Catching Our Eye News Roundup, May 25, 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.

Please subscribe to our free daily newsletter to get all the Ohio news you need to know right to your inbox every weekday morning.

If you already subscribe, please share with your family and friends so they know about the Ohio Capital Journal too: https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/subscribe/

Catching Our Eye

• Memorial Day. The Statehouse News Bureau’s Jo Ingles is reporting, “Wreath laying ceremony at the Ohio Statehouse honors fallen members of the military.”Every year, Ohio’s governor and state leaders collaborate with military leaders to honor members of the military who have lost their lives in the line of duty.

  At the 2026 wreath-laying ceremony, three service members killed on March 12 as part of Operation Epic Fury were honored by Secretary of State Frank LaRose. He’s a member of the Ohio Army National Guard and was serving overseas when he heard news of their deaths.

  “I remember going into a team meeting and telling my teammates that some of our fellow Ohioans had made the ultimate sacrifice. This unit at the air refueling wing is really our neighbors out at Rickenbacker. My unit is just down the flight line. I can tell you it was a heavy moment for all of us,” LaRose said.

• Data centers. Signal Ohio’s Jake Zuckerman is reporting, “Ohio data center tax break cost $1.4 billion more than expected in 2025.”Ohio’s biggest tax break for data centers is more expensive than once thought. A lot more expensive.

  In 2024, the state sales tax exemption for data centers cost Ohio about $555 million in revenue, four times more than the state Department of Taxation forecasted.

  In 2025, it cost a whopping $1.6 billion, eleven times more than the original estimate of $136 million.