YSU grad student’s work will be featured at jazz concert

Good morning and welcome to your Morning Matters.

It’s Monday, Oct. 25, 2021 , and in cultural debates over statue removals from Civil War memorials to Christopher Columbus, so often you hear the cries of "It's part of our history!" But how much do we really know about our history?

Our friends at Solitaired.com recently created state-specific quizzes and discovered "many Ohioans didn’t find high school history class their strong suit! Overall, just over half (56%) of Ohioans scored correctly." That was slightly below a national average of 57 percent.

An example question from the quiz:

"It is often said that Ohio is the decision state when it comes to presidential elections. Which U.S president got elected without winning over the state of Ohio?"

1. John F. Kennedy

2. Dwight D. Eisenhower

3. Herbert Hoover

I'll share the answer below.

Here's what's surprising: Rhode Islanders, Oklahomans, Mississippians and Hawaii residents each scored much better than Ohioans, with a 77% pass rate, followed closely by Texans with a 76% pass rate. Yet, only 21% of Californians could pass their home state quiz.

"Across the country, it’;s evident that many have been affected by ‘pandemic brain,’" said Neal Taparia of Solitaired.com in a recent email. "Participating regularly in mind-stimulating games and pop quizzes, as well as brain teasers like word searches and word puzzles, can help maintain optimal focus and sharpness during your everyday life."

Well, I don’t know if it will improve your life, but if you'd like to test your Ohio knowledge, start the quiz below by clicking on Ohio:

Created by Solitaired • View larger version

The quiz is tough! By playing, I found I did much better with Illinois history (where I attended school) than the history of my adopted home, Ohio. As for the answer to the above question, it was JFK. (President Joe Biden also won the presidency without carrying Ohio, breaking the state's 58-year bellwether streak, as reporter Justin Dennis noted).

Now let's go make today count!

Here's what you need to know about the Mahoning Valley today:

Among the events in this week's Weekday Matters are Crowder and "Rain — A Tribute to the Beatles" at Packard Music Hall, the Mahoning Valley Scrappers “Trick or Treat” at Eastwood Field and the The Rotary Club of Youngstown's Bat Week event at Mill Creek MetroParks.

And remember, whenever you are on the go, you can find all of the key Valley activities by heading to our events calendar .

Other matters

This week, columnist Liz Dreier and family took their grandson Wonder Boy to the farm in search of the perfect pumpkin. "After our beach misadventure, we weren’t sure if this excursion would be a success. As soon as we hit the driveway at Molnar’s, however, we knew we had a winner." Mahoning Matters

Among the Valley entities featured in today's Business Updates are Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp., the Thomases Family Endowment of the Youngstown Area Jewish Federation, Coleman Health Services and the Youngstown-Warren Regional Chamber of Commerce. Mahoning Matters

Centuries ago, physicians began documenting people coming down with a mystery illness that tainted their urine with a reddish hue, cursed them with extreme sensitivity to the sun and transformed their teeth into fang-like shapes. It sounds like the genesis of the world’s first clan of blood-sucking vampires, but there might have be a medical explanation for it. Mahoning Matters

Youngstown Mayor Jamael Tito Brown raised and spent more money on his re-election campaign in a little more than four months than his opponents did combined. The Vindicator [May encounter paywall.]

“It’s a happy night,” said Denise DeBartolo York after she cut the ribbon opening the new DeBartolo Commons area of the Southern Park Mall dedicated in part to her father, Edward J. DeBartolo Sr., one of the most successful shopping mall developers in the country. The Business Journal [May encounter paywall.]

Meanwhile, the company that owns the Southern Park Mall says it has emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy and that the company’s CEO has stepped down. Washington Prime Group Inc. says each of its debtor affiliates has completed financial restructuring, while Lou Conforti, who last week oversaw the dedication of the Boardman mall's DeBartolo Commons area, is stepping down. WKBN

On Saturday, Youngstown students had the opportunity to chat with Kevin Miles — Jake from State Farm — during a Zoom conference. WFMJ

Movers and Makers

Madelyn Inskeep, owner of Caesar Ceramics , said her love of art began at a young age, and her interest in ceramics started while attending Youngstown State University, during a pottery class for her Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Interactive Design. Today, her company specializes in small-batch ceramics, like mugs, spoon rests and bowls. Mahoning Matters

This story was made possible by Farmers National Bank.

Your comments matter

"Monsters and aliens are digitally added to movies, why can't guns be added the same way?"



— Randy Smearman , in response to an article breaking down the use of prop guns in cinema , and incidents in which workers have been killed by them.



Registered readers can comment on a selection of our stories, and all readers can comment on stories on our Facebook page . Opinions published here do not reflect the views of Mahoning Matters .

Event of the day

Trick-or-Treat Movie Night is set for 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. tonight at the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County Michael Kusalaba Branch Library, 2815 Mahoning Ave., Youngstown.



Kids of all ages can trick-or-treat through the library and enjoy a holiday-themed PG-rated movie. Costumes are welcome. As of Sunday night, only three seats were still left. Go here to reserve yours .

To see what else is going on around the Mahoning Valley, check out Mahoning Matters’ event calendar here , or click the Events tab on the top menu at mahoningmatters.com .

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This story was originally published October 15, 2019 at 7:16 AM with the headline "YSU grad student’s work will be featured at jazz concert."