Nora Igelnik

Journalist

Featured

Some of my favorite articles or productions.

Ideastream Public Media •

Affordable housing advocates and high-end developers discuss the need for more apartments

Driving around different neighborhoods in Northeast Ohio, you may have noticed new, high-end apartment buildings. There is The Ascent in Cedar-Fairmount and the Raye Apartments in the Van Aken district.There's the Intro complex across from the West Side Market in Ohio City, and the seven story Welleon apartment complex now towers over the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood.These modern, attractive buildings have the chance to bring more foot traffic and residents to areas that can benefit from revita...
The Columbus Dispatch •

Columbus senior citizens are making history through competitive gaming

In the Game Arena at 1556 N. High St., members of Senior Esports USA sat at their high-tech desks. Colorful gaming PCs flashed lights by their feet as the seniors chatted with each other, played video games and prepared for the energetic event of the day: a draft.These aren't high school or college seniors. These seniors are lean, mean, gaming machines – and they're living off retirement funds.On Aug. 18, a team of 11 senior citizens were drafted to represent the United States during the Global...
The Columbus Dispatch •

What makes an Ohio State dive bar? Look no further than the walls

The long-cherished Bier Stube stood at 1479 N. High St. from 1966 to 2024, cementing itself as one of the most iconic dive bars near Ohio State University's campus.

The bar was small and cramped. To find a seat on a Friday night was like betting money on a rigged slot machine, especially as the bar neared its final days.

Customers' shoes may have stuck to the floor with each step, and the residue from cigarettes was eternally stuck to the walls from years of indoor smoking. The bar was home to...
The Columbus Dispatch •

How one Columbus couple turned an events site into a national ticketing company

In 2005, a young couple stood on the streets of a then-busy downtown Columbus passing out flyers.

Just as fast as someone reluctantly grabbed one flyer, another would be tossed, slowly drifting to the ground.

The couple was not deterred. They picked up the discarded flyers and added them back into the stack.

They were promoting their new networking and events website, Columbus Black, not knowing that a grassroots initiative to connect the Black community with events and job opportunities woul...
The Columbus Dispatch •

Ohio State Fair butter cow theme unveiled, honoring America 250

Butter belongs on toast and in baked goods. With a little open-mindedness and a lot of hard work, butter can also transform into a revered farm animal for many Ohioans.The 2026 butter cow theme at the Ohio State Fair has finally been revealed after much anticipation and excitement.A large crowd gathered July 28 at the newly renovated Dairy Products Building to see this year's butter cow and calf, as well as the 2026 America 250 theme of other sculptures. The theme reflects the celebration of the...
The Columbus Dispatch •

Despite high cost of childcare, Ohio subsidy program faces low adoption

A family-owned pediatric dentistry office in Mahoning County, Melissa Mullane Padgett, DDS, employs mostly women, the majority of whom are moms.

The practice is one of only 22 employers in the state participating in a little-known childcare subsidy program: Child Care Cred.

The program started as a one-year, $10 million pilot, with employer applications closing in May. But low participation has left funds available for spending, and the program now runs through June 2027.

As it stands now, fe...
The Columbus Dispatch •

Highway to hot sauce? Semi leaks Frank's RedHot onto I-71

As if the heat wave wasn't bad enough, some drivers unexpectedly dipped their wheels into a pool of Frank's RedHot.

A semitrailer carrying 40,000 pounds of Franks's Redhot hot sauce began leaking the sticky substance while traveling north on Interstate 71 around 5 p.m. June 30 in northern Delaware County. The truck eventually got off at the Pilot truck stop around the U.S. 36 and State Route 37 exit.

"Our crews were out on the highway trying to track it down and actually were able to follow th...
The Columbus Dispatch •

Crew watch party brings city together for Team USA win in World Cup match

Upon entering the Columbus Crew's Soccer Celebration watch party at the John F. Wolfe Columbus Commons for the 2026 FIFA World Cup game between the USA and Australia men's teams, the smell of beer filled the air, along with the voices of hundreds of excited fans.Columbus was more than ready to celebrate, and the U.S. Men's National Team delivered by beating Australia 2-0 in this long-anticipated 2026 FIFA World Cup game. The free event saw hundreds join to eat Jeni's Ice Cream and other local fo...
WOSU Public Media •

What’s next for passenger rail in central Ohio?

Passenger rail in central Ohio may be rolling up the track sooner than many expect.The expansion of Amtrak trains in central Ohio has been talked about and hoped for since Columbus eliminated its passenger rail in the late 70s. Now, two lines — the 3C&D, representative of Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Dayton, and the Midwest Connect, linking Chicago, Fort Wayne, Columbus and Pittsburgh — may see trains running by the early 2030s, or within the next several years. Northeast Ohio also has a...
WOSU Public Media •

Former National Afro-American Museum director is concerned about its future after layoffs

A former Ohio History Connection director is concerned about the future of the National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center in Wilberforce after she, along with the museum’s other managers, were among 30 employees laid off in October, along with three other employees who had their hours cut.Jerolyn Barbee, who worked for 17 years for the private, non-profit history center and had been assistant director of the Afro-American Museum since 2015, said she is worried about the state of programmi...
Transitions •

Czechia’s Baby Bust - Transitions

Just a few years ago, the country had one of Europe’s highest fertility rates. Those figures have plummeted. Demographers and young Czechs share their insights on why. 

For Katerina, a 25-year-old married doctoral student living in Prague, her long-time dream of living on a small farm with four children seemed almost plausible.

That was, until the reality of today’s economic situation in the country set in. By 2022, the Czech Republic saw rising consumer prices, with inflation reaching over 15...
Transitions •

Truth at a Cost - Transitions

You have reached a premium content area of Transitions. To read this entire article please login if you are already a Transitions subscriber.
Not a subscriber?


Subscribe today for access to:
Full access to the website, including premium articles videos, country reports and searchable archives (containing over 25,000 articles).

You have reached a premium content area of Transitions. To read this entire article please login if you are already a Transitions subscriber.

Not a subscriber...
The Lantern Projects •

Brotherhood and parties or violations and sanctions: Inside the hazing culture of Ohio State’s fraternities

In September 2022, the Student Conduct office within Ohio State’s Office of Student Life received an anonymous report alleging hazing had taken place on Alpha Tau Zeta’s property, specifically inside the fraternity’s house at 153 E. 14th Ave. Credit: Carly Damon | Asst. Photo Editor










Ohio State’s chapter of FarmHouse International Fraternity, Alpha Tau Zeta, is a fraternity committed to shaping men into intellectual, moral, spiritual and physi...
The Lantern •

Rear View Mirror: The early seasons of ‘Shameless’ are shamelessly brilliant

Rear View Mirror is a monthly TV show column that examines the cultural influence and societal reflection of the “New Golden Age of Television,” prioritizing shows from the late 1990s to the mid-2010s.

Disclaimer: There may be slight spoilers ahead

“Shameless,” one of Showtime’s most acclaimed television series, is a dark comedy that expertly navigates the fine line between humor and heartbreak.

“Shameless” — which ran for 11 seasons from 2011 to 2021 — follows the Gallagher family, led by al...
The Lantern •

Rear View Mirror: Why Samantha Jones and Charlotte York are the true stars of ‘Sex and the City’

Rear View Mirror is a monthly TV show column that examines the cultural influence and societal reflection of the “New Golden Age of Television,” prioritizing shows from the late 1990s to the mid-2010s.

Disclaimer: There may be slight spoilers ahead

HBO’s seminal “Sex and the City” is one of the most influential and iconic television shows in recent history.

“Sex and the City” follows the life of 30-something Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), who writes a weekly sex column for the fictio...
The Lantern •

Takeaways from university President Ted Carter Jr.’s sit-down interview with The Lantern

University President Ted Carter Jr. visited The Lantern’s newsroom Wednesday to discuss some of Ohio State’s most pressing issues, including university space standards, the unfilled vice president and provost positions, his recent raise and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

Space standards

Following a sharp increase in on-campus political activism last year due to the war in Gaza, Carter and Melissa Shivers, senior vice president of Student Life, issued two separate university-wide emails regar...
The Lantern •

Rear View Mirror: How ‘The Sopranos’ showcased society’s reluctance to change

Rear View Mirror is a monthly TV show column that examines the cultural influence and societal reflection of the “New Golden Age of Television,” prioritizing shows from the late 1990s to the mid-2010s.

Disclaimer: There may be slight spoilers ahead.

“The Sopranos” is arguably one of the most highly regarded television shows of all time. The program’s premiere put HBO on the map in 1999, establishing it as a network willing to redefine the boundaries programming can cross concerning touchy subj...
Ideastream Public Media •

Ohio universities developing ‘intellectual diversity centers

Universities across the country have faced scrutiny recently over a perceived liberal bias on campuses, ranging from issues related to the Israel-Hamas war to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.Some lawmakers, like Ohio Senator Jerry Cirino, a Republican from Kirtland, see universities as places where students are immersed in liberal teachings without being exposed to other viewpoints.That is why Cirino and fellow Republican Ohio Senator Rob McColley drafted Senate Bill 117, which was added to and...
Ideastream Public Media •

An intern’s epiphany: Local news is alive and well

Beyond the concrete work experience I have gained in the past two months as the “Sound of Ideas” intern at Ideastream Public Media, I have had an epiphany of sorts.Walk into any journalism course at a university these days, and you will hear professors gently telling their students that, frankly, the news industry as we know it is falling apart. And we students should be prepared for the hardships that come with seeking a job in the journalism field.There may be some truth to that. The news indu...
The Lantern •

Supreme Court rules outdoor sleeping bans are permissible; Ohio State faculty experts and Columbus community leaders weigh in

In a 6-3 decision divided along ideological lines, the Court’s conservative majority upheld a ban on camping outdoors in Grants Pass, Oregon, which has been trying to address issues of homelessness in its community where there is only one homeless shelter. The Court struck down a previous ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which stated banning a person from sleeping outside when no shelter beds are available is cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment.

Jus...
The Lantern •

No arrests made as roughly 600 gathered on South Oval for pro-Palestinian protest

The setting sun beat down on roughly 600 people as they came together to protest the war in Gaza on the South Oval Wednesday, also urging Ohio State to divest from Israeli assets and criticizing university President Ted Carter Jr. Unlike a previous protest on Thursday, no arrests were made.

Wednesday’s protest succeeded a pro-Palestinian demonstration that took place on the South Oval Thursday, during which 36 people — including 16 students — were arrested. Even before then, two students were a...
The Lantern •

Inside the five-hour standoff between police and protesters on the South Oval

At 7:32 p.m., Thursday, Ohio State police issued a warning to a group of hundreds protesting the war in Gaza and previous arrests on the South Oval: disperse within 15 minutes or face arrest.

Four hours, five arrest vehicles and three warnings later, the police — along with state troopers — approached the crowd. Forming a circle with their arms linked together, the protesters turned toward the officers and braced for impact.

As a crowd watched from the steps of the Ohio Union, protesters tight...
The Lantern •

The Zyn Takeover: nicotine pouches surge in popularity

As bans on electronic cigarette flavors are pursued by the federal government and state governments, another flavored nicotine alternative has surged in popularity.

A prevalent nicotine pouch brand, Zyn, expanded its U.S. business by 62% in 2023, according to Phillip-Morris International, the parent company of Zyn’s manufacturer, Swedish Match. Zyns are small, pillow-like pouches that contain nicotine powder that can be discreetly placed between the lower or upper lip and gum.

The product has...
Load More