![](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/dd07f06/2147483647/strip/true/crop/533x711+0+0/resize/150x200!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fc5%2F6d%2Febd0e6594112a207e9a45bf2510a%2Ferin-headshot.jpeg)
Erin Gottsacker
Reporter, The Ohio NewsroomErin Gottsacker is a reporter for The Ohio Newsroom. She’s especially interested in covering education and environmental issues in rural parts of the state.
Before joining the Ohio Newsroom, Erin reported on a large, rural area in the Northwoods of Wisconsin and hosted Morning Edition for WXPR Public Radio. There, she covered a range of topics from affordable housing to the environment to rural health care to Native American cultures. Prior to that, she was a Peace Corps educator in Ethiopia. A Cincinnati native and Ohio State graduate, Erin enjoys reporting in her home state.
-
William DeHart Hubbard long-jumped more than 24 feet at the 1924 Paris Olympics, becoming the first Black athlete to win a gold medal in an individual Olympic event.
-
Ohio and its communities are expected to receive about $2 billion from pharmaceutical companies over the course of 18 years to compensate for harm caused by opioids. But there’s not much oversight over how the money will be spent.
-
Researchers at Ohio University are working on a project to help bring electric planes to more Appalachian airports. The school recently received $500,000 from the federal Appalachian Regional Commission for its work.
-
Tick-borne diseases, like Lyme disease, are increasing dramatically in Ohio. Health officials in Appalachia are looking for ways to combat the risk.
-
In Ohio’s Amish communities, most children don’t go to school past the eighth grade. One non-practicing Amish woman is raising awareness about it through an unusual platform: ballet.
-
The county adopted the idea of friendship benches from Zimbabwe. It aims to address social isolation by bringing trained health workers into underserved parts of the community.
-
Like much of eastern Ohio, Columbiana County was hit hard by the opioid epidemic. Now, one school there is using job training to combat it.
-
Meigs County in southeast Ohio is building a transportation hub in response to a growing demand for rides.
-
If you’re raising a Star Spangled Banner this Independence Day, it might be made in Ohio. Annin Flagmakers’ Coshocton factory produces more than 3 million full-size American flags every year.
-
Monday marks the deadline for tornado victims in 11 Ohio counties to apply for federal assistance. The aid comes in response to a series of tornadoes that touched down in the state in March.