Weekly Roundup | Keeping up with Trump

Welcome to the Weekly Roundup, where we bring you the top stories from today’s Dayton Daily News and major stories from the past week you may have missed.

This week, that includes how we are covering all the action in D.C. during the Trump Administration; the perspective of Ukrainians who fled war and settled in Dayton on the third anniversary of Russia invading Ukraine; and how programs supporting Black farmers may help fill a need in Ohio’s agriculture sector.

Do you have a news tip or an issue you think our reporters should look into? Contact me at Josh.Sweigart@coxinc.com, or you can use our anonymous tipline.

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Local impacts of federal actions

Protesters gathered outside Dayton City Hall Monday, Feb. 17, 2025 for a "Not My Presidents Day" rally part of a nationwide effort to protest the policies of the Trump administration. It's part of the 50-50-1 movement, which stands for 50 states, 50 protests, 1 movement. MARSHALL GORBY\STAFF

As a local news organization, part of our job is to help readers understand how actions by the federal government impact them here in the Dayton region. President Donald Trump has had a busy first month, so there is a lot to keep track of. In this letter to readers, our Editor and Chief Content Officer Ashley Bethard explains how we will cover the Trump Administration.

• Survey says: We have posted an online survey (fill it out here) to get thoughts and questions from readers to help guide our coverage. This story looks at how the survey illustrates what national polling has found — a nation divided on Trump’s actions.

• Foreign aid: The Trump administration’s freeze on U.S. Agency for International Development spending is seeing humanitarian programs in other nations halted, and it could also have ramifications on Ohio farmers. USAID buys food for humanitarian aid from several large-scale Ohio farmers, and funds research that benefits Ohio farmers.

• Springfield Haitians: Trump announced plans Thursday to end protections allowing many Haitians to live and work in the U.S. legally. For Springfield’s Haitian population, the move was expected but still jarring. “This is definitely a concerning news for our community,” said Miguelito Jerome, who ran a Haitian radio station in Springfield. “The thought of losing (Temporary Protected Status) is weighing crazy on many of us who rely on it for safety and stability. There’s already a lot of uncertainty, and this announcement only adds to the worries.”

• “No kings”: Around 70 people marched around Dayton’s City Hall on Presidents Day in protest of federal actions as a part of a national movement. The Dayton protestors on Monday chanted “Elon Musk has got to go” and other slogans.

Ukraine war enters third year

Smoke rises from an air defence base in the aftermath of a Russian airstrike in Mariupol, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Credit: AP

Three years ago Monday, Russian troops invaded Ukraine, kicking off the bloodiest war in Europe since World War II. Some of those who fled war and devastation resettled in Dayton. Ismael Mujahid tells their story.

• The horror: Oleg Osadcyi was a musician who became a Ukrainian marine and fought on the front lines. “If anyone tells you they weren’t scared the first time they were on the frontlines they are lying. The worst thing was speaking to a fellow soldier one moment and the next time you look at them they are dead. I saw that happen. You can’t imagine what that does to your mind. I saw men go mad in the middle of battle.”

• The journey: Each displaced Ukrainian has their own harrowing journey. One couple led children through a war-ravaged landscape to the Polish border to escape the war. Not wanting to scare the children, the adults told them they were “on an adventure.”

• Hope: “I dream of being able to return home without having to worry about bombs falling. That there would be no more air raid sirens, that I could travel across Ukraine like I used to and see the cities and people without danger,” said Sergei Chernyshev, who lives in Dayton but is from Kharkiv.

• Voices: In our Ideas and Voices section, three contributors discuss the importance of negotiating a fair and peaceful end to the conflict. Read letters from U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Dayton (who met with Ukraine’s president in Munich last week), former congressman and UN ambassador Tony Hall, and Tatiana Liaugminas, a retired teacher with family in Ukraine.

Ohio needs more farmers: More Black people are interested

Riverside farmer Sharifa Tomlinson. MARSHALL GORBY\STAFF

As our Black History Month coverage continues, reporter Eileen McClory looks at obstacles and opportunities for Black farmers, and how programs supporting them can address the needs of Ohio’s agriculture sector. Go here for her full story.

• State of play: Ohio needs more farmers. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, about 1-in-10 American farmers are under the age of 35. Between 2017 and 2022, the number of farmers 65 or older increased by 12%, while the number of farmers aged 35 to 64 declined by 9%.

• Black farmers: Marc Amante, interim program leader in Agriculture and Natural Resources at Central State, says around 1% of farms in Ohio are owned by Black people, but that’s been increasing.

• Programs: Central State University, a historically Black university, became a land-grant university ten years ago and now runs one of the two largest agriculture bureaus in the state. Jefferson Twp., a primarily Black school district in rural Montgomery County, started an agriculture education program at the beginning of this school year.

• Helping community: Many Black farmers are drawn to small-scale, urban farming. Several of the farmers who spoke to the Dayton Daily News for this story cited the long-term health consequences for the Black community as the reason they got involved with small-scale farming.

• Supports: Local small farmers and distributors are watching for potential impacts on grant funding posed by the state budget cycle and federal funding cuts. Eileen looks at state and federal programs that help support small farmers in this story.