Weekly Roundup | Investigating federal COVID aid

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 an investigation into projects paid for with federal COVID funds that fell short of promised results, and an interesting look at the growing popularity of high school girls wrestling.

Also don’t forget our Dayton Daily News Community Gems initiative, highlighting people who give their time and effort to improve the lives of their neighbors and community. Do you know someone like this in your community? Follow this link to nominate them.

Do you have a news tip or an issue you think our reporters should look into? Contact me at [email protected], or you can use our anonymous tipline.

***

More than $500K in Dayton ARPA projects fell short

A commercial property at 865 N. Main St. that chef Anthony Head has proposed to turn into a new restaurant called Chicken Head's. CORNELIUS FROLIK / STAFF

The federal government poured billions of dollars into local governments during and after the COVID pandemic. We have been following and investigating how that money is being spent since the beginning. That coverage continues today with an investigation into projects funded by the city of Dayton that didn’t come to fruition.

• Background: The Dayton Daily News project Billions in COVID aid: Where it’s going, has won awards for keeping local governments accountable and informing taxpayers about where COVID relief funds are going.

• The latest: The city of Dayton awarded more than half a million dollars in COVID relief funds to community projects and business startups or expansions that fell short of promised results, according to records obtained by the Dayton Daily News. Read the story from Cornelius Frolik here.

• Largest expense: A $200,000 grant to Ace Healthy Products for a mobile vaccine clinic was the largest grant to a for-profit business from $7.6 million the city allocated in American Rescue Plan funds to support minority-owned businesses. The city canceled the award for lack of performance.

• Chicken Head’s: Chef Anthony Head told me in 2022 when he was awarded $178,100 from the city that his restaurant on North Main Street would open in months. Head has since opened and closed a restaurant in Kettering, with little visible progress on the Dayton site. The city now wants some of its money back.

• Zooming out: The combined value of these grants — about $553,000 — account for a small share of the $138 million Dayton received in ARPA funds, which the city is using to fund a large number and wide variety of investments and projects.

• County projects: Other recent Dayton Daily News reporting examined how Montgomery County is spending $103.3 million in ARPA funds, and how Miami County spent more than $20 million.

• From the archives: Previous Dayton Daily News reporting looked into what obstacles Dayton faces in making the $138 million it received in ARPA funds truly transformative, and whether local governments were taking public opinion into account in deciding how the money should be spent. What do you think? Has all this money been “transformative,” as local officials predicted?

Girls wrestling exploding across Ohio

Greeneview High School's Eve Matt has her arm raised into the air after winning a match at the Ohio High School Athletic Association's state wrestling championships on Friday, March 7 at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus. Dave Thompson/CONTRIBUTED

Credit: Brad Piper Photography

I played football and wrestled in high school. I was terrible at both, but truly believe it taught me important life lessons. So I was really interested in Marcus Hartman’s story in how high school girls wrestling is exploding in popularity, giving girls greater opportunities to compete in the sport.

• The numbers: This month, female high school wrestlers from across Ohio competed in the third state championship since the Ohio High School Athletic Association sanctioned girls wrestling in 2023. There were over 1,700 girls in the postseason at the sectional level, and around 3,000 girls participated statewide.

• Beginnings: The first-ever girls state wrestling tournament, organized by the Ohio High School Wrestling Coaches Association in 2020, hosted about 250 wrestlers.

• Different rules: Coaches and refs are learning there are differences in the sport. One factor is that girls are more flexible than boys, allowing for different moves. And different rules are needed for how much weight wrestlers can cut and still be healthy.

• The quote: “It was really exciting,” said Greeneview High School senior Eve Matt, who finished second at state. “When I started wrestling, I’d be lucky if I got to practice with another girl in the room, and now there’s all-girls clubs that I get to be a part of.”

• Not just wrestling: Other girls sports are growing in popularity as well. Marcus wrote in February about how girls basketball is also bigger than ever.