🔎 Balancing budget: Kettering city leaders say their emphasis on business retention and recruitment will increase next year as the city focuses on maintaining its economic health.
🎉 New Year’s Eve: Here are several events planned to help locals celebrate the changing of the calendar year.
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Vehicle registration, renewal fees to increase in 2026 as lifeline for state highway patrol
Vehicle fees will increase in Ohio beginning on Thursday.
• How much? Non-commercial registrations and renewal fees will go from $11 a pop to $16, or about a 45% increase. Non-apportioned commercial fees will go from $30 to $35, about a 17% increase.
• Total impact: Combined, the fee increase is expected to bring in an additional $62.5 million to the Department of Public Safety each year.
• The budget: Wilson explained that the Ohio State Highway Patrol used to receive shares of the state’s gas tax revenues, but that stopped in 2003. Since then, the OSHP has been bankrolled by an assortment of driving-related fees that haven’t changed in over 20 years.
• What they’re saying: “The single most important item for the Department of Public Safety in this budget is ensuring the long-term sustainability of the Ohio State Highway Patrol.” — Ohio Department of Public Safety Director Andy Wilson
What to know today
• One big takeaway: From a major cyberattack at a local hospital system to state and national trends, here are some of the top health care news from this year.
• Quote of the day: “What we see through those opportunities to play is more acceptance about their diagnosis, whether that’s acquired or born .... more self esteem, greater hope for the future, and just that social connectedness.” — Adaptive Sports Ohio founder and CEO Lisa Followay on a Miamisburg effort to launch a wheelchair basketball team
• Stat of the day: 305. That was the passing yards total for Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow in a 37-14 win over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday
• Things to do: The upcoming Jurassic Quest event will turn the Dayton Convention Center into a prehistoric realm filled with rides, activities and dozens of life-sized dinosaur recreations.
• Photo of the day: We compiled our favorite sports photos of 2025, including this image of Wayne’s Jamier Averett-Brown diving for a touchdown during a Division I Regional football final against Middletown on Nov. 21. See the full photo gallery here.
