Tuesday, June 2nd, 2026

Welcome to Tuesday’s edition of The Pennant. To listen to this newsletter, click the “Listen Online” link in the top right corner of this email.

On this date in 1924, President Calvin Coolidge signed the Indian Citizenship Act, declaring all Native Americans born within the United States to be U.S. citizens

More than 1,900 ICE arrests have been made in Central Ohio since 2025. Find out exactly where and how in the Top of The Fold.

Also, a bill is being considered that would help track Medicaid fraud. Read how in our Government section.

Ohio residents lined up to testify before the Select Committee on Data Centers at the Statehouse on Monday, voicing concern over the environment and energy, as new figures showed the state granted nearly $1.57 billion in sales-tax exemptions last year to data center companies.

Read more on this here.

A new White House website reports that more than 1,900 undocumented immigrants have been arrested across central Ohio since President Trump's 2025 inauguration, including 1,164 in Columbus, 344 in Westerville, and 83 in Delaware.

Click here for a full breakdown of those arrested.

The 2026 Memorial Tournament tees off Thursday at Dublin's Muirfield Village Golf Club, with world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler headlining a 72-player field. The event is expected to generate more than $35 million in economic impact for the community. 

For more information on the Tournament, click here.

COLUMBUS — A bill moving through the Ohio House would require many Medicaid providers to use GPS and other technology to prove they showed up to do the work they bill the state for.

House Bill 795, called the SHIELD Act, was introduced in March by Rep. Josh Williams, R-Sylvania Township. It targets two services where state audits have found gaps between what providers bill and what they can prove: rides to medical appointments and in-home personal care. The push follows reports of about $1 billion in questionable Medicaid spending on in-home care. State Auditor Keith Faber has said the program needs stronger oversight.

Under the bill, transportation providers would use GPS to log pickups, drop-offs, and routes. In-home care workers would clock in and out using location tracking. To get paid, providers would generally have to send in that data. The Ohio Department of Medicaid would build or approve the systems and use software to flag odd billing patterns. The state would also publish a yearly report on denied claims, fraud cases, and money saved.

The bill allows exceptions for problems like broken equipment, weak internet in rural areas, or recipient safety. It would phase in over 18 to 24 months.

A House committee recently expanded the bill into a wider fraud package. Rep. Mike Dovilla, R-Berea, said the new version adds facial recognition or fingerprint checks for high-risk providers, in-person enrollment reviews, payment freezes for suspicious activity, tougher penalties, and rewards for whistleblowers.

Williams said providers must use "some form of location tracking" of their workers to bill Medicaid. House Speaker Matt Huffman has called the bill the main vehicle for Medicaid reform.

As the school year winds down, Ohio public schools are walking into summer with a serious money problem. And when the 2026-27 school year starts in August, many districts will look different from last fall.

The trouble starts with the ballot box. In the May 5 primary, only 36% of Ohio school levies passed, according to the Ohio School Boards Association. That was 24 out of 66. Seventy-five percent of school income tax levies failed. Just last November, about 65% of school issues passed. The shift was sharp.

Some examples from across the state:

Central Ohio. Pickerington Local Schools' 1.25% income tax failed by more than 3,000 votes. The district expects to be $14 million short by July 2028. Superintendent Charles Smialek said cuts are coming to field trips, middle school sports, summer school, away-game return rides, staff, and a 25% jump in pay-to-play fees.

Continue reading the article here.

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