🔎 Kirk’s impact: Vice President JD Vance has been very open and public about how Charlie Kirk impacted his life.
🧛 Halloween Haunt: Here’s everything you need to know about King Island’s Halloween Haunt this year.
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Ohio Report Card: Here’s the state ratings for local school districts
Oakwood and Bellbrook-Sugarcreek schools again scored among the highest locally and in the state on Ohio’s report cards, which were released Monday.
• 5 stars: Local districts receiving 5 stars included Oakwood, Bellbrook, Mason, Centerville, Miami East and Wayne Local.
• How they’re calculated: The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce uses multiple data points from public schools to determine the districts’ ratings. The five categories that go into the overall rating are achievement, gap closing, early literacy, graduation and progress.
• Trends: Statewide, math scores are increasing. The state noted chronic absenteeism, or the rate at which students are missing school, is also down compared to previous years.
• Search the scores: Find report cards for all southwest Ohio districts here.
Kirk played major role in JD Vance’s rise to U.S. Senate, White House
Vice President JD Vance traveled to Utah last week to meet with the family of Charlie Kirk, a conservative political commentator who was assassinated at Utah Valley University. It showed how strong their connection was.
• Supporter: Kirk, who co-founded Turning Point USA with the goal of engaging a younger audience in politics, was one of the first people Vance reached out to when he considered running for the U.S. Senate in his home state of Ohio in the 2022 election cycle.
• What Vance said: “So much of the success we’ve had in this administration traces directly to Charlie’s ability to organize and convene. He didn’t just help us win in 2024, he helped us staff the entire government.”
• Radio show: Vance hosted “The Charlie Kirk Show” Monday from his ceremonial office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building next to the White House. The livestream of the two-hour program was broadcast in the White House press briefing room and featured a series of appearances by White House and administration officials who knew Kirk.
FREE CONTENT: What to know about Kings Island’s Halloween Haunt opens soon
Interested in going to the Halloween Haunt this year? We have everything you need to know about pricing, dates, offerings and more.
What to know today
• One big takeaway: The Ohio Attorney General’s Office recently told Miami Twp. officials it intends to initiate removal proceedings against the township’s fiscal officer, because the state auditor found “clear and convincing evidence” he knowingly broke laws related to that role.
• Upgrades: Miami Twp. is working to complete a renovation project to its government center, including new gutters, windows and doors, brick and roof work and other repairs.
• Big news of the day: Dayton police and firefighters removed two bodies from the Great Miami River Monday afternoon in an area where crews were searching for a missing girl and man Thursday and Friday.
• Quote of the day: “There’s not a lot we can do right now for Joe, you know, other than I feel terrible for him because he’s put in all the work, and so for him to have to go through this is the worst part of it, but as a football team, we just got to continue to move forward, and that’s what these guys are going to do.” — Bengals coach Zac Taylor on Joe Burrow, who will need surgery to repair his turf toe injury suffered Sunday.
• Athlete of the Week: Vote for one of our 10 finalists in this week’s area Athlete of the Week poll.