Here at WQMX, we send you to Port Clinton quite often with tickets to the African Safari Wildlife Park. 

They have just announced they are adding the world's largest rodent - the Capybara to their walkable safari beginning in June! We have a certain co-worker here at the station who I'm sure will be first in line!!!

Check out the details here.

Lainey Wilson kicked off the ACM Awards with a nod to the host state covering the Little Texas hit, “God Blessed Texas." She then rolled into her own song, “Hang Tight Honey," which could have been her mantra for the evening.

Lainey took three trips to the podium claiming the coveted Entertainer of the Year award, along with Female Artist and Music Event with Jelly Roll. However, Chris Stapleton matched her trip for trip winning Male Artist, Album for Higher and Artist-Songwriter.

Reba McEntire sparkled in her return to the hosting role joking that when she started, “Luke was one of the gospels, not half the guys in country music.” After singing the closing number, she announced that she would be returning as next year’s host.

WINNERS:

Entertainer of the Year: Lainey Wilson
Female Artist of the Year: Lainey Wilson
Male Artist of the Year: Chris Stapleton
Duo of the Year: Dan and Shay
Group of the Year: Old Dominion
New Male Artist of the Year: Nate Smith
New Female Artist of the Year: Megan Moroney
New Group/Duo of the Year: Tigirlily Gold
Album of the Year: Chris Stapleton - Higher
Single of the Year: Luke Combs – “Fast Car”
Song of the Year: Jordan Davis – “Next Thing You Know”
Music Event of the Year: Jelly Roll and Lainey Wilson – “Save Me”
Visual Media of the Year: Parker McCollum – “Burn It Down”
Songwriter of the Year: Jessie Jo Dillon
Artist-Songwriter of the Year: Chris Stapleton

PERFORMANCES:

Lainey Wilson – “God Blessed Texas” / “Hang Tight Honey”
Jelly Roll – “Liar”
Kelsea Ballerini and Noah Kahan – "Mountain With a View" and “Stick Season”
Tigirlily Gold – “I Tried a Ring On”
Cody Johnson – “Dirt Cheap”
Miranda Lambert - "Wranglers"
Kane Brown – “Georgia on My Mind”
Thomas Rhett – “Beautiful As You”
Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani – “Purple Irises”
Jason Aldean – “Should’ve Been a Cowboy”
Chris Stapleton with Dua Lipa – “Think I’m In Love With You”
Post Malone – “Never Love Again” and “I Had Some Help”
Parker McCollum – “Burn It Down”
Nate Smith and Avril Lavigne – “Bulletproof”
Reba McEntire – “I Can’t”

Thursday was a productive day for me. I started out helping my brother finalize a speech he'd been working on. I then mowed the lawn and put some work in using my pressure washer. I got the kayaks sprayed off and rinsed out, did the kitchen trash can, and cleaned up some pavement near the driveway. I also sprayed the mower (what a difference!) and hit my minibike with the water too. 

I spent some additional time detailing that little machine and maintenanced the chain. The clutch needed lubed up too, I checked my oil, and I filled the tires. With nearly a full tank of gas, I was good to go cruising! And that I did. 

I traveled over eight miles on my little hog, and it ran like a champ! There's this one spot at which I've been thinking about going fishing and I wanted to check it out, so I made the trip. I only halfway serviced my clutch, and it gave me a few hiccups along the way, but everything else was just about perfect. My chain could be a little tighter as well, I suppose, but I'm happy to report no major problems. 

Now, this here is something of a minibike appreciation blog, but I'd also like to use it as an opportunity to remind you to do what you love. Even if it's been a while- especially if it's been a while, do what makes you smile! I had forgotten how much joy a simple little cruise could bring me, and even though I ride a full-sized motorcycle; my mini's always a ton of fun. 

Let's get up, get out, and have a great time! 

You want to be tuned in to WQMX at 9:00 tonight during the New @ 9! For tonight's new song spotlight I have the new Luke Combs single "Ain't No Love In Oklahoma"!!!

I will need your help though to decide if we keep it or kick it. Once you hear the song in its entirety, call or text me on the Toth Buick GMC Text line at 330-370-2000 to let me know your thoughts! You'll have until 9:45 to vote and I'll give you the final results at 9:50!

Tonight is the Night!!!  The ACM Awards! 

 Reba Hosts...  Tons of Performers and Presenters... Jason Aldean will pay tribute to Toby Keith.

 Entertainer of The Year Nominees: Luke Combs, Morgan Wallen, Kane Brown, Cody Johnson, Lainey Wilson, Chris Stapleton & Jelly Roll.

Female Artist of The Year Nominees: Ashley McBryde, Kacey Musgraves, Lainey Wilson, Megan Moroney & Kelsea Ballerini.

Male Artist of The Year Nominees: Chris Stapleton, Luke Combs, Morgan Wallen, Cody Johnson & Jelly Roll.

Good luck to all these Nominees and all the other categories.

Some of those Nominees above and other artists have been dropping music....

It's been a flood of new music daily...

Post Malone and Morgan Wallen - I Had Some Help

Miranda - Wranglers

Lainey Wilson - Hang Tight Honey

Thomas Rhett - Beautiful As You

Luke Combs - Ain't No Love In Oklahoma

Tonight it's hardy's turn... 

 Things are really heating up!!!!!

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream! It's hard not to love the stuff. A cool cup of dairy on a hot summer day always puts a smile on my face, and it's been a favorite frozen treat for generations. 

At home or at the stand, in a cup or a cone; it's my top ten ice cream flavors! 

Lemon

Strawberry

Vanilla

Strawberry Swirl

Rainbow Sherbert

Birthday Cake

Vanilla (Soft Serve)

Grape

Blue Moon

Superman

As for toppings, I almost always go for rainbow sprinkles. Every now and then, if I'm feeling fancy, maybe I'll do a little whipped cream and a maraschino cherry. The strawberry syrup is some good stuff too, but what I really like are those cherry dipped cones. Sadly, Dairy Queen discontinued theirs last year, but they're allegedly making a comeback this summer. 

Going off that, I must give a special shoutout to the DQ Cherry Dilly Bars. They're the best thing ever put on a stick!

Well, that's this week's top ten blog. I'd love to hear about your favorites, too. Thanks for checking this out and thanks for listening to 94.9 WQMX!

After premiering new Sam Hunt last night, tonight for Keep It or Kick It...I have brand new music from Scotty McCreery!

Cherise gave you a taste at noon, so let's see what you say tonight at 9:00. Should we keep it or kick it?!

I'll take your votes between 9 and 9:45 and the results will be given about 9:50. You can vote by texting me on the Toth Buick GMC Text line or call me at 330-370-2000.

I can't wait to see what you have to say!

The Browns Schedule is released tonight.  We know that the Browns are opening in Kansas City Sunday Sept. 8th for Tom Brady's debut on Fox...

Heard rumors of a Thanksgiving Week Steelers Match-Up?  Not sure if this is true.

We do know that the International Schedule does not include the Browns.  

The Browns do have one if not the toughest schedule in the NFL this coming season.   

The entire NFL schedule will be revealed tonight at 8 p.m. 

The 2024 International Schedule is set! ??️@NFLBrasil | @NFLUKIRE | @NFLDeutschland

?: NFL Schedule Release — Tonight 8pm ET on NFLN/ESPN2
?: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/HMwi7SLZ8h

— NFL (@NFL) May 15, 2024

Since first seeing The Fast and The Furious as a little kid, I've always thought manual transmissions were cool. Anyone can drive, but it takes a little more to row through the gears. The car and driver share a special connection through that extra pedal and shift knob, and there's lots of good reasons to have them. 

Right off the bat, let's go ahead and put this to rest: yes, a modern automatic transmission shifts faster than any human with a manual. It's proven, and that's why uber-fast cars like Dodge's Challenger SRT Demon only offer the auto. 

Moving past that, there's still many advantages to driving a standard shift. Performance is a big one; from drifting to rock crawling, the added control of being able to pick what gear you're in exactly when you want it gives the manual an edge. As such, there are a lot of cars these days with paddle shifters, which attempt to give this capability without having the burden of a clutch. 

Outside of automotive sport driving, a commuter may enjoy the active engagement in the driving experience a manual brings. Simply put, they're fun! I think so, at least. 

There're practical reasons to buy a manual too. Oftentimes, particularly in older vehicles, a standard shift is more fuel-efficient than an automatic. This largely involves parasitic power loss, but there's also just the difference in how each is driven. Additionally, factors such as maintenace and repair costs come into play. Certain manuals are less prone to breaking than their automatic counterparts, and they're generally easier to fix if they do. What's more, in terms of practicality, knowing how to drive a manual might be the difference between you getting where you need to go or not. This is especially true outside of the U.S. 

Finally, is the reason why I wrote this. Just recently, news broke of a woman in Boulder Colorado who stole a truck and ditched it immediately because she didn't know how to work a clutch. It rolled and crashed into a hydrant, and she was arrested yet again for the same crime she had also committed a day prior. So, that right there is another advantage of owning a stick shift: for theft deterrence. 

Here's that story, and thanks for reading this blog. I respect whatever you choose; I mean, I own both a manual and an automatic and love driving them each. Just be sure the radio is tuned to 94.9 WQMX!