CELINA - City council members green-lighted the purchase of multiple parcels of land along Grand Lake Road, including the former Orchard Tree restaurant lot owned by Mercer Health, for nearly $750,000 to build a new firehouse.

Not originally listed on the agenda, the two pieces of legislation were introduced and subsequently approved as emergency measures at Monday night's regular meeting, after councilors suspended the rules requiring three public readings. [More]

For the third straight season, there was no question who is the top boys basketball player in the Midwest Athletic Conference.

Delphos St. John's senior Cameron Elwer was the unanimous choice by the conference coaches for Player of the Year for the third straight season, the first three-time honoree for the conference. [More]

COVINGTON - Fort Recovery fought its way through 29 turnovers and 23% field goal shooting to give itself a chance at the end.

Fourth-seeded Arcanum got a clutch bucket in the closing seconds and then denied the Indians a decent look at the end to prevail 33-30 in the Division VI sectional at Covington High School Saturday afternoon. [More]

MONTEZUMA - A major state project necessitating the complete shutdown of the State Route 219 bridge over Beaver Creek in Montezuma for now nearly three months is expected to get underway early next month and run through late summer.

The Ohio Department of Transportation had committed to the bridge restoration in March 2021 and was targeting a project starting date - and 22-mile detour - in late spring or early summer of 2025. [More]

ST. HENRY - It took all of 40 minutes inside of Redskin Gymnasium, but the MAC finale between St. Henry and Fort Recovery lived up to the billing.

After a slow start it was seniors Brayden Heath and Jack Huelsman that willed St. Henry (16-6) to a 74-69 win in double overtime to beat the Indians (12-10) in the regular season finale. [More]

CELINA - Just a little over five years since it began, 62% of the county's eligible children are a part of the Mercer County Imagination Library, each receiving a free, age-appropriate book monthly.

Dolly Parton's Imagination Library launched in Tennessee in 1995, and now the service works with more than 2,700 local partners, including in Canada, Australia and Ireland, and delivers more than 3 million books every month. [More]

MARIA STEIN - Marion Local and Coldwater battled in what could be summed up in two words: MAC basketball. A 12-0 run in the third quarter gave the Flyers a lead they would not lose in a 35-28 sectional final win over the Cavaliers at the Hangar Thursday night. [More]