MANSFIELD — Michael Napier was a fifth-grade student when he met an Ontario police officer name Randy Hutchinson in a DARE class. “Ever since then, I knew I wanted to be a police officer,” Napier said Thursday. Hutchinson is now the mayor of Ontario. And that youngster he influenced in the classroom is now the […]
City Council
Posted inNews
New assistant chief selected for Mansfield Police Department
MANSFIELD — Lt. Michael Napier has had many different roles during his 18 years at the Mansfield Police Department. On Thursday, the 40-year-old Napier will take on another new one when he is sworn in as the department’s new assistant chief. The selection was announced Monday evening by Mayor Jodie Perry and police Chief Jason […]
Posted inNews
Mansfield City Council to vote on moratorium for cannabis dispensaries
MANSFIELD — Ohio voters in November made recreational cannabis legal in the Buckeye State. But that same citizen initiative approved by 57 percent of voters also gave local governments the right to decide for themselves whether to permit marijuana dispensaries in their communities. — Shelby City Council, Lexington Village Council and Madison Township trustees have […]
Posted inCommunity Development
Tunnel beneath Trimble Road for B&O Bike Trail connector set this summer
MANSFIELD — The City of Mansfield is ready to tunnel under Trimble Road this summer, a project that will close the busy four-lane street for 45 days. City Council on Wednesday approved seeking bids for the $1.25 million tunnel project that will allow bicyclists and pedestrians to safely cross beneath the busy, street when an […]
Posted inNews
Jodie Perry on Mansfield: ‘This city — our city — is on the rise’
MANSFIELD — Jodie Perry focused on growth, infrastructure and public safety when she campaigned to become Mansfield’s new mayor in 2023. So it came as no shock the city’s new CEO focused her first “State of the City” thoughts on those three topics. It may have come as more of a surprise that Perry, who […]
Posted inNews
Mansfield Board of Control OKs $166,125 on aerial mapping needed for GIS system
MANSFIELD — Bob Bianchi said Tuesday his office uses city-wide aerial imaging 50 times every day. “Somebody in our office is probably using it right now and I am not exaggerating,” the City of Mansfield engineer said after the Board of Control approved spending $166,125 on a contract with Woolpert Inc. from Columbus to remap […]
Posted inNews
Mansfield City Council approves finance office staffing changes
MANSFIELD — Kelly Blankenship said Tuesday she has ideas for what the Mansfield Finance Director’s office can do. Now that City Council has blessed her sweeping reconfiguration of the office staff, the newly elected city financial leader is ready to move forward with those ideas. It’s not her first time in the finance director’s position, […]
Posted inNews
Growth, infrastructure and safety: New Mansfield mayor’s budget reflects priorities
MANSFIELD — Mayor Jodie Perry said a budget is a monetary reflection of priorities, which the new leader will unveil for the first time Tuesday during a City Council meeting. Less than two months after taking office, Perry and Finance Director Kelly Blankenship will present the administration’s permanent 2024 spending plan. It will replace the […]
Posted inOpen Source
Open Source: What is going on at the old YMCA site on Park Avenue West?
OPEN SOURCE — We published this story in response to a reader question submitted through our Open Source platform. Do you have a question you want our reporters to answer? Click here to submit it. Question: What’s going on at the old YMCA site on Park Avenue West? There is orange construction fencing around the site. […]
Posted inNews
New Mansfield public works director highlights plans for the city’s parks
MANSFIELD — Louis Andres knows a few things about public parks. And it seems clear the City of Mansfield is going to benefit from the expertise of the man who has worked in the parks and recreation field for more than 40 years, beginning his career in 1978 with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources as a […]