Paige Pfleger

Reporter

Paige Pfleger is a reporter for WOSU. She's especially interested in the intersection of public health and criminal justice. Before joining the staff of WOSU, she worked in the newsrooms of NPR, Vox, Michigan Radio, WHYY and The Tennessean.

She spent three years in Philadelphia covering health, science, and gender, and her work has appeared nationally in The Washington Post, Marketplace, Atlas Obscura and more. As a freelancer, Paige traveled to Puerto Rico to cover how the island’s agricultural community dealt with damage from Hurricane Maria.

Ways to Connect

Coronavirus In Ohio: Some Nursing Homes Voluntarily Taking More COVID-19 Patients

By • Aug 17, 2020
Paige Pfleger / WOSU

A Franklin County nursing home has the largest number of cumulative COVID-19 cases of any long-term care facility in the state. That’s because it is one of several facilities voluntarily admitting COVID-19 patients.

Columbus Leaders Announce Funding, New Unit To Tackle Youth Gun Violence

By • Aug 12, 2020
Mayor Andrew Ginther tours a former supermarket that the city is turning into a free market and pharmacy in Linden.
Debbie Holmes / WOSU

Columbus leaders on Wednesday announced new initiatives aimed at stopping the summer's spike in gun violence.

Columbus Police Will Stop Publicly Releasing Names Of Young Crime Victims

By • Aug 11, 2020
Columbus Police vehicles outside the division headquarters.
David Holm / WOSU

Columbus Division of Police has changed its policy on identifying juveniles who are victims of crimes. 

Two Tests, Two Results: Explaining Gov. DeWine's COVID Testing Confusion

By • Aug 7, 2020
Gov. Mike DeWine gets a coronavirus test during his briefing on June 23, 2020.
Office of Gov. Mike DeWine

Gov. Mike DeWine's coronavirus testing experience this week – in which he came back positive for COVID-19 in one test then negative in a second test just hours later – has caused a lot of questions surrounding the reliability and accuracy of testing. 

Columbus Taking A $200 Million Loss In Tourism This Year

By • Aug 6, 2020
Cars are absent from 3rd Street in downtown Columbus on May 6, 2020, in the middle of Ohio's stay-at-home order.
David Holm / WOSU

Columbus has taken a $200 million hit in tourism since the public health order limiting mass gatherings, a new report from Experience Columbus shows. 

Gov. Mike DeWine Tests Negative For COVID-19, After Positive Result

By & • Aug 6, 2020
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, left, and his wife Fran, walk into the governor's residence on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2020, in Bexley, Ohio.
Jay LaPrete / Associated Press

Gov. Mike DeWine announced Thursday evening that he tested negative for COVID-19, after a rapid test earlier in the day gave a positive result. 

Coronavirus In Ohio: Amy Acton Resigns As Governor's Chief Health Advisor

By & • Aug 4, 2020
Ohio Department of Health director Amy Acton gives daily briefings on the coronavirus with Gov. Mike DeWine.
Office of Gov. Mike DeWine

Dr. Amy Acton has resigned from her role as chief health advisor to Gov. Mike DeWine, two months after stepping down from her role as director of the Ohio Department of Health.

Racist Graffiti Temporarily Stops Construction At Facebook's New Albany Campus

By • Aug 4, 2020
This July 16, 2013 file photo shows a sign at Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif.
Ben Margot / Associated Press

Construction on Facebook's billion-dollar campus in New Albany is being put on hold after racist graffiti was discovered at the site. All construction workers are being required to undergo anti-bias training. 

270,000 Ohio Unemployment Claims On Hold Amid Fraud Investigation

By • Aug 3, 2020
Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services in downtown Columbus.
Ohio Public Radio

Ohio Department of Job and Family Services has put 270,000 unemployment claims on hold while they investigate possible fraud.

Ohio State Welcomes New Class Of First Year Medical Students

By • Aug 3, 2020
Aerial view of The Oval on Ohio State University's campus
Ohio State University

Ohio State University College of Medicine is welcoming its new class of medical students on Monday. 

Marysville Honda Plant Forces Office Employees To Work The Assembly Line

By • Jul 29, 2020
The Honda Marysville Auto Plant is shown, Wednesday, March 18, 2020, in Marysville, Ohio.
Tony Dejak / Associated Press

Assembly line workers at the Honda manufacturing plant in Marysville have some new colleagues: office workers. COVID-related staffing shortages at the plant have caused the company to require some of its white-collar employees to work on the line. 

Columbus Pledges $7 Million To Buy Laptops For 20,000 Students

By • Jul 22, 2020
Columbus City Schools Board of Education
David Holm / WOSU

With all Columbus City Schools students attending at least some of their classes online in the fall, the city is using $7 million of federal coronavirus relief money to supply students with Chromebooks.

Columbus Funds Independent Review Of How Police Handled George Floyd Protests

By • Jul 22, 2020
Columbus Police confront protesters at a demonstration downtown on June 2, 2020.
Paige Pfleger / WOSU

Columbus leaders announced a $250,000 independent review of the police department and city's response to recent protests in Columbus. 

Columbus Leaders Seek To Put Civilian Review Board On November Ballot

By • Jul 20, 2020
Columbus Police vehicles outside the division headquarters.
David Holm / WOSU

Columbus voters will have a chance to weigh in on police oversight in November. City leaders on Monday announced a charter amendment that would create a Civilian Review Board, a major goal of police reformers.

Who Is Actually Enforcing Face Mask Mandates In Columbus?

By • Jul 17, 2020
A sign on face mask requirements at Sierra Trading Post in Easton.
Darrin McDonald / WOSU

Mayor Andrew Ginther signed an executive order requiring masks this month, and Columbus City Council passed legislation that added consequences for violators. Franklin County is also under mask mandates from both the County Board of Comissioners and the Ohio Department of Health.

But who is in charge of enforcement?

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