Kasich campaigns in Iowa, ranks 2nd in GOP poll for NH

Kasich campaigns in Iowa, ranks 2nd in GOP poll for NH

COLUMBUS

Ohio Gov. John Kasich is taking his Republican presidential campaign to Iowa, as the state’s first-in-the-nation caucuses are less than a month away.

The second-term governor had a town-hall meeting in Council Bluffs on Sunday. Iowa holds its caucuses Feb. 1.

Kasich has spent a lot of his time recently campaigning in New Hampshire. He says he believes a top-tier victory in that state’s Feb. 9 primary will help him to break away from the crowded GOP pack. New polls put him in second place in New Hampshire, behind Donald Trump.

Columbus to get new 380 area code soon

COLUMBUS

Central Ohioans covered by the 614 area code have only a few more weeks to get used to 10-digit dialing before a new 380 area code launches in the same region at the end of the month.

Customers in the 614 area code who requested new service or a new line starting Jan. 30 will be assigned a number in the 380 area code.

A transition period has been in effect to allow people to get used to dialing an area code for local calls. Local calls will require 10 digits — the area code and the 7-digit phone number.

The North American Numbering Plan Administration announced last year that the 614 area code would soon run out of numbers.

Ohio now boasts 100 historic family farms

REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio

The Ohio Department of Agriculture says more than 100 historic farms including one in Trumbull County have been added to the state’s list during 2015, bringing the total to about 1,200.

The director of the agriculture department said in a recent statement that these farms, which must be owned by the same family for at least 100 years, are the foundation for Ohio’s vital agriculture industry.

Among those newly added to the list is the Rust Farm in Trumbull County, which has been family-owned since 1914.

The department began recognizing century-old farms in 1993 as part of its Historic Family Farms Program and acknowledging farms in existence for at least 200 years since 2013.

A department spokeswoman says anyone who can verify that a farm has been family owned for at least 100 years can register for the list.

Thieves specialize in pricey vacuum cleaners

CLEVELAND

Three Northeast Ohio stores have been hit by thieves who’ve swooped in and stolen expensive vacuum cleaners.

Thefts were reported in November at a Bed Bath & Beyond store in the Cleveland suburb of Westlake. Two men drove off with two Dyson vacuum cleaners on Nov. 5. Three days later, two men tried to steal two more Dysons, but fled with just one after a store employee intervened. Westlake police recently released surveillance photos of the suspects.

Westlake police Capt. Guy Turner says the vacuums are valued at about $700 each. The same model of vacuum was stolen from Bed Bath & Beyond stores in two other cities in late October.

Turner says the vacuums are likely sold online or are being purchased by “unscrupulous” secondhand shops.

Penguin ‘Bowie’ born

CINCINNATI

Having already earned a measure of “Fame” with the Cincinnati Zoo’s first animal birth of 2016, a newborn penguin chick has been named “Bowie.”

The zoo says the baby known as a blue or fairy penguin hatched at 6 a.m. Friday.

Friday was both David Bowie’s and Elvis Presley’s birthday, and the zoo says there was a lot of support for the Elvis name. But the zoo already has a king penguin named for “the King,” so “Bowie” was the choice for the new arrival.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Director Thane Maynard says the year’s first baby is fitting since the zoo celebrates “Penguin Days” in January and February.

The singer Bowie turned 69 Jan. 8, and released a new album, “Blackstar.”