Welcome to the Weekly Roundup, where we bring you the top stories from today’s Dayton Daily News and major stories from the past week you may have missed.

This week, that includes our new civic education approach to Ohio politics reporting; our investigation into financial issues at the Dayton Art Institute; and a look at the life and legacy of local Black women who helped lead the “Six Triple Eight.”

Do you have a news tip or an issue you think our reporters should look into? Contact me at Josh.Sweigart@coxinc.com, or you can use our anonymous tipline.

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Inside Ohio Politics

Keeping readers informed about decisions being made by state leaders in Columbus and how they impact the Dayton region has always been a major mission of the Dayton Daily News. This year, we are taking that effort even further with our Inside Ohio Politics project.

• About the project: Inside Ohio Politics is an effort to not only cover what’s going on at the Statehouse, but provide in-depth explanation about how the political process works.

• Power players: The first part in our Inside Ohio Politics series explains how Statehouse committee leaders have extensive power and control over proposed legislation, and who from our area sits on influential committees. Read that story here.

• Committees: Go here for a list of all of our area lawmakers and what committees they sit on. If you are interested in a certain aspect of government, such as education policy or health policy, this is a guide on who from our area is helping shape those policies.

• Rules: New Ohio House GOP leadership has also changed the rules about how much advance notice the public gets about what’s being voted on. Go here for a story about those rules and concerns raised by Democrats.

• Ohio politics: There are lots of ways to keep up with the latest in our Ohio politics coverage. Our Statehouse reporter Avery Kreemer can be reached at 614-981-1422, on X, via email. Reach out to him with any suggestions on what to cover in our Inside Ohio Politics series. You can also sign up for our Ohio Politics newsletter. It’s free, curated, and delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday evening. And you can follow our Ohio Politics Facebook page.

DAI finances in trouble

The Dayton Art Institute has been spending more than it takes in for five straight years, creating financial challenges for the institution, including recent layoffs. In this story, reporter Samantha Wildow investigates the DAI’s finances.

• Pay raises: The DAI gave its two highest earners up to 80% salary increases the year after it saw a $2 million loss in revenue, Samantha’s reporting found.

• Public reporting: A deep dive by the Dayton Daily New into the publicly available tax forms filed by the nonprofit shows the museum has reported revenues and expenses to the IRS different than what has been presented to the public in at least two community reports since 2020.

• Revenue: The art institute gets its money from donations, ticket sales and grants. Severe weather made the DAI’s largest fundraiser, Oktoberfest, far less profitable in 2024. Plus COVID relief funds are running out. Total operating revenues have wavered between $4.2 million in 2022 and $5.8 million in 2021 and again in 2023.

• Expenses: Operating expenses have only gone up since 2020, according to the tax documents, which show expenses totaling $6.4 million in 2021 and later increasing to $8.6 million in 2023.

• Zoom out: The DAI is not alone. Over the past four years, average museum income across the United States has dropped 40%, according to the Washington, D.C.-based American Alliance of Museums.

• Endowment: One bright spot for the museum is its endowment has remained steady, according to tax documents, even during years of investment losses. In 2023, the most recent year of available data, the end of year balance was $22.4 million.

• Impact: In order to accommodate for some of its losses, the institute turned to some staff cuts in the last few months. But the programs, services and fundraising events will continue on with no noticeable difference to patrons, the institute said.

The Six Triple Eight

This Black History Month, we honor the courage and dedication of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, commonly known as the “Six Triple Eight.”

• Dayton trailblazer: The Six Triple Eight was led by Lt. Col. Charity Adams-Earley, who served as the highest-ranking Black female officer in World War II, then moved to Dayton where she served the community in many ways.

• The Six Triple Eight: The unit of 855 Black women was WWII’s first and only Women’s Army Corps unit of color. They were given six months to complete a backlog of 17 million pieces of mail but finished in three months. Despite adversity, racism and sexism, including living in segregated housing that lacked proper light and heat, the unit remarkably boosted morale for millions of troops.

• Legacy: In this story, reporter Russell Florence Jr. talks to Earley’s children, the family of Yellow Springs native Ruth Elizabeth Wright who also served in the Six Triple Eight, as well as historians and others about their lasting legacy.

• Hollywood takes notice: Tyler Perry’s “The Six Triple Eight,” Starring a remarkable Kerry Washington as Earley, is among the nominees for the 97th Academy Awards.