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Kent City Councilwoman Heidi Shaffer Bish holds a sign during the protest organized by the United Universalist Church of Kent on Sunday condemning the Jan. 6 insurrection. Michael Indriolo/The Portager Kent church hosts demonstration condemning insurrection Unitarian Universalist Church of Kent organized the peaceful demonstration in downtown Kent Demonstrators in downtown Kent spoke out Sunday against the insurrection on Capitol Hill during a peaceful protest organized by the Unitarian Universalist Church of Kent. The roughly 20 demonstrators, mostly Kent residents, waved […]

Suffield’s new salt shed on state Route 43 across from the road department’s red V-plow. Michael Indriolo/ThePortager Suffield has a new salt shed to make winter roads more bearable this year Officials are stockpiling road salt to be less dependent on state supplies Suffield’s first-ever road salt shed, completed last week on state Route 43, will make the township more self-sufficient when it comes to clearing ice and snow this year. The shed, which holds up to two and a half years’ […]

Photo by ElevenPhotographs on Unsplash Portage County reacts to D.C. insurrection with shock, sorrow and conspiracy theories Commissioner Badalamenti falsely claims antifa infiltrated the mob that stormed the Capitol Building The reaction to Wednesday’s insurrection in the capital among Portage County Republicans ranged from blanket condemnation of the rioters to attempts to justify their attack with false conspiracy theories. In public statements and interviews with The Portager, local elected officials waded through the moral wreckage of Trump supporters’ attempted subversion of the […]

Ravenna’s new energy-efficient streetlights illuminate North Chestnut Street on Tuesday. Michael Indriolo/The Portager New energy-efficient streetlights brighten Downtown Ravenna City Engineer hopes new LED bulbs will draw more people downtown and cut maintenance costs Ravenna engineers are installing the last of 150 new LED streetlights on several downtown streets, hoping to cut city maintenance costs and brighten the city at night. Ravenna’s new energy-efficient streetlights illuminate North Chestnut Street on Tuesday. Michael Indriolo/The Portager The new Phillips LED bulbs shine significantly […]

Wilma Fiscus cuts fabric for a sleeping bag during the weekly Cocoon Makers meeting at the former Rausch Intermediate School building in Ravenna on Dec. 16. Michael Indriolo/The Portager Local volunteers find community in handcrafted sleeping bags Cocoon Makers transform donated fabrics into sleeping bags for Portage County’s homeless population In the wake of her husband’s death four years ago, Deloris Hudson found solace in a small group of mostly retired volunteers handcrafting sleeping bags to warm the people of Portage […]

The wait for a Covid-19 vaccine is over for Portage County’s frontline medical workers.
On Wednesday, University Hospitals announced it had administered the first vaccines at UH Portage, in line with the distribution priorities set by the Ohio Health Department, the CDC and other institutions.

Kent State Community Engaged Learning Director Amanda Woodyard talks with Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank CEO Dan Flowers while Kent State volunteers break down boxes and carry groceries to cars during the food distribution at Dix Stadium on Wednesday. Michael Indriolo/The Portager Lines of cars flock to Dix Stadium for food assistance Pantries are still serving groceries nearly a year into the pandemic, and first-time recipients are still seeking help A double line of cars waiting for donated groceries at Kent State’s Dix […]

Visualization of the coronavirus. Fusion Medical Animation/Unsplash Portage County health workers are expected to receive Pfizer’s vaccine this year It’s less clear when the general population will get their doses: ‘We would love to see a Covid-free summer.’ Portage County’s frontline healthcare workers will be among the first in Ohio to receive Covid-19 vaccines when the state begins distribution, which is expected to happen before the new year, said Portage County Health Commissioner Joseph Diorio. Local hospitals will directly receive a […]

University Hospitals Kent Health Center in October. Michael Indriolo/The Portager ‘Unrelenting’ Covid-19 surge launches Portage County into purple Local health officials anticipate having a vaccine for the general population by February Portage County entered Covid-19 risk level four, the highest possible, after triggering six of the state health department’s seven risk level indicators, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said Thursday. The only threshold our county did not cross was for hospital admissions, which did not increase for five consecutive days within the past […]

Portage County entered Covid-19 risk level four, the highest possible, after triggering six of the state health department’s seven risk level indicators, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said Thursday. Michael Indriolo/The Portager

For the past 15 years, Ellen Eckhouse of the Village Bookstore in Garrettsville has offered book lovers from all over Portage County a warm welcome, lively conversation and personalized book recommendations. The bookstore has continued as a local landmark, surviving the 2014 Garrettsville fire that burned down several small businesses just across the street and is now persevering through the Covid-19 crisis.

Donna Wise poses for a portrait with her dog on the Headwaters Trail. Nov. 26, 2020. Portage County residents make the best of ‘Plaguesgiving’ Thanksgiving looks a lot different this year because of the pandemic, but Portage County residents celebrated nonetheless. The United States has recorded two million new coronavirus cases in the past two weeks, forcing families in Portage County and across the country to adapt their Thanksgiving plans. Donna Wise poses for a portrait with her dog on the […]

The number of hospitalizations “dramatically increased to a point of concern,” said Health Commissioner Joseph Diorio in the notice, which was released Friday afternoon.

The advisory says positivity rates — the percent of people who test positive out of the total number tested—now exceed 10 percent in Portage County.

Back house employees Taylor Talley and Andrew Lyon form dough into loaves while Ryleigh Butler wraps dough in plastic and Christina Mariola prepares apple pie crusts at Brimfield Bread Oven. Michael Indriolo/The Portager Brimfield Bread Oven will still serve Thanksgiving delights despite losing part of its roof The bakery has taken on a social mission to feed Portage County. Brimfield Bread Oven’s wood-fired oven is still burning despite the pandemic shuttering small businesses across the country — and despite the roof literally coming off. […]

Waterloo needed to pass its levy to fix buses and upgrade educational materials. But voters rejected every school levy on the Nov. 3 ballot. Carter Eugene Adams/The Portager Portage County voters denied much-needed funding to schools. What now? Some schools will cut jobs. Windham needs a boiler. ‘It’s discouraging,’ said one district treasurer. ‘Something needs to change with school funding.’ Portage County voters sent a resounding message to four school districts last week: Don’t expect any more money from us. District […]

Portage County Commission incumbent Sabrina Christian-Bennett talks with friends during a Portage County Republicans watch party at the Kent American Legion on Tuesday. Michael Indriolo/The Portager Republicans take a County Commission majority, leaving Democrats’ future uncertain Christian-Bennett and Badalamenti pledge to focus on the economy. Kennedy calls for reconciliation. Republicans swept the Portage County elections this year, winning all but one partisan contest and flipping the County Commission’s Democratic majority. Vicki Kline will remain the Commission’s lone Democrat in 2021. […]

Ravenna voters cast ballots at the polling station in Maplewood Christian Church on Tuesday. Michael Indriolo/The Portager. Portage County voters look forward to the end of political season At polling locations across the county, residents said their votes were crucial. But they also couldn’t wait for the campaign season to end. Ravenna voters cast ballots at the polling station in Maplewood Christian Church on Tuesday. Michael Indriolo/The Portager. Kim Borucki, of Garrettsville, brought her son Noah Hoffmann out to vote for […]

Portage County NAACP President Geraldine Hayes-Nelson (right) and Rootstown Board of Education President Amanda Waesch speak to Rootstown residents during their first community forum about racism on Oct. 11. Michael Indriolo/The Portager Citing ‘no real commitment to change,’ NAACP backs away from Rootstown schools partnership The board passed over three women with master’s degrees in education to select two men with ties to youth football The Portage County NAACP condemned the Rootstown Board of Education’s decision to appoint two white men […]

Rootstown Board of Education President Amanda Waesch speaks to Rootstown residents during a community forum at Northeast Ohio Medical University on Oct. 11. The forum, called Critical Conversations, aims to heal the community after the handling of reported racism on the high school football team compelled residents to questions the school district’s values. Michael Indriolo/The Portager Racism Rootstown investigation left a ‘sense of helplessness,’ critics say The Board of Education hired a private investigator to review a football controversy. Community members […]

Reading Derf Backderf’s latest “nonfiction graphic novel” is an immersive experience. Once I started Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio, about the shootings at Kent State University on May 4, 1970, I forgot I was reading, following along as tensions became hostilities and erupted in increasing violence. I found myself lost in the book’s power to recreate the conditions of the event, recreate the animosity of government leadership, recreate the feelings of the students.