Town Hall Ohio

I’m always looking for new voices to join us on the show. In recent years, I’ve been reading a column that appears in the Columbus Dispatch by a gentleman named Jim Simon. Jim writes about big picture issues and the hot topics of the day. By my reading, his thoughts on what we need to pay attention to, and how we need to act, are worth thinking about. So, today, we’ll hear from communicator, marketer and political commentator Jim Simon, on Town Hall Ohio.

Robert Sprague keeps an eye on your piece of Ohio’s twenty billion dollars in investments and 10 billion dollars in debt. About three months ago, he became the 49th Treasurer of the State of Ohio. He’s served in both city government and the statehouse is a native of next door to God's country, and has a picture of his last appearance on Town Hall Ohio on his Facebook page. Findlay native, Treasurer Robert Sprague, is our guest this week on Town Hall Ohio.

A banner on the state attorney general’s website reads: “protecting the unprotected”. Dave Yost is Ohio’s Chief Law Officer and the department he runs touches the lives of families, communities, and governments across the state. On this episode of Town Hall Ohio, the 51st attorney general of the state of Ohio, Mr. Yost joins Ohio Farm Bureau Executive Vice President Adam Sharp to talk about rooting out fraud, holding the corrupt accountable and reforming government.

With an economic boom worth $1.4 Billion, horses are a big money maker for Ohio. On the latest Town Hall Ohio meet some of the organizations that have a hand in Ohio’s equine industry as Ty Higgins visits with Renee Mancino from the Ohio Harness Horsemen's Association, Dave Basler from the Ohio Horsemen's Benevolent and Protection Association and Karin Brennan from the upcoming Equine Affaire.

How do you know if your tax dollars are being well spent? Or if some unscrupulous elected official might have his hand in the cookie jar? Keeping tabs on those kinds of things, and many others, is the job of the Ohio Auditor of State. Just a few months ago, Keith Faber became our state’s 33rd auditor. Today we learn more about the office, and visit about some important issues in state government in general.

For 73 years, Ohio Farm Bureau volunteer leaders have traveled to the nation’s capital to speak out on behalf of their fellow farmers. The 2019 version of the county president’s trip to Washington D.C. took more than 100 farmers, Farm Bureau staff and members of the media into the capital. They met with both senators, and most members of Ohio’s congressional delegation. Today we let you in on what was learned. Ohio Farm Bureau in the capital, today, on Town Hall Ohio.

On the latest Town Hall Ohio, meet some of the members of Ohio Farm Bureau’s Young Ag Professionals. Ty Higgins will introduce you to the best and brightest that Ohio agriculture has to offer.

If you ever wanted to see grassroots political action in action, you’d have been impressed by this past week’s Ohio Farm Bureau Ag Day at the Capital. Farmers from all corners of the state battled level two snow emergencies to come to Columbus to meet and inform their state lawmakers and to hear from the new governor of the state of Ohio. Governor Mike DeWine joins us as we look back at Ag Day at the Capital, on this episode of Town Hall Ohio.

There is hardly a day that goes by that nearly every one of us is not touched, in some way, by The Ohio State University. Our jobs. Our families. Our food, and our communities. To some extent, Ohio State is an integral part of Ohio’s economy, environment and society. Since the middle of 2014, the caretaker of Ohio State’s mission has been Dr. Michael Drake. He’s back for his fourth visit with all of our listeners, on this episode of Town Hall Ohio.

Sadly, we’re in a time where far too many folks seem to be on their worst behavior when discussing important topics. Ranting and yelling and their online equivalents, seems to have become the ways to share an opinion. In Ohio Farm Bureau, we believe there’s a better way to solve problems. Thoughtful, courteous discussion. Farm bureau’s annual Discussion Meet competition is intended to develop young people’s skills in working that way. This year’s Discussion Meet finalists are our guests, on this episode of Town Hall Ohio.

At the Mid-American Restaurant Expo, held in Columbus two weeks ago, you would expect to see vendors selling pizza ovens, deep fryers and ice cream machines. For the first time this year, the exhibit space made room for farmers from Ohio looking for more places to market their home grown goods. Find out more about this developing relationship between food producers and the restaurant industry on this week’s edition of Town Hall Ohio.

For the first time in eight years, Ohio has a new governor. We have a new republican house speaker, who largely can thank democrats for landing the job. We’ll soon begin the debate over Ohio’s next two year budget and the usual wrangling over dozens of policy issues. Today we look ahead to the year ahead in state government with three folks who pay attention to those things for a living. Our statehouse reporter roundtable, on this episode of Town Hall Ohio.

What’s in store for 2019 as far as economic issues? Your family budget, the economies of Ohio, nation and the world? Conditions facing governments and industries? Today we engage in our annual early year visit with Dr. David Berson, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist for Nationwide. We’ll talk about jobs, interest rates, securities, commodities and a host of other financial and policy topics. It’s all things economy, on this episode of Town Hall Ohio.

Today we continue the tradition of Town Hall Ohio's Greatest Hits. As we close out the year for 2018, we're going to go back an visit some of the highlights of this year's broadcasts: the election, farm and food issues, short and long term economic concerns and opportunities especially in rural areas. You're going to hear some pretty smart and interesting people who were in our studio over this past year. The 2018 Review, on this episode of Town Hall Ohio.

It’s estimated that somewhere around the year 336, Christmas became an official holiday. Then, in 1621 it was the very first Thanksgiving. So one could argue between those two events, the official holiday season was essentially born. It’s interesting to consider how that celebration has evolved over the years. Certainly it can’t resemble now much of what it looked like back then. But how do we keep alive that holiday spirit? Today we talk Christmas and all things holiday on Town Hall Ohio.

At the close of World War 1, Ohio farmers organized to preserve their livelihoods and lifestyles. In 1919, they gave birth to the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation. And since its origin, Farm Bureau has gone on to significantly shape the culture and economy of the Buckeye state. Today, we celebrate the centennial of the state’s largest and most influential farm and food organization. We’ll hear from and about it’s leaders, it’s accomplishments and its plans for the future.

We live in a complicated world. We do what we can for ourselves, but so much of what affects our families, jobs and communities is seemingly outside of our control, or more to the point, under the control of politicians and bureaucrats. Today’s guest is uniquely qualified to talk about governance, the economy, national security and host of other big picture issues that we all should be better informed about. Matt Mayer of Opportunity Ohio, joins us, on Town Hall Ohio.

Hard numbers are hard to find, but one source indicates more than 80 million Americans participate in sports. Many of them are our kids and grandkids starting with little league and continuing through high school. With so many youngsters involved in dozens of different sports, it seems worth spending a little time thinking about how their participation is, or should be, impacting their minds and bodies and their future lives. I’m loosely calling today’s show “a parent’s guide to sports”, on Town Hall Ohio.

In a state known for big cities and big stretches of flat, productive farmland, a part of our state we don’t often give a lot of attention to is Appalachian Ohio. That eastern and southern area of Ohio accounts for 40% of the state’s land mass, but only 17% of our population. It’s also an area that’s tough to economically thrive in. Today, we are joined by a couple of folks who want to help fix that. Revitalizing Appalachian Ohio, on this episode of Town Hall Ohio.

In 1870, the Ohio General Assembly chartered the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College. The doors opened three years later, and five years after that, the college changed its name to The Ohio State University. While OSU now goes far beyond strictly an ag and mechanical focus, Ohio State remains a land grant institution, with community betterment a key purpose. OSU’s engineering and agricultural engineering programs remain crucial to that mission. On this episode of Town Hall Ohio, we talk about the role engineers play in our lives.