The northbound lanes of Interstate 75, about five miles south of Findlay, were shut down at around 6 o’clock Thursday night for a semi fire.

We couldn’t get too close to the scene but we spoke to a fire crew leaving the scene who said 40,000 pounds of watermelons perished in the fire.

In the picture above you can see a bunch of the charred fruit.

Other than that there were no injuries.

The driver of the semi was able to disconnect the trailer from the cab.

The trailer was destroyed but it appears the cab was fine.

The public is being invited to attend a memorial service for a local Veteran who has no family left to attend.

The service for Air Force Veteran Frederick Jerald “Jerry” Vossler will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at Coldren-Crates Funeral Home in Findlay

The service will include military funeral honors performed by the Hancock County Veterans Memorial Squad.

Vossler was 94-years-old.

Read Jerry’s obituary by clicking here. 

Kings Island is going cashless.

The change will begin in the middle of July.

That means it will only accept credit, debit or online payments.

There will be kiosks at the park where people who don’t have card or online-payment capabilities can transfer cash to a card to be used at the park.

This plan will allow people to go to contactless with transactions.

Get more by clicking here. 

The Hardin County Sheriff’s Office says a man from Fostoria was found dead in the county.

The sheriff’s office identified the man as Robert B. Mays, 29, of Fostoria.

Investigators say the man’s death was a result of homicide, and it happened on Wednesday night in Buck Township, in southeast Hardin County.

An autopsy is being performed by the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office.

The Sheriff’s Office said it does not believe that any local residents have reason to be concerned with a subject or subjects being at large in the area, which would present a concern for their safety.

Sheriff’s Investigators, being assisted by Ohio BCI & I and the Hardin County Coroner’s Office are following all potential leads as they are received.

The Hardin County Prosecutor’s Office is also assisting with the investigation to ensure thorough case development.

Anyone who may have information about the case should contact the Hardin County Sheriff’s Office at 419-673-1268 or the Sheriff’s Tip Line at 419-675-8475.

The Hancock County Sheriff’s Office is warning residents that a popular scam is popping up again.

The sheriff’s office says, in one hour on Thursday, it received at least five separate calls referencing a scammer claiming to be with the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office.

The caller state’s that you have a warrant for your arrest and you need to post bond by purchasing gift cards.

The sheriff’s office reiterates that they will not contact you directly in reference to you having a possible warrant and will not ask you to post a bond by purchasing gift cards.

People who receive a call of this nature should simply hang up the phone and never give out any personal information.

A McComb native who now coaches in the NFL is giving back to his hometown community in a big way.

Craig Aukerman graduated from McComb High School in 1995 and was a standout on the football and basketball teams.

He graduated from the University of Findlay in 1999 and went on to coach football for several college programs and NFL teams.

Aukerman is entering his 12th season coaching in the NFL and is currently the special teams coordinator and assistant head coach for the Tennessee Titans.

He and his wife founded the Aukerman Family Foundation to help support student-athletes in his hometown area.

This weekend, Craig is presenting a free football camp for families at McComb High School as well as a charity golf outing followed by an auction.

The goal is to raise enough money through these events to fund two scholarships; one for a McComb student and one for another Hancock County student.

The events for the weekend are sold out, but you can get more information on the Aukerman Family Foundation by clicking here and the AUKtion items by clicking here.

The Findlay City Planning Commission has reviewed and approved a site plan for R+L Carriers.

R+L Carriers is a family-owned, freight shipping company built on the idea that a satisfied customer is their number one priority.

Tim Mayle, Director of Economic Development, says the company’s values make them an ideal fit for Findlay.

“We first began working with the site selector for R+L Carriers before COVID-19 emerged.”

“We reviewed several sites with R+L and ultimately landed on the site east of McLane and Campbell Soup.”

Mayle said R+L was introduced to the “Findlay Formula” in the spring.

R+L’s development team met in the Economic Development office with the Mayor, Safety/Service Director, City Engineer, Hancock Wood Electric, KNG Energy, Director of Regional Planning and the Wood County Building Inspector.

“I told Tim that I wished every community embraced development the way Findlay did,” said Stan Richards, Director of Construction for R+L.

“The team was prepared to answer all of our questions to insure that we were preparing a site plan that would meet the requirements of the City of Findlay.”

The City Planning Commission approval allows R+L to continue down the path of planning and ultimately construction.

Construction is contingent on R+L Carriers receiving permitting and pending approval of State of Ohio and Jobs Ohio incentives.

You might not even know you’re looking for it — but chances are you’ll find it — at the Findlay First Edition garage sale fundraiser.

Senior Abby Powell says they have a little bit of everything up for sale.

The garage sale, which couldn’t be held last year because of the pandemic, is the group’s biggest fundraiser of the year and covers a portion of the costs related to putting on productions.

The garage sale begins Thursday at the Findlay High School cafeteria with an early bird sale in which people can pay $5 to be among the first to check out the items for sale.

The early bird hours on Thursday are 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Friday hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and the hours Saturday are 8 a.m. to noon.

(picture courtesy of Abby Powell)

A man was flown to a hospital after crashing his motorcycle just outside the Findlay city limits.

The Hancock County Sheriff’s Office says the crash happened at 10:18 Tuesday night on Township Road 77 near Township Road 81 in Liberty Township.

The sheriff’s office says Karl Miller II, 31, of Lima, was driving his Harley Davidson north on Township Road 77 when he lost control and went into a ditch before coming to rest facing southbound on Township Road 77.

Miller was flown by medical helicopter to a Toledo hospital.

The sheriff’s office says a passenger on the motorcycle suffered minor injuries in the crash, which remains under investigation.

Ohio’s Vax-A-Million campaign didn’t improve Ohio’s overall vaccination rate.

That’s what a new study from the Boston University School of Medicine claims, citing data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr. Allan J. Walkey, professor of medicine, says the study shows state-based lotteries are “of limited value” when it comes to increasing vaccine administration across the country.

Researchers found that after the lottery was launched Ohio saw an increase in those 18 and older but that spike was consistent across the country.

the governor’s office is calling the study flawed, saying that Ohio’s numbers compare those 16 and older and they saw a significant increase due to Vax-a-Million.

One of the Vax-A-Million winners is from Findlay.