Columbus

Columbus, Ohio 

Columbus is a city in the counties of Franklin, Fairfield, and Delaware. It was founded in 1816 and became the county seat of Franklin in 1824. It is located near the confluence of the Scioto and Olentangy rivers in the state's central region on the very flat Ohio until plain. Columbus is at the center of a metropolitan area that also includes Dublin (northwest), Gahanna and Westerville (northeast), Reynoldsburg (east), and Grove City (southwest). The city is completely or mostly surrounded by a number of municipalities, including Upper Arlington, Worthington, Bexley, and Whitehall. City Inc., 1834. City's area is 213 square miles (552 square km). Population: 787,033 (2010); Columbus Metro Area: 1,836,536; (2020): 905,748; Columbus Metro Area: 2,138,926. 

The Contemporary City 

Early in the twenty-first century, the local economy's three fastest-growing sectors were professional and commercial services, transportation and utilities, and education and health. Automobiles, motorbikes, communications equipment, steel and steel products, and dietary supplements were among the high-tech sectors and manufacturing that were significant. The existence of main-line railroads, a substantial motorway network, and an international airport improved the city's advantageous geographic location. Within 500 miles (approximately 800 km) of Columbus, the majority of Americans live. 

The Ohio State University (1870), which has one of the greatest enrollments of any American university, has its main campus located on a sizable parcel of land to the north of the city. Other colleges and universities include Otterbein University (1847), Capital University (1830), Columbus College of Art and Design (1879), Columbus State Community College (1963), Ohio Dominican College (1911), Franklin University (1902), Capital University (1830), Ohio Dominican College (1911), Pontifical College Josephinum (1888), and state schools for the blind and the deaf. The Orton Ceramic Foundation, the Chemical Abstracts Service, and the Battelle Memorial Institute (1929; technology) are notable research institutions. Along with other facilities, the federal government runs a sizable military supply center. The state fairgrounds, along with several governmental institutions and offices, are located in the city. Sculptor Levi Tucker Scofield created a memorial for the Ohio Statehouse, a Doric-styled limestone building finished in 186. 

The McKinley Monument, Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery, Ohio Historical Center (1970) and Ohio Village outdoor museum, as well as COSI Columbus, a science and industry hub, are other points of interest. A symphony orchestra and art museum are supported by the city. James Thurber's house has been preserved as a literary hub. East of the downtown area, there is a conservatory and a botanical garden that are maintained by the city. One of the most well-known zoos in the nation is the Columbus Zoo, which is situated in the northwest close to Dublin. Along with Alum Creek State Park to the north of the city, area reservoirs like Griggs, O'Shaughnessy, and Hoover are also well-liked destinations for outdoor leisure. Horse racing takes place at Beulah Park and Scioto Downs. June brings an arts festival, August brings the state fair, and October brings Oktoberfest (September; based at the restored 19th-century German Village area south of downtown). Iroquoian-speaking peoples once used the caves at Olentangy Indian Caverns, which are located to the north of the city. 

Geography 

Northwest of Downtown Columbus is where the Scioto and Olentangy rivers meet. The Columbus metropolitan region is traversed by a number of smaller streams, such as Alum Creek, Big Walnut Creek, and Darby Creek. Due to the presence of a sizable glacier that blanketed most of Ohio during the Wisconsin Ice Age, Columbus is thought to have relatively level topography. The elevation varies significantly throughout the region, with Franklin County reaching a high point of 1,132 feet (345 meters) above sea level in New Albany and a low point of 670 feet (200 meters) as the Scioto River exits the county near Lockbourne. The terrain is additionally varied by the numerous ravines that are close to the rivers and creeks. While tributaries to the Scioto River flow through limestone, streams to Alum Creek and the Olentangy River cut through shale. 

A total of 223.11 square miles (577.85 km2) of land and 5.94 square miles (15.38 km2) of water make up the city's total area. Due to Jim Rhodes's strategy of annexing suburbs while serving as mayor, Columbus currently has the biggest land area of any Ohio city. As adjacent settlements grew or were constructed, they started to require access to waterlines, which was under the sole jurisdiction of the municipal water system. These towns would have to submit to integration into Columbus in order to receive water, according to Rhodes. 

Climate 

The city has a humid continental climate (Köppen climatic classification Dfa) that transitions into a humid subtropical climate to the south, which has cold, dry winters and hot, muggy summers. Columbus is in USDA hardiness zone 6a, which is currently 6b and borders 7a on the chart of average temperatures from 1991 to 2020. Since the city is not typically in the line of powerful winter lows like the Nor'easters that affect towns farther east, winter snowfall is comparatively mild. Additionally, it is too far south and west for Lake Erie's lake-effect snow to have much of an impact, though the northern lakes do contribute to extended periods of wintertime cloudiness. 

The Dust Bowl of the 1930s saw Columbus see two days with temperatures of 106 °F (41 °C) or higher: July 21, 1934, and July 14, 1936. 

The coldest temperature ever recorded was 22 °F (30 °C), which occurred on January 19, 1994. 

The extreme weather that is typical of the Midwest can be found in Columbus. In particular during the spring and occasionally through the fall, severe thunderstorms have the potential to produce huge hail, lightning, and tornadoes on rare occasions. On October 11, 2006, there was a tornado that produced F2 damage. Blizzards, ice storms, and floods can also occasionally happen. 

The 2019 American Values Atlas shows that 26% of people living in the Columbus metropolitan region do not practice any religion. Residents of the area self-identify as 17% White evangelical Protestants, 14% White mainline Protestants, 11% Black Protestants, 11% White Catholics, 5% Hispanic Catholics, 3% Other Nonwhite Catholics, 2% Other Nonwhite Protestants, and 2% Mormons. Jehovah's Witnesses, Orthodox Christians, Muslims, Unitarians, and followers of other religions all made up less than 0.5% of the population, while Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, and Hispanic Protestants each made up 1% of the population. 

There are churches for the Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Mormons, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Quakers, Baptists, Evangelicals, and Unitarian Universalists. Additionally, Columbus is home to a number of mosques, synagogues, Buddhist centers, Hindu temples, and an International Society for Krishna Consciousness chapter. The Pontifical College Josephinum and a number of independent schools run by Christian organizations are examples of religious educational institutions. 

Economy 

The economy of Columbus is largely robust and diverse, relying on sectors such as technology, education, insurance, finance, fashion, defense, aviation, food, logistics, steel, and energy. According to real estate research company Relocate America, it was one of the top 10 largest cities in the nation in 2010. 

The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis estimates that Columbus' GDP was $134 billion in 2019. 

Due to decades of economic diversification work by longtime corporate residents, business leaders, and government leaders, Columbus's economy did not experience the same level of damage as the rest of the nation during the Great Recession between 2007 and 2009. This work was continued by the administration of former mayor Michael B. Coleman despite the city's financial difficulties and the need to raise taxes, which were purportedly caused in part by financial mismanagement. Columbus has a significant government presence because it is the state capital. The majority of employment in Columbus comes from government occupations, which include those offered by municipal, county, state, and federal organizations. 

Six companies from the city were included on the 2019 U.S. Fortune 500 list: Cardinal Health in suburban Dublin, Alliance Data, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, American Electric Power, L Brands, and Huntington Bancshares. Other significant employers include universities (such as the Ohio State University), hospitals (such as the teaching hospitals of the Ohio State University College of Medicine, Wexner Medical Center and Nationwide Children's Hospital), high-tech research and development organizations (such as the Battelle Memorial Institute), information and library services (such as OCLC and Chemical Abstracts Service), the steel processing and pressure cylinder manufacturer Worthington Industries, and others. The regional headquarters of the fast-food businesses Wendy's and White Castle are situated in Columbus. The city is home to several significant international businesses, including Siemens and Roxane Laboratories from Germany, Vaisala from Finland, Tomasco Mulciber Inc., A Y Manufacturing from Switzerland, and Mettler Toledo and ABB from Switzerland. The city also boasts a sizable fashion and retail sector, with businesses like Big Lots, L Brands, Abercrombie & Fitch, DSW, and Express calling it home. 

Attractions 

About 370 city parks are under the management of Columbus' Recreation & Parks Department. 19 regional parks as well as the Metro Parks, which are a part of the Columbus and Franklin County Metropolitan Park District, are located nearby. 

These parks include the 13-acre (5.3 ha) Columbus Park of Roses and Whetstone Park in Clintonville. On Ohio State's campus, the Olentangy River Wetland Research Park is a public experimental wetland while the Chadwick Arboretum houses a sizable and diversified collection of flora. A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, a picture, is depicted in topiary at Columbus' Topiary Park downtown. The Scioto Audubon Metro Park on the Whittier Peninsula, which is also close to downtown, was established in 2009 and features a sizable Audubon nature center devoted to the region's famed birdwatching. 

Lowland gorillas, polar bears, manatees, Siberian tigers, cheetahs, and kangaroos are among the animals kept in the collections of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. The Zoombezi Bay water park and amusement park is also part of the zoo complex. 

Environment 

The City of Columbus has made a point of lessening its negative effects on the environment and carbon footprint. Columbus already has an electricity aggregation plan that will provide it with 100% renewable energy by the beginning of 2023 thanks to a citywide ballot initiative that was approved in 2020. AEP Energy, its supplier, intends to build fresh wind and solar farms in Ohio to help with the electricity supply. 

As of 2019, the McCracken Power Plant at Ohio State University, the landfill run by the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio (SWACO), and the Anheuser-Busch Columbus Brewery are the main sources of pollution in the county. By 2025, Anheuser-Busch wants to cut emissions by 25% across the board. Ohio State is to build a new heat and power facility that will use fossil fuels to generate electricity but lower emissions by around 30%. SWACO successfully captures 75% of its methane emissions for use in energy production and is working to further lower emissions. 

Population 

Franklin County, Ohio, contains Columbus as its county seat. It serves as Franklin County's County seat as well. It is the largest city in Ohio and the 14th largest city in the United States as of 2020, with a population of 929,492. Columbus' population has grown by 2.62% from the most recent census, which showed a population of 905,748 in 2020, and is now rising at a pace of 1.29% yearly. Columbus has a population density of 4,240 persons per square mile, spanning more than 225 miles. 

The poverty rate in Columbus is 22.99% while the average household income is $69,315. The median monthly cost of rent in recent years has been, and the median value of a home is. In Columbus, the median age is 32.4 years, 32 years for men and 32.8 years for women. 

It is the county seat of Franklin County, and as it has incorporated parts of Fairfield County and Delaware County, its size has increased. The city, which bears Christopher Columbus' name, was established in 1812. 

Top 2 News Websites 

NBC4 WCMH-TV 

The most trusted source of breaking news and live streaming video online in Columbus, Ohio, is NBC4 WCMH-TV. Contains live VIPIR radar and Storm Team 4, which has been named the best accurate forecaster by Weather Rate for four years running. 

FOX 8 News 

Ohio State's breaking news and weather updates are available on FOX 8 New in Columbus. 

Current City Mayor 

Columbus, Ohio's mayor, is Andrew Ginther. On December 31, 2015, Ginther took over. The current term of Ginther expires on December 31, 2023. Ginther ran for re-election as Columbus, Ohio's mayor. On November 5, 2019, Ginther prevailed in the general election. 2015 saw Ginther's first election. On January 15, 2019, he said that he would run for office again that year. Columbus's mayoral elections are nonpartisan. Ginther is a member of the Democratic Party, according to the media. Ginther served on the Columbus City Council from 2007 to 2015 before being elected mayor. On January 3, 2011, the city council selected him to serve as council president. Ginther furthermore had an elected post from 2001 to 2007 on the Columbus Board of Education.