Fracking in Ohio’s only national forest and more news from the states

Good evening. Tonight we begin in Ohio, where the federal government leased almost 3,000 acres for fracking in Wayne National Forest. 

In Montana, a federal judge ruled that the state’s new election law to ban AI deepfakes violates the First Amendment. In Alaska, mail trouble canceled some absentee ballots from rural communities, prompting a policy change ahead of the general election. 

Across the country, the consternation over data center construction has become a flashpoint in this year’s congressional races. Tribal communities in the West are confronting issues after being particularly hard-hit this wildfire season. 

While you’re running around this weekend, consider subscribing to our Stories From The States podcast, where States Newsroom newsletter authors discuss the biggest issues of the week and we go in-depth on one topic. This week: children in the immigration court system.

Nearly 3,000 acres of Ohio’s only national forest were leased this week for more than $11 million by the Bureau of Land Management to out-of-state companies for fracking, Ohio Capital Journal reports. 

The BLM auctioned off 40 parcels totaling 2,776 acres in Wayne National Forest for $11.09 million during a quarterly oil and gas lease sale. 

Nathan Johnson, senior attorney for the Ohio Environmental Council, said the lease sale violates important environmental laws meant to protect endangered wildlife and the quality of the environment.

“The Wayne is Ohio’s only National Forest and one of the state’s best places for outdoor recreation,” Johnson said. “Fracking the Wayne will pollute the air, harm local streams, and industrialize the landscape. We are preparing to challenge yesterday’s leasing in federal court.”

Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall established deeper roots than previously disclosed in Sarasota, Florida, where he had a vacation home that he traveled to on official business and said he used for visiting family, Kansas Reflector reports.

Marshall and his wife put down roots in Sarasota, hosting fundraising events, obtaining real estate and fishing licenses and filing paperwork from the coastal Florida town while the senator worked in Washington, D.C., and claimed Kansas as home. 

The Republican senator’s residence has been fodder for campaign attacks as he faces a midterm election against the Rev. Adam Hamilton, a Kansas City-area United Methodist pastor, who Marshall has pointed out owns four homes.

Marshall has faced persistent scrutiny throughout his time in the Congress for his transience in Kansas. 

The family appears to own more valuable assets in Florida than Kansas, paying roughly five times as much in property taxes in the Sunshine state than the Sunflower state during Marshall’s time in the U.S. Senate, according to county property records in both states.

A federal judge ruled in favor of a political action committee accused of breaking a new Montana election law regulating the use of AI deepfakes this week, The Daily Montanan reports. 

U.S. District Court Judge Susan Watters said that the law violates the First Amendment and infringes on the most protected speech of all – political speech.  

The case centers on mailers that were sent out in Montana before the June primary that used AI to alter images of candidates, and several lawmakers targeted by the political action committee filed complaints with the Commissioner of Political Practices.

Watters’ ruling only applies to this particular case, and does not impact the law for the rest of the state.

Minnesota: Christian Castro, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who shot a man through the door of a north Minneapolis home in January, was released from jail, where he was held for state-level charges.

Pennsylvania: An Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid near a construction site earlier this month highlighted the difficulty of getting quick and accurate information on ICE activity.

Michigan: The trial of former state House Speaker Lee Chatfield, a Republican, for alleged financial crimes is expected to begin next week — a high-stakes case in the final months of Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel’s time in office. 

New Jersey: The Trump administration dropped an appeal that attempted to again block federal funding for the Gateway tunnel, a $16 billion project to add new rail tunnels under the Hudson River, and other regional projects.  

Virginia: The state faces a funding gap of at least $1.7 billion for highway maintenance work, with roads falling into disrepair creating an economic and safety liability, officials said. 

Louisiana: Faculty at state universities from certain countries will soon have to seek state permission to do their research under a new, far-reaching law that dramatically increases surveillance of researchers. 

Nebraska: The number of Nebraskans receiving public food assistance has dropped since the Trump administration's stricter eligibility and work requirements. Advocates are concerned and pressure is weighing on private pantries and food banks.

North Dakota: Protests against the Dakota Access oil pipeline left a ripple effect for Indigenous people to stand up for their communities, Standing Rock Sioux tribal leaders said at a renewable energy event that included reflections on the demonstrations a decade ago.

Indiana: The state Supreme Court is considering a dispute over power plant billing that could upend legal precedent allowing groups to sue on behalf of their members.

About 1 in 30 absentee ballots cast in Alaska’s August primary election were rejected for procedural errors, according to data published this month by the Alaska Division of Elections.

But the disqualification rate in parts of rural Alaska was significantly higher than the state as a whole. In House District 40, which covers the North Slope and Northwest Arctic Borough, 32 of 81 absentee ballots — almost 40% — were rejected. 

Seventy-five ballots cast in person at absentee polling stations set up by the Division of Elections in rural communities failed to reach the regional office in Nome before Aug. 31, the deadline to be counted. 

Michelle Sparck, director of Get Out the Native Vote, called the issue a “slap in the face.” Her organization has been working to promote absentee voting as a way to boost turnout among Alaska Natives who live in rural Alaska.

On Wednesday, the Division of Elections announced that it is changing its policy for the general election and for upcoming rural school board elections to prevent a repeat of the problem. 

Read more from Alaska Beacon.

The rare 2026 issue that draws huge support from Republicans and Democrats in Congress is the same one that’s mobilized many Americans: restrictions on giant data centers, States Newsroom’s D.C. Bureau reports. 

Before leaving Washington for an extended recess this week, the U.S. House voted 417-3 on a bill that requires states to consider having data centers using large amounts of electricity pay the full additional cost of that generation, as well as transmission and distribution upgrades that are needed.

But there’s more to be done, say data center critics, and they’re finding there is no easy or even obvious answer about what to do next.

Senate leaders have not said how or if they’ll take up the House bill, or any other data center legislation. And the biggest obstacle for federal action appears to be President Donald Trump, who has expressed support for the industry. 

The midterm elections could deliver a verdict. The future of data centers has become a flashpoint in this year’s congressional races, woven into the debate about affordability, artificial intelligence and corporate influence on government.

More data center coverage:

A federal appeals court Friday struck down the Trump administration’s policy to quickly send noncitizens to countries they are not from, finding that immigrants must have an opportunity to challenge their removal if they fear for their safety, the D.C. Bureau reports.

The decision largely upheld a Boston federal judge’s February ruling that found the Department of Homeland Security's policy unlawful. But the immigration officers can still conduct third-country removals if they follow the proper procedures, such as adequate notice and an opportunity for an immigrant to raise a fear-based claim to that country of removal.

Once rare, third-country removals have spiked under the second Trump administration, which has entered into partnerships with several countries, some with human rights concerns.

A coalition of civil rights groups and union organizations Friday sued the Trump administration to prevent the deployment of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to polling locations during November’s midterm elections, the bureau reports. 

The suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia is the second this month, following comments from top Trump officials citing a federal policy to allow ICE officers to enter polling locations in certain circumstances to conduct immigration enforcement.

The groups argue the policy violates the federal law that prohibits “armed men” at election sites, and also causes voter intimidation, which is barred under the Voting Rights Act.

More from the D.C. Bureau: Judge says case challenging Trump’s anti-weaponization fund ‘still alive and kicking’

Fires in the West hit tribal communities particularly hard this year, Stateline reports. 

Tribal leaders across Washington and Oregon told Stateline that this year’s record-breaking wildfires burned timber that they rely on for income, threatened food sources and waterways, and harmed the health of their communities. Power outages left families without food they’ve hunted or gathered and frozen.

Hotter, drier conditions driven by climate change already have made wildfires nationwide more frequent and intense, a trend that is expected to accelerate. Substandard housing and higher rates of acute and chronic underlying health conditions, including respiratory illnesses, make tribal communities more vulnerable during and after the fires.  

More from Stateline:

An attorney who represents many unaccompanied children in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody says federal agencies are using children to trap and detain the adults who come to ICE detention centers to pick the kids up. It’s left many families scrambling and trying to figure out when they’ll see each other again.

In Episode 46, you’ll hear from the managing attorney with the Galveston-Houston Immigrant Representation Project. She has represented many detained adults and children in their immigration cases.  

Listen to Stories From The States below, or subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Youtube.

Minnesota faith leaders gathered Thursday at the State Capitol pledging to protect the right to vote and to have votes properly counted, Minnesota Reformer reports. 

“We don’t get to just vote as normal because, unfortunately, this is not a normal election. We have already witnessed the numerous attacks on our democracy,” said JaNaé Bates Imari, the co-executive director of ISAIAH, a progressive ecumenical religious group. “We protect our elections, and we make sure that we are clear that we’re going to act free in order to stay free in this state.”  

The phrase “act free to stay free” has become a rallying cry among Minnesota democracy defenders this year.

President Donald Trump’s administration has repeatedly sought to intervene in the voting and tabulation process, despite the U.S. Constitution’s clarity that this is a state, not a federal, role.

At the Capitol, faith leaders said they will use lessons from Operation Metro Surge to defend Minnesota’s election integrity. Last winter, churches, mosques and synagogues and their clergy played a key role in protecting, feeding and housing immigrants.