News
Ohio sheriff files charges after Amish hold large barn party
| April 22, 2020Police in Northeast Ohio broke up a large gathering of Amish people over the weekend after a man spotted a group of buggies and called 911 to report a stay-at-home order violation.
Ohio Police bust Large Drunken Amish Party
| April 22, 2020The party took place in Huntsburg Township, Ohio. Huntsburg is home to a very large Amish population about an hour East of Cleveland. There have been reports along with pictures of large Amish gatherings sent to police during the Stay Home order.
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Amish youth cited for underage drinking party in Mercer County
| April 20, 2020MERCER COUNTY, PA - State Police say they broke up a drinking party involving eight Amish teens and one 20-year-old in Mercer County.
Amish wedding investigated
| April 10, 2020WARREN, OH — When it comes down to love or the law, it seems the law will prevail.
Amish community pitches in to create medical supplies for Ohio hospitals
| April 9, 2020On Thursday, The New York Times reported that an Amish community in Ohio is mobilizing to create medical supplies for local hospitals.
The Amish Are Getting a COVID-19 Drive-Through Testing Center for Horse and Buggies
| April 6, 2020Hospitals and clinics in cities across the U.S. have recently established drive-through testing for COVID-19. It’s the strategy that enabled countries like South Korea and Japan to test as many as one out of every 142 people for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the infectious disease, thus helping to track and slow the virus’ spread.
Amish schools still meeting for class despite Governor's orders
| April 5, 2020BLOOMFIELD, IA - Back in mid-March, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds gave a directive that all Iowa schools close for a period of four weeks, a measure taken to help control the spread of the coronavirus that causes the COVID-19 disease.
Even in the otherwise timeless Amish community, the pandemic has brought changes
| April 2, 2020UNITY, ME - Most Wednesday mornings, the delicious smell of freshly made doughnuts entices crowds of people to the Amish-run Community Market in Unity.
Leader of Amish beard-cutting attacks will get to go home
| March 23, 2020COLUMBUS, OH - The leader of a breakaway Amish group in Ohio who was sentenced to prison for beard- and hair-cutting attacks will get to to serve the rest of his sentence at home after his attorney argued the new coronavirus puts the 74-year-old bishop at risk.
Amish bishops convene to discuss COVID-19
| March 22, 2020On Friday night, the bishops in a tri-county area of the Amish community had a meeting to discuss COVID-19 and their response to it.
Coronavirus threat closes Amish schools, but weddings, church go on
| March 18, 2020One-room Amish schoolhouses across Lancaster County are closed for the week, yet scores of Amish wedding goers Tuesday filled a big tent on a farm near New Holland.
Amish bishop Sam Mullet, who orchestrated beard-cutting attacks in Ohio, wants out of halfway house because of coronavirus
| March 18, 2020CLEVELAND, OH - Amish bishop Sam Mullet, one of more dozen people convicted in a series of nighttime raids and beard cuttings on his enemies in eastern Ohio, wants out of federal custody because of the coronavirus.
'We aren’t as spooked': How the Amish are responding to the coronavirus
| March 18, 2020Ruth Lapp said she always let her babies crawl on the floor when they were young. And when her children complain of a sore throat, she gives them a spoonful of vinegar, a remedy she says could cure any infection.
A Plan to Develop Farmland in Amish Country Meets Resistance
| March 17, 2020MANHEIM TOWNSHIP, PA — When Earl Hurst bought 100 acres of farmland in rural Lancaster County in 1952, he planned for the fertile fields to help sustain his family. And for a generation, they did just that.
Mennonite and Amish Farmers Struggle with Increasing Rain in Illinois
| March 16, 2020ARTHUR, IL — Mennonite farmer Willis Kuhns said 2019 was “as frustrating as it gets.”
Garbage truck collides with Amish buggy
| March 16, 2020NEW WILMINGTON, PA — One teenager is injured after a garbage truck collided with an Amish buggy in Pennsylvania.
Health officials working to provide Plain sect members with COVID-19 information
| March 13, 2020As the new coronavirus spreads throughout Pennsylvania, health officials are working to inform Plain communities in Lancaster County of the virus.
Softball and suspenders: Amish play ball in Florida
| February 27, 2020The procession of 3 wheel bicycles rolled down 17th Street before turning right into the 17th Street Softball complex.
Former Amish woman criticizes Columbia County's handling of sexual assault cases
| February 23, 2020Torah Bontrager can’t stop fighting for closure. She recently said she wouldn’t be able to say how it might feel to never receive judicial retribution for the multiple violations she had to experience as an adolescent at the hands of her uncle.
Protecting the Amish population in Ohio
| February 21, 2020Ohio has a substantial number of Amish residents. Some are in our own region. All too frequently, we have to report accidents in which motor vehicles have struck horse-draw buggies operated by the Amish.
Amish-run business burns down on first day of operation
| February 18, 2020LAGRANGE, IN - The first day turned into a disaster at a new local business after fire that destroyed the building and equipment on Tuesday.
New Ohio law seeks to make Amish buggies more visible, reduce collisions
| February 17, 2020The bill would require animal-drawn vehicles to display these two things on top of the vehicle at all times. Failure to do so could result in a fine.
The Amish use tech differently than you think. We should emulate them.
| February 17, 2020Technology promised to connect us but divided us instead. As people worry about smartphone addiction and vow to spend less time on their laptops, social media companies are scrambling to placate a world that has caught on to their products’ ability to turn us against one another, tip elections and even incite violence.
Proposed Ohio law seeks to prevent crashes by making Amish buggies more visible
| February 12, 2020COLUMBUS, OH - A new proposed Ohio law, backed by state lawmakers representing areas of the state with significant Amish populations, would toughen visibility requirements on buggies and other horse-drawn vehicles in an effort to reduce crashes.
Under the Radar: House bill aims to protect ‘vulnerable’ road travelers
| February 9, 2020HARRISBURG, PA – Legislation that passed the state House would call for stiffer penalties for careless driving that injures “vulnerable” highway users, like pedestrians, bicyclists and those riding in horse-and-buggies.
Pennsylvania man conned Amish, Mennonites in $60 million Ponzi scheme
| February 3, 2020FRANKLIN COUNTY, PA - A Pennsylvania accountant defrauded Amish and Mennonite community members out of $60 million after investing their money in a failing dairy he owned, investigators said.
'I knew something was very wrong about it': Ex-Amish woman shares community's dark secrets
| February 3, 2020PORTAGE, WI — Wisconsin is home to a number of Amish communities which are typically seen as quiet, quaint places.
Man sentenced for abuse in Ohio Amish community
| January 28, 2020WARREN, OH — For the second time in less than a week, members of an Amish community sat in a courtroom where one of their own was sentenced to prison for sexually molesting a minor from their community.
People stepping up to support Amish child abuse victims
| January 25, 2020LANCASTER, PA — When Miriam Esh learned of a devastating case of child sexual abuse emerging last year in a Lancaster County Amish community, she traveled here from her Lewisburg, Pa., home to offer support to the victims.
Pennsylvania Amish man sentenced to 38-76 years for sexually abusing 4 pre-teen girls
| January 24, 2020A judge imposed a 38- to 76-year prison sentence Friday on an elderly Amish man for years of sexually abusing four girls in a case that highlighted growing awareness of sexual abuse among Amish and related church groups.