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COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — The murder of a 25-year-old man in southeast Columbus remains unsolved five years later.

Columbus police are seeking assistance in solving the fatal shooting of Jaleel Carter-Tate, who was shot and killed on Sept. 29, 2020. Officers responded to reports of a person shot in the 800 block of East Whitter Street in the Karns Park neighborhood.

Carter-Tate was found lying in the street and unresponsive. He was pronounced dead at 9:52 p.m. at the scene.

Adult killed in Weinland Park hit-and-run crash

Police said several individuals were seen with Carter-Tate, just before the shooting occurred; however, no suspects have been named, and there are no reports of witness statements.

A little over 10 months later, Carter-Tate's brother, 23-year-old Jerick Jacobs-Tate, was shot and killed at the former location of the Whittier Food Mart, about 10 blocks east on East Whittier Street.

Central Ohio Crime Stoppers is offering a cash reward for any information leading to the arrest and/or indictment of the person(s) responsible for this crime. Anyone with information is asked to call 614-461-TIPS (8477) or visit www.stopcrime.org to submit your tip.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- An adult is dead after being hit by a car early Sunday morning in a north Columbus neighborhood.

Juvenile critically injured in South Linden hit-skip

Columbus police said the victim was at the intersection of East 11th Avenue and North 5th Street in Weinland Park at 1:37 a.m. A red Mitsubishi Lancer was driving west on East 11th Ave., veered off the roadway and hit the pedestrian. Police are investigating why the vehicle left the roadway.

The victim was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead after the driver of the Mitsubishi fled the scene of the crash. Police report that at least five other individuals were inside the car at the time of the crash.

Anyone with details on the vehicle or driver is asked to contact Columbus police's accident investigation unit at 614-645-4767. If you wish to remain anonymous, call Central Ohio Crime Stoppers are 614-461-8477.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Orkin has ratted out Columbus, Cleveland and Cincinnati for being among the top 50 cities for reported rodent activity in the United States.

In order to create this year’s list of the "rattiest cities," Orkin compiled the number of new rodent services it performed at owner-occupied residences from August 2024 to August 2025. The cities that sought the most help with rodents -- such as rats, mice and chipmunks -- topped the list.

Columbus ranked at No. 21, falling four spots from last year’s report. Cleveland was also named among the most rodent-infested cities, at No. 11, as well as Cincinnati, at No. 27. While Cleveland fell one spot compared with last year, Cincinnati jumped eight spots. 

Los Angeles took the crown as the rattiest city in America, dethroning Chicago after the Windy City’s 10-year reign at No. 1. 

“In true Hollywood fashion, Los Angeles has taken center stage,” the report said. “With year-round warm weather, a booming culinary scene and dense neighborhoods that offer ample access to food and shelter, the City of Angels checks every box for rodent survival.”

The list by Orkin is based solely on the number of treatments in each city and does not factor in population sizes, which likely impacted the rankings. The cities sitting at the top of the list are some of the most populated in the country.

Chicago came in at No. 2, and was followed by New York; San Francisco; Hartford, Connecticut; Washington, D.C.; Detroit; Philadelphia and Minneapolis.

Orkin’s full list is available on its website. 

ALEXANDRIA, Ohio (WCMH) -- On Tuesday, voters will determine if two western Licking County communities will merge into one municipality.

Residents will get to vote on a merger between the Village of Alexandria and St. Albans Township. The idea came from a dedicated merger committee, which determined merging the two communities would offer protection against the rapid growth hitting largely rural Licking County.

In Ohio, municipalities are either cities, villages or townships. Cities and villages, like Alexandria, have the right to home rule, allowing them to pass laws to govern themselves. Some townships qualify for limited home rule, but St. Albans does not have enough residents to do so, and instead is subject to state and county authorities.

Food pantries brace for demand amid SNAP uncertainties

Those in favor of the merger say combining into one village would offer St. Albans control over its own land. Ohio townships have far fewer protections against land annexation, and some residents worry neighboring New Albany will go back on promises to respect community boundaries.

“While New Albany says that it is not growing beyond Mink Street, there is no guarantee
of that, and my taxes to Alexandria will be less than paying taxes to New Albany,” St. Albans resident and commission member Ann Lodder said.

Groups like Licking County Conservatives and the Jersey Township Board of Trustees are encouraging St. Albans residents to vote against the merger. They argue St. Albans is in a better fiscal spot without combining, pointing to things like Alexandria's 1% income tax, which would be adopted if they merged.

"As firm believers in the township form of government, it is clear to us that the current board of trustees in St. Albans Township has done little-to-nothing to help its township, and has allowed fear and misinformation to spur the creation of perceived 'threats' identified by the merger commission," Jersey Township trustees wrote in a formal, unanimous condemnation of the merger.

OSU surgeon sues doctor, hospital for sexual discrimination

The merger commission said Jersey Township officials have "no authority, no stake and no justification" for condemning the merger. The commission, made up of an equal number of stakeholders from both municipalities in the merger, said the formal opposition was an overstep and "out of line."

The commission said annexation is a real threat, and that 6,000 acres of Jersey Township have already been annexed by New Albany. Commission members said the merger is an attempt to protect rural life and give residents more autonomy. They also noted infrastructure that would support Jersey Township is planned for land within St. Albans, which they pointed to as evidence that St. Albans needs more say over its land.

The commission said growth is approaching rapidly, and merging will protect local autonomy and preserve the rural way of life. Opponents to the merger said it will increase taxes and restrict residents. If the ballot measure does not pass Tuesday, a new citizen-led initiative cannot be reintroduced for three years.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- One person is dead after a stabbing early Sunday morning in a north Columbus neighborhood.

Juvenile critically injured in South Linden hit-skip

A police dispatcher said officers received reports of a stabbing at 1:48 a.m. at the 1700 block of North High Street in the University District. One victim was found with a stab wound and taken to a hospital.

The victim was pronounced dead at 2:17 a.m., per a police dispatcher.

Police has yet to provide information on a potential suspect as it continues its investigation.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A juvenile was critically injured after being hit by a car Saturday evening, according to police.

The juvenile, whose age was not released, was hit just before 5:30 p.m. in the area of Cleveland Avenue and Windsor Avenue.

A white sedan was traveling south on Cleveland Avenue, which had a green light, when the juvenile was hit, police said. The juvenile was taken to a hospital in critical condition.

The white sedan left the area after the crash, according to police. The vehicle has damage to the passenger side, including a broken mirror and cracked windshield. A photo of the vehicle was not provided.

No other details were immediately available. Anyone with information about the vehicle or the driver is asked to call 614-645-4767.

November 2, 2025

In this edition:

* AMSAT Receives Two ARDC Grants for Youth Initiative Program
* Alan Johnston, KU2Y, Presents CubeSat Simulator 2025 Updates
* ARISS 2025 Highlights Presented by Frank Bauer, KA3HDO
* GridMasterMap Satellite Top 100 Rovers November Rankings 2025
* VUCC Satellite Standing November 2025
* DXCC Satellite Standing for November 2025
* Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution
* ARISS News
* AMSAT Ambassador Activities
* Satellite Shorts From All Over

The AMSAT(R) News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information service of AMSAT, the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites.

The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it.

Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor [at] amsat [dot] org .

Sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List. Join this list at: https://mailman.amsat.org/postorius/lists/ans.amsat.org/

AMSAT Receives Two ARDC Grants for Youth Initiative Program

Frank Karnauskas, N1UW, AMSAT Director/VP-Development is pleased to announce that two grant applications were approved this week by Amateur Radio Digital Communication (ARDC).

BuzzSat.com
The first grant is for additional software licenses for production of the BuzzSat.com series of online courses designed for high school students. The first course, “Introduction to Satellite Meteorology’ was introduced at Hamvention 2025.

The production cycle begins with content development by a volunteer subject matter expert. In the case of the satellite meteorology course, retired high school earth science teacher Eric Sonnenwald, N2XSE created content by harvesting open-source material, both text and illustrations, and organizing it into a frame-by-frame presentation.

From there the frames are loaded into a specialized educational authoring program that adds a complex assortment of interactivity tools that help make the learning experience engaging and effective. Constant interaction required of the student helps prevent the lessons from becoming a mind-numbing “next – next – next” page turning sedative.

The authoring software has several AI assisted capabilities including the ability to generate audio narrative for the text and to translate the courseware into up to seventy different languages.

The theme of the lessons is “Satellites in Space Help Us Live a Better Life on Earth.” Fourteen courses are planned for completion by the end of 2026. The courses are free to students, teachers, at-home educators, scouting leaders and lifelong learners of all ages.

You can experience the “Introduction to Satellite Meteorology” course now at www.BuzzSat.com .

KidzSat.com
The second grant is for production of a satellite-themed coloring book for younger elementary-age kids. The coloring pages in the book show how satellites play important roles in almost every aspect of modern life. Satellites and their role in agriculture, navigation, broadcasting, pollution control and wildfire fighting are a few of the twelve topics shown in the book.

Production of the coloring book began about a month before the application for the grant was made. So, the finished book cover as well as sketches for a few inside coloring pages were shown at the AMSAT Space Symposium held in October.

The coloring books will be available before the end of this year for download free-of-charge from the AMSAT sponsored www.KidzSat.com website.

[ANS thanks Frank Karnauskas, N1UW, AMSAT Director/VP-Development for the above information.]

Only 8 Weeks Left to Get Your Coin!
Celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Amateur Radio on Human Spaceflight
Help Support GOLF and FoxPlus.

Annual memberships start at only $120
Join the AMSAT President’s Club today and help
Keep Amateur Radio in Space!
https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/

Alan Johnston, KU2Y, Presents CubeSat Simulator 2025 Updates

During one of the always popular CubeSat Simulator (CSS) presentations, Alan Johnston, KU2Y, AMSAT VP-Educational Relations showcased recent improvements to the CSS at last months AMSAT Annual Space Symposium.

The AMSAT CubeSatSim, the CubeSat Simulator, is a small, low cost, spacecraft simulator that serves as a tool for academic education, public demonstrations and theory and design disciplines. It can be used in a classroom, lab or training setting to introduce the basics of satellite operations, or it can be used to teach Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM) exercises.

The pace of development in 2025 was similar to 2024 with several new features rolled out. The v2.1 software release added two new telemetry modes: FunCube Mode and Cross Band Repeater Mode. In addition, the Fox-in-a-Box v4 Beta Raspberry Pi Ground Station disk image was also released.

Cross Band FM Repeater Mode
The CubeSatSim Cross Band FM Repeater mode uses the FM transceiver module in receive mode, with the squelch pin read by the Raspberry Pi Zero to detect a transmission. This mode utilizes the USB sound card connected to the Pi Zero 2 with the OTG cable, and the audio jumper from the Main board to the sound card provides the received audio to the Pi Zero. The Pi Zero 2 then connects the microphone input to the rpitx transmitter. One of the CubeSatSim antennas is receiving the UHF signal, the other is transmitting the VHF signal at the same time, just like a real CubeSat with an FM repeater.

The v2.0 software release had a Repeater mode, but you couldn’t turn it on and off with the pushbutton, and it was unstable in that the repeater function would stop working and require a reboot. It also had uplink and downlink frequencies in the UHF band which made reception difficult. The v2.1 software release has fixed these issues, and moves the downlink to the VHF band. This provides a “U/V” operation with an FM UHF uplink, VHF downlink similar to many AMSAT CubeSats such as AO-91 (RadFxSat / Fox-1B) and AMSAT-UK AO-73 (FunCube).

New FunCube Mode
The CubeSatSim now has a new FunCube Mode 7. This BPSK (Binary Phase Shift Keying) 1200 bps (bits-per-second) transmission mode emulates the AMSAT-UK FunCube CubeSat (AO-73) and several other CubeSats that also use this transmission including Nayif 1 (EO-88), UKube-1, and JY1 Sat (JO-97). The transmission is very similar to the Fox-1E BPSK 1200 bps transmission already supported by the CubeSatSim in BPSK Mode 3. However, it has a different data structure and error correction. Special thanks to Duncan Hills, the lead FunCube Dashboard developer from AMSAT-UK who provided technical details and support to get this code working! If you listen to this mode, it sounds similar to BPSK, except for every four seconds it sounds like there is a “beep” or tone.

To decode FunCube telemetry, you need a FunCube Dongle (FCDPro or FCDPro+) and decoding software (an RTL-SDR dongle will not work). For the FunCube satellites in orbit, there is a Windows Dashboard for each satellite that decodes the telemetry and uploads the data to the AMSAT-UK Data Warehouse. We don’t yet have a Windows Dashboard, but we do have a Raspberry Pi application which will decode it. It is part of the new Fox-in-a-Box-v4 beta image.

The telemetry data is a similar format to JY1 Sat (JO-97) with a camera image and telemetry data in each frame. Unlike the CubeSatSim SSTV mode 4 which uses tones to transmit image pixels in Scottie 2 format, FunCube uses SSDV to encode JPEG images suitable for packetization. It uses the Reed-Solomon codec written by Phil Karn, KA9Q. You can see the image come in block by block, and if a frame is lost, there is a rectangular dropout in the image. Otherwise, the image quality is perfect. This makes an interesting comparison with the analog SSTV Mode 4 in which the image quality degrades as the signal strength decreases.

Future Updates
We are also working on a software update for v2.2 which will add these capabilities:

• Improved simulated telemetry providing more realistic data.
• Support for humidity and gyroscope/accelerometer sensors attached to Pi Zero 2.
• Simulated failures.

Activity Guides
In 2025, we released the first set of CubeSatSim Activity Guides. The problem statement for the Activity Guides is “I just built (or borrowed) a CubeSatSim. What can I do with it?” Activity Guides are step-by-step instructions for how to do a STEM educational activity using a CubeSatSim. Most work with just a CubeSatSim (or even just a Lite). Some are very easy to do, such as listening to the sounds of the different modes on a HT and/or looking at modes on an SDR waterfall. Others are more challenging such as doing telemetry analysis using FoxTelem. Activity Guides include questions for students to answer as they do the activity. Each also has an Instructors Guide which has example data and answers to the questions.

The CubeSatSim Activity Guides are released under a Creative Commons with Attribution license so anyone can edit and modify them as long as they indicate they were originally developed by AMSAT. This allows teachers to customize them and include them in their lesson plans.

To read Alan’s complete presentation, go to https://drive.google.com/file/d/19o1GsO-R3Btt35AqIsXj4EJPn3eNADcd/view .

[ANS thanks Alan Johnston, KU2Y, AMSAT VP-Educational Relations for the above information.]

Need new satellite antennas?
Purchase M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store

When you purchase through AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards
Keeping Amateur Radio in Space.
https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/

ARISS 2025 Highlights Presented by Frank Bauer, KA3HDO

The 43rd Annual AMSAT Space Symposium & Annual General Meeting featured a special presentation of the Amateur Radio aboard the International Space Station (ARISS) by Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, ARISS Executive Director. The prerecorded presentation highlighted many accomplishments for the year 2025.

A major accomplishment was achieving 25 years of continuous Amateur Radio operation aboard the space station.

While celebrating that achievement, ARISS is aware of substantial changes happening in the space industry and embraces the shift towards commercial missions.

With the upcoming decommissioning of ISS in the next five to six years, ARISS is listening to its NASA and ISS U.S. National Laboratory priorities. As a result, ARISS has modified the emphasis of its mission as follow:

• An independent backup communications capability for ISS
• Boosts ISS crew morale through enriching youth, community and Amateur Radio engagement
• Inspires, engages and educates K-16 youth in STEM/STEAM via 10-minute Amateur Radio contacts with the on-orbit crew – a workforce development powerhouse
• During 4-6 month pre-contact preparations, students learn about space exploration and science research, space communications, radio science & technology using Amateur Radio and on-going ISS research activities
• Youth contacts keep astronauts proficient in ARISS radio operations and ground stations proficient in support of ISS backup communications.

The main ARISS prime initiatives continue to be STEM/STEAM education, spaceflight hardware development and spaceflight operations. Now, ARISS 2.0 educational vision for the future is to inspire, engage and educate students and lifelong learners. This means:

• More extensive educational outcomes for all
• Engaging educational projects and lesson plans
• Multiple space stations on ISS and commercial missions, and
  Lunar orbiters and landers

Bauer described the initiative that are currently underway including:

• The ARISS payload is now a facility on ISS, enabling partnerships to employ ARISS facility
• Expansion to Axiom commercial space station flights
• Expansion to Crew Dragon via Fram2Ham missions
• More SSTV opportunities
• Educational Extension initiatives
  • STEREO/SPARKI kits
  • ARISS STAR astronaut contacts
  • Student Mission Control program

Frank then spoke in detail about several outstanding successes for the year such as the Fram2Ham mission and the ever popular slow-scan television (SSTV) operations. Both events enjoyed exceptional exposure and impressive participation by students around the world.

Bauer went on to thank NASA, the ISS U.S. National Laboratory, the ARRL and AMSAT for financial and in-kind support and to Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) for critical resources.

You can view the complete presentation AMSAT’s You Tube channel at https://youtu.be/loM80Jr8RUk .

[ANS thanks Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, ARISS Executive Director for the above information.]

GridMasterMap Satellite Top 100 Rovers November Rankings 2025

The November 2025 rankings for the Top 100 Rovers (Mixed LEO/MEO/GEO) in satellite operations, as determined by @GridMasterMap on Twitter, has been released. The ranking is determined by the number of grids and DXCC entities activated, taking into account only those grids where a minimum number of QSOs logged on the gridmaster.fr website have been validated by a third party. Grid numbers do not directly reflect the exact number of activations. Satellite operators are encouraged to upload their LoTW satellite contacts to https://gridmaster.fr in order to provide more accurate data.
Updated October 31, 2025

Updated: 2025-10-31

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@media screen and (max-width: 767px) {.tg {width: auto !important;}.tg col {width: auto !important;}.tg-wrap {overflow-x: auto;-webkit-overflow-scrolling: touch;}} 1 ND9M 26 KX9X 51 KE0PBR 76 SP5XSD 2 NJ7H 27 KG5CCI 52 XE3DX 77 DL4EA 3 UT1FG 28 DJ8MS 53 W7WGC 78 N6UTC 4 JA9KRO 29 N5BO 54 JK2XXK 79 N4UFO 5 N5UC 30 ON4AUC 55 PR8KW 80 VE7PTN 6 F5VMJ 31 K8BL 56 EA4NF 81 PT2AP 7 DL6AP 32 KE4AL 57 XE1ET 82 VE1VOX 8 WI7P 33 KB5FHK 58 N6DNM 83 KB2YSI 9 DP0POL 34 AC0RA 59 EB1AO 84 KI7UXT 10 K5ZM 35 PA3GAN 60 WD5GRW 85 AF5CC 11 OE3SEU 36 KI0KB 61 LU4JVE 86 AA8CH 12 WY7AA 37 F4BKV 62 W8LR 87 KJ7NDY 13 N6UA 38 VE3HLS 63 W1AW 88 BI1MHK 14 HA3FOK 39 KI7UNJ 64 KI7QEK 89 PT9BM 15 LU5ILA 40 VA3VGR 65 SM3NRY 90 FG8OJ 16 W5PFG 41 JO2ASQ 66 KE9AJ 91 YU0W 17 N9IP 42 BG7QIW 67 F4DXV 92 BG5CZD 18 AK8CW 43 HJ5LVR 68 VE1CWJ 93 WA9JBQ 19 AD0DX 44 LA9XGA 69 AA5PK 94 W8MTB 20 AD0HJ 45 VK5DG 70 AD7DB 95 N4DCW 21 ND0C 46 N7AGF 71 KM4LAO 96 VE3GOP 22 N4AKV 47 K7TAB 72 M1DDD 97 JM1CAX 23 WD9EWK 48 DF2ET 73 HB9GWJ 98 PS8BR 24 BA1PK 49 JL3RNZ 74 VA7LM 99 K0FFY 25 DL2GRC 50 KE0WPA 75 N8RO 100 KG4AKV

[ANS thanks ANS thanks Mitch Ahrenstorff, AD0HJ, and @GridMasterMap for the above information.]

VUCC Satellite Standing November 2025

VUCC Satellite Award/Endorsement Change Summary for October 1, 2025 to November 1, 2025.

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@media screen and (max-width: 767px) {.tg {width: auto !important;}.tg col {width: auto !important;}.tg-wrap {overflow-x: auto;-webkit-overflow-scrolling: touch;}} WA4NVM 1676 1683 N8RO 1490 1505 JN2QCV 1075 1159 EA2AA 1125 1135 W2GDJ 1022 1075 VU2LBW 902 1000 W8LR 919 921 N8MR 783 801 WA4HFN 727 738 KA9CFD 608 704 N7ZO 669 670 KO9A 547 565 K6SFO 501 550 XE1BJ 304 501 DL8GAM 450 500 W3TI 465 469 KK7OVF 103 300 SV8CKM 215 273 KP4MV 175 200 EI8JB New 175 WB5TX 144 151 WD9EWK/DM62 130 137 PT2VM New 100 TI3IES New 100

Congratulations to the new VUCC Satellite holders.

EI8JB is first VUCC Satellite holder from IO63
PT2VM is first VUCC Satellite holder from GH64
TI3IES is first VUCC Satellite holder from EJ89

[ANS thanks Jon Goering, N7AZ for the above information.]

DXCC Satellite Standing for November 2025

DXCC Satellite Award/Endorsement Change Summary for October 1, 2025 to November 1, 2025.

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@media screen and (max-width: 767px) {.tg {width: auto !important;}.tg col {width: auto !important;}.tg-wrap {overflow-x: auto;-webkit-overflow-scrolling: touch;}} EA2AA 164 167 DL6GBM 160 165 PA7RA 147 148 E70A 135 139 W2GDJ 113 122 ZS2Y New 109 OE3JAG 102 104 IW3SSA New 100 ZS2Y New 109 IW3SSA New 100

Congratulations to the new DXCC Satellite holders.

ZS2Y is first DXCC Satellite holder from KF2S
IW3SSA is first DXCC Satellite holder from JN66

[ANS thanks Jon Goering, N7AZ for the above information.]

Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition?
Get your AMSAT car flag and other neat stuff from our Zazzle store!

25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards
Keeping Amateur Radio in Space
https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear

Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for October 31, 2005

Two Line Elements or TLEs, often referred to as Keplerian elements or keps in the amateur community, are the inputs to the SGP4 standard mathematical model of spacecraft orbits used by most amateur tracking programs. Weekly updates are completely adequate for most amateur satellites. TLE bulletin files are updated daily in the first hour of the UTC day. New bulletin files will be posted immediately after reliable elements become available for new amateur satellites. More information may be found at https://www.amsat.org/keplerian-elements-resources/.

This week there are no additions or deletions to the AMSAT TLE distribution.

[ANS thanks Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager for the above information.]

ARISS NEWS

Amateurs and others around the world may listen in on contacts between amateurs operating in schools and allowing students to interact with astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station. The downlink frequency on which to listen is 145.800 MHz worldwide.

Upcoming Contacts
Petofi Sandor Evangelikus Gimnazium, Kollegium es Altalanos Iskola, Mezobereny, Hungary.
Telebridge via K6DUE.
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS.
The scheduled crewmember is Zena Cardman, KJ5CMN.
Contact is go for Thursday, November 6, 2025 at 09:00:17 UTC.

The crossband repeater continues to be active (145.990 MHz up {PL 67} & 437.800 MHz down). If any crewmember is so inclined, all they have to do is pick up the microphone, raise the volume up, and talk on the crossband repeater. So give a listen, you just never know.

The packet system is also active (145.825 MHz up & down).

As always, if there is an EVA, a docking, or an undocking; the ARISS radios are turned off as part of the safety protocol.

Note, all times are approximate. It is recommended that you do your own orbital prediction or start listening about 10 minutes before the listed time.

The latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html

The latest list of frequencies in use can be found at https://www.ariss.org/contact-the-iss.html

[ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, one of the ARISS operation team mentors for the above information.]

AMSAT Ambassador Activities

AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events.

None currently scheduled.

[ANS thanks Bo Lowrey, W4FCL, Director – AMSAT Ambassador Program, for the above information.]

Satellite Shorts From All Over

• With SpaceX’s 10,000th Starlink satellite launched to orbit, and 8,562 active as of Oct 20th, a staggering 2/3rds of humanity’s active satellites in orbit are controlled by a single private company. [ANS thanks The Orbital Index for the above information.]
• Two former NASA administrators criticized the agency’s current approach to using SpaceX’s Starship for the Artemis 3 crewed lunar landing, calling for an urgent redirection to reach the moon before China. In a fireside chat at the American Astronautical Society’s von Braun Space Exploration Symposium on Oct. 29, former administrators Charlie Bolden and Jim Bridenstine expressed skepticism that NASA’s current Artemis architecture. China aims to conduct the first launch of its Long March 10 rocket and a lunar-capable crew spacecraft next year, according to a top official. The announcement from the China Manned Space Engineering Office comes as the U.S. prepares to send its Artemis 2 crewed mission around the moon as soon as February 2026.[ANS thanks Space News This Week for the above information.]

Join AMSAT today at https://launch.amsat.org/

In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership to:

* Societies (a recognized group, clubs or organization).
* Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate.
* Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the student rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status.
* Memberships are available for annual and lifetime terms.

Contact info [at] amsat.org for additional membership information.

73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space!

This week’s ANS Editor, Frank Karnauskas, N1UW.
f.karnauskas [at] amsat [dot] org

ANS is a service of AMSAT, the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation, 712 H Street NE, Suite 1653, Washington, DC 20002.
AMSAT is a registered trademark of the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation.

WHITEHALL, Ohio (WCMH) -- Central Ohio's police union filed a lawsuit against the city of Whitehall on Friday, alleging an email policy violates the First Amendment.

The Fraternal Order of Police, Capital City Lodge #9 (FOP) sued Whitehall, Mayor Michael Bivens and Chief of Police Mike Crispen over a policy banning FOP from using the city's email system. The lawsuit alleges Bivens and Crispen had the city's IT department ban all emails with the domain "@fop9.org."

Bivens and Crispen have a lengthy, contentious relationship with the FOP, particularly FOP President Brian Steel. NBC4 Investigates took a deep dive into the culture within Whitehall's police force, the subject of much of the sparring between Steel and Crispen.

The lawsuit follows months of public accusations, with Steel alleging Whitehall punishes union members, and Crispen alleging Steel has harassed leadership, including accusing Steel of vandalism. See previous coverage in the video player above.

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According to the lawsuit, FOP emails were blocked after Steel sent a vote of no confidence memo to Crispen, accusing him of "failed leadership." The lawsuit alleges Steel received a response directing him to "stop sending these emails to the chiefs' account," and threatening to block him if the messages continued.

In February, Steel sent another email. As previously indicated, Steel was blocked from the email system, and the lawsuit claims it prevented him from emailing union members. The lawsuit alleges the blanket ban violates the First Amendment.

In a September city council meeting, City Attorney Brad Nicodemus addressed the email blockage. He said there can be legitimate reasons for blocking emails, but bans cannot infringe on people's right to petition the government. He said blocking emails based solely on the sender is like holding a public comment session and banning specific people.

"Based on what I have and know at this time, the ban violates the First Amendment," Nicodemus said, telling officials they should lift the ban.

NBC4 reached out to the city of Whitehall and is awaiting comment.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- No. 1 Ohio State is back at home this week to take on unranked Penn State.

Saturday is the 41st meeting of the teams, and OSU has not lost to Penn State in the past eight games. Ohio State is undefeated dating back to last year's national championship, but Penn State is on a four-game losing steak. The Buckeyes are coming in with seven injured players against the Nittany Lions, who have faced a tough run lately.

Among the injured is wide receiver Quincy Porter, who notched two catches in Ohio State's last game against Wisconsin. The true freshman hails from New Jersey, where he was 247Sports' No. 1 player.

Ohio State injury report (Week 10 vs. Penn State)

• DL Logan George
• SAF Malik Hartford
• QB Mason Maggs
• WR Quincy Porter
• RB Anthony Rogers
• DT Max Roy
• DL Ahmed Tounkara

No players were listed as questionable.

Kickoff is at noon Saturday, the first game at Ohio Stadium for the Buckeyes in three weeks.

WELLSTON, Ohio (WCMH) — A Jackson County woman has been sentenced to two years in prison after a jury convicted her of stealing more than $40,000 from an athletic booster club.

According to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, the former treasurer of a Wellston City Schools booster club was sentenced to 24 months in prison after being found guilty for stealing from the organization. Lisa Frisby, 46, was convicted of grand theft and telecommunications fraud during a six-day trial in September.

In addition to the prison sentence, a Jackson County Court of Common Pleas judge ordered Frisby to pay $40,200 in restitution to the Golden Rocket Athletic Boosters, the successor organization of the Big W Football Boosters.

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The investigation, headed by the attorney general’s charitable law section, found that Frisby embezzled the money for personal use during her five years while serving as treasurer.

Frisby, who had full control of the organization’s accounts, concealed her theft until the club’s vice president grew suspicious and obtained bank statements, which did not match the account balances reported by Frisby.

At Wednesday’s sentencing hearing, Frisby repaid the boosters club with a check.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — A Cincinnati man was arrested in southern Ohio reportedly in possession of over $50,000 worth of suspected drugs.

According to the Scioto County Sheriff's Office, a man was arrested in Portsmouth after an investigation was conducted by the Southern Ohio Drug Task Force. Eric Johnson of Cincinnati is facing drug trafficking and possession charges after he was arrested on Oct. 27.

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Task force officers and a Portsmouth Police Department SWAT team executed a narcotics-related search warrant at a home near the intersection of 12th and Lincoln streets. Investigators seized about 391 grams of suspected fentanyl and/or opiates and 51 grams of suspected crack cocaine.

• Authorities seized suspected narcotics, cash and a weapon in Portsmouth, Ohio, Oct. 27, 2025. (Courtesy/Scioto County Sheriff's Office)
• Authorities seized suspected narcotics, cash and a weapon in Portsmouth, Ohio, Oct. 27, 2025. (Courtesy/Scioto County Sheriff's Office)
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• Authorities seized suspected narcotics, cash and a weapon in Portsmouth, Ohio, Oct. 27, 2025. (Courtesy/Scioto County Sheriff's Office)
• Authorities seized suspected narcotics, cash and a weapon in Portsmouth, Ohio, Oct. 27, 2025. (Courtesy/Scioto County Sheriff's Office)

In addition, officers confiscated a loaded gun, digital scales, sandwich baggies, additional evidence of drug trafficking and $1,673 in cash. The estimated street value of the suspected drugs is $51,900.

Johnson, 28, is being detained at Scioto County Jail while under bond. His case will be presented to a grand jury for the consideration of additional felony charges.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A Franklin County couple has been charged with stealing and selling Bath & Body Works products.

Tamica Jones, 46, and her husband, Rahsaun Douglas, 43, were each indicted by a grand jury on Wednesday on one count each of organized theft of retail property, engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, and grand theft.

According to the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office, Bath & Body Works stores across the region reported in February at least 20 instances of theft by a “masked duo.”

In April, a group of people stole items from the Bath & Body Works store at the Easton Market. A short time later, a law enforcement officer noticed a suspicious vehicle circling the parking lot of the Lennox Town Center, about 15 miles away. The officer ran the vehicle’s license plate and discovered the car was registered to Jones.

The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office began investigating the thefts, and after reviewing surveillance footage and reports, the detective found 56 reports of theft from Bath & Body Works stores between October 2024 and May 2025 involving Jones, Douglas, and, in some instances, an accomplice.

The stolen items are valued at nearly $63,000.

Both Jones and Douglas were convicted in 2023 in Delaware County on theft and engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity charges and sentenced to community control.

Jones was arrested in May for violating her community control and is being held in the Ohio Reformatory for Women.

Douglas remains at large after being taken to a hospital for a mental health complaint. He was also scheduled to be arrested in May but has not been located since leaving the hospital.

Jones was set to appear in court for her arraignment on Friday.

“Retail crime impacts us all, from local businesses and major corporations to consumers,” Franklin County Sheriff Dallas Baldwin said in a statement.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — While the battle for blood donations with that state up north might be well known to Ohio State fans, a new competition involving lost cash is now entering the Michigan rivalry.

This November, the Ohio Division of Unclaimed Funds is asking people to search for missing money by visiting the agency's recently updated website, which makes it easier to claim funds. The state of Michigan will also urge its residents to look for forgotten cash using its online system.

Some might find it surprising that Ohio needs to encourage residents to locate money they are owed, but the state notes that not everyone is aware that the fund exists. Even after Gov. Mike DeWine made headlines in July for signing a budget bill that allowed the Cleveland Browns to receive $600 million from the fund for a new stadium, many individuals have not received the message.

“Every year, millions of dollars go unclaimed simply because people don’t know about it,” said Susie Wagner, outreach supervisor for the Ohio Division of Unclaimed Funds. “This fun challenge aims to change that by educating and engaging residents of both states while tapping into the excitement of the rivalry.”

The “battle for unclaimed bucks” challenge runs through Nov. 30, the day after the Ohio State-Michigan game. The winning state will be decided by counting completed unclaimed fund searches for both the Ohio and Michigan sites. The state with the most searches will be declared the winner. The results will be announced the week of Dec. 1.

“The real goal is to help as many people as possible connect with their hard-earned money,” Wagner said. “The more searches that Ohioans conduct, the more people we can connect with their forgotten funds. This really is a win-win for everyone involved.”

To participate, Ohioans should visit unclaimedfunds.ohio.gov and search for missing money using their name or the names of friends and family. The process is free and visitors do not need to make an account. Anyone can file a claim on the spot if they find money using the simplified system. See more details below.

How to search for unclaimed funds

The Division of Unclaimed Funds recommends using this three-step process:
• Search for unclaimed funds and generate a claim form by accessing the new system at com.ohio.gov/UnclaimedFunds.
• Review and gather the required documentation.
• Submit the claim form and any documents by mail or upload them directly through the system.

The Division of Unclaimed Funds, part of the Ohio Department of Commerce, wants Buckeyes to spread the word and encourage everyone they know to participate.

“This campaign is about more than just bragging rights,” said Wagner. “It’s also about raising awareness and helping Ohioans discover money they may not even know exists.”

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- One person has died following a shooting on Columbus' southeast side on Halloween night.

According to Columbus police dispatchers, police were called to the intersection of South Ohio Ave and Frebis Ave around 8:15 p.m. Friday. Police located one person suffering from a gunshot wound, and they were originally transported to a local hospital in critical condition.

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Police say the victim was pronounced deceased at the hospital thirty minutes later. Details leading up to the shooting and a possible suspect were not available. Columbus police say the incident is still under investigation.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Despite a judge's ruling that the federal government must continue to fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) amid the ongoing government shutdown, local food pantries are still preparing to serve more clients.

Friday was another busy day at the Mid-Ohio Market at St. Stephen's Community House. It came with more unknowns than usual, as there is no exact date for when SNAP recipients will receive their funds.

“That's why people are nervous. Because they don't know what they’re going to do. That's everybody's dilemma right now," said Antwan McCarrel. 

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McCarrel is one of 1.4 million Ohioans, including more than 173,000 Franklin County residents, who are helped by the SNAP program.

As the government shutdown continues, pantries like the one at St. Stephen's have been doing what they can to assist more families. On an average market day, they serve 200 households. Marilyn Mehaffi, CEO of St. Stephen's, said on Wednesday alone they served 340 households, which was a high for the year.

“The need is increasing, people coming to use our pantry are increasing, and food costs are increasing," Mehaffi said.

With the expectation at the beginning of October 31 that November SNAP benefits would not be going out, the St. Stephen's team was getting ready to keep helping between 300 and 350 households a day. Even with the judge's ruling, SNAP must be funded, Mehaffi said. More clients will still be coming in because when and if the benefits do come out, she said, they'll likely be delayed.

"I think people are scared. They’ve come in saying they’re scared. They’re not sure about next week," she said. "And then for me, I think we’re afraid of staff burnout. This is a lot of people coming through our pantry on a regular basis.”

She encouraged anyone who can to support their local food pantries, whether by donating or volunteering.

GROVE CITY, Ohio (WCMH) -- As the Buckeyes get ready to take on Penn State at Ohio Stadium on Saturday, the Ohio State University Marching Band is also gearing up for a performance, including an elementary teacher at South Western City Schools who is dotting the i.

Kelly Scott said she lives a bit of a double life. She teaches students all day and then heads to OSU’s campus right after school for band practice, where she plays the sousaphone.

Scott teaches third grade at Bolton Crossing Elementary School.

“I knew my goal in band was to dot the i and that requires four years,” said Scott. “So I found a job in South Western City Schools that allowed me to be flexible with the work hours and still allowed me to get to rehearsal on time.”

Scott said she started playing tuba as a sixth grader at Worthington Schools with the sole purpose of eventually dotting the i.

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Her dreams all come on Saturday, and on Friday, all the staff and her students at Bolton Crossing wore t-shirts to support Scott.

“The i-dotters each game create a t-shirt designed to have for friends and family to wear and to celebrate the big moment,” said Scott.

“It’s really comfortable and I’m really happy because her family and friends paid for it and someday we can pay them back,” said third-grader Ravyn Golden.

Scott has been teaching her students about the band all school year.

“How we learned how to walk when we’re doing the Ohio, when we are scripting Ohio State,” said third-grade student Liam Gault.

“We get to learn lots about the band and see videos of it,” said Sadie Genson, another one of Scott’s students.

To help her practice before the performance, the third graders at Bolton Crossing marched in a line spelling out ‘Ohio’ behind the school with Scott dotting the i.

Her students said they’ll be watching on Saturday.

“She’s really good at it, and she gets to dot the i on Saturday,” said Golden.

“I think it'll also be cool because I can see my teacher and then my family can also see who she is too,” said Genson.

Scott said bringing her passions of teaching and the marching band together this year has been special, and seeing her students get excited about music and the band has made the buddy schedule worth it.

“It’s a pretty special honor, and being able to provide that experience and share that with all of these students is amazing, and I love being able to combine them together,” said Scott.

Script Ohio will take place right before the game kicks off at noon on Saturday.