Breaking News
.

Local Sports

Bulldogs: Give me Liberty

EAST PALESTINE — The East Palestine volleyball team swept Liberty, 25-18, 25-11, 25-19, Monday. Kennedy Andre had 18 points, 17 assists and four kills and Violet Glavan 14 points, six aces and four digs for the Bulldogs. Destiney Burtyk had nine kills, eight digs and two blocks and Marley Blythe nine kills and eight…

LISBON AT EAST PALESTINE 7th Grade: East Palestine won 25-18, 25-5 Monday. East Palestine, Santanah Powers…

JUNIOR HIGH VOLLEYBALL

Editorials

America at 250: A reminder that all are created equal

As our country celebrates not just any Independence Day, but the 250th anniversary of one of the boldest declarations in human history, the festivities give us an excellent opportunity to look back on two-and-a-half centuries of this American experiment and check ourselves against what the founders hoped they were setting in motion. Draped in…

Ohio News

OSU names provost as new president after predecessor's abrupt resignation

COLUMBUS (AP) — Ohio State elevated its chief academic officer to president Thursday, acting swiftly to move past the abrupt resignation of former President Walter “Ted” Carter Jr. following revelations about his “inappropriate relationship” with the female host of a podcast for military veterans. Trustees voted unanimously to appoint Executive Vice President and Provost…

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has signed a two-year, $60 billion operating budget that flattens the state’s…

DeWine signs tax bill

Will Trump’s lowering of beef prices help local farmers?
  • days
  • Hours
  • Minutes
  • Seconds

National News

FBI sets $25,000 minimum reward for dozens of unsolved Indian Country cases By SARAH RAZA Associated Press SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — The FBI has established a minimum reward of $25,000 for help in solving some cold cases where people went missing or were killed in Indian Country. The initiative is part of a broader effort to address high rates of violence affecting Native American communities. Victims' families and experts have mixed reactions. Some hope the money will bring fresh attention, while others doubt the rewards will be enough to get witnesses to come forward. The increased reward will apply to more than 50 cases. The FBI is responsible for investigating major crimes on nearly 200 reservations. SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — The Federal Bureau of Investigation has established a minimum reward of $25,000 in cases where people went missing or were killed in Indian Country, part of a broader effort to address high rates of violence affecting Native American communities. The new minimum applies to more than 50 unsolved homicides and missing-person cases in tribal communities. Most of the cases are less than 10 years old, though a dozen have been unsolved for more than two decades, an AP analysis found. Victims' families and experts are unsure the higher amounts will be enough to get tipsters to come forward, citing people's fears and distrust of the federal government. "Everybody's scared in Oglala," said Lisa Carlow, whose father Patrick Carlow Sr. was found dead in his Pine Ridge Reservation home in 2023. "So to me it's like, OK, what do you guys know that you're not saying?" The FBI investigates federal crimes on nearly 200 Native American reservations, along with the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs. At the end of 2025, the FBI's National Crime Information Center recorded just under 1,500 active cases involving missing Native Americans, though not all become federal cases. There isn't a minimum reward that applies across all FBI cases. The FBI cited several cases in its recent announcement, including that of 8-year-old Maleeka Boone, who it said was likely struck by a vehicle on the Navajo Nation, and San Carlos Apache teenager Emily Pike, whose body was found after she disappeared from an Arizona group home. Higher rewards could stir new interest Mary Kathryn Nagle, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and an attorney who advocates for families of missing Native Americans, said federal investigators often "parachute in" to investigate crimes in tight-knit communities where witnesses may stay silent because of distrust and fear of retribution. Still, she said, larger rewards could provide an incentive for people to talk, and show families their loved ones' cases are being taken seriously. "We have people in Indian Country who know what happened to our relatives," she said. Luana Ross, who is Bitterroot Salish and a co-director of the Native Voices program at the University of Washington, said cash rewards could boost interest but often aren't paid out. "It is my opinion that in reservation communities, people would be extremely reluctant to turn a friend or relative into a criminal justice system that hasn't served them well," she said. Cecil Jackson, 43, said he'd been aware of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons movement, but never thought he'd be affected. Then his mother, Mona Renee Vallo, was found dead after a suspected hit-and-run along historic Route 66 in Laguna Pueblo, New Mexico, in 2022. Vallo was a member of the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation. Jackson remembers participating in cultural activities with her and going picking for cherries and apricots. He hopes the higher reward money will renew interest in the investigation. It's been a while since his family received an update from the FBI. "Someone knows something there," said Vallo's friend, Lisa Foster. "They have to. I mean, it's weird that she went to work and then all of a sudden this happened to her." Frustration mounts as families seek answers The reward in Carlow's case was increased to $25,000 in July, up from $10,000. Carlow's family says the 73-year-old rancher was respected in the Oglala community. He mowed the grass for others and spent time with his grandchildren. The family said more calls started coming in after the reward was increased, but the wait for answers continues. Meanwhile, the FBI declined to provide The Associated Press an update on the case. "It's so hard to get your hopes up like that and think, 'This is it, we finally got dad's killer.' And then nothing comes of it," Lisa Carlow said. She said fear keeps community members who may have information from contacting authorities. "I think that's like deep-rooted within our people," said her sister, JoDee Carlow. "It's not just on Pine Ridge. It's on every reservation." Relatives don't want cases to be forgotten The FBI initially offered $5,000 for information in the deaths of two brothers from Ohio, Matthew and Philip Reagan. The reward was later doubled and now will hit $25,000. Though not Native Americans, they were killed on the Navajo Nation and are featured on the FBI's Indian Country cases website. The brothers planned to visit Canyon de Chelly National Monument during a trip to California. Authorities believe their SUV got stuck in mud after GPS sent them off course near Sawmill. They were shot multiple times while walking to seek help, authorities said. Matthew Reagan's wife, Faye Wurstner-Reagan, said she doubts a $25,000 reward will persuade anyone in the small community to come forward. "You would have to promise someone, like, actual protection," she said. "I mean, they brutally murdered two men." She suggested the FBI instead put resources toward law enforcement to keep the cases from going cold and for liaisons to keep families informed. FBI spokesperson Brooke Brennan in Phoenix said investigating crimes in Indian Country often is complex because of the remoteness, limited resources and extensive workload. Wurstner-Reagan hopes that families united in pain and grief over missing loved ones and unsolved killings might one day see justice. "We're just getting forgotten, like no one is remembering any of us, and we're just told it's an active investigation," she said. ___ Associated Press writers Felicia Fonseca in Flagstaff, Arizona, and Savannah Peters in Albuquerque, New Mexico, contributed to this report.

FBI sets $25,000 minimum reward for dozens of unsolved Indian Country cases By SARAH RAZA Associated Press SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — The FBI has established a minimum reward of $25,000 for help in solving some cold cases where people went missing or were killed in Indian Country. The initiative is part of a broader effort to address high rates of violence affecting Native American communities. Victims' families and experts have mixed reactions. Some hope the money will bring fresh attention, while others doubt the rewards will be enough to get witnesses to come forward. The increased reward will apply to more than 50 cases. The FBI is responsible for investigating major crimes on nearly 200 reservations. SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — The Federal Bureau of Investigation has established a minimum reward of $25,000 in cases where people went missing or were killed in Indian Country, part of a broader effort to address high rates of violence affecting Native American communities. The new minimum applies to more than 50 unsolved homicides and missing-person cases in tribal communities. Most of the cases are less than 10 years old, though a dozen have been unsolved for more than two decades, an AP analysis found. Victims' families and experts are unsure the higher amounts will be enough to get tipsters to come forward, citing people's fears and distrust of the federal government. "Everybody's scared in Oglala," said Lisa Carlow, whose father Patrick Carlow Sr. was found dead in his Pine Ridge Reservation home in 2023. "So to me it's like, OK, what do you guys know that you're not saying?" The FBI investigates federal crimes on nearly 200 Native American reservations, along with the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs. At the end of 2025, the FBI's National Crime Information Center recorded just under 1,500 active cases involving missing Native Americans, though not all become federal cases. There isn't a minimum reward that applies across all FBI cases. The FBI cited several cases in its recent announcement, including that of 8-year-old Maleeka Boone, who it said was likely struck by a vehicle on the Navajo Nation, and San Carlos Apache teenager Emily Pike, whose body was found after she disappeared from an Arizona group home. Higher rewards could stir new interest Mary Kathryn Nagle, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and an attorney who advocates for families of missing Native Americans, said federal investigators often "parachute in" to investigate crimes in tight-knit communities where witnesses may stay silent because of distrust and fear of retribution. Still, she said, larger rewards could provide an incentive for people to talk, and show families their loved ones' cases are being taken seriously. "We have people in Indian Country who know what happened to our relatives," she said. Luana Ross, who is Bitterroot Salish and a co-director of the Native Voices program at the University of Washington, said cash rewards could boost interest but often aren't paid out. "It is my opinion that in reservation communities, people would be extremely reluctant to turn a friend or relative into a criminal justice system that hasn't served them well," she said. Cecil Jackson, 43, said he'd been aware of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons movement, but never thought he'd be affected. Then his mother, Mona Renee Vallo, was found dead after a suspected hit-and-run along historic Route 66 in Laguna Pueblo, New Mexico, in 2022. Vallo was a member of the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation. Jackson remembers participating in cultural activities with her and going picking for cherries and apricots. He hopes the higher reward money will renew interest in the investigation. It's been a while since his family received an update from the FBI. "Someone knows something there," said Vallo's friend, Lisa Foster. "They have to. I mean, it's weird that she went to work and then all of a sudden this happened to her." Frustration mounts as families seek answers The reward in Carlow's case was increased to $25,000 in July, up from $10,000. Carlow's family says the 73-year-old rancher was respected in the Oglala community. He mowed the grass for others and spent time with his grandchildren. The family said more calls started coming in after the reward was increased, but the wait for answers continues. Meanwhile, the FBI declined to provide The Associated Press an update on the case. "It's so hard to get your hopes up like that and think, 'This is it, we finally got dad's killer.' And then nothing comes of it," Lisa Carlow said. She said fear keeps community members who may have information from contacting authorities. "I think that's like deep-rooted within our people," said her sister, JoDee Carlow. "It's not just on Pine Ridge. It's on every reservation." Relatives don't want cases to be forgotten The FBI initially offered $5,000 for information in the deaths of two brothers from Ohio, Matthew and Philip Reagan. The reward was later doubled and now will hit $25,000. Though not Native Americans, they were killed on the Navajo Nation and are featured on the FBI's Indian Country cases website. The brothers planned to visit Canyon de Chelly National Monument during a trip to California. Authorities believe their SUV got stuck in mud after GPS sent them off course near Sawmill. They were shot multiple times while walking to seek help, authorities said. Matthew Reagan's wife, Faye Wurstner-Reagan, said she doubts a $25,000 reward will persuade anyone in the small community to come forward. "You would have to promise someone, like, actual protection," she said. "I mean, they brutally murdered two men." She suggested the FBI instead put resources toward law enforcement to keep the cases from going cold and for liaisons to keep families informed. FBI spokesperson Brooke Brennan in Phoenix said investigating crimes in Indian Country often is complex because of the remoteness, limited resources and extensive workload. Wurstner-Reagan hopes that families united in pain and grief over missing loved ones and unsolved killings might one day see justice. "We're just getting forgotten, like no one is remembering any of us, and we're just told it's an active investigation," she said. ___ Associated Press writers Felicia Fonseca in Flagstaff, Arizona, and Savannah Peters in Albuquerque, New Mexico, contributed to this report.

Letters to the Editor

A starving horse does not suffer less because Ohio calls it livestock

Dear Editor: I am part of Northeast Ohio’s horse community, and I want people to keep paying attention to the Heather Birkmire animal-cruelty case. Five horses are dead. Prosecutor Vito Abruzzino has said necropsies found evidence of starvation and dehydration. Yet the cruelty charges are misdemeanors. Birkmire, the former operator of Pure Gold Stables…

Obituaries

Lisa M Kurtz

NORTH LIMA — Lisa M Kurtz, DVM, 58, of North Lima, died Aug. 20. She was born to James E. and Ethel G. Walker Kurtz. Arrangements have been entrusted to the Warrick-Kummer-Rettig Funeral Home, Columbiana. 8/25/26

National Sports