Catching Our Eye News Roundup, March 17, 2026

Every morning in the Ohio Capital Journal’s free newsletter, The Eye-Opener, we round up the news and commentary from across Ohio and around the country and world that is catching our attention. We call this feature Catching Our Eye, republished here.

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Catching Our Eye

EV no more. The Columbus Dispatch’s Dean Narciso reports, “Honda scraps 3 electric vehicle models planned for Ohio production.”

U.S. tariffs, waning demand for electric vehicles and economic uncertainty have forced Honda Motor Co. Ltd. to scrap development of three electric vehicle models slated for production in Ohio.

Service and sacrifice. WOSU’s Samantha Sommer reports, “Who are the three Ohio Airmen who died in KC-135 crash in Iraq?”

The U.S. Air Force has identified the three Ohio Airmen who died when their KC-135 air refueler crashed in western Iraq on March 12, 2026.

They are Capt. Seth Koval, 38, of Stoutsville; Capt. Curtis Angst, 30, and Tech. Sgt. Tyler Simmons, 28, both of Columbus.

All three served with the 121st Air Refueling Wing at Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base in Columbus.

Data center constitutional ban? Cleveland.com’s Anna Staver reports, “Rural Ohioans seek to ban data centers through constitutional amendment.”

A group of rural Ohioans says they have little control over the spread of large data centers, and they want to amend the state’s constitution to ban those larger than 25 megawatts.

They submitted petitions to the Ohio attorney general’s office on Monday. That’s the first step before supporters can begin collecting signatures statewide.

Property taxes. The Dayton Daily News’ Avery Kreemer reports, “Ohio Senate leader floats property tax ‘relief package’; says fixes so far are ‘forward-looking’”

Ohio Senate President Rob McColley believes a “serious conversation” needs to be had on an immediate state property tax relief package, given that the lion’s share of legislative action on property tax reform so far is focused on guarding against future sudden, stratospheric increases.

“I think there’s more work we need to do,” said McColley, R-Napoleon, after Gov. Mike DeWine’s final State of the State address on Tuesday failed to mention the property tax burdens that have animated voters and legislators alike over the past year.

Children in ICE detention. NBC News reports, “‘This place broke something in us’: Kids languish in ICE detention long past 20-day court limit.”

The Trump administration has detained more than 900 children — including a boy with severe autism — for longer than allowed under a decades-old legal settlement.