News, Topics, Banter of the Week

Crooked River Cast Show 40

🎙️ Governors, Data Centers, Dark Streets & Some Ohio Good News

Robert and Tom come out of the gate with energy this week—because it’s been that kind of Ohio news cycle. Robert kicks things off with a proud‑parent moment, sharing which CDs he picked up for his youngest (because real music still matters) and giving major kudos to his oldest, who absolutely owned her debate debut with a 6–2 win arguing to abolish SNAP. Parenting win unlocked. 🏆.

From there, the guys dig into a packed lineup: national politics spilling into Ohio, a rapidly shifting governor’s race, data centers raising serious questions, and cities dealing with consequences—from billion‑dollar settlements to literal darkness, let’s get into it!

🇺🇸 Trump’s Address to the Nation

Trump delivered a nationally televised address touching on military compensation, national pride, and executive actions—framing what he called a “warrior dividend” for service members and veterans.

Source:

▶️ YouTube: ‘Warrior dividend’: Trump announces $1,776 checks for military

🏛️ Trump Displays New Plaques at the ‘Presidential Walk of Fame’

Trump also made headlines unveiling new plaques at the Presidential Walk of Fame, leaning into legacy-building optics and signaling how central symbolism and branding remain to his political strategy. Gotta love the ‘auto pen’.

Source:

▶️ YouTube: Trump displays new plaques at the Presidential Walk of Fame

🔔 Ohio Labor Endorses Amy Acton

Ohio labor unions jumped into the governor’s race by endorsing Amy Acton, drawing swift pushback from the Ramaswamy campaign, which questioned her record and priorities. Do Ohioans remember her during COVID? Makeovers and coaching do not change the person…

Source:

🔗: Ohio labor unions endorse Acton, Ramaswamy campaign responds with criticism of her record

🤔 Why Has DeWine Not Endorsed Vivek?

Despite party pressure and behind‑the‑scenes conversations, Governor Mike DeWine continues to withhold an endorsement in the governor’s race—raising eyebrows across Ohio GOP circles. No surprise here!

Source:

🔗: DeWine hasn’t endorsed Ramaswamy for Ohio governor, but says they’re talking

❌ Dave Yost Says Vivek Endorsement Was a “Wrong Choice”

Attorney General Dave Yost isn’t backing down, saying the Ohio GOP’s early endorsement of Vivek Ramaswamy was a mistake—adding more fuel to an already fractured race.

Source:

🔗: Ohio GOP endorsed Vivek Ramaswamy in May. AG Dave Yost still says it was the wrong choice.

🆕 A New Challenger Enters the Governor’s Race

The governor’s race just got more crowded, with a self‑described “America First” candidate jumping in and taking aim at Trump‑endorsed Vivek. Keepin an eye on this one…

Source:

🔗: ‘America First’ candidate enters Ohio governor race, challenges Trump-endorsed Vivek Ramaswamy

💰 Ohio Treasurer Race Begins

Another statewide race is heating up as Treasurer Robert Sprague makes moves that could reshuffle Ohio’s political chessboard.

Source:

🔗: EXCLUSIVE: Ohio Treasurer of State Robert Sprague plans to replace Secretary of State Frank LaRose

🚜 Ohio Farmers Lose Big on Tariffs

Ohio farmers are feeling the sting, with Chinese sales down 74%—a reminder that trade wars hit home, even when national numbers look better on paper.

Sources:

🔗: Ohio farmers see one-year, 74% loss in Chinese sales due largely to Trump tariffs, report shows

🔗: U.S. Trade Deficit Shrinks to Five-Year Low as Exports Surge Under Trump Tariffs

🏗️ Lorain Mega Site Update

Neighbors are pushing back as Lorain County’s proposed mega site clears its first zoning hurdle—raising familiar questions about transparency, impact, and who really benefits. Fighting the good fight! Hold the line folks…

🔗: Neighbors push back as Lorain County ‘mega site’ receives first zoning hearing

☣️ Data Centers Linked to Cancer?

A new report is raising alarm bells by linking data centers to rare cancers, putting central Ohio residents on edge as development accelerates.

🔗: Report links data center to rare cancers, raising questions about central Ohioans’ safety

💧 EPA Wants Faster Data Center Water Permits

The Ohio EPA wants to streamline water permits for data centers—prompting concerns about environmental oversight versus corporate convenience. Can we say bad idea?

Source:

🔗: Ohio EPA looks to streamline water permits for data centers

🎶 Can You Legislate a Stronger Music Industry?

Cuyahoga County leaders think policy can help save local music—but with only 1 in 4 Cleveland indie venues turning a profit, the odds are steep.

Sources:

🔗: Cuyahoga Live Task Force Believes It Can Legislate Its Way Into a Stronger Music Industry

🔗: Only 1 in 4 Cleveland Independent Music Venues Were Profitable Last Year, New Report Says

⚖️ Cincinnati Approves BLM Protest Settlement

Cincinnati City Council approved an $8M+ settlement tied to 2020 protests—and plans to borrow to pay for it, leaving taxpayers with the bill.

Sources:

🔗: Cincinnati approves $8M settlement with 2020 protesters; city will borrow to pay for it

▶️ YouTube: Cincinnati City Council to vote on $8.1 million protest lawsuit settlement

💡 Cleveland in the Dark

Thieves stole thousands of feet of copper wiring, knocking out streetlights across parts of Cleveland—because apparently even infrastructure isn’t safe anymore.

Source:

🔗: Parts of Cleveland in the dark after thieves steal thousands of feet of streetlight wiring

🌟 Good Things

💵 Unclaimed Funds Hit Record Returns

Ohioans reclaimed more unclaimed funds than ever this year—proof it is worth checking that database.

Source:

🔗: 3News Investigates: Unclaimed funds claims quintuple after Cleveland Browns stadium announcement

🍽️ Ohio’s New Restaurant of the Year

Northeast Ohio’s food scene gets national love with a brand‑new Restaurant of the Year.

Source:

🔗: Check out Northeast Ohio’s New Restaurant of the Year

🎄 Special Christmas Display

A North Royalton neighborhood is lighting up the season with a can’t‑miss Christmas display. Being an animal-loving household, the display collects donations for Stearns Homestead, an educational farm in Parma that takes care of various animals. Go check it out!

Where: 10020 Applewood Drive, North Royalton, OH 44133

Source:

🔗: Special Christmas display on Applewood Drive in North Royalton

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Crooked River Cast Show 38

🎙️ Snow, Shenanigans, Blues Nights & Bigger Ohio Battles

❄️ Word of the Day: Shenanigans

Nothing describes Ohio drivers in the first snowfall better.

Tom and Robert kick off the episode laughing about how the first flakes send traffic into absolute confusion. Then Tom recaps his night at Music Box Supper Club catching the blues legends The Nighthawks, and finally they send listener appreciation to the fan who suggested what kind of music you should introduce to your kids first — great additions to the debate.

🖋️ Trump Cancels Autopen Orders

President Trump says he’ll cancel any Biden executive order he didn’t sign personally. The big unanswered question: Which ones actually mattered?

Sources:
🔗: Trump says he’ll cancel Biden’s executive orders signed via autopen
🔗: Trump Cancels All ‘Autopen’ Biden Orders | Newsradio WTAM 1100

📉 Job Numbers & How They Tie Into AI & Data Centers

Weekly job claims hit a three-year low, while Ohio is becoming a data-center battleground. More jobs? Yes. More power demand? Definitely.

Sources:
🔗: US weekly jobless claims dive to a more than three-year low | Reuters

⚡ Does Ohio Have a Data Center Problem?

Power watchdogs warn that data center demand could stretch the grid. Translation? Ohio can’t power everything forever. “Guys, when a data center goes up, it’s not just the building that changes things — the soil underneath and around it really takes a hit. Heavy construction and concrete compacts the soil, stops water from soaking in, and kills off the microbes. Heat from the building dries it out, and runoff from generators and pavements can change the chemistry in nearby areas. Basically, the land stops functioning like healthy soil, and even the landscaping around it usually keeps it from bouncing back. So these centers can leave a long-term footprint you don’t see in just the building itself.” This, along with the other issues, this is bad.

🔗: Why Big Tech Companies Are BUYING Up Farmland in Ohio

🏫 Dayton Teacher Investigated

A viral video shows a teacher shoving a student during a classroom conflict. Did they break it up — or lose control? Size DOES matter.

Source:
🔗: Ohio teacher under fire after video appears to show shove of student

▶️ YouTube: Dayton charter school investigating after video of teacher shoving student – YouTube

🐀 CRITTER CORNER

💵 HB 554 — You Must Accept Cash

Ohio pushes legislation requiring businesses to accept cash. Card-only stadiums… are you listening?

Source:
🔗: Ohio bill would require places cash: Why don’t stadiums allow cash?

💊 SB 309 — Abortion Pill Roadblocks

Ohio lawmakers add extra steps for getting the abortion pill. Critics say this makes access harder, not safer.

Source:
🔗: Ohio lawmakers can’t stop abortion, but they can make it harder. Here’s how

📬 HB 324 — Telehealth & Mail Meds

This one could block certain prescriptions from being shipped after telehealth visits. Debate continues.

Source:
🔗: Ohio GOP lawmakers move to ban telehealth, mail-order abortion pills

👶 HB 485 — “Baby Olivia” in Schools

Animated fetal development videos could be mandatory classroom material. Experts dispute accuracy. On the clip, voice-overs do matter (Tom came prepared with a whole new batch of sound bites, effects, and voice distortions — and he had way too much fun experimenting live on the show)

Source:
🔗: House panel advances bill pushing controversial fetal video for schools that experts dispute – cleveland.com

▶️ YouTube: Baby Olivia – A Never Before Seen Look At Human Life In The Womb. – YouTube

🚁 Lorain Approves More Police Drones

Drones are coming to Lorain, and people are worried about privacy. Officials already tried to push this behind closed doors. And can the women officers learn to fly these? Robert and Tom have their opinions.

Sources:
🔗: Lorain approves purchase of new police drones

🔗: Unplugged Investigation: Lorain Already Uses Flock Cameras. Now Officials Are Quietly Pushing Drone Surveillance and Trying to Move the Discussion Behind Closed Doors – Unplugged with Aaron Knapp

✝️ Cleveland Hts. Church’s “Racial Repair”

Debt forgiveness as racial reparations? Some cheer. Some cringe. Many just raise eyebrows. Lovelace, a doctor/fashion designer?

Source:
🔗: Cleveland Heights church walks a path to racial reparations through college debt forgiveness

🏈 Cleveland Prepares to Say Goodbye to Browns

The Brook Park deal is approved — Cleveland’s gone from denial to acceptance.

Sources:
🔗: Cleveland Council OKs reworked $100M Browns deal that greenlights Brook Park move

🔗: With Browns fight over, Bibb prepares for the next battles – and opportunities

🛫 Lakefront Airport Won’t Go Quietly

Aviation groups say: “Not so fast.” Burke Lakefront isn’t dead yet.

Source:
🔗: New coalition protests Cleveland’s push to close Burke Lakefront Airport

🤯 Browns Fans Outraged

Seat license fees? They’re not taking it well.

Source:
🔗: Longtime Browns fans outraged by possible seat-license pricing in Brook Park

✨ GOOD THINGS!

💰 $2M Scratch-Off Surprise 🎄

🎄 Cuyahoga Falls man hits $2M right before Christmas! 🎄 And even though you win 2M, it never is the full amount ☹️

Source:
🔗: Cuyahoga Falls man wins $2M on scratch-off ticket, Ohio Lottery

✨ The Best Christmas Lights in NE Ohio

Perfect family outing spots — get festive, people, there is plenty of prettiness out there around Ohio.

Source:
🔗: Christmas lights worth seeing this season in NE Ohio

🎧 Listener Music Advice of the Week

A shout-out to Captain Canoe, who chimed in with one of the best answers to Robert’s question about introducing kids to music. Greatest hits are fine, but full albums are the way to go — because that’s how they were meant to be heard.

Love it. Respect the art form.

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Crooked River Cast Show 37

🎙️ Turkeys, Term Limits & Tighter Pants – Ohio News Gets Spicy

After a long Thanksgiving weekend of too-tight waistbands and overpriced Christmas trees, Robert and Tom jump straight into another busy week across Ohio and D.C., from a tragic National Guard attack to the DOJ’s “we’re totally not spying on you” antics, to Cleveland’s usual politics, the guys break it all down with punchlines, clips, and rants.

Let’s jump in. 👇

🔫 National Guard Attack in D.C.

A heartbreaking start: a National Guard member was killed in an attack in D.C. The guys open the show by acknowledging the tragedy and the human cost behind headlines. No politics, no spin — just a moment of real-world seriousness.

Source:
🔗: National Guard member dies after DC attack, President Trump says

🦃 Turkey Pardons… Just Not the Human Kind

Trump makes jokes at the turkey pardoning ceremony but still throws shade at enemies, real and some that believe they are imagined. The guys react accordingly to the clip!

Source:
🔗: Trump spares turkeys — but not his political opponents — at annual pardoning ceremony

📉 Georgia Drops Election Interference Case

The last of Trump’s major “political enemy” cases falls away. Robert and Tom unpack why this matters and what happens now that these prosecutions have fizzled.

Source:
🔗: The Georgia election interference case against Trump and others has been dropped

👀 DOJ Spying on Jim Jordan & Others

The guys go hard on this one — and realistically, who wouldn’t? Secretly grabbing phone data from lawmakers for 2.5 years under the Biden administration? Even Cleveland.com called it “out of control.” Tom stresses that most people have no idea why Trump targets certain officials… and this is exactly the context.

Sources:
🔗: [LISTEN] ‘If they can do that to us, think what they can do to all Americans’: Jordan Blasts DOJ Spying Expedition
🔗: Justice Dept’s secret grab of Jim Jordan phone records shows government ‘out of control’

👋 Shout-out to the Webmaster (Hey, That’s Me!)

When the guys got into voter ID clarification and proof-of-citizenship requirements, they gave me a shout-out for correcting the record. Thanks, boys, much appreciated!

Tom claims he never makes mistakes. Uh-huh. Sure, buddy. 😄

🐀 CRITTER CORNER

🕰️ Ohio Legislature Wants… Term Limits?!

Ohio is calling for federal term limits. The guys say “wait for it…” and then dig into the irony: lawmakers asking to limit themselves. We’ll believe it when we see it. The link below is not the one the boys referenced, which is actually: Ohio resolution calls for federal term limits | Ohio | theohiopressnetwork.com, however if you don’t have a subscription, you cannot read this, so let’s go to “Just the News.”

Source:
🔗: Ohio resolution calls for federal term limits

🕶️ Ohio Supreme Court: Police Can Hide Their Identities

Under Marsy’s Law, police officers involved in cases can now redact their names. Robert asks, “Why is this needed and what’s next?” Less transparency = more shenanigans, don’t you think?

Source:
🔗: Ohio Supreme Court rules police officer identities can be hidden from public under Marsy’s Law

🏈 Student Athlete NIL Shake-Up

Ohio high schools voted yes on student NIL deals. The GOP almost immediately said: “Wait just a minute…” (Clip included in the show.) The whiplash is real.

Sources:
🔗: Ohio high schools vote to allow student athletes to strike NIL deals, ending lawsuit
🔗: Ohio GOP lawmakers moves to ban Name, Image, and Likeness bendfits for high school athletes: This comes a day after OHSAA allows for NIL deals…

❤️ New Bill: Mandatory Heart Screenings for Student Athletes

A bipartisan push that actually sounds sensible: ensuring young athletes get heart checks. No jokes here — feels like a win? Not really. House Bill 437 would require student athletes to get screenings for heart conditions during physicals, for asymptomatic patients and conditions that may not be detected in screenings, which is why CPR training and having AEDs nearby would still be essential. These tests can lead to further risks or symptoms to trigger further testing with a specialist…..

Source:
🔗: New Ohio bill requires cardiac screenings for student athletes

🗳️ Recounts Coming in Cuyahoga County

Five races in recount territory — and in one of them, the socialist wins! (Cue the clip from the show.) Tanmay Shah takes Cleveland’s Ward 12.

Sources:
🔗: Five Cuyahoga County races headed to recount, including close Cleveland City Council contest
🔗: ‘A lot of excitement’: Tanmay Shah wins Cleveland City Council Ward 12 seat after Danny Kelly concedes

🏟️ Cleveland City Council Fumbles the Browns Settlement

Leave it to Cleveland to take a football issue and fumble that, too. Council is wrestling over settlement money with the Browns, because nothing is ever simple.

Source:
🔗: Cleveland City Council Wrestles With Browns Settlement Deal, With Lakefront Money at Stake

🚢 Great Lakes Cruise Line Says “No Thanks” to Cleveland

American Cruise Lines is dropping Cleveland from its 2026 itineraries due to docking issues. Ouch. Another L for the lakefront.

Source:
🔗: American Cruise Lines removes Cleveland from stops on its 2026 Great Lakes voyages

✨ GOOD THINGS!

Because we all need a break.

🏃‍♂️ Tim Ryan Not Running for Governor

Is this good? Bad? Depends on who you ask. But with Amy Acton as the only prominent Dem in the lane, the guys say: “Yeesh.”

Source:
🔗: Tim Ryan opts to stay out of Ohio’s 2026 race for governor

🛍️ Hyper-Local Markets Bringing Small Biz Together

Small businesses teaming up in Mentor Mall to reinvent local retail. Very cool story and very Ohio. Let’s bring indoor malls back, please, it’s snowing here, ya know?

Source:
🔗: ‘Re-defining retail’: Small businesses team up for hyper-local market, share the wealth inside Mentor mall

🎄 New Christmas Song from Cleveland’s Anita Keys

A little new Christmas music never hurts — except maybe your wallet after buying that overpriced tree (right, Robert?).

Source:
🔗: anitakeys Releases New Christmas Song

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