Toledo Free Press

22/11/2025

The Midwest Affair is back at the Glass City Center this weekend, filling Downtown Toledo with line dancing, stepping, and walking. Dancers attended Saturday morning classes to get ready for tonight’s main event, where organizers expect a crowd of 600 to 800 participants.

Now in its 17th year in Northwest Ohio, and its second year hosted in the heart of Downtown Toledo, the Midwest Affair continues to be one of the region’s most anticipated dance weekends.

20/11/2025

This past Monday marked the beginning of the end for the Riverside Mobile Home Park, notorious for its poor conditions and proximity to downtown Toledo (18 City Park Avenue off the Anthony Wayne Trail).

Back in May of 2025, the city identified Riverside as “unfit for human habitation,” a designation that says the property is actively a danger to anyone who lives there. And while this generally would result in fixing up the park, at this point the park is cheaper to demolish. Additionally, the owner owes Lucas County thousands in back taxes, and owes the City of Toledo tens of thousands in back property taxes and hundreds of thousands in back utility bills.

Read more: https://f.mtr.cool/olcsgvomjh

20/11/2025

The Toledo Free Press, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) newsroom, has kicked off its annual NewsMatch campaign, its largest fundraising opportunity of the year. The national initiative, coordinated by the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN), will match individual donations up to $1,000, helping double the impact of community support.

Between November 1 and December 31, the Toledo Free Press can receive up to $15,000 in matching funds through NewsMatch. These contributions directly sustain the paper’s mission to provide independent, community-driven journalism for Toledo and Northwest Ohio.

Monthly supporters play an especially powerful role during this campaign. Under NewsMatch guidelines, all recurring monthly donations are counted at 12 times their value. That means a $5 monthly contribution will be matched as if it were a $60 annual gift.

To support the Toledo Free Press, readers can make a one-time or recurring gift during the campaign period. Every dollar helps preserve independent local journalism in the region.

Donations can be made at: ToledoFreePress.com/support
Campaign period: November 1 – December 31

Match limit: $1,000 per individual donation (up to $15,000 total)

NewsMatch gives us a rare chance to double our resources and continue reporting on the stories that matter most to Toledo. Reader donations are the backbone of our newsroom.

18/11/2025

Karen Gerhardinger talks about her vital role in developing the Anthony Wayne Free Press, along with why you should donate to TFP to keep news coverage in rural areas!

Head to https://toledofreepress.com/support/ to make a donation and have it DOUBLED today.

18/11/2025

18/11/2025

Twenty-five candidates submitted applications to be considered for an opening on the Anthony Wayne Board of Education.

Read more: https://toledofreepress.com/twenty-five-apply-for-anthony-wayne-school-board-seat/

17/11/2025

Condemned: The plight of Toledo’s Riverside residents

“Time is getting short for us,” said Charles “Chuck” Parker, 66, who has lived at Riverside for the past five years with his wife and adult son. “I’m just waiting for them to come knocking on the door and tell us that we gotta’ go.”

Technically, the city told Parker and others to move out months ago, but has allowed Parker and other residents with more complicated living needs to stay while they look for new housing. Soon, however, the city is going to demolish the park in the latter half of November.

Read more: https://toledofreepress.com/condemned-the-plight-of-toledos-riverside-residents/

17/11/2025

Happyland Fragrances could be the best-kept secret in Toledo. Ever hear of it? Likely not, unless you’re a patron of perfumes, a connoisseur of colognes, or a fan of, well, fragrances.

Its products – in bottles of an ounce or ounce and a half-plus – are nowhere to be found in stores in northwest Ohio. Or anywhere in the country, for that matter. But buy them you can, and in a recent development, by doing so you’ll help promote addiction recovery and su***de prevention.

The essence – so to speak – of Happyland was EJ Wells, who dabbled in the fragrance business from his basement lab in Perrysburg.

“Dad was always interested in fashion and music,” said his daughter, Chloe Michael. “He worked odd jobs all his life. He got into hobbies; one was perfume. He was interested in how to make it and sell it. He had a serious perfume collection.”

Read more: https://toledofreepress.com/toledos-own-happyland-fragrances/

16/11/2025

The Toledo Walleye claimed a 2-1 win over the Fort Wayne Komets on Saturday night, marking their third straight victory. The matchup remains one of the ECHL’s most intense rivalries.

Toledo fans once again proved why they’re considered the best in the league, filling the arena and driving the energy from puck drop to the final horn.

14/11/2025

🪶❄️ Each year, it’s a jump ball which will arrive first, the first snowflakes or the first wave of juncos. Juncos are small songbirds that spend summers up north and usually return to our area just about the same time the first significant snowflakes start to fly. The coincidence has earned it the nickname of “snowbird.”

It was a tossup again this year with the juncos getting the winning nod. If you haven’t seen one already, it’s a safe bet you’ll be seeing one soon, especially if you maintain a bird feeder.

📸 This junco was photographed last winter after a nice snowfall by Metroparks Toledo nature photographer Art Weber.

13/11/2025

LC4 (Lucas County Canine Care & Control) has moved into a new $31.9 million, 39,300-square-foot facility that opened Oct. 4. The physical transformation is undeniable—modern kennels, outdoor play yards, natural light streaming through large windows. Leadership has changed too, with a new director appointed in March 2025, though he stepped down in October. The volunteer program, suspended after a 2024 abuse scandal, has been reinstated with stricter protocols.

But for community members like Katie – a Toledo resident who preferred to use only her first name, and whose experience with LC4 predates these changes – and Kevin Clapper, whose recent encounter occurred just last month, one question looms: Have operational practices truly evolved, or just the facility itself?

Read more: https://toledofreepress.com/from-old-facility-to-new-whats-changed-at-lc4/

13/11/2025

At Black Frog Brewery, what began as a hobby for Toledo entrepreneur Christopher Harris has evolved into a community cornerstone, one built on the values of hard work, structure and camaraderie that he carried over from his years of service in the U.S. Army.

Beginning in 1989, Harris served in the U.S. Army for ten years as a mechanic, a time during which he took part in the first Persian Gulf War.

Read the full story by Gaven Hafner: https://toledofreepress.com/veteran-owned-brewery-ohio/