On Monday, Governor Mike DeWine declared Tuesday, August 9, 2022, as honorary Dolly Parton Day in Ohio.

Championed by First Lady Fran DeWine and supported by the Ohio General Assembly and affiliates across the state, Dolly Parton's Imagination Library of Ohio mails enrolled Ohio children a free, age-appropriate book every month. The program is open to children up to the age of five in all of Ohio's 88 counties. 

To learn more about Dolly Parton's Imagination Library of Ohio visit ohioimaginationlibrary.org. 

On Tuesday, Governor DeWine and First Lady DeWine welcomed Dolly Parton to Ohio to celebrate the statewide success of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in Ohio, where every child under the age of five is eligible. The 2022 Inaugural First Lady’s Luncheon supported Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of Ohio, a passion of First Lady DeWine. Currently, 343,490 children are enrolled in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of Ohio, which means 48% of eligible children between birth to age 5 years old are enrolled in the program.

“It is an incredible honor to host Dolly Parton and celebrate the success of her book gifting program here in Ohio,” said First Lady Fran DeWine. “Ohio’s Imagination Library is thriving, and we are truly blessed to have so many supporters of the program in every community across our great state. These books are changing the lives of so many children and preparing them for kindergarten—and life!”

Lt. Governor Jon Husted announced on Tuesday that four training providers located throughout the state will receive a total of $592,215 in awards to support 410 broadband or 5G-related credentials through the Individual Microcredential Assistance Program (IMAP). This is the third round of the initiative, which helps Ohioans who are low income, partially unemployed, or totally unemployed participate in a training program and receive one or more credential(s) for free.

The selected training providers, which include two four-year universities, a career center, and a joint vocational school district, will be reimbursed up to $3,000 for each completed technology-focused credential issued.

“As we continue forward on efforts to expand and enhance Ohio’s broadband and 5G infrastructure, it’s vital that we have the workforce to build it,” said Lt. Governor Husted. “Ohioans have the opportunity to be part of this endeavor by working through these newly awarded IMAP training providers to earn a broadband- or 5G-related credential for free and in a matter of months or even weeks.”

Also on Tuesday, Governor DeWine signed Executive Order 2022-14D, directing Expenditure of Fiscal Year 2023 TANF Funds by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. 

On Wednesday, Lt. Governor Husted made three stops in Northwest Ohio to showcase regional companies and their innovations within the food and agricultural space, as well as to hear feedback from those in these industries.

Lt. Governor Husted had the chance to learn about the technical agriculture program tracks at Rhodes State College and the pathways they can lead to with businesses in the food and agriculture industry in Ohio.

At his second stop, he toured Hydrofresh in Delphos to learn about their High Pressure Processing technology.

On his third and final stop of the day, Lt. Governor Husted participated in a roundtable discussion with area agriculture businesses at Cooper Farms in Van Wert to discuss the importance of the industry to the state’s economy.

Governor DeWine and Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear announced on Wednesday that the two states jointly submitted a second federal funding application to support bridge and roadway improvements along the eight-mile Brent Spence Bridge Corridor from the Western Hills Viaduct in Ohio to Dixie Highway in Kentucky.

The new funding request was made to the Bridge Investment Program and is in addition to the still-pending May 2022 funding request made to the Multimodal Projects Discretionary Grant Program. Ohio and Kentucky articulated in both applications that a total of $1.66 billion in federal grant funding is needed regardless of which discretionary grant program awards funds to the project. The states are applying to multiple Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) grant programs to give themselves the best chance of receiving maximum funding, a strategy that is in line with the pledges of Governors DeWine and Beshear to pursue every federal dollar available for this bridge project.

“Now, more than ever, our national economy depends on the efficient movement of people, goods, and services on our federal Interstate System,” said Governor DeWine. “The Brent Spence Bridge Corridor Project is long overdue, and our residents deserve to have these highway infrastructure upgrades become a reality. Ohio and Kentucky continue to work closely with our federal partners to secure the funding we need to invest in our future through the transformation of this critical corridor."

“The time for us to act is now,” said Governor Beshear. “Kentucky and Ohio are working with our partners to ensure we have the funding we need to complete improvements along the Brent Spence Bridge corridor. There is a tremendous sense of urgency surrounding this project because we recognize how important it is for the people we serve. I want us to be able to break ground next year.”

On Thursday, Governor DeWine announced that his H2Ohio initiative is investing an additional $1.5 million to help local communities identify, inventory, and map lead service lines across the state.

Ohio EPA began accepting applications for the H2Ohio Lead Line Mapping Grant Program Thursday. Public water systems that do not have the financial means to properly assess where their lead service lines are located are eligible to receive up to $50,000.

"There is no safe level of lead exposure, which is why I remain committed to helping our local communities locate and remove lead pipes," said Governor DeWine. "No one should need to worry that their drinking water is hurting their health, and we will continue to offer support to communities that need assistance addressing toxic lead pipes." 

On Friday, Governor DeWine announced that he is providing state assistance to six county jails in Ohio for targeted safety, security, and operational projects.

Approximately $5 million has been awarded to the following jails through the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction’s (ODRC) Bureau of Adult Detention:

-- Darke County - $1.8 million for security upgrades

-- Ross County - $1.6 million for security upgrades

-- Monroe County - $329,000 for a sewer system project

-- Erie County - $150,000 for a sewer system project

-- Highland County - $179,000 for security upgrades

-- Pickaway County - $902,000 for a sewer system project

“Ohio is making significant investments in the safety and overall operations of our jails to help them better meet the demands of our criminal justice system,” said Governor DeWine. "These jail improvements will help alleviate more significant issues in the future and help ensure these facilities are operating safely.” 

The grant awards are part of $50 million allocated by the legislature at Governor DeWine's request for local jail renovations in Senate Bill 310 of 133^rd Ohio General Assembly. Governor DeWine awarded $45 million to six jails last year for major construction projects, and the remaining $5 million in funding was reserved for smaller-scale, immediate safety concerns.