Republican U.S. Senate nominee J.D. Vance, right, is showing signs of closing the fundraising gap with his Democratic rival, U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, left. However, Ryan's massive campaign account has been bolstered by small-dollar donations via Democrats' national fundraising effort. (Associated Press file photos)

Subscribe to the Wake Up, cleveland.com’s free morning newsletter, delivered to your inbox weekdays at 5:30 a.m.

We can’t get away from the U.S. Senate campaign commercials as we march toward the November election.

Where are Republican J.D. Vance and Democrat Tim Ryan getting money to pay for the ads?

It can be difficult to trace campaign contributions, but we’re digging in.

Guardians at Texas Rangers: Cleveland celebrates AL Central Division crown in style with 10-4 victory over Texas

Northeast Ohio Monday weather forecast: Showers and thunderstorms throughout the day

Campaign cash: Democratic U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan’s huge fundraising edge over Republican opponent J.D. Vance in the Senate race largely is thanks to a wave of small-dollar donations from around the country. Andrew Tobias reports that Vance has struggled to keep up financially, creating a Senate race that appears closer than expected in a state ex-President Donald Trump won twice.

Today in Ohio: Cuyahoga County Council generally favors building a new jail -- but that would require extending the quarter-percent sales tax by at least 40 years to pay a now estimated $2 billion total debt service. We’re talking about how the county has devoted tens of millions of dollars to ARPA slush funds and Medical Mart renovations and now has no funding source for a new courthouse, on Today in Ohio, cleveland.com’s daily half-hour news podcast.

Vance ad: U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan spent months over the summer running TV and radio ads portraying himself as an independent political voice. Now, Andrew Tobias reports, Republican Senate candidate J.D. Vance is hoping to turn the tide in the U.S. Senate race with a new ad called “Two Tims.”

Campaign trail: Tim Ryan and J.D. Vance both told their supporters on Saturday that they’re leading in the polls for Ohio’s U.S. Senate race, reports Andrew Tobias. They also said they’re not taking anything for granted.

Black arts leader Ismail Samad makes a point in a FRONT Triennial symposium on diversity and inclusion as entrepreneur David Ramsey listens. The event was held at the CWRU/Cleveland Clinic Samson Pavilion on Sept. 17.Steven Litt, cleveland.com

Diversity in art: Leaders of Northeast Ohio’s top visual art institutions, including the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, and the Cleveland Institute of Art, say they’re making solid progress on racial diversity, equity and inclusion. But Steven Litt reports that some of Cleveland’s leading Black artists and cultural entrepreneurs say the powerful and influential institutions could do much more, immediately, to address longstanding racial inequities and injustices in Northeast Ohio.

Cleveland’s Promise: Inside a private refuge in her closet, a young Mrs. Sharon Lenahan spent hours of her childhood playing make-believe school. Hannah Drown reports as part of cleveland.com’s education series that Lenahan cast aside all preconceived ideas of what her life should look like, enrolled in college and earned her teaching degree.

Jail contributions: If Cuyahoga County wants Cleveland to pay a larger share of the cost to house city inmates, it will require either generous cooperation or a law change, reports Kaitlin Durbin. As it stands, municipalities are obligated to pay only for housing inmates convicted of city ordinance violations. The county is statutorily responsible for the costs of all others.

Unified income tax: Republican candidate for Cuyahoga County executive Lee Weingart has proposed a plan to unite the county’s 57 municipalities by consolidating and simplifying income taxes. But Kaitlin Durbin reports that the Cuyahoga County Mayors and City Managers Association is calling for him to rethink it in cooperation with the cities.

Perfect weather weekend: At cleveland.com, the perfect high temperature hovers around 75 degrees, with sun and maybe a light breeze. Historically, September delivers. But Zachary Smith reports that September recently has trended warmer than the same period 10 years earlier - a jump of 4 degrees or more toward the end of the month.

Underwater mapping: A bright-red, submarine-shaped robot boat has been sailing through Lake Erie to collect data. Sean McDonnell reports the uncrewed surface vessel could be the key to understanding more about lakes and oceans.

East CLE recall: The Ohio Supreme Court on Friday denied one of East Cleveland Mayor Brandon King’s attempts to stop his recall election Nov. 8. East Cleveland Law Director Willa Hemmons has sought to block the election, citing the fact that a filing with the petitions to the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections exceeded the limit of 200 words.

Peak foliage: Fall color, considered lackluster throughout much of Ohio last year, is expected to return to its fiery glory next month, reports Susan Glaser. It’s expected to peak during the third week of October throughout northern Ohio.

Design time: After months of construction in her attic, Laura Johnston finally has walls and can focus on the imaginative fun of outfitting it. Design is creating a functional space that expresses personality -- with color and texture, paint and tile and fixtures.

Ann Tuebl with a patient at the Help Foundation.Help Foundation

Top Nurses: Anne Tuebl oversees the nursing needs for HELP’s 20 group homes, an organization that provides residential and day programs and vocational training for adults and children with intellectual disabilities. Among her many duties, she is not just a nurse, but a teacher, which is exactly where she started out, reports Gretchen Cuda Kroen.

UH Portage: University Hospitals will close its labor and delivery department at UH Portage Medical Center and move those services to UH Geauga, reports Julie Washington. The system cited an ongoing shortage of caregivers and declining numbers of deliveries at UH Portage, which will continue to offer comprehensive women and children’s healthcare services.

COVID map: In the latest CDC map, Cuyahoga County and most of Greater Cleveland remained yellow, or designated as having medium COVID-19 transmission, reports Julie Washington. For the third week in a row, Ashtabula and Lorain counties were the only Northeast Ohio counties classified red, for high COVID-19 transmission.

Set on fire: A woman set herself on fire following a traffic stop in Richfield, injuring a police officer attempting to help her, reports Kaylee Remington. The police officer was treated for burns, while the woman remains hospitalized after an incident that began about 9:30 p.m. Friday in the area of Wheatley Road and Interstate 77.

Juvenile rape: A South Broadway man has been charged with raping a juvenile multiple times for at least a year. John Tucker reports police issued the rape charge against Luis Pietri, 34, after a juvenile victim said he was forced to have sex with Pietri on multiple occasions.

Heartless Felon: A Cleveland garbage collector who authorities say is a member of the city’s most ruthless and widespread gang is accused of selling methamphetamine and fentanyl in Ashtabula. Adam Ferrise reports Darrin Harsley Jr. is charged in federal court in Cleveland with three counts of distributing meth.

Orchestra lawsuit: The Cleveland Orchestra on Friday settled a federal lawsuit filed by an employee and agreed to cover her medical costs for procedures she needed after suffering complications from gender-affirmation surgery, reports Adam Ferrise.

Swatting: Someone called police Friday morning and claimed there was someone shooting at Garfield Community Learning Center in Akron and at St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland, reports Kaylee Remington. Both calls were fake, part of a swath of “swatting,” or prank calls made to draw police to what callers say are vast emergencies.

Fentanyl: A Cleveland man is accused of selling drugs cut with fentanyl that led to three people’s overdose deaths, reports Adam Ferrise.

Attempted murder trial: Tempers rose in a Cuyahoga County courtroom on Friday after a defense attorney confronted a prosecutor and contended that evidence presented in the retrial of two men whose 2007 convictions were overturned showed a Cleveland police officer lied on the stand, reports Cory Shaffer.

Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails performs on stage during Riot Fest 2022 at Douglass Park on Sept. 18 in Chicago, Illinois. The band made its return to Northeast Ohio on Saturday, Sept. 24. Getty Images

NIN: Occasionally, if you’re lucky enough, you get to witness a musical moment. One where a phrase like “One Night Only” rings true and words like “epic” and “monumental” are justified. Troy Smith reports Nine Inch Nails’ return to Blossom Music Center on Saturday night certainly fit that bill.

National park attendance: More than 14 million people visited Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 2021, a new record. The second-most popular park, Utah’s Zion National Park, attracted fewer than half as many visitors, but also set a record. Susan Glaser lists the most-visited national parks in 2021.

Top Thrill: The future of Cedar Point’s mega-coaster Top Thrill Dragster remains up in the air, even after the amusement park announced the ride was being retired. Susan Glaser reports that in recent weeks park observers believe that Cedar Point is replacing Top Thrill’s complicated, maintenance-prone launch system with a simpler, magnetic-based system. Other possible changes include a new name for the ride, a new theme, new trains and a new queuing area, farther away from the ride track.

House of the Week: Built in 2015 by Brickhaus Partners, a townhouse along the Rocky River offers four bedrooms and four-and-a-half bathrooms in 3,257 square feet across four levels. Joey Morona reports the house is priced at $1.475 million.

Thanks for joining us this week in our redesigned Wake Up format. We appreciate the feedback you provided about our new look. Don’t forget, you can always find the latest Cleveland news by visiting cleveland.com. If you value the hard work of Cleveland journalists, consider becoming an cleveland.com subscriber.

— Curated by Laura Johnston with contributions by Cliff Pinckard

Man comes away empty in attempted robbery of Akron Walgreens Read more

Orange Alumni Association surprises Sangdahl with Hall of Fame induction Read more

Several displaced after Elyria apartment fire, officials say Read more

Survey respondents want Beachwood Schools to renovate Hilltop, Bryden elementary schools Read more

Berea council continues pondering paused townhomes project Read more

Brook Park council revisits proposed drone legislation Read more

Middleburg Heights urges state to review cable providers’ services Read more

Berea school board gets social-emotional learning update Read more

Beachwood commission recommends preliminary plans for Porsche dealership Read more

If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation.

Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your California Privacy Rights (User Agreement updated 1/1/21. Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement updated 7/1/2022).

© 2022 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us). The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local.

Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site.