By Hevin Wilkey / Broadcast version by Farah Siddiqi reporting for the Kent State-Ohio News Connection Collaboration.

Some Ohio legislators want to have cameras at every highway rest stop by June 2031 to help limit human trafficking and make travelers feel safer. Last year, House Bill 473 would have given the Ohio Department of Transportation the timeline and funding to do just that.

But the bill didn't pass. It reached the House Homeland Security Committee and was declared dead once the session ended. Rep. Lauren McNally (D-Youngstown) expects to try again with a new bill soon.

Even if the bill doesn't pass again, out of 85 rest stops in Ohio, cameras will be installed at the 36 Gov. Mike DeWine plans to renovate and build by 2026. McNally expects the total price of the project to cost between $182,028 and $507,967.

"Specifically, Toledo, the Toledo Interchange area, is one of the number one places in the country for [human trafficking]," said McNally. "So anything that we can do to curb that trend we're always looking at, from a legal perspective at the State House and from a police perspective. But it also does more than that, like when we talk to the Turnpike Association, they've actually been able to solve crimes and stop crimes from happening."

She said the idea of the bill came from the Ohio Association for Justice's Women's Caucus Section specifically for human trafficking, but it also could be beneficial in other scenarios. McNally's examples included finding and securing a man with dementia and a woman forgetting her purse at a rest stop.

The bridge between McNally and the Women's Caucus was Mahoning County Juvenile Court magistrate Gina DeGenova, a former prosecutor who testified for the bill. DeGenova said she has worked on a handful of human trafficking cases and wants to help Ohio implement a solution. Six other Democratic state representatives co-sponsored HB473.

"With these cameras, we're able to capture what is going on when an actual person can't be there to witness it," DeGenova said. "Having a bird's eye view of what's going on in these locations is an extremely beneficial tool for law enforcement."

Some studies have found that cameras are one of the most effective ways to reduce crime. Swedish non-profit organization SNS learned through a series of randomized experiments that 20-25% less crime is committed when there is a surveillance camera present.

The ACLU of Ohio testified against the bill. They were concerned about the privacy of people who would end up on the recordings and if this bill would set a precedent for the government to further surveil people.

Chief lobbyist Gary Daniels said he wonders about the limitations of public records, who has access to these recordings and how long they will be kept. According to the bill, the Ohio Department of Transportation would decide. Depending on the new bill's language and how busy the ACLU of Ohio is, Daniels said he might testify against it again.

The cons of government and police surveillance on citizens' privacy outweigh the chances of deterring some crimes, Daniels said.

"If you're a human trafficker and you've got a van full of people or one person or something that you shouldn't be trafficking around, you're just going to start at the gas station an exit away or two exits away," Daniels said.

McNally understands this won't rid Ohio of crime, but it will help it.

"You slowly chip away and take away all their opportunities to do the crime," she said, "and maybe eventually you make it so hard that it does actually curb the crime itself."


This collaboration is produced in association with Media in the Public Interest and funded in part by the George Gund Foundation.


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Amid a severe teacher and staff shortage, school support workers and their union allies rallied Tuesday in Harrisburg for a better living wage.

The group said House Bill 777 would raise wages for more than 41,000 school staff members. More than 100 people gathered on the Capitol steps and met with lawmakers to gauge their support for the bill.

Aaron Chapin, president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association, said it would raise the pay for support staff in public schools to a living wage of at least $20 per hour.

"About 45% of our colleagues that are support professionals would benefit from raising the wage to $20 an hour," Chapin reported. "And unfortunately, so many of our educational support professionals, they're not able to make ends meet with the current salaries that they have. Many of them have a second job."

The House bill has 22 cosponsors, all Democrats. Chapin pointed out it would raise support staff wages by about $3 an hour. A survey by the association last fall found four of five Pennsylvania voters would support a $20 minimum wage for school support staff.

Marc Howshall, vice president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association's Education Support Professionals Division and a custodian for the Bangor Area School District, said better wages and working conditions are crucial. He supports the new push for higher pay and argued it is key to keeping workers in the profession.

"A living wage would coexist with $20 an hour, and it would impact more members," Howshall emphasized. "Through the surveys and talking to people, it came to fruition that's the case. It will help a lot more members to be able to survive, to be able to live a little more comfortable, instead of just at -- really, in some cases -- the edge of poverty."

Rudy Burruss, president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association's Education Support Professionals Division and a paraprofessional for the State College Area School District, works with students with disabilities and said he has had to juggle multiple jobs to make ends meet. While most workers he has spoken with said they chose the field for the love of the kids, Burruss stressed a raise would help them breathe a little easier.

"We've been working, we've been doing the job. We haven't been paid what we should be, but we work because we love the kids, and what we're doing," Burruss explained. "This will help ease some of that financial burden. People are making choices between loving their profession and loving the work they do, and trying to make ends meet."

A Missouri university is stepping up as America works to revive semiconductor manufacturing by helping train people to do the work.

It is estimated 300,000 engineers will be needed by 2030. Semiconductors power technology in health care, transportation, artificial intelligence and defense. Industry experts said a worker shortage leaves the U.S. dependent on foreign suppliers, which could threaten supply chains and national security.

Michael Moats, chair of the material science and engineering department at Missouri University of Science and Technology, said in response, the university is launching a new degree program.

"We're going to be starting a new semiconductor engineering program to train engineers who are specifically, have the skill sets to hit the ground running and work in these facilities," Moats explained.

Classes for the new program start this fall. The industry is seeing a major investment shift. President Donald Trump and the CEO of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, recently announced a $100 billion expansion at the company's Arizona chip manufacturing site, boosting its total investment to $165 billion.

In addition, President Joe Biden signed the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act in 2022, allocating $50 billion to revitalize U.S. semiconductor manufacturing and strengthen supply chains. Moats thinks students who decide to explore a career in the semiconductor industry will have plenty of options.

"We've been told by the companies, the kids -- the graduates for these programs -- are going to come out and have 10 job offers," Moats reported. "I think it's going to be an exciting time, and I think we're positioning our students well to be sought after when they graduate."

The semiconductor industry was valued at more than $600 billion in 2023 and is projected to surpass $1 trillion by 2030.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.


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Tennessee is working to get more people into college and career training programs, which the state says will be needed for good jobs in the future. And there's a lot more work to be done.

Tennessee ranks 46th among states for the percentage of working-age adults who have degrees or post-high-school career credentials.

Lumina Foundation, which tracks states' progress on higher ed, thinks 75% of adults will need degrees or credentials by 2040.

Steven Gentile, Ed.D, executive director of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission, said the state must improve to strengthen its workforce and drive economic growth. He points to several initiatives to help put college completion within reach.

"We have Tennessee Promise, Tennessee Reconnect, providing tuition-free education," said Gentile. "The governor announced the Tennessee Works scholarship, which will provide tuition-free education for our students at technical colleges."

The Lumina report found in 2023, just over 38% of the Tennessee labor force had a post-high school degree, certificate or certification, and wages at least 15% above the median earnings of a high school graduate.

Seventeen years ago, Lumina Foundation's first goal was for 60% of working-age adults to earn a degree or certification by 2025.

Tennessee's goal for this year has been 55%. But Gentile said the pandemic was a big setback that affected college enrollment nationwide.

"So, will we make 55%? I'm hopeful," said Gentile. "But we also knew that we were not going to stop with 2025 -- we need to be focused on attainment for 2030, 2035 as well."

Gentile said Tennessee leads the nation in per student funding for financial aid. The commission also has advisors out in the field helping adult learners navigate their way back to college.

"So, any adult who wants to retool - go back to college and get that first credential - they can do so and have it be tuition free, and making that happen," said Gentile. "And so, it's just continuously making sure that potential students know it's available."

Lumina has said reaching the 2040 goal will mean states doing more to make college more affordable, improve financial aid, and ensure that schools provide clear value to students and communities.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.




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