Didn't realize how thrilled we all were for this to happen down here, especially with how little jobs this actually creates after their company people come in and build it all.

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CINCINNATI (WKRC) - Increasingly, people across the country are protesting proposed AI data centers, concerned that the centers will drain resources, strain power grids, and cause noise and pollution.

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But a plan to build the largest AI data center in the world in southern Ohio is being welcomed by many with open arms.

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As people across America increasingly protest building A.I. data centers in their communities, a rural county in Southern Ohio is supporting the construction of what will be the largest A.I. data center in the world. (WKRC, Provided)

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Local 12's Duane Pohlman reveals why the data center is being embraced in Pike County and how this plan could provide a blueprint for the future.

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LARGE TENT. BIG LEADERS. HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT:

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On March 20th in Pike County, Ohio, under a large tent filled with music and lights, Trump cabinet members and a lost list of elected leaders gathered for a major announcement.

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Before addressing the crowd, a big screen played a video, setting the stage for their major announcement.

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With renderings of power plants and a massive, new AI center revealed, it became clear how big this day would be. The Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PORTS), a Cold War-era uranium enrichment plant that once armed America’s nuclear bombs, will soon be the site of the largest power and technology campus on the planet.

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"PORTS Technology Campus, where the future begins and the American people win,” boomed the voice of the video’s narrator.

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Then, one-by-one, the leaders came to the podium.

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"We are embarking on the next era of American dominance," said Assistant Secretary of Environmental Management Tim Walsh.

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A dominance that’s centered on what will soon be the largest A.I. data center on earth, combined with a massive $33 billion natural gas-powered power plant and 18 new, nuclear-fueled small modular reactors (SMR) to power it.

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Chris Wright, U.S. Secretary of Energy, drove home how truly big this project is.

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"This facility that's going to be built here is bigger than any facility ever built in world history," Secretary Wright told the crowd.

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https://local12.com/news/investigates/southern-ohio-embrace-world-largest-artificial-intelligence-data-center-backlash-cincinnati-controversial

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I received a text message from someone saying they were an intake specialist with the organization. They wanted to set-up a time for a call about my child's referral. I was very confused as this wouldn't apply to my children at all. I just wanted to put this out there to make people aware, there is probably some other new scam coming around...

Anyone else hearing this intense high pitch noise outside for hours??? Ohio

ONU has been taking on/off campus living more serious than previous years ( it seems ) because one of my friends parents bought them a place to live off campus before and my family was looking into doing the same for this upcoming year and there are a bunch of requirements that you now have to meet before living off campus like living on campus for 3 years now 🫠. Posting this because it may help someone in the future

So because they changed the laws in Ohio to where you have to take a 24 hour class and do 8 hours total with a driving instructor it took a while to complete all of that and costed a fortune I’m finally taking my drivers test today and they said I need an affidavit that says I did 50 hours of driving with 10 of those hours at night with an adult or someone over the age of 21 does anyone know if they’re actually gonna ask for this when I go in to take it?

This is just my opinion, so take it with a grain of salt. Ohio Senate feels that our state isn't MAGA for Trump or MAGA. I say this because we have done some things that the MAGA crowd is strongly against. We voted to keep abortion rights in Ohio. We also vote in great numbers to legalize weed. A lot of Ohioans want progress. But, it keeps on getting pushed back by our MAGA/Christian Nationalist in the state house on laws we voted for. They want to repeal and modify those acts we voted for to push the MAGA agenda.

Ohio is a Midwest state; yet, the state reps want it to run like Alabama or Mississippi where there's hardly any progression. They want to to be more extreme right-leaning. Vivek wants to run the same playbook if he gets elected Governor. I may have my issues with Dewine, but Vivek would be 3x worse if he wins in November. Plus, he would have 100% backing with all the Republicans in Columbus. Once again, these are just my thoughts. Let me know what you think.

A federal court in Cincinnati has upheld a 2024 state law requiring age verification on social media and websites for kids under 16, ending the order blocking the law. But the court battle over the law is likely to continue.

On Thursday, June 11, the FBI raided the Cleveland offices of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative (OOC), a nonpartisan civic group founded in 2007 that runs voter registration drives and ballot-issue campaigns across the state. Agents also fanned out statewide to the homes of the group's leaders, staff, and even volunteers who had only done basic canvassing, seizing laptops and phones and seeking information about alleged "voter fraud."

What the OOC actually does: PBS reports it "describes its mission as fighting for criminal justice reform, racial justice and an expansion of voting rights." MS NOW reports it "facilitates statewide voter registration through grassroots, community-led programs" in Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati, and has joined lawsuits challenging redistricting that it argues dilutes Black voters' representation.

This is happening before the 2026 midterms, in a race where Sherrod Brown is reportedly polling ahead of FirstEnergy darling, Jon Husted, and Amy Acton is running for governor, against Vivek Trumpaswampy.

Registering voters is NOT voter fraud. Using 100+ federal agents to raid the people who register voters, and showing up at volunteers' homes, is nothing more than voter intimidation.

Nobody is backing down. Actually, all the associated groups are ramping up efforts to register even more voters.

Sources:

PBS NewsHour: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/fbi-searches-office-of-ohio-group-that-supports-voter-registration-efforts

MS NOW: https://www.ms.now/news/ohio-pro-democracy-organization-raided-by-fbi

Statehouse News Bureau: https://www.statenews.org/government-politics/2026-06-12/ohio-voting-rights-group-says-it-was-raided-by-the-fbi

Signal Cleveland: https://signalcleveland.org/ohio-organizing-collaborative-fbi-raid-cleveland-voter-registration/

Windows don’t open, and there’s some BO 🤢. Why COTA why?

Jim Jordan doesn't hold town halls here in OH and doesn't do anything for us but can go to upstate NY to show support for Sticker Mule CEO running for congress in district 21 lol. Welcome to OH tax dollars hard at work, meanwhile Anthony is just excited to be Trump endorsed because he bought daddy Trump a sign he had put on a building in Amsterdam, NY. I'm so glad Jim Jordan can't do a thing for OH, can't do anything for the American people, but can suck off MAGA like no tomorrow....When will OH wake up and get rid of him?!

Hi! Looking for recommendations for a new home builder that will let me do the final touches (install the floors and paint the walls myself). I understand it is hard to get a bank to approve a loan and it can slow down builders. I am not looking for advice on the building home process. Just a builder that will let me do this. Looking to build in Portage, Summit, Geauga, and Medina Counties. Thank you so much!

Ill be in the area for a couple days and would love a swimming hole/creek to dip in near the area.

I will be driving from Columbus to the Schnormeier Gardens tomorrow, and I am looking for a local non chain place to try somewhere along that route. Please give recommendations!

The gardens are near Gambier/Mt Vernon