Rowe drew national attention from Esquire, Bill O'Reilly before his tragic death in Mansfield:

https://www.richlandsource.com/news/rowe-drew-national-attention-from-esquire-bill-oreilly-before-his-tragic-death-in-mansfield/article_4080ff96-f78c-11eb-8f01-67136e258f41.html

The Little Chef from Tappan:

https://www.richlandsource.com/area_history/the-little-chef-from-tappan/article_8fb29372-085f-11e5-bf75-973de97c1109.html

Korean War Veterans Association of Richland County announces new officers:

https://www.richlandsource.com/open_source/korean-war-veterans-association-of-richland-county-announces-new-officers/article_49fa67da-f6c7-11eb-bd2b-6bc77ca0fe5c.html

Mansfield woman's leap of faith leads to artistic growth in city:

https://www.richlandsource.com/life_and_culture/mansfield-womans-leap-of-faith-leads-to-artistic-growth-in-city/article_7d7a9722-f6c4-11eb-86d4-b7cd9ae2e581.html

Conceptual drawings released of Fredericktown's streetscape project:

https://www.richlandsource.com/news/conceptual-drawings-released-of-fredericktowns-streetscape-project/article_a35bc7b6-4a20-5d9e-baca-de9ab7d46639.html

Julie Godbey:

https://www.richlandsource.com/obituaries/julie-godbey/article_c556f5d4-f6f3-11eb-9472-1f4a22ab33eb.html

You're listening to Source Daily: A new daily news podcast for Richland County. Join us Monday through Friday to stay up to date with what's happening in North Central Ohio. We’ll be sharing a closer look at one of our top stories, along with other news, local history, memorials, answers to your questions, and more. 

Today - 38 year old Sean Rowe died last week after an hours-long standoff in Mifflin Township. Exactly what occupied Rowe’s mind in the moments leading up to his violent end might never be known, but a deeper look into his background reveals a multi-layered character who drew national attention.

We’d like to take a moment to thank our Sponsors at First Federal Community Bank. Today, First Federal Community Bank wants you to meet Travis Smith, Assistant Vice President in Commercial Banking, as he continues to help Mansfield area business owners and investors expand their business or start a new one.   

Travis thrives on being a resource for the community to explore all of their business banking needs through a collaborative approach. Together you’ll talk about the resources available to meet your goals.  

First Federal Community Bank looks forward to collaborating with more local business, owners and investors soon. Equal Housing Lender, Member FDIC.

38 year old Sean Rowe was on a mission when he died. 

On Wednesday he wielded two machetes when police officers opened fire after an hours-long standoff on Peterson Road in Mifflin Township.

But a deeper look into Rowe’s background reveals a multi-layered character who drew national attention.

Around six years ago, the 38-year-old U.S. Army veteran founded a guerilla group geared toward traveling to Syria to end the Islamic State once and for all. He called it Veterans Against ISIS — and it attracted national media attention at the time.

The plan was to recruit veterans to travel to the Middle East and lend a hand to ISIS-opposition forces.

And it was a mission Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly tried talking Rowe out of in a May 2015 televised interview.

The caliphate was declared dead by the Syrian Democratic Forces in 2019. It's unclear if Rowe’s group ever took any action. The group’s website no longer exists and its presence on social media is extinct. 

O’Reilly even sasy to Rowe at one point “I don’t want to see your head on a stick”.

Rowe, an eight-year U.S. Army veteran, had another slightly different mission as well — one he was still pursuing through Veteran Rehab and Refuge.

His obituary explained that he had a heart to help other veterans who were struggling with depression and PTSD like himself. He wanted to build a retreat and business selling microgreens for veterans where they could be safe and productive.

But Rowe started getting into trouble with the law in August 2017, when he was charged for loitering and prowling, and resisting an officer without violence in Florida. 

The charges stemming from that encounter were eventually dropped.

A couple months later, he was charged with reckless driving and operating a motorcycle without a license. The reckless driving charge was eventually dropped, but the judge ordered nine months probation, a letter of apology, advanced driving school and counseling. 

And at some point, Rowe moved to Ohio.

Most recently he was living with his girlfriend, Jeannette Koehler, in a house in Mifflin Township. 

And videos posted on Rowe’s YouTube channel reference an alleged “conspiracy” involving Koehler and her ex-husband.  

The ex-husband began receiving death threats from Rowe through texts and social media. And things began to get worse. He had an encounter with law enforcement on July 4th, and then again on July 6th.

On July 30 Koehler was arrested. 

Then Wednesday, after more citizen complaints, Richland County police decided to confront Rowe again. 

This time Rowe had a new mission --- saying he will die protecting Koehler. 

It was a mission that no longer involved national media, the Kurdish peshmerga or helping other veterans. It was a mission that involved only him, his machetes and a dozen officers armed with powerful weapons.

Before we continue… I’d like to take a moment to highlight The Source Member Program. Memberships support daily reporting and research-driven solutions stories. Real world impact happens regularly in the form of community discussions and events. 

We believe you deserve to be confident in your community’s news. So Visit SourceMembers.com to join.

Now, some local history…

During Mansfield’s industrial heyday, one of the most far-reaching brand names was Tappan.

People all over the country had Tappan stoves, and when they looked closely—behind the porcelain front panel—they saw another proud name: Mansfield, Ohio.

Their mascot was homegrown in Mansfield too, a cartoon chef. In the Tappan offices and assembly lines he was known as ‘Tappy.” Tappy came to life on a drawing board at the Wayne Street advertising department in the early 1930s and his first appearance soon after.

Once Tappy had found his niche in the public imagination, he started showing up everywhere: on cookbooks, in department stores, on the walls of appliance shops. 

But Tappy was about to experience the perils of fame and early outsourcing. In 1950, Tappan opted to outsource their salt and shakers to Japan… and when they arrived, Mansfield residents found them too different. Ultimately Tappy found himself relegated to history.

You can read more about Tappy at richlandsource.com.

Next, we’re answering a question from our readers and listeners like you...

Today’s question focuses on the Korean War Veterans Association of Richland County who have announced new officers. 

The Korean War Veterans Association of Richland County Chapter #51 has announced its new officers… and we’re excited to highlight them today.

for the Fiscal Year 2021-22 the President is Dale Walker, the Vice President is Lorin Vance, Secretary is Jay Haar, Treasure is Roy Anderson, Sgt/Arms is Dave Bell, and Chaplain is Gail Eddy.

Is there something you’ve always wondered about Richland County that you’d like us to investigate? Check out richlandsource.com and click “Talk to Us”. Here, you can ask us anything and we’ll go out and find the answers. 

Now, we’d like to take a moment to highlight Allison Pence, who took an artistic leap of faith three years ago, leaving behind a full-time teaching position to pursue her own true vocation.

And as she transitioned from teaching to doing, Pence began creating and selling her own paintings. She even purchased and revamped her own mobile art studio. 

Then along came murals. She and fellow local artist Robin Shoupe created the "Cosmic Crosswalk" on a mid-block crossing on West Fourth Street in 2019.

And since then she’s completed about 65 murals, which can literally be seen all over Mansfield.

Her efforts have coincided with a growing local desire for public art, including the recent creation of a Mansfield Public Arts Commission.

Next, From Knox Pages…

Fredericktown's streetscape project will be completed as a single-phased project, instead of two phases as originally proposed. The street improvements remain slated for completion by the end of 2023. Construction will likely begin that summer.

Fredericktown received its first grant installment from the Ohio Department of Transportation in the amount of $922,000 in 2019, and received an additional $470,000 from ODOT this past June. 

The approximately $1 million grant will fund pedestrian safety improvements and revitalization efforts.

The grant is provided through ODT’s Transportation Alternatives Program, which funds projects that improve non-driver access to public transportation and community improvement activities. 

Make sure to visit knoxpages.com/ to check out the conceptual drawings

Finally, we’d like to take a moment to remember Julie Godbey. Julie was born in 1958 in Mansfield. She worked many years as a waitress. Julie was a devoted grandmother who found her family to be very important in her life. She attended Crossroads Community Church, and loved music. She also played Bingo and was a very patriotic lady. Julie gave in death as she always did in life, as her final act was to give the gift of life through organ and tissue donation.

She leaves behind her children, her grandchildren, her parents, her niece and nephew, and numerous aunts and cousins. She’ll be greatly missed. Thank you for taking a moment with us today to remember and celebrate Julie’s life. 

Also, make sure to head over to richlandsource.com and click be a member button to help support independent local journalism that informs and inspires. 

Every contribution goes to helping us make Richland County a better place and to help keep our journalism free. 

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