Sophie Bates
Multimedia Journalist
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Sophie Bates is a Central Michigan University graduate who started at 13 Action News in October 2022. She grew up in Erie, Michigan with her parents and older sister. She decided she wanted to be a storyteller in third grade and has been honing her craft ever since.
Updated: Mar. 22, 2023 at 5:58 PM EDT
|By Sophie Bates
The International Association of Fire Fighters is filing a lawsuit against the National Fire Protection Association over a NFPA standard that requires the use of carcinogenic forever chemicals, also known as PFAs, in fire protective gear.
Updated: Mar. 21, 2023 at 6:12 PM EDT
|By Sophie Bates
The lawsuit alleges collusion between the NFPA and PFAs industry.
Updated: Mar. 17, 2023 at 6:52 PM EDT
|By Sophie Bates
The hope is that young men will grow up, go out into their communities, and share their lessons.
Updated: Mar. 16, 2023 at 8:21 PM EDT
|By Sophie Bates and WTVG Staff
In the past five years, there have been 25 St. Patrick’s Day car crashes related to OVIs – operating a vehicle under the influence – in 13abc’s viewing area. These crashes have resulted in 12 injuries and one death.
Updated: Mar. 15, 2023 at 6:58 PM EDT
|By Sophie Bates
“That’s the way it is with art. If it’s in you, you have to do it.”
Updated: Mar. 13, 2023 at 7:38 PM EDT
|By Sophie Bates
The State of Michigan is dolling out taxes from marijuana sales for the first time since the drug was legalized in 2018. Monroe Township expects to receive $570,253 from the windfall.
Updated: Mar. 10, 2023 at 6:56 PM EST
|By Sophie Bates
MSHDA estimates repairs could take eight months, while city leaders say it could take more than a year. Either way, Brighton says it’s too late.
Updated: Mar. 9, 2023 at 9:08 PM EST
|By Sophie Bates
The small business makes all its own products in small batches with natural, biodegradable ingredients and packages them in reusable containers.
Updated: Mar. 8, 2023 at 8:01 PM EST
|By Sophie Bates
Updated: Mar. 3, 2023 at 11:20 PM EST
|By Sophie Bates
Updated: Mar. 2, 2023 at 7:47 PM EST
|By Sophie Bates
WBGU-PBS is commemorating women’s history month by screening their documentary Trailblazing Women in Ohio Politics.
Updated: Mar. 2, 2023 at 4:27 PM EST
|By Sophie Bates
Project I AM is stepping up to help kids with autism get the therapies they need that aren’t covered by insurance.
Updated: Mar. 1, 2023 at 4:12 PM EST
|By Sophie Bates
After the kidnapping of a non-verbal 15-year-old with autism, Avenues for Autism Navigation Services Director Alexis Eggenberger weighs in on what can be done to help people with autism stay safe.
Updated: Feb. 28, 2023 at 12:39 AM EST
|By Sophie Bates
In Ohio, recipients could lose their coverage as early as April first.
Updated: Feb. 23, 2023 at 9:35 PM EST
|By Sophie Bates and WTVG Staff
The mall’s revitalization effort began back in 2020 by asking local leaders how the mall could better serve the community.
Updated: Feb. 23, 2023 at 2:23 PM EST
|By Sophie Bates and Josh Croup
Crews in southeast Michigan are cleaning up the area Thursday after an ice storm caused widespread damage and power outages.
Updated: Feb. 20, 2023 at 6:42 PM EST
|By Sophie Bates
Restaurant Week Toledo is more than just an excuse to eat great local food; it’s a fundraiser organized by Leadership Toledo to benefit their youth programs.
Updated: Feb. 17, 2023 at 9:08 PM EST
|By Sophie Bates
The family of 15-year-old Roman McCormick is desperate to find their son a kidney donor. McCormick was born with BOR syndrome, which causes kidney malformation, and has stage four kidney failure.
Updated: Feb. 16, 2023 at 8:55 PM EST
|By Sophie Bates
American Legion Post 73 in Fostoria is falling apart, and it’s veterans are asking for help.
Updated: Feb. 14, 2023 at 7:04 PM EST
|By Sophie Bates
More than six months after staff found deep cracks in the Riverview Terrace Apartments structure, triggering a sudden evacuation, residents have until February 15 to remove their belongings from the condemned building.
Updated: Feb. 13, 2023 at 8:19 PM EST
|By Sophie Bates and WTVG Staff
Since 2000, six fires have displaced more than 80 families, destroyed 18 units, torched several cars and killed three people at Hidden Cedars.
Updated: Feb. 10, 2023 at 8:34 PM EST
|By Sophie Bates
Washington Middle School Counselor Molly Toney says the best thing parents can do is check in with their child daily.
Updated: Feb. 9, 2023 at 6:38 PM EST
|By Sophie Bates
The Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance now recommends all people born with ovaries remove their fallopian tubes once they’re done having children, even if they don’t have the genetic mutations that put them at a higher risk of developing the cancer.
Updated: Feb. 8, 2023 at 6:07 PM EST
|By Sophie Bates
First responders and students alike experience real-world scenarios at the center that prepare them to handle future disasters.
Updated: Feb. 7, 2023 at 7:55 PM EST
|By Sophie Bates
Toledo City Council met Tuesday to discuss American Rescue Plan Act spending for the first time since council passed its plans for the $180 million back in 2021.
Updated: Feb. 7, 2023 at 6:41 AM EST
|By Sophie Bates
An overgrown, undeveloped lot under the overpass on South Avenue could soon be Toledo’s first recycling facility.
Updated: Feb. 3, 2023 at 6:17 PM EST
|By Sophie Bates
Should you have to pay to get your stolen car back? That’s the question Tiffany Lawrence is asking after the Toledo Police Department tried charging $500 to get her car back from TPD’s impound lot.
Updated: Feb. 2, 2023 at 7:34 PM EST
|By Sophie Bates
A typical junk-removal service throws away the unwanted items they collect, but not Junk King. They clear out homes and businesses and donate the items they collect to local charities like Sylvania Neighborhood Bridges, Habitat for Humanity, and the Salvation Army.
Updated: Feb. 2, 2023 at 9:02 AM EST
|By Sophie Bates
The Tribe Challenge asks students to identify problems in their school or community and work together to create a solution.
Updated: Feb. 1, 2023 at 6:44 PM EST
|By Sophie Bates
Turkeys, beavers, eagles, and even the elusive bobcat have rebounded after being nearly wiped out of Northwest Ohio.
Updated: Jan. 31, 2023 at 9:10 PM EST
|By Sophie Bates
Fairview student Dameion Mseis wore a dress to a school basketball game and was met by resistance from school officials.
Updated: Jan. 27, 2023 at 6:27 PM EST
|By Sophie Bates
The 60-year-old restaurant is full of memories.
Updated: Jan. 25, 2023 at 7:15 PM EST
|By Sophie Bates
Connecting Kids to Meals provides more than 2,300 free meals daily during after-school programs at local libraries and community centers.
Updated: Jan. 25, 2023 at 6:58 PM EST
|By Sophie Bates
Crews will focus on primary roads first.
Updated: Jan. 23, 2023 at 7:43 PM EST
|By Sophie Bates
The University of Findlay's pharmacy program is teaching students how to meet the demand for medication even when the supply is low.
Updated: Jan. 20, 2023 at 7:46 PM EST
|By Sophie Bates
Whitmer junior Joshua Sorrell fell to his death while exploring the abandoned building with his friends in 2016.
Updated: Jan. 19, 2023 at 7:19 PM EST
|By Sophie Bates
The University of Toledo Women’s Basketball team is partnering with Justice for Sierah for this Saturday’s game against Akron.
Updated: Jan. 18, 2023 at 8:51 PM EST
|By Sophie Bates
Metropark Toledo officials say they’re looking to expand the team and are now accepting volunteer applications.
Updated: Jan. 17, 2023 at 9:36 PM EST
|By Sophie Bates
Six months later, residents are now returning to the building only to gather their belongings and go.
Updated: Jan. 16, 2023 at 7:01 PM EST
|By Sophie Bates
For a family searching through the wreckage of their home, the Marshalls are surprisingly upbeat.
Updated: Jan. 16, 2023 at 5:48 PM EST
|By Sophie Bates
The deaths of Jane Coster’s adopted parents and brother left her bereft. So, she began searching for something more.
Updated: Jan. 13, 2023 at 10:15 PM EST
|By Sophie Bates
On Friday, the district held a training session for their new, nearly $1 million safety system: SafeDefend.
Updated: Jan. 12, 2023 at 8:27 PM EST
|By Sophie Bates
This week, a family business, the Chosica Peruvian Restaurant, closed its doors.
Updated: Jan. 11, 2023 at 7:49 PM EST
|By Sophie Bates
Ohio’s so-called heartbeat law — which bans abortions after six weeks —has been on pause since September, following a Hamilton County Judge’s decision to file a preliminary injunction making the law unenforceable.
Updated: Jan. 6, 2023 at 8:58 PM EST
|By Sophie Bates
When Pat Groves’ partner Cindy Dean went into the Divine Rehabilitation and Nursing Facility on Byrne Road, Groves couldn’t wait to get her out.
Updated: Jan. 5, 2023 at 10:24 PM EST
|By Sophie Bates
According to multiple reports, two of the indicted individuals have criminal records.
Updated: Jan. 4, 2023 at 10:55 PM EST
|By Sophie Bates
The facility has been cited for a number of deficiencies with the Ohio Department of Health.
Updated: Dec. 30, 2022 at 7:45 PM EST
|By Sophie Bates
Last New Year’s there were 20 crashes and 40 arrests related to operating a vehicle while impaired. State troopers are hoping to lower those numbers this year, with your help.
Updated: Dec. 29, 2022 at 8:49 PM EST
|By Sophie Bates
Workers in the City of Toledo patched 14 water main breaks and responded to more than 60 residential calls for water shutoffs over the long weekend.
Updated: Dec. 28, 2022 at 3:13 PM EST
|By WTVG Staff and Sophie Bates
The city plans to sue three former council members who have been convicted in a pay-to-play scheme for the salaries they received during their suspensions from council before their convictions earlier this month.
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