WYSO Today: August 14, 2026

I'm Mike Fraser, and this is WISO today for Friday, August 14th. Executives from the Canada-based 5C group came to Springfield this week to meet with city officials, state legislators, and economic development partners to share updates on its data center development. WISO's Adriana Martina Smiley got to preview the new facility and has more details on what residents should expect. The discussion centered around the $1.3 billion data center the company is constructing there. The company is retrofitting the former Lexis Nexus Data Center at Prime Ohio Corporate Park to make a new larger data center. The company says the development will bring 120 jobs. Jonathan Adute is the CEO of Five Seat Group. He says they hope to make Springfield a home. The employee office that's being renovated there will be the company's biggest in North America. This is not a facility that's here for a few years. This is a 40-50-year project, even beyond. Our contracts are all very long. The assets we're investing in are long-term assets, and we want to be good neighbors. Springfield's economic development manager, Cassie Scott, visited the new facility to speak with their staff. She says Springfield's labor market is changing. While some companies may go, what you're also seeing is new opportunities coming that are changing the mix of employment opportunities that are available in Springfield, and that's from my seat. That's what I want to see because I want us to have a diverse portfolio of options. Adute expects the first phase of the bill to be completed by the end of September. Many Springfield residents aren't enthused about the project. some of raised concerns for environmental impacts, and lack of available information from the developer. For WYSO News, I'm Adriana Martinez-Miley. And Springfield resident Melissa Rex Roth has been a staunch opponent of the project for the last year. She says up to this point she's been disappointed in the level of transparency from both the city and company on the project. My hope is that Springfield takes a proactive approach as far as monitoring air, land, water, things of that nature, because it affects all of those, the pollutants that they emit can affect all of those things. 5C Group CEO Jonathan Adute says they're open to holding things like town halls with residents. Even before all this data center kind of rhetoric that we're hearing in the last, you know, recent times, it's always been a focus of ours that, you know, we're partners with this community. The first phase of construction is expected to finish by the end of September. Making downtown Dayton safe is a top priority for local leaders. WYSO's Catherine Mobley attended a meeting this week that laid out recommendations to accomplish this goal.

For about a year, U.S. Congressman Mike Turner has spearheaded the Downtown Dayton Working Group with one objective. That in order for downtown to continue to be a place where people can work, live, play, visit and invest and grow, that downtown needs to be a place where people feel safe. Four committees comprise this group. justice and policing, social services, intergovernmental coordination, and the downtown business community. Each laid out recommendations, including creating a specific court that will only hear cases involving downtown offenders, the city and the county, defining which properties each government is responsible for keeping secure. They also want more help for people needing housing and or mental health services, and a new fund to attract new businesses. This week, Turner's state representatives, Montgomery County commissioners, as well as Dayton City Commissioners, emphasized the downtown area is the economic engine driving the city's overall success. However, City Commissioner Daryl Fairchild cautioned his colleagues do not be short-sighted by believing only downtown is perceived to be unsafe. When a critical incident gets reported on Dayton Daily News or WHO, They make no distinction of whether it occurred in the Central Business District or not. It is all of Dayton that is perceived to be unsafe. And so to focus narrowly on downtown without recognizing the neighborhood issues and violence that occurs there is just short-sighted. Others want more details on how these recommendations will be funded. According to event organizers, this was the first time in a decade. Montgomery County and Dayton leaders convened to discuss challenges impacting the city. Reporting for WISO News, I'm Catherine Mowley. The American Red Cross has issued a call to action to potential blood and platelet donors nationwide. The organization says they're facing a severe shortage of all blood types. They say scheduled donations, which account for 90% of all blood donations, have dropped sharply in recent weeks. The Red Cross is asking donors to schedule appointments over the next several weeks at Red Crossblood.org or by calling 1-800 Red Cross or by using the Red Cross Blood Donor app. Some good traffic news at section of I-70 westbound that was washed out by flooding earlier this week. Just a few miles west of the Ohio-Indiana border has reopened. According to Indiana Department of Transportation, they say it is a permanent repair and traffic has now been restored on that section of road.

Also some good news. It looks like we dodged a bullet for the possibility of heavy rains this morning. But rain chances will remain with us for the rest of today into this weekend. Also, the possibility of some strong storms will be in the forecast for Saturday. Good news, though, it looks like by early next week, we will finally be able to dry out. And that's WISO today for Friday, August 14th. I'm Mike Fraser. Hey, it's Peter Sagan. Maybe you've never seen Wait, Wait, Live and in person, but you've thought to yourself, well, what's the big deal? I can just listen on the radio. Well, yeah, but you never get to hear everything that happens. That can be edited right out. Don't you worry about that. So come join us September 3rd at the Rose Music Center. Don't worry. It's not going to make broadcast. That's Wait, Wait, Wait, Live. September 3rd at the Rose Music Center. For tickets, go to NPR Presents.org, but only if you're ready for it. That's why you have to come to a live show. Yes, I am.