She's just one show away from clinching the title.
The next American Idol will either be the small-town girl, or the city boy from Chicago.
But whether she finishes first or comes in a close second, northern Ohio won't stop believing in Crystal Bowersox.
On the evening of March 27, 2009, something awful happened in a small upstairs apartment at 1044 Camp St.
Nearly 14 months later, police and prosecutors acknowledge it was a criminal act, but they can't definitively say who caused it.
The death of 7-week-old Logan Bain has been ruled a homicide, but officials have yet to make an arrest.
It's time to dig down deep.
The city will drill three holes along the Paper District's shoreline as early as next week to determine if the coal tar plume has seeped into the bedrock beneath Sandusky.
The plume is a potentially hazardous, molasses-like blob lurking beneath the Paper District and surrounding areas.
Now it's on to closing arguments and to a jury.
Steven Rodvold has admitted he shot his father to death in September 2009 at their rural New London home, but he claims it was in self-defense.
Now a jury will decide.
Construction on the Paper District Marina could begin as early as next month.
The much-ballyhooed marina would likely feature 62 slips of mostly transient dockage and a 38,000-square-foot amphitheater.
George Poulos, the city's chief building inspector, described the pre-construction phase so far as 85 percent complete.
A Huron man allegedly part of the Michigan-based Hutaree that officials say plotted to kill police officers was released Tuesday.
District Judge Victoria Roberts ordered Jacob Ward to be released to his mother, Nadine Bober, after being held in jail since March 27.
He'll continue to be electronically monitored with an ankle bracelet.
If Crystal Bowersox makes it into the final two tonight, she may owe a nod to Ellen DeGeneres.
Ellen chose the song that became her breakout performance of the evening: "Maybe I'm Amazed," by Paul McCartney.
ERIE COUNTY SHERIFF
WEDNESDAY, MAY 12
8:56 p.m. -- 4900 block Cleveland Road, Vermilion, Deborah L. Lentz, 56, Bloomville, persistent disorderly conduct while intoxicated.
SUNDAY, MAY 16
7:35 a.m. -- Ransom Road and Ohio 113 W., Donald E. Stahl, 22, Bellevue, speeding.
Serious, high-minded journalists will no doubt spend the next few days discussing the case of U.S. Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind., a socially-conservative, "family-values" Republican who is resigning after confessing an affair with one of his aides.
OAK HARBOR
After taking the stage for her hometown, American Idol finalist Crystal Bowersox is back in the national spotlight tonight.
She'll perform "Maybe I'm Amazed" by Paul McCartney - a song chosen by Idol judge Ellen DeGeneres.
Today's varsity baseball game against Toledo Christian High School has been canceled and will be made up at 11 a.m. Saturday. Today's varsity softball game against Cardinal Stritch High School has been canceled and will be made up at 3:30 p.m. Monday.
Erie County Board of Revisions has started its hearing process for more than 400 property owners who are contesting the value of residential and commercial properties.
An overheated pool motor filled a storage room with smoke at Margaretta High School, interrupting a band banquet.
Bobbi Elliott said a few dozen band students and their parents were eating in the gymnasium Monday evening when the fire alarm sounded, forcing everyone to evacuate.
"The fire department came and told everyone to go home,' she said.