Date aired: January 29–30, 2026 (~3 weeks before Clue 1) Outlet: WFMJ (Youngstown / NE Ohio) Reporter: Corey McCrae (on-air) Featured: Tom Colosimo (co-owner, Fieldview Acres Mercantile) + Newton Falls Village Mayor + a Broken Cafe employee Runtime: ~2:11 Source: WFMJ on YouTube
TL;DR — what's new in this segment
- First public reveal of the hunt, before the launch date or any clues
- Tom's stated motive: let the public feel the same thrill he gets hunting antiques
- Confirms small-business strain in winter 2026 — Broken Cafe owner says they "were not getting even like five customers a day"
- Already had sponsors reaching out before launch, hoping the prize could grow into "tens of thousands of dollars"
- Village Mayor publicly endorses the hunt and calls Newton Falls "a walking town" with 100% downtown occupancy — no empty storefronts to walk past
- Reporter teases that "the treasure hunt will be..." (segment ends mid-quote in transcript)
Quotes — verbatim
Tom Colosimo, Fieldview Acres Mercantile
"We wanted to let the public feel that same exhilaration that I get when I'm looking for treasures."
"We've already had people reach out to us that would like to sponsor this, hoping the prize could be tens of thousands of dollars where people would travel across the United States to come to Newton Falls and see what this town has to offer — including the shops and restaurants."
Broken Cafe (employee, unnamed in transcript)
"We've actually been really slow. We actually had just reached out to the community for help because we were not getting even like five customers a day."
"We're always trying to work together with other business owners, with other small businesses."
Village Mayor (unnamed in transcript)
"We have 100% occupancy downtown so you're not going to be coming in and walking past empty store fronts."
Reporter Corey McCrae
"I was trying to get a couple hints myself and what I can tell you is the treasure hunt will be..." (segment cuts off here)
New facts to add to the master research file
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Reporter | Corey McCrae of WFMJ broke the story |
| Pre-launch sponsorship | Sponsors approached Tom before Clue 1 was released |
| Mayor endorsement | Newton Falls' mayor publicly supports the hunt and pitches the town as "a walking town" |
| Downtown vitality | 100% storefront occupancy in downtown Newton Falls |
| Local business strain | Broken Cafe was averaging "less than 5 customers a day" before the hunt was announced |
| Original prize aspiration | Tom's pre-launch hope was "tens of thousands" — exceeded within weeks |
| Tom's framing | The hunt is about sharing "the same exhilaration" he gets antique-hunting professionally |
How this connects to Tom's later Q&A (March 26)
- Confirms the town-revival motive Tom expanded on later: storefronts, restaurants, foot traffic
- Mayor support explains how official signage went up at the covered bridge and water tower so quickly when hunters started misbehaving (Tom mentioned this in the March 26 Q&A)
- "100% occupancy" is a marketable hook for any future ride-card or research-hub copy
- Broken Cafe is one of the named businesses worth listing on a research hub's "While you're in town" sidebar