Recent
Today the Ohio remains a global center reflective of its past. Modern state, national, and global businesses and industries are found throughout, and immigrants continue to flock to Ohio from all over the world. In 2008 an estimated 436,640 foreign born residents resided within their borders, contributing to the world's 23rd largest economy that year. It is the nation's 7th largest state by population, and had become nicknamed the "fuel cell corridor" in being a contributing anchor for the region now called the "Green Belt," in reference to the growing renewable energy sector. Although the state experienced heavy manufacturing losses around the start of the 20th century and suffered from the Great Recession, it was rebounding by the second decade in being the country's 6th-fastest growing economy through the first half of 2010. Politically the state has demonstrated its importance in modern presidential elections, signed international cooperation treaties with foreign provinces and northern American states, has become involved in heated national disputes with southern American states, while producing national leadership. Its athletic teams are among some of the nation's best, and culturally the state continues to produce notable artists while building institutions enshrining its past. Educationally the schools are among the nation's top performers, and militarily Ohio's legacy continues into the present era.
Ohio's transition into the 21st century is symbolized by the Third Frontier program, spearheaded by Governor Bob Taft around the start of the 20th century, which built on the agricultural and industrial pillars of the economy, the first and second frontiers, by aiding the growth of advanced technology industries, the third frontier. It has been widely hailed as one of the nation's most successful government bureaucracies, attracting 637 new high-tech companies to the state and 55,000 new jobs with an average of salary of $65,000, while having a $6.6 billion economic impact with an investment return ratio of 9:1. In 2010 it won the International Economic Development Council's Excellence in Economic Development Award, celebrated as a national model of success. The state's cities have become hubs of modern industry, including Toledo being recognized as a national solar center, Cleveland a regenerative medicine research hub, Dayton an aerospace and defense hub, Akron the rubber capital of the world, Columbus a technological research and development hub, and Cincinnati a mercantile hub.
Ohio was hit hard by the Great Recession and manufacturing employment losses during the most recent period. The recession cost the state 376,500 jobs and it had 89,053 foreclosures in 2009, a record for the state. The median household income dropped 7% and the poverty rate ballooned to 13.5% by 2009. By the second half of 2010, the state showed signs of rebound in being the nation's 6th-fastest growing economy. During the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, the state was at the center of the international political world in being a key battleground which played a crucial role in the elections of U.S. President George W. Bush. U.S. House Minority Leader John Boehner of southwestern Ohio has emerged as a national political leader. Beginning in the 1980s, the state entered into international economic and resource cooperation treaties and organisations with other Midwestern states, New York, Pennsylvania, Ontario, and Quebec, including the Great Lakes Charter, Great Lakes Compact, and the Council of Great Lakes Governors. It became involved in heated national disputes with southern American states in 2009 and 2010, including Georgia over National Cash Register Company and Alabama over Wright Patterson Air Force Base, where southern lawmakers were accused of misusing federal funds and influence to "steal" Ohio jobs during the Great Recession.
Athletically the state's team are among some of the nation's best. The Ohio State University football team won the national championship in 2002, and consistently competes for the prize annually. The Cincinnati Reds won the World Series championship in 1990 following their run as the Big Red Machine in the 1970s, as well as the National League Central Division championship in 2010, while the Cincinnati Bengals appeared in the Super Bowl in 1981 and 1988 and have won the AFC North Division in 2005 and 2009. In 2007 the Cleveland Cavaliers won the Eastern Conference championship and appeared in the NBA Finals, and won the NBA Central Division championships in 2009 and 2010. The Columbus Quest won the only two league championships in history in the 1990s, while the Ohio State University men's basketball team advanced to the NCAA Final Four and national championship game in 2007.
In 1995 the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame museum opened in Cleveland, commemorating Ohio's contributory past to the art, including being the location of the first live rock 'n roll concert in 1952. Notables artists have emerged from the state, including actresses Katie Holmes, Carmen Electra, Sarah Jessica Parker; actors Drew Carey, Dave Chappelle, Rob Lowe, Martin Sheen, Woody Harrelson, Steve Harvey; film directors Wes Craven and Chris Columbus, author R.L. Stine, musicians Dave Grohl of Nirvana and Foo Fighters, grammy-award winning Macy Gray, Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders, John Legend, Trent Reznor of the Nine Inch Nails, Scott Shriner of Weezer, and Joe Trohman of Fall Out Boy. Media moguls emerged from the state, including Ted Turner and Larry Flynt. The state is tied with Oklahoma and California for producing the most Miss America pageant winners through 2010 with six.
Ohio has 5 of the top 115 colleges in the nation, according to U.S. News and World Report's 2010 rankings, and was ranked #8 by the same magazine in 2008 for best high schools. Overall, in 2010 the state's schools were ranked #5 in the country by Education Week. Militarily Ohio's legacy continues into the modern era, contributing over 200,000 soldiers to the Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq wars.
Read more about this topic: History Of Ohio