Early voting is now underway in Ohio for the November General Election and one of the top ticket races will decide who is the next mayor of Cincinnati.

David Mann and Aftab Pureval, both Democrats, are facing off to replace Mayor John Cranley.

Both are also current elected officials in Hamilton County.

While Mann and Pureval are from the same party, both say they will bring a different vision to city hall if elected.

"Voters are choosing between the future and the past," Pureval said. He is the current Hamilton County Clerk of Courts.

Cincinnati City Councilman Mann shared similar sentiments, " I want someone from Cincinnati who is committed to the future of the city."

But that is where their similarities end.

For Pureval, addressing crime in Cincinnati includes a change to 911 services.

"The status quo just isn't working. We're on track for exceeding 400 shootings just this year."

Mann offers a different solution. He says the city needs to hire more members to the police department, which is currently understaffed.

"Police are not the problem. The problem is engaging with citizens. The problem is making sure that those who are bad people are not on the streets. And that we work to address problems like mental health issues," Mann said.

For other issues the city faces, Pureval said his vision for growth is focused on equity.

"The best way to do that is prioritize creating jobs that pay a living wage, creating jobs that have good benefits," Pureval said.

In comparison, Mann wants to hone in on the changing economy, which the pandemic shifted.

"It's an opportunity to get more enterprise here that takes advance of our institutions of education, takes advantages of the skills of our younger people," Mann said.

Mann says if voters elect him, he will use his decades of experience on the city council to move the city forward.

"We're going to have one of the youngest, least experienced councils in history. It's important that whoever the mayor is has the maturity, the experience to organize the council."

In response, Pureval says he will help bring change to the city.

"I haven't experienced the several indictments on city council, but what I do have is transformation government experience and a vision to pushing Cincinnati forward," Pureval said.

Now, when it comes to fundraising, Pureval has outpaced Mann nearly five-fold.

Early voting days and hours vary weekly at the Board of Elections Office.

Remember, Election Day is Nov. 2.

If you are a Bearcats fan right now, you might be experiencing some football fever.

And why not?

The team is giving fans a lot to love about them right now a revenge win over Notre Dame and soon joining The Big 12 Conference.

"We were right in the heart of it and it felt, I mean, it felt like playing at Nippert," Nick Moscato, a recent UC grad, said.

Moscato brought his dad for his birthday Saturday.

Right now, the UC grad is cautiously all in.

"It is the Cincinnati sports fan in me that's always waiting for the floor to drop out where it's like, 'Oh, what bad things are going to happen?' But there's still overwhelming feeling," Moscato said.

It is a cautious feeling Alumnus Brandon Trame knows all too well.

"We were prepared for disappointment and we didn't get it this weekend," Trame said.

It was one of the Top Five Bearcats experiences of Trame's life.

Trame runs The Den a tailgate group that has grown a lot since it started in 2015.

It continues to grow like the enthusiasm for a Bearcats football program receiving national attention after cracking AP'S Top Five and joining a power conference.

But, it is not just about fan excitement. There is a real economic impact. A rising program means increasing revenue.

For example, at DuBois book store in Calhoun business is good.

"We've been seeing record sales for home football games compared to some of our more recent previous years," General Manager JD DuBois said.

There is such a demand, DuBois is now juggling a problem. The pandemic supply chain issues mean some items, like jerseys, take a long time to refill.

"Fan excitement's at an all time high and we have never had difficult like this in getting product so we are hustling and working with our vendors," DuBois said.

Money is not just flowing off campus. Remember, we previously told you about the move to The Big 12 could boost UC conference revenue from about seven million each year to $40 million.

On Thursday, Patricia Short of Lexington was asked to come to the Capitol because the governor wanted to personally speak with her. She didn't know that her life would change that day.

"Congratulations," Governor Andy Beshear said as Short walked into his office.

Cameras captured the moment Short saw the million-dollar check in Beshear's hands. On it, it had her name.

On Friday, Short's win was announced to the public.

"I did it. It happened," said Short. "It's real."

Short couldn't help but smile during the announcement, and understandably so. The pandemic was tough on Short and her husband, Gary.

On January 15, 2021, Short told LEX 18 about their struggles.

"My first phone call was made in July," Short said as she explained the trouble she was having navigating the state's unemployment system. "I was put in the queue and no one's ever called me back."

Short said without unemployment, she and her husband could not afford a place of their own. They ended up living on a friend's floor.

"My husband is a heart patient," Short said in January. "The one thing he's not supposed to do is deal with stress. Our life is nothing but stress."

About six months after that teary interview, Short's name was drawn in the Shot-at-a-Million contest. She was walking away with one million dollars before taxes.

"I'm still numb," Short said on Friday. "Y'all get vaccinated. That's the important thing. Then, you can register, and you can win this too."

This happens in the movies, and now it happens in Kentucky," said Short's husband, Gary. "I hope it makes 1 million more people get vaccinated.

Short was not the only winner this week. These five teens/preteens also won a full college scholarship:

"I feel so lucky. And all I did was get vaccinated," said Frost. "I thought it was a smart decision and clearly, it really paid off."

Vaccinated Kentuckians still have two more chances to become millionaires or scholarship winners. The next drawings will take place July 29 and August 26. Those who did not win in the first drawing remain eligible for the final two drawings.

Vaccinated Kentuckians still have two more chances to become millionaires or scholarship winners. Since the deadline to enter the first drawing on Wednesday, more than 35,000 Kentuckians have entered for the next two drawings.

The remaining incentive drawings will take place July 29 and Aug. 26, with one millionaire and five scholarship recipients, announced the day following each drawing. Those who did not win in the first drawing remain eligible for the final two drawings.

Beshear said more than 121,000 Kentuckians have received vaccines since the Shot at a Million drawing was announced on June 4.

Permanent residents of Kentucky can enter here to win the following prizes:

Click here for more information, official rules, and to enter.

The Cincinnati Police Department announced Friday that an Avondale man who was missing has been found safe.

The Cincinnati Police Department said 14-year-old Tianna Hill was found safe Thursday morning around 12:30 a.m. after she went missing.

WCPO first met Hill in July 2020 during a story on Happen, Inc., a Northside program that empowers kids to write stories and produce daily newscasts, as well as other creative experiences.

"I think everyone knows Tulip in the neighborhood," Happen, Inc. founder Tommy Rueff told WCPO Wednesday. "Shes been active in the programs. I think a lot of people know who she is, how respectful she is to others. This isnt like her at all.

Rueff said Hill has been part of Happen "since she was little" and part of the teen program for the last three years. He said there has been an "outpouring" of concern from the entire Northside community.

"We have groups of volunteers that have been going door to door with flyers and talking with neighbors, asking them to check their video cameras on their homes, cars, really looking for anything that might help the investigation," he said.

Rueff has also been keeping constant contact with Hill's mother on both Tuesday and Wednesday, and said community members are providing meals for the family and "helping in any way they can.

If youre in Northside, a Northside resident, check your video cams on your house and your cars. Especially the time frame of yesterday, the 23rd, from 6:10 to 6:45 p.m," he said.

A man who went missing from Summit County has been found safe, according to police.

Police said a man who went missing from Licking County has been found safe.

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As states begin reopening their economies, a surge in home grocery shopping has become a new leg in the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Apps like Instacart, Walmarts grocery app and Target-owned Shipt saw downloads increase 218%, 160% and 124% respectively, according to industry website Apptopia.

Kam Siu, co-owner of local restaurant distributor Panda Trading Co., scrambled to be a part of the new landscape in order to save his Lockland-based small business.

I knew I had to come up with an immediate change in our business model to cover the shortfall in our sales to the restaurants or my employees would be laid off, Siu said.

Less than a week after the order to close dining rooms, Siu added home grocery delivery to his business model, naming the new venture Panda Fresh Foods.

Among the signature items, Panda Fresh Foods offers fruit and vegetable boxes filled with whatever produce is fresh and available. While you can order what''s available there can be an element of surprise: Its like Forrest Gumps box of chocolates -- you never know what youre going to get. Siu intends to continue the service for the foreseeable future.

As restaurants moved to carry out service, and in some cases closed completely, the changes hit Siu emotionally.

I had tears building up because I have a lot of friends in the restaurant industry, he said. I knew some weren't going to make it out of this, and I knew people were going to lose their jobs.

Siu said he had no time to lose, though, as he thought of his own employees and food potentially spoiling on shelves.

Panda Fresh Foods was a result of COVID-19 because I knew I had to do something to protect my team and my company going forward, Siu said.

His team appreciated his fast acting. Lucas Moeggenberg, Sius first employee, does accounting but also boxes up produce in the warehouse.

The next morning as we all arrived to work, Kam had come up with an idea to make our own food boxes to deliver to houses since he has quite a lot of connections throughout the city, Moeggenberg said. We were a little skeptical at first as we weren't sure if there would be enough business for all of us to keep our usual hours/pay.

It turned out there would be enough business, and it was a strategy that helped people in the community who were reluctant to venture out to grocery stores.

There were quite a few changes that had to be made, but we were all happy to make them as we knew having a steady job while also being able to help those in need was worth it, Moeggenberg said.

The Cincinnati community has been instrumental in making Panda Fresh Foods possible, Siu said. Our entire team is eternally grateful for all the support.

With Ohio and Kentucky starting to reopen businesses, Siu said he is extremely hopeful for the future.

Its important that everyone stays positive and strives to be better instead of giving up, Siu said. I knew downsizing my team at the warehouse wasn't an option. I'm working harder now than ever before so I can minimize the effect COVID-19 has on their financial status. I owe that to my team.