On a wall of screens at the Columbus offices of Buckeye Power, the electricity supplier for Ohio’s 24 electric cooperatives, computer screens show graphs rippling in real time, painting a picture of the lives of the 400,000 co-op members around the state.
In front of those screens at Buckeye Power, the system operations team watches it all unfold, for the most part just as had been predicted the night before, then gets to work on the all-important forecast for the next day. The basic question team members must answer is both simple and complicated: How much electricity will our members need?
The bald eagle has been our national symbol since the Continental Congress first adopted the design for the Great Seal of the United States, six years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. But it wasn’t officially designated as our national bird until 2024.
One of the largest bald eagle nests ever discovered was the Great Nest, located near Vermilion in the early 20th century. By 1979, however, there were only four nesting pairs of bald eagles left in the Buckeye State, their numbers having been decimated by poisonous chemicals accumulating in the environment, mostly DDT.
Americans obviously celebrate July 4, Independence Day, honoring the date on which the Continental Congress officially adopted Thomas Jefferson’s statement declaring the American colonies’ independence from Britain. This year, as part of the official U.S.
“They transformed a resolution into a binding act of commitment,” says David Zavagno, executive director of Lake Erie Heritage Foundation. “That moment — where individuals stepped forward and put everything on the line — is at the heart of our event.”
Zavagno says that the July 4 action was important, but it was the delegates’ actual signing of the declaration that was an act of mutiny against Britain and its king. “Signers picked up a pen and risked their life, knowing they would be forced to pick up a sword to defend it,” he says.
Think about a fast, maneuverable flyer in nature and likely a hummingbird may come to mind — so agile it can even fly backward!
Aggressive mini-predators, dragonflies and damselflies hunt their prey on the wing, capturing other flying insects such as small flies, mosquitoes (hooray!), and, at times, other dragonflies. Larger dragonflies can even take down swallowtail butterflies. And their appetite
is voracious.
Glotzhober cites an early 1900s researcher in Florida who had reared a cageful of houseflies to present to a large dragonfly of the darner family for feeding. “The researcher kept feeding the dragonfly until he ran out of flies, and all in one sitting,” he says.
As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary this year, Americans are paying particular attention to the history of the nation: the “shot heard ’round the world,” the Declaration of Independence, the Revolutionary War, and all of the history from just before and af
“Reading about history in a book is good, but it doesn't give you the same feel as attending a living history event,” says Cindy Jackson, a reenactor who is coordinator of the Fair at New Boston, an annual Labor Day event in Springfield that includes several reenactments during its run. “It helps us get in touch with history instead of it being a dry subject in a textbook — and when you see it happening right in front you, it isn't as pretty as in the movies.”
Remember your first roller-coaster ride?
Kilner, a chemistry teacher at Eastlake North High School, is president of the Great Ohio Coaster Club, where he says he’s formed lasting friendships with fellow coaster enthusiasts — whom he describes as “friendly people who want everyone to have fun.” But the relationships, he says, go deeper than a common admiration for corkscrews and loop-de-loops. “I lost my dad last year,” he says. “I didn’t publicize it, so I was amazed at how many people from the club reached out to me.”
Though they also raise corn, soybeans, and hay at Ayars Family Farm in Mechanicsburg, John and Bonnie Ayars are, at their core, dairy farmers.
But it’s not just milk or even the marketing of genetics from their purebred cattle that’s at the heart of the business. From the start, it’s the educational aspect of the farm that appealed to Bonnie and John, who are members of Piqua-based Pioneer Electric Cooperative. Each summer, the Ayarses welcome hundreds of local elementary school students to the education center they built on the farm. Visitors get to meet and touch famous cows like Buckeye Bessie, Honeybun, and Bravo. They feed calves, try to milk a cow, and sample ice cream made on the farm.
A deeply worn long wooden table, believed to date back more than 400 years, is the centerpiece of the Contraxx Furniture offices in McConnelsville.
Early in his career, Workman learned how the national furniture world works — through trade shows, corporate showrooms, and long days selling into a system built for scale. During his years at Taylor Woodcraft, a McConnelsville-based school furniture manufacturer, he built relationships with major retailers, including Williams-Sonoma. He began supplying consumer pieces — starting with stools — and saw how demand could push standardized production toward customization.
