State Senator Kyle Koehler

Randy Ark is a gentleman I have known, and known of, for a number of years. A life long resident, a retired teacher, a husband, father, and a decorated Vietnam Veteran.

While we’ve been going to church together for a little bit now, I didn’t know him well.

He gave me his book back in April. The warm weather this week allowed me to sit at night. read his book, and get to know his story.

As Vietnam veteran and Purple Heart recipient, Randy Ark has been inducted into the Ohio Military Hall of Fame for Valor for his bravery and service during the Vietnam War as a combat medic.

Thank you for your book Randy. Thank you for serving our country. And thank you to all veterans who have given so much to keep our country free and secure.

Summer is the time to make sure I am all over the 10th Senate District.

Today was "Greene County Day".

While I started off at 7AM clocking in at our business (yes I really punch in at a time clock still), at 9:15 I was headed down to Fairborn City Schools to observe their weeklong K-6 event called "Camp Invention" where students learn to experiment, prototype, collaborate and present ideas in a hands-on environment.

Next, I headed over to Yellow Springs to meet with Caroline Mullins and her staff at the Yellow Springs Senior Center. They are working hard to create a new facility at the "old lumber yard" along the bike path to serve the senior citizens for Yellow Springs.

We made a quick stop at Dave Chappelle's new store that he opened after renovating an abandoned spot in downtown Yellow Springs. We had a framed President's letter to give them (no, Dave Chappelle was not there!).

Finally, we headed to downtown Xenia to meet with Joe Harmon and his staff at Toward Independence Park. Joe and his folks have been working for over five decades providing support for individuals with developmental disabilities in not only Xenia but a five-county area.

Tonight, I head off to a meeting to appoint a new County Recorder to replace our long time Recorder, Nancy Pence, who retired after almost four decades of service.

What we saw today were people all over Greene County helping K-12, senior citizens and those with disabilities improve their lives in many ways.

The day is not over yet.

Twenty years ago, we were ranked 30th. When I was elected in 2014, Ohio was ranked 18th. Last year, Ohio was ranked 5th.

This year, Ohio is ranked the #1 state in the nation for doing business.

By prioritizing business-friendly policies and infrastructure development, we cracked the top five last year and are now first in the nation.

I'm proud to have supported strong policies to bring businesses to our state, especially lowering income taxes repeatedly over the past 12 years.

I look forward to continuing to support ideas that ensure Ohio maintains its edge as the national leader for business opportunity."

Since 2007, CNBC has scored all 50 states on 138 metrics in 10 broad categories of competitiveness. The study focuses on identifying the factors companies consider when making site selection decisions and where states focus their economic development efforts to win jobs and business. In addition to being ranked the number one overall state, Ohio also ranked first in infrastructure and first in the cost of doing business.

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/09/ohio-no-1-americas-top-states-for-business-rankings.html