Monday, February 2, 2026

Good Morning! On this day in 1983, Joseph Bernardin, who served as archbishop of Cincinnati from 1972 to 1982, was elevated to cardinal in the Catholic Church.

✈️ If you're flying soon and still don't yet have a REAL ID, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has rolled out a new identity verification option for travelers. Details are in Around Ohio.

From today's sponsor, Incogni—learn why scam calls aren't random and how removing your personal data from brokers can help stop spam, phishing, and identity theft before it starts.

Take The Flyover with you. Busy day? Listen to our daily 15-minute podcast while commuting, cooking, or walking the dog—your Flyover fix, anywhere.

Bill Targets Religious Service Disruptions

Republican Ohio lawmakers introduced House Bill 662, which would make it a fifth-degree felony to intentionally disrupt a religious service, up from a first-degree misdemeanor offense.

In a news release, state Rep. Tex Fischer, R-Boardman, said that the bill was prompted by the anti-immigration enforcement protest at a church in Minnesota that resulted in multiple arrests.

“While every American has the right to peacefully protest ICE or any other government entity, they do not have a right to storm into a place of worship and disrupt another American's right to freely practice their religion,” Fischer said in the news release.

Former CNN anchor Don Lemon and several others were arrested on federal charges tied to the Minnesota church protest, including conspiracy against religious freedom at a place of worship.

Case Western, OSU Rank among World’s Best

Two Ohio universities ranked in the top 35 on TIME’s 2026 list of the world’s best universities, which measures how often graduates achieve extraordinary success in innovation and business leadership.

Case Western Reserve University ranked No. 25 worldwide, while Ohio State University placed No. 32. Both ranked ahead of prestigious colleges such as Carnegie Mellon and Columbia.

Among U.S. public universities, Ohio State ranked fifth, behind the University of Michigan; the University of Wisconsin–Madison; the University of California, Berkeley; and the University of California, Los Angeles.

Two more Ohio schools placed in the top 500. The University of Toledo ranked No. 429 worldwide, and the University of Cincinnati came in at No. 494. You can see the complete rankings here.

Dublin Backs COhatch Innovation Hub

COhatch, a Central Ohio coworking company, finalized a public-private partnership to build an innovation district along the Scioto River in Historic Dublin.

Plans for Riverview Village call for a walkable campus for small businesses, a 14,000-square-foot COhatch headquarters building, and space for festivals, street markets, restaurants, and other attractions.

COhatch locations offer coworking space, private offices, meeting rooms, and event venues—options that have proved especially popular with hybrid and remote workers.

The project also includes an $11 million city investment in infrastructure. You can see renderings of Riverview Village here.

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Unknown Number Calling? It's Not Random

The BBC caught scam call center workers on hidden cameras as they laughed at the people they were tricking. One worker bragged about making $250k from victims. The disturbing truth? Scammers don't pick phone numbers at random. They buy your data from brokers.

Once your data is out there, it's not just calls. It's phishing, impersonation, and identity theft. That's why we recommend Incogni: They delete your info from the web, monitor and follow up automatically, and continue to erase data as new risks appear.

Try Incogni and get 55% off your subscription with code FLYOVER

➤ Statewide: Sen. Bernie Moreno introduced legislation barring recipients of taxpayer-funded benefits from sending remittances overseas as scrutiny grows after Minnesota’s Somali fraud scandal. (More)

➤ Also Statewide: Ohio travelers without a REAL ID, passport, or other acceptable identification can pay $45 for TSA’s ConfirmID identity verification when flying domestically. (More)

➤ Columbus: Officials said extreme cold caused at least 60 water main breaks as of Friday—one of the city’s sharpest spikes—and that more problems are expected as the cold persists. (More)

➤ Clark County: Local law enforcement agencies said they lack authority to enforce temporary protected status overstays as protections for Haitians expire on Tuesday. Haitians are estimated to comprise about one-quarter of Springfield’s population. (More)

➤ Dayton: The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force began a temporary closure over the weekend because of the federal government’s partial shutdown. (More)

➤ Madison County: State troopers seized 154 pounds of cocaine—worth about $6.3 million—during a traffic stop last week on Interstate 70 near London. (More)

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➤ The No. 24 Miami RedHawks men's basketball team stayed undefeated with an 85-61 win over Northern Illinois on Saturday, setting a Mid-American Conference record with its 22nd straight victory. (More)

➤ The Cleveland Cavaliers are sending De'Andre Hunter to Sacramento in a three-team trade with Chicago. The Cavs will receive Dennis Schröder and Keon Ellis. (More)

➤ The Columbus Blue Jackets beat the St. Louis Blues 5-3 on Saturday night for their fifth straight win, improving to 8-1 under new head coach Rick Bowness. (More)

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➤ Conservative group Toledoans for Trump said Pizzapapalis canceled its reservations after the downtown Toledo restaurant received online threats for hosting the group. (More)

➤ Federal prosecutors in Ohio indicted Patrick James, who led First Brands Group as CEO, and his brother, Edward, alleging that they inflated invoices tied to accounts receivable and borrowed against them. (More)

➤ Bojangles, a Southern-style chicken and biscuits fast-food chain, plans to open its fourth central Ohio location later this year in Lancaster. (More)

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Delete your personal data

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➤ State health officials encourage Dry January participants to sustain momentum year-round and highlight resources explaining alcohol’s effects on physical and mental health. (More)

➤ Honda and the Ohio Department of Transportation have teamed on a pilot project using real-time, vehicle-generated sensor data to flag potholes, worn signs, and other roadway issues. (More)

➤ Ohio stocked more than 36 million fish in public waterways in 2025, releasing 11 species at 233 locations statewide. (More)

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➤ Buried Hiroshima secret finally EXPOSED: If you thought history books taught you everything you needed to know about Hiroshima… you need to see this shocking video. The full story is finally coming out… and it’s incredible. Watch Now.