LIMA - The first 1 1/2 quarters of the Marion Local-Columbus Grove saw a knockdown battle of defense.
But once the Flyers got some offense going, they refused to yield.
The Flyers advanced to the program's 16th state championship football game after shutting out the Bulldogs 27-0 in the Division VI state semifinal on Saturday night at Spartan Stadium in Lima. The shutout is the state-record 11th of the season for the Flyers, who have outscored opponents 410-10 the last 10 games. [More]
CELINA - Many industrial parks throughout Mercer County are maxed out and a general lack of available, developable land is a fly in the ointment in otherwise positive local happenings, according to area department heads and elected officeholders.
CELINA - The company formerly known as Dayton Power & Light will make its largest investment in decades in the area as part of a broad initiative to modernize the energy grid, local officials said.
CELINA - A Celina man was hospitalized and his girlfriend was arrested after she allegedly stabbed him on Thanksgiving Day, according to a Celina Police Department news release published on Sunday.
New Bremen beats LCC to get back to state championship
WAPAKONETA - After falling behind 21-6 midway through the second quarter, New Bremen faced an uphill battle to advance to the Division VII state title game.
MENDON - Dozens of area firefighters spent Thanksgiving battling a rural house fire that quickly spread to other structures and vehicles and caused a propane tank to explode in a massive fireball.
Roughly 50 firefighters from Mendon Union, Celina [More]
ST. MARYS - With star big man Austin Parks out injured, junior Jace Turner got the chance to lead St. Marys.
Turner shot 10-for-10 from the field and totaled 21 points, Evan Angstmann added 19, and the Roughriders rolled to an 81-42 win over New Knoxville in the boys basketball season opener at Grand Lake Health System Court on Friday. [More]
Rick Rose is Santa's helper in Celina. Every Christmas season he dons a red suit, white beard and a jolly demeanor as he helps get word back to the North Pole.
One of the saddest stories I ever covered for a newspaper was the 1998 death of a 19-year-old Wright State University-Lake Campus student named Lynn Topp at the hands of hideous murderer Timothy K. Rodeheffer.
SPENCERVILLE - As St. Henry got back into the game in the second half, the hope was that Spencerville would cool down.
Trouble was, the Bearcats stayed hot, shooting 60% from the floor to hold on for a 72-66 win over the Redskins in the 2022-23 boys basketball lidlifter in Spencerville.
Merrymakers and Christmas enthusiasts can start the season off on the right elf shoed foot by wassailing to well-lighted, holiday themed spectaculars in Coldwater, Celina and Wapakoneta.
Gift of Lights got underway Wednesday night at the Auglaize County Fairgrounds while Merry and Bright Christmas Lights kicks off tonight at the Mercer County Fairgrounds. Both events charge a fee per vehicle. [More]
Back in the Division VII state semifinals for the first time since 2020, New Bremen is looking to punch its ticket to the state title game for the second time in school history on Saturday at Mercy Health/Wapak Ford Field in Wapakoneta.
ST. MARYS - Before country music stars can grace the stage of the revered Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee, many will cut their teeth at the legendary bars and venues dotted along historic Broadway Place.
Coldwater pulls away to defeat Celina in lidlifter
By Gary R. Rasberry
COLDWATER - After a slow first quarter, Coldwater's offense began to pick up the pace in the second quarter and then turned on the jets in the second half.
The Cavaliers outscored Celina 26-12 in the second half to pull away for a 52-31 victory in the girls basketball season opener for both teams on Tuesday at the Palace in Coldwater. [More]
CELINA - Mercer County commissioners on Tuesday agreed to tap American Rescue Plan Act funds to help fund a joint project with Celina to expand storm sewers to alleviate excessive flooding on the west end of the city.
CELINA - The Lake Facilities Authority has landed a $300,000 state grant to fund work related to the Chickasaw Creek Treatment Train preliminary estimated at $1.5 million.
COLDWATER - Coldwater Exempted Village School District treasurer Jenn McCoy presented a dismal five-year economic forecast during Tuesday's school board meeting.
FORT RECOVERY - Fort Recovery Elementary School students and staff raised more than $8,000 in the span of one week for the creation of a new park in honor of a classmate who died in 2020.
Mercer County ranked third in the state for lowest joblessness among Ohio's 88 counties in a tie with Putnam County.
Mercer County's unemployment rate worsened sightly from 2.7% in September to 2.9% in October, according to an Ohio Department of Job and Family Services news release.
MARIA STEIN - A second-quarter slump left Marion Local trailing much of the way, but the Flyers came through in the fourth.
Marion rallied from a six-point deficit with five minutes left and held on for a 45-41 win over Shawnee in a girls basketball game at the Hangar on Tuesday night.
The St. Marys girls basketball team earned its first win of the season Tuesday night, pulling away from Kalida in the fourth for a 40-27 win at Grand Lake Health System Court.
