flag, speaks to a gathering after his flag was unveiled as the winning design.

“Even as we change, there is a thread of continuity through the designs,” Kapszukiewicz said, pointing at each flag and the similar features between each one.

“It is interesting how similar the new flag is to our first flag in 1909. It’s the same colors: red, white and blue, with the Blockhouses— It’s really very similar.”

A single dissenter

Unlike the review board, the city council vote was not unanimous. The vote stood 9 to 1, with councilman George Sarantou dissenting on the grounds that he did not feel the review board had received enough feedback from the public.

“Our next council meeting is on January 14, next Tuesday. Give the citizens an opportunity to weigh in with their opinions on the proposed flag,” he advised.

“We’re a city of maybe 280,000 people, and only 327 people ventured an opinion, plus the committee,” he said. “I just felt that we ought to give the citizens, the taxpayers, an opportunity to weigh in on this, because this affects everybody.”

Whether or not it was in a city council session, Toledoans did weigh in on the newly adopted flag design – online or in local newspapers.

Reddit user EmbraceBass commented, “Prison guard tower,” in response to the new design, with other users corroborating their interpretation of the Blockhouse. But many of the comments once again revolved around city cost and wasted time.

When asked about Sarantou’s desire to delay the ordinance to hear from the public in a week, both Kapszukiewicz and Mattimoe defended the selection process.

“These are community-driven efforts. And you know, this isn’t the Arts Commission just dictating what goes on in the city at all,” Mattimoe said. As the director of art in public spaces, Mattimoe said the engagement, 327 responses, was pretty high for what he’s used to hearing from the public concerning public art.

“To me, that was a big response,” he said. “I don’t know what else we could have done.”

Regardless, not all Toledoans knew about the process in designing their new flag or that their opinions were wanted.

“I never saw a billboard about it on any major roads,” said Toledoan Hannah Lehmann. “The only reason I heard about it is because people I actually knew who were designing the flags made social media posts about it.”

What’s the cost?

For winning the flag design contest, Yappueying received $3000, while the two other finalists both received $1000.

“About $5,000 of that does come out of the City of Toledo’s funding,” Mattimoe said. One percent of Toledo’s city budget is allocated towards the arts each year. “We have to go in front of city council every year and present our municipal art plan for the year, and this was part of the plan.

“We get the number once they do their budget,” he said. “This [budget] is 1 percent of capital improvement funds, and this year’s number was at $501,000.”

In total, the flag redesign cost 1 percent of 1 percent of the capital improvements budget, and it was estimated in 2022 to roughly cost $1,500 to physically replace all the city flags.

Citizen initiative

Regardless of the adoption of his flag design, the mayor and council member Nick Komives took the city council session and ceremony as an opportunity to thank Parr for initiating the process of redesigning the city of Toledo’s flag.

“Jacob put his heart and soul into something he felt was really good for us,” Komives said.

Kapszukiewicz, in his first moment to introduce the flag, also paid his respects to Parr. “I want to thank firstly Jacob Parr,” he said. “Without him, this conversation about our city flag would never have happened.”

In the flag ordinance, Kapszukiewicz said Parr’s name was placed intentionally into the legislation, “to make sure Jacob’s role was honored.”

The last word

“I’m grateful to the City of Toledo and The Arts Commission for fostering a process that allowed so many voices to shape this vision,” Yappuening said. “I moved back to Toledo at the end of 2019.

“Moving back to Toledo this time had solidified it as a real sense of home, something that I don’t think I personally had felt strong about before,” he added. “Most everyone who lives here genuinely wants to be here .. it just feels simple to be here.”

“I’m looking forward to seeing this flag fly proudly, representing the unity and strength of Toledo.”

Ohio’s minimum wage increase compared to other states

By

Signal Statewide

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January 12, 2025

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Ohio-Minimum-Wage-1 — (Courtesy Illustration Credit: Jeff Haynes / Signal Cleveland)

Economic Policy Institute states Ohio’s minimum wage is still too low to ‘maintain a modest, but adequate, standard of living.’

This story was originally published by Signal Statewide. Sign up for their free newsletters at SignalOhio.org/StateSignals. Statewide is a media partner of the Toledo Free Press.

Frank W. Lewis | Signal Statehouse

Ohio is one of 21 states that raised its minimum wage on New Year’s Day. The minimum wage in Ohio rose to $10.70 per hour for non-tipped employees, an increase of 25 cents. For workers who receive tips, the minimum wage went up 10 cents to $5.35 per hour.

The raise in Ohio will affect more than 300,000 people, according to the Economic Policy Institute, a nonpartisan organization that advocates for workers. The institute’s research shows that almost 90 percent of people benefitting from all state increases this year are adults, 58 percent are women and 20 percent are in families living below the federal poverty line.

In Ohio, the increase is required by a constitutional amendment, passed by voters in 2006, that ties the minimum wage to the rate of inflation.

Not all Ohio companies have to raise the minimum wage they pay. The increase only applies to companies with more than $394,000 in gross revenue per year. Those earning less must pay at least the federal minimum of $7.25 per hour.

How does Ohio’s minimum wage compare?

Nationally, Ohio’s non-tipped wage is now in the middle of the pack — lower than the rate in 25 states and higher than in 24, according to data gathered by the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Still, “There is no county where an Ohio worker can earn less than $17.73 an hour and maintain a modest, but adequate, standard of living,” EPI reported.

Michigan’s rate is lower right now, $10.56, but will rise to $12.48 in February. Three more planned annual increases will bring it to almost $15 in 2028.

Three states — Illinois, Delaware and Rhode Island — raised their minimums to $15 this year, bringing the total number of states paying that much or more to 10.

In 2024, the Raise The Wage Ohio campaign proposed a new constitutional amendment that would have boosted the minimum to $12.75 this year and to $15 on Jan. 1, 2026, for non-tipped and tipped workers. The campaign fell short of the required number of petition signatures to get the amendment on the ballot in November but vowed to keep working and try again in 2025.

“A $15 minimum wage by 2026 would benefit nearly 1 million workers,” according to Policy Matters Ohio, “giving them on average an additional $2,128 in their pockets each year for full-time work, and bringing over $2 billion in additional wages to low-paid workers in Ohio.”

Signal Statewide is a nonprofit news organization covering government, education, health, economy and public safety.

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