In today’s Morning Briefing:

🤧 Sneeze Achiu: Long before star Obi Toppin at UD, there was a multi-sport athlete known as Sneeze.

🛡️ Massive defense contract: Anduril Industries is positioned to receive a $310 million grant.

🌡️ Dayton weather records: Halfway through 2025, Dayton has already had a record-setting year for weather.

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The newsletter should take about 3 minutes, 26 seconds to read.

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Archdeacon: Before Obi, there was Sneeze

Long before there was Obi Toppin, there was Sneeze Achiu.

• Nickname: “If you sneeze, you got it,” he’s said to have told his fellow Flyers. And that’s when Walter Achiu forever became Sneeze Achiu.

• UD years: Sneeze was a Flyer from 1922-1927.

• What they said about him: The former University of Dayton standout was once called “the greatest drawing card in the history of the school.”

• Football: He starred as a football halfback — where he was known for his running, his ability to pass and, even at 5-foot-8, his ability to block — but also played defensive back and was a place kicker.

• Baseball: Achiu was an outfielder on the Flyers’ baseball teams in 1925 and 1926 that went unbeaten.

• Track: He was a 10-second sprinter in the 100-yard dash and tied national indoor marks in the 40 and 60-yard dashes.

• After UD: He played two seasons for the Dayton Triangles before becoming the first person of Asian descent to play in the NFL. Later, he switched to professional wrestling and became a popular headliner across the nation for some 30 years.

Ohio defense contractor to get record $310 million to create 4K+ jobs

A defense-focused manufacturer is poised to get more money in development incentives than any other company has received from the state of Ohio.

• The company: Anduril Industries is positioned to receive a $310 million grant to build a Pickaway County plant.

• Outlook: Anduril is expected to create 4,008 new jobs and more than $530 million in new payroll over the next decade, investing at least $910.5 million in a site near Rickenbacker International Airport.

• Air Force ties: Anduril has a deep relationship with the Air Force and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Anduril is expected to design, manufacture and test production-representative Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), making an airplane that will be designed to have autonomous capabilities.

• Payroll: When the Anduril plant — dubbed “Arsenal-1″ — is fully staffed and operational in 2035, the average salary for workers there will be just over $132,305 annually.

What to know today

• One big takeaway: After losing some 17,000 employees nationally since January, the Department of Veterans Affairs said it is on pace to reduce its number of employees by nearly 30,000 by the end of September.

• Big move of the day: A new housing development is planned for 12 acres along Ohio 48 between Hibberd Drive and Social Row Road in Washington Twp.

• Dayton Food & Dining: Anticoli’s house dressing is now available locally. Here’s where you can get it.

• Schools: Voters in the Franklin City School District will see a different type of request to fund operations that won’t raise property taxes.

• Stat of the day: So far this year Dayton has set new daily records six times. Four records were related to the temperature and two were related to daily rainfall.

• Poll: Who is your favorite celebrity from Dayton? We want to hear from you.

• Thing to do: This weekend, there will be many events taking place across the Dayton area including film screenings, art workshops and concerts.

• Cox First Media: Journalists from the Dayton Daily News, Journal-News and Springfield News-Sun won numerous awards and are finalists in others for two statewide journalism contests.

• Photo of the day: Hotel Ardent design pays tribute to Dayton’s history of innovation. Dayton inventions are on display at the front desk. An NCR cash register is displayed in the private dining room. Guestrooms feature framed patents. A Rube Goldberg-like “Negroni Machine” makes cocktails with a press of a button. See all the photos here.