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    Kent City Council rejects nonpartisan ballots for local races

    Head shot of Tom Hardesty, a white man with short hair in a grey golf polo with the caption "Round Two with Tom Hardesty"
    MogadoreOpinionRound TwoSchoolsSports

    Round Two: Crowdfunding pay-to-play

    Obituaries

    Portage County obituaries for July 9-10

    Ravenna

    Ravenna considers income tax hike to keep up aging buildings

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    Local government

    Kent City Council rejects nonpartisan ballots for local races

    Kent City Council to consider nonpartisan city elections process

    How are communities around Portage County using automatic plate readers?

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    Business

    Kent’s slot car raceway brings racing to the next generation

    Photo of a red brick road intersection in downtown Kent. The street signs on the corner read franklin ave and Erie Street

    Kent City Council to consider changes to city’s Outdoor Seating Area

    Kent Hotel will serve 75 free lunches for Kent Social Services

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    Head shot of Tom Hardesty, a white man with short hair in a grey golf polo with the caption "Round Two with Tom Hardesty"

    Round Two: Crowdfunding pay-to-play

    Around Randolph: Combating bee colony collapse in Portage County

    Kathy Baker: Time to bloom

  • Obituaries
    Obituaries

    Portage County obituaries for July 9-10

    Portage County obituaries for July 7-8

    Portage County obituaries for July 4-6

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Freedom

Image of Joe Leonard working on a carving at his workshop table
BusinessFreedomGarrettsvilleNelsonPeople

Meet the master craftsman quietly carving world-renowned art from his Garrettsville shop

Joe Leonard has created massive carousel figures featured at Disneyland Paris and Put-In-Bay. Visitors to his gallery are 'blown away,' he says.
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County commissionFreedomLocal government

Portage County Solid Waste hopes to keep recyclables out of the landfill

Some communities have severed their contracts with the Portage County Solid Waste District, or never had one to begin with. That leaves would-be recyclers without curbside service or central drop-off points. Their only option is to throw everything into the trash. Enter Bill Steiner, director of the Portage County Solid Waste Management District. He is not okay with landfilling everything, and is currently gauging interest in establishing regional drop off sites.
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FreedomLocal government

Freedom Township zoning inspector resigns from ‘thankless job’

The zoning inspector of Freedom Township, Gerald Apple, stepped down last week, saying he was harassed and micromanaged by a trustee. The trustee, John Zizka, denied the allegations.
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Image of dozens of residents at Freedom Town Hall
BusinessFreedomLocal government

Freedom residents protest Trustee Zizka’s effort to derail a local dog training business

Nearly 50 community members and dog trainers gathered Thursday evening at a Freedom Township trustees meeting to address the actions of Trustee John Zizka, who they say has “abused his power” and “overstepped his role” in attempting to shut down a new business.
Read More
Image of the Change.org petition for Duke’s K9 Dash N’ Splash
BusinessFreedomLocal government

Over 3,000 people have petitioned Freedom trustees to keep Duke’s open

A petition circulating in support of the Freedom Township business Duke’s K9 Dash ‘N Splash, a dog training facility that is facing pushback over zoning, has garnered almost 3,000 signatures since it was created Wednesday.
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Image of the Duke's dog training facility
BusinessFreedomLocal government

Duke’s neighbor explains why Freedom dog facility is a problem, and trustees avoid tough questions

Freedom Township trustees and community members discussed the future of resident Michelle Filler’s dog training business, Duke’s K9 Dash ‘N Splash, and the high turnover rate of township zoning inspectors on Thursday.
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AtwaterAuroraCharlestownDeerfieldEdinburgFranklinFreedomGarrettsvilleHiramKentMantuaPalmyraParisRandolphRavennaRootstownSchoolsShalersvilleStreetsboroWindham

Voters decline school board shuffles while approving levies (except Waterloo)

Despite a fresh cast of school board challengers energized by racial equity and Covid issues, Portage County voters largely opted for familiar names in the Nov. 2 election, letting incumbents keep their seats in Ravenna, Rootstown, Aurora, Waterloo and elsewhere.
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FreedomLocal government

‘Drakesburg Square’ in Freedom Township has no deed, but nobody really cares

Much like the deed-less tract in the center of Nelson Township, another bit of no man's land sits at the confluence of state Route 88, state Route 303, and Nichols Road in Freedom Township.
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Photo of a white middle-aged couple in their kitchen
EdinburgFreedomGarrettsvilleHiramMantuaNelsonParisPeopleWindham

Thousands of Portage County residents wonder if they’ll ever get high-speed internet

According to a recent survey of Portage County by Flat Wireless, there are 2,135 houses with 6,142 people underserved or unserved by broadband internet service providers (ISPs). The bulk of these are in the rural portions of eastern and northeastern Portage County. Broadband Now, an independent ISP watchdog based in Los Angeles, estimates 12% of Ohioans do not have high enough speeds.
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AuroraBrimfieldFreedomGarrettsvilleLocal governmentMantuaMogadoreNelsonParisRootstownSchoolsStreetsboroSuffield

From new taxes to virtual meetings, here are the 10 issues on the May 3 ballot

Across Portage County, voters will decide on tax questions for schools, funding for police and emergency services, public meeting policies and more. Below we explain what each of these ballot issues is about. You can skim the headings to find issues that pertain to your community and may appear on your ballot May 3.
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Image of the Duke's dog training facility
BusinessFreedomLocal government

Freedom trustees fire zoning appeals chairman over due process allegations

The Freedom Township Trustees voted unanimously to remove Ben Fashing from the township’s Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) following a hearing on Thursday night.
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CharlestownCounty commissionFreedomHiramLocal governmentParisWindham

Portage County broadband survey wants to know about your home internet connection

Portage County leaders are asking residents to fill out a survey about their home internet connection, hoping to learn — down to each household — who needs better broadband access.
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