BELLEFONTAINE — Five-year-old Michael G. Barton died early Wednesday after medical efforts failed to save him from recently sustained head injuries. Doctors at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus checked for brain activity with a test at 11 p.m. following medical protocol to wait 12 hours between tests. There was no activity and by 12:44 a.m. Michael was declared dead. The …

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A drum major instructor for Ohio State University’s celebrated marching band who is accused of sexually assaulting a student was indicted on charges including rape, a prosecutor said Tuesday. Stewart Kitchen, 28, is suspected of assaulting the Ohio State student at his home on April 16. The indictment announced by the Franklin County prosecutor includes two …

FINDLAY, Ohio (AP) — A plan to reduce flooding along the Blanchard River in northwestern Ohio, which includes building a 10-mile channel to divert water away from downtown Findlay, would cost nearly $66 million, according to the federal agency overseeing the project. The price tag, though, is much less than earlier estimates of well over $100 million. Much of the …

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — More than 14,600 blighted properties around Ohio have been demolished in the past two years under a program aimed at benefiting areas affected by foreclosures, the state’s attorney general said Friday.

ADA — Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel shared improvements and new programs in his office as keynote speaker at the annual membership meeting of the Hardin County Chamber and Business Alliance at Thursday night at Ohio Northern University.

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — The long-range forecast for big wind farms in Ohio is cloudy at best. About a dozen wind farm projects that have been certified by the state are essentially on hold now and may never get off the ground after Ohio put in a two-year delay on its renewable energy targets last summer. Backers of wind energy …