21 WFMJ archives  / January  21, 1985 | The temperature recorded at the First Federal Savings & Loan Association branch on Federal Plaza at 7:30 a.m. 40 years ago was 11 degrees below zero. Overnight, the mercury at the Youngstown Municipal Airport fell to 20 below.  

January 21


2000: State officials report that the number of Ohio families enrolling in the federal food stamp program is decreasing. Still, the number of people receiving food from nonprofit soup kitchens and food pantries is increasing. However, in Mahoning County, the trend is the opposite. 

Delphi Automotive Systems' earnings shot up 22 percent to $1.1 billion in 1999, boosted by cost-cutting and increased sales in North America and Europe. 

The Columbiana County Farm Bureau is opening its annual membership drive, hoping to increase membership from 1,949 to more than 2,000.


1985:  A low of 20 degrees below zero was recorded just after midnight at the Youngstown Municipal Airport. 

Joe Montana leads the San Francisco 49ers to a 38-16 thrashing of the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl XIX. Owner Edward DeBartolo Jr. and the team got a congratulatory call from President Ronald Reagan. 

Canadian daredevil Karel Soucek, who was the first person in 23 years to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel, is killed during a stunt before 35,000 fans at the Houston Astrodome when the barrel he was in was dropped 180 feet from the top of the stadium. Still, the barrel hit the edge of a water tank meant to cushion his fall. 


1975: The Western Reserve Economic Development Agency and four area cities ask the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio to delay for 120 days any action by East Ohio Gas Co. to curtail gas service to the area. 

The Mahoning County grand jury indicts two men and a juvenile for aggravated murder in the death of North Side jeweler Edward Ulrich Knoblock.


1950: County Engineer Sam Gould tells Mahoning County commissioners that the Market Street Bridge will close soon unless a new floor is constructed at a cost of $500,000.

Councilman George Stowe says too many people are waiting at downtown bus stops. He demands that the Youngstown Municipal Railway Co. provide the council with a complete bus schedule.