Stories

What Pepperoni Rolls Reveal About Ohio’s Most Overlooked Region

"The pepperoni roll, really, is a poem: self-contained, complete, economical in every sense of the word." Courtney Balestier, “The Poetry of Pepperoni Rolls” Pepperoni, bread and...

Screaming for Ice Cream? The Midwest Has You Covered

There is no better way to beat the heat of a summer day than with a cool scoop of vanilla ice cream — potentially...

The Highs and Lows of Midwest Voter Turnout

The Midwest is often portrayed as one homogeneous region — “Flyover Country,” a part of America synonymous with corn fields, simple niceties and a...

“This Is My Table”: Kay Xiong Is Bridging Gaps Through Authentic Asian Food

As the owner of Kay’s Table, Kay Xiong is on a mission: to bridge different communities through authentic Asian cuisine. But to build this bridge, Xiong had to cross her own — a journey of hope, hardship and everything in-between. From fleeing Laos at the height of the Vietnam War to defining her own Hmong American identity, this is Xiong’s story.
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Confluence: Stewarding Cleveland’s Water

The Great Lakes are one of the largest freshwater systems in the world, accounting for 21% of the world's surface freshwater and 84% of...

Follow the Cranberry Road (A 50-Mile Trail in Wisconsin, the Cranberry Capital of the World)

“I don't really need to go to school, because I'm going to be a cranberry farmer.” For some who grew up on cranberry farms in...

From Iowa to England, the World’s Newest Cloud Is Challenging the Status Quo

The Cloud Appreciation Society founder Gavin Pretor-Pinney first received a photo of a peculiar wave-like cloud formation from a woman in Cedar Rapids, Iowa,...

On its 120th Anniversary, Ford Looks to Shift Gears

New York and Sinatra. Chicago and deep dish. Toledo and glass. Most American cities have distinct personalities that revolve around the markets, meals or...

“Urbexers” Are Documenting America’s Post-industrial Past

The United States is littered with abandoned buildings, especially across faded industrial cities of the Midwest.  As the success of manufacturing giants like Detroit, Cincinnati,...

Strokes of Color: Celebrating the Art of Toledo’s Latino Cultures

In the heart of South Toledo’s Broadway Corridor, strokes of color adorn the otherwise nondescript structures of streetside storefronts … Railings, window frames, doors and cornices boast brilliant blues, deep reds, pale yellows and an array of pinks and purples.

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