The Indianapolis Star
Engling vs. Bayh
Incumbent Secretary of State Diego Morales and his controversies loomed large during the first two debates among the four candidates for that office. This time, it was the Democrat Beau Bayh and Republican Max Engling show. With just the two...
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REVIVING A HISTORIC THEATER
Sometime around the year 2000, east-sider James Taylor was walking down East 10th Street when he saw the front doors to the long-shuttered Rivoli Theatre standing open. He entered the auditorium, only to be shocked a moment later. “I was appalled to...
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Last go-around for secretary of state set
The final debate in Indiana’s competitive secretary of state race is set to be a tête-à-tête between Democrat Beau Bayh and Republican Max Engling, but Bayh is joining up with the two thirdparty candidates in the race to urge Fox59/CBS4 to include all...
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Winners and losers
The 2027 budget season began in August with Indianapolis City-County Council Democrats overriding Mayor Joe Hogsett’s veto to push through vehicle tax hikes that will generate new revenue for roads next year. Other than that, the subsequent two months...
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Spots from Ford, Spartz blast ‘radical record,’ stock trades
It’s no secret that the normally uncompetitive 5th Congressional District race has turned negative. Republican U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz has accused her opponent’s supporters of sign theft, threatened to sue her opponent over what she claimed was an...
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Audit confirms prison problems
A state audit at Indiana’s largest ICE detention center, spurred by an IndyStar investigation, has led to the recovery of thousands of dollars, the firing of a state contractor’s employee, and an inspector general investigation. The internal audit...
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Trial by voters
Republicans routinely blame Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears for crime. Can the GOP’s challenger defy the odds and beat Mears in the biggest local race on the ballot?
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WEATHERING THE STORM
Mark Williams raises his hand over his head when he describes the height of August’s flood at the Indy Art Center’s ArtsPark. The water had gulped all but the top of the whimsical “Twisted House.” It inched toward the eyes of John Andrew Spaulding’s...
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Giving wildlife an assist
Concrete and stonework created a deadly feature on the White River in Indy and stopped aquatic wildlife from freely traveling their home for more than 125 years, but the city is removing the Emrichsville Dam to let the river flow. The city of...
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PEDESTRIANS GET THEIR OWN SPACE
For years, conventiongoers have crowded the Georgia Street sidewalks as they spilled out of the Indiana Convention Center and onto the busy thoroughfare in search of dinner spots, their hotel room or brisk air outside. Not anymore. The western portion...
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Who gets the money
Looking around her neighborhood, Cierra Johnson, a community organizer in the Martindale Brightwood area, can quickly rattle off several social services that desperately need financial support. There are the public schools, workforce training, plus a...
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Racing against the clock
In the real estate world, original timelines for expensive projects often come and go, making construction at times feel infinite. With three months left in the year, several high-profile projects are slated to open in Indianapolis, as developers race...
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Trump uses federal power to boost GOP ahead of vote
WASHINGTON – Americans are seeing taxpayer-funded television ads promoting President Donald Trump, government checks are hitting nearly 1 million mailboxes across the country, and federal agents are scouring voting rolls as a midterm election marked...
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If it’s local you want, we’ve got it.
Anew collegiate rivalry is taking shape in Indianapolis. • Drivers and pedestrians heading west on Michigan Street from downtown can’t help but notice the reality of two universities living across the street from each other. Two glaring symbols face...
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Forum sees intense jabs, concrete ideas
After the second debate among the four candidates in Indiana’s competitive secretary of state race, one might still think incumbent Republican Diego Morales is running. He’s not. Democrat Beau Bayh, Republican Max Engling, independent Lincoln Party...
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Are you in or are you out?
Major League Soccer still wants a team in Indianapolis; Indianapolis still wants an MLS franchise and wants to build a new stadium near Lucas Oil Stadium by 2031; and the Indianapolis Colts are enthusiastically on board. That’s the latest news, some of...
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Crucial competitions
The elections for two Indiana Senate seats representing the suburbs north of Indianapolis are expected to be some of the most competitive this cycle. And the races appear to be crucial for ● Democrats who are hoping to break the supermajority that’s...
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A return to fiction
A back room in the halls of the Pike Performing Arts Center drowned in beloved young adult fiction books. Staffers scrambled to make sense of the piles of “Paper Towns,” the flurries of “The Fault in Our Stars,” the, well, abundance of “An Abundance of...
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Ties that bind
Noblesville tennis players Joey Beahrs, Finn Stallings and Luke Davidson clasped their rackets against their chests. It’s 6:43 p.m. Wednesday evening and they are standing on their home court for an interview, minutes before the pock sounds of tennis...
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INSIDE INDYSTAR Flood victims managing pain of recovery often isolate from attention
I spent the first weekend of the floods driving across Central Indiana, talking to Hoosiers who lived in or near the rising water. Many shocked by the immediate danger hadn’t yet begun to process the life-altering quality of a flood. But as my...
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‘Too polished’ or just right?
For most Hoosiers, the name Max Engling has been a recent addition to their political lexicon. But even after hitting the ground running after becoming the Republican nominee ● for Indiana secretary of state in June, Engling, 39, remains elusive for...
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The Bayh name is back
Even in a nondescript gray shirt and blue jeans at a crowded Purdue tailgate party, Beau Bayh draws eyeballs like a minor celebrity. Every few minutes, a stranger stammers: “BBeau! ● It’s Beau!” often with a finger pointed that Bayh envelops in a...
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Resourceful candidate
Lauri Shillings, Libertarian candidate for Indiana secretary of state, is no stranger to power tools. The 55-year-old Carmel resident can repair ● a car, replace tile, hang drywall and fix plumbing, though campaigning doesn’t leave much time for that...
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He thinks he can do it again in the Indiana secretary of state race
Greg Ballard’s preferred campaign mode is meeting with a small group of voters for at least an hour, because then there’s plenty of time to break down the game theory of his monkeywrench of a candidacy for Indiana secretary of state, answer everyone’s...
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‘Another level of pain’
Before she read the letter from the city, Erin Gates was preparing to rebuild her Ravenswood home that sustained extensive damage in the August floods. Now, she fears her best case scenario might be a bulldozer. Gates and her son, who lived in the...
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A season of red and gold
Leaf peeping season is nearly here and fall colors will soon appear on trees throughout Indiana. Early predictions show leaves could begin turning vibrant ● reds, yellows and oranges in the northern part of the state as early as Sept. 28 and then move...
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Circle City chills
Scariest movies, creepiest concerts and more haunted Halloween fun in the area
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IMPD chief: Flock audits to continue
“Our community should see that we are holding our people accountable when their actions violate policy or the law, and that no one, including our own, is above that standard.”
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5 IMPD police officers charged
Five Indianapolis police officers were charged with allegations of Flock camera misuse in what may be the nation’s biggest roundup of its kind, Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears announced. Over the past six weeks, the Indianapolis Metropolitan...
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THE NEED FOR REINVENTION
On Sept. 9, IndyStar journalists traveled to Brown County, Indiana, for the second stop on our second annual reporting tour to hear about what issues matter to Hoosiers. The following is a dispatch from that visit. NASHVILLE, IN – Brown County...
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BRINGING JOY
Tyrese and Jade Haliburton are standing nestled together, posing for a photo. They’re holding a big red heart with white letters that read: I said yes! But the two former college sweethearts were engaged in 2025 and they married in July. This “yes”...
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EPA rollback
The U.S. EPA is continuing its effort to repeal air quality regulations with proposals to rescind rules for power plant emissions, a move Indiana environmental advocates say strips the agency of its tools to combat climate change. The repeal, which...
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Judge denies suspension of Center Twp. constable
A judge denied an attempt to suspend Center Township Constable Kenneth Allen from office in a Sept. 18 court ruling, but the lawsuit alleging that Allen’s residency status should disqualify him from the role remains unsettled. On Sept. 18, Marion...
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IndyStar pop culture reporter connects with the community
It takes a staff of dedicated journalists to bring you the news from around Central Indiana. In this feature, the Indianapolis Star introduces readers to our newsroom staff – or, rather, we let them introduce themselves. Up this week is Heather...
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GIANT OF A SHOW
If you want to meet a different side of Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz, the side that came before their world-famous hits and collaborations, then start with the art they’ve collected. “Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys,”...
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Indiana residents: Lack of tree trimming made outages worse
First came a June tornado that tore a 61⁄2-mile path through northwest Indiana. About two months later, a summer derecho followed, and residents in the area were plunged into darkness in an outage that lasted nearly two weeks. But many say the true...
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Shifting control
The state of Indiana has moved one step closer toward managing its own coal combustion residuals program, the costly and complicated process of cleaning up the toxic residue that coalburning power plants leave behind when they burn coal to produce...
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Faculty speech issues climb at state schools
Indiana colleges saw an increase in complaints made about their professors’ classroom speech last year, according to university reports filed with the state. This was the second year in which public universities were required to host a portal to...
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From a ‘broken home’ to GOP star
It was only the second week of the 2025 Indiana legislative session, and Republican state Sen. Chris Garten’s Medicaid legislation had just been pummeled in committee testimony. One by one, advocates and medical association representatives warned of...
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Immigrant-owned restaurants in turmoil amid Indy ICE surge
Arturo Yanez Peza’s worst week as a restaurant owner didn’t come during the pandemic when he had to temporarily shutter his business, nor during any of the late-summer dry spells when his regular customers at Mr. Pulpo Marisquería flee Indianapolis for...
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Assistant sports editor looks beyond box score
It takes a staff of dedicated journalists to bring you the news from around Central Indiana. In this feature, the Indianapolis Star introduces readers to our newsroom staff — or, rather, we let them introduce themselves. Up this week is Aaron...
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‘HOT TICKET’
The long journey began in July 2025. Tickets for opening weekend of “The Odyssey,” a film ● directed by Christopher Nolan and one of the most anticipated movies of 2026, went on sale a whole year before the film released in theaters. Tickets sold out...
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A GENERATION OF AFTERSHOCK
Aquarter-century later, 9/11 still echoes. The worst terrorist attack in U.S. history has been followed by other seismic events, from a once-in-a-century global pandemic to the rise of artificial intelligence that is transforming commerce, education...
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The barometer for nation’s economy
On Aug. 25, IndyStar journalists traveled to Elkhart County, Indiana, for the first stop on our second annual reporting tour to hear about what issues matter to Hoosiers. The following is a dispatch from that visit. ELKHART – Brent Curry, 71, got his...
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Standing up for the rights of others
More than 130 people gathered in a parking lot across from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building on Woodland Drive on Sept. 5, protesting the agency’s presence after a wave of detentions in Indianapolis last week. Participants lined up...
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Access in danger?
Under the atrium at the Indianapolis Public Library, a woman is busily typing away on her laptop. Another patron seated at the Central Branch is charging their device while streaming music through earbuds as they read quietly between the stacks. Free...
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Church members lament loss of green space
First United Methodist Church leaders are weighing a sale of the church’s downtown lot between Third and Fourth streets to Chicago-based student housing developer Core Spaces for $8.8 million. Church leaders say the church, at 219 E. Fourth St., parts...
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NOTE TO READERS
We will not be printing a paper on Monday, Sept. 7, but will be providing it to you via the eNewspaper. You can always find the latest news on our website, mobile app, newsletters and social media. Subscribers can access the eNewspaper by going to our...
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Crowd gathers as city sees spike in agency activity, arrests
Protesters gathered outside the Hampton Inn adjacent to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Indianapolis amid reports of increased ICE arrests. The roughly 100 protesters used horns, whistles and chants late at night to keep the...
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Empty cars. Left behind tools. A shattered door.
A sister, frantic to find her brother. An observer shaken by what she was witnessing. A business left in shambles after a warrant was served. As ICE sightings piled across Indianapolis, the stories behind them started to come into focus even as...
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Troubling trend
People are increasingly relying on artificial intelligence in their personal and professional lives, and lawyers and litigants are no exception. Yet, one major limitation of the technology has fueled a growing concern in courts around the world,...
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Suit seeks constable’s ouster over residency
A new lawsuit seeks to oust Center Township Constable Kenneth Allen from office based on allegations that he’s breaking state law by primarily living outside of the township at his wife’s home. The Aug. 26 lawsuit filed by his political opponent...
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In critical condition
A mill that produced flour for a century, a hub for Black culture near Indiana Avenue and a pioneer village that tells the story of President Abraham Lincoln’s boyhood all face uncertain futures, according to a nonprofit organization that advocates for...
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‘Generational win’ for a local defense contractor
A Rolls-Royce factory powering U.S. Air Force operations will continue to provide thousands of jobs in the state for decades to come, thanks to the company’s $1 billion investment completed earlier this year. Not to be confused with the automaker of...
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Politics editor Lange to guide next chapter as news director
Kaitlin Lange will take over as IndyStar’s news director after more than two years of leading the media outlet’s award-winning Statehouse and politics team. Lange has been at the forefront of several efforts to expand IndyStar’s reach and serve more...
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Chreece to bring big global flavor
As concert concessions go, the 2026 Chreece Hip-Hop Festival will feature an unusually expansive menu thanks to the third annual Epicurean food festival, which will operate as part of Chreece on Aug. 29 in Fountain Square. The free-to-attend food...
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‘That office really needs stability’
The secretary of state’s race is usually a humdrum, quiet contest. Not this year – and the first official debate of the race showed that. The debate room at the Indy Chamber HobNob event, which is a social and networking event attended by a crowd of...
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U.S. Rep. Shreve plans to crack down on ‘chameleon carriers’
U.S. Rep. Jefferson Shreve wants to increase the safety of drivers on I-465 by cracking down on so-called “chameleon carriers” in the trucking industry and other bad actors he says are a threat to Indiana drivers. Shreve, a Republican who...
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Union leaders blame USPS overtime cuts for mail delays
Two local union leaders representing thousands of U.S. Postal Service workers say the federal postal service has dramatically cut back on overtime for Indianapolis postal workers in recent months, leading to days where some carrier routes don’t get...
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‘It really feels like the end times’
GARY – After massive storms ripped through Northwest Indiana and took the power out on Aug. 11, Latasha Montgomery assumed at first that she and more than 370,000 people in the area would soon have electricity returned. Nearly two weeks later,...
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City reports $36M in damage to 500-plus homes
The storms and floods that battered central Indiana last week damaged more than 500 homes throughout the city of Indianapolis, causing an estimated $36 million of damage, city officials said Aug. 21. Homes and properties were inundated: 5 feet of...
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SCAN CODE FOR THE LATEST LOCAL NEWS
From Indy suburbs to rural districts, schools are investing heavily in technology that promises protection while raising new questions about privacy
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‘I did my duty’
Former Vice President Mike Pence reiterated a warning about what he sees as a growing populist influence over the Republican Party during a conversation about his book hosted by the Indiana Historical Society. “There’s change afoot in the body politic...
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Court finds part of IN abortion law illegal
The eNewspaper is an electronic copy of your print newspaper. Enjoy every page by going to indystar.com/enewspaper or scan this code on your mobile device. You will also find late news and sports in the bonus sections. Check it out today! Indiana...
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HEALTH RISKS
When Delaware County resident Kara Riley’s home was deluged with water as flooding recently ravaged Indiana, top of mind for her family was the thousands of dollars of immediate damages that were visible to the naked eye. The furnace and water heater...
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‘BACKBREAKING’ RECOVERY BEGINS
Glen Phifer decided he’s going to fight for his home. The floors are muddy and wet, the refrigerator toppled ● by floodwater and the furniture completely destroyed, but none of that changes Phifer’s mind. Phifer, ● along with his girlfriend and dog,...
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How to help after damaging flood hits Indianapolis, Hamilton County
Central Indiana officials are shifting to recovery efforts as water levels slowly recede after major storms and flooding that have killed at least seven people statewide since Aug. 11. The Indianapolis Department of Public Works has reopened the flood...
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Power needs, pollution and politics collide at data center
This is the second story of a two-part series. NEW CARLISLE – On the frigid morning of Jan. 27, the Department of Energy ordered Amazon’s massive data center in northern Indiana to cut off 50 megawatts of electricity, about the amount needed to power...
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Join IndyStar’s environment reporters for community field trip to Eagle Creek
IndyStar’s environment reporting team is hosting its first-ever free community field trip, and we want you to join us. Karl Schneider and Sophie Hartley, the grant-funded reporters who bring you news about Indiana’s environment, are going to Eagle...
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RISING WATERS
Flooded streets and moldy basements marked the beginning of August for some residents in Indy and surrounding communities who are dealing with a deluge of flood waters. Water poured into one of the city’s largest annual conventions, GenCon, sending...
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Indy stalls razing of 113-year-old church
A 113-year-old Catholic church building on the former campus of Martin University may survive demolition after the Indianapolis Historic Preservation Commission voted to designate it a historic site in an emergency meeting Aug. 12. Commissioners...
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MONEY TALKS
When Indiana became the epicenter of a battle to control Congress by redistricting mid-decade, political interest groups jacked up their spending to influence how state lawmakers might vote. But the biggest spenders ● on the issue were not voting...
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Council moves data center ban toward final approval
A temporary ban on data centers in Indianapolis is one step closer to reality after a City-County Council vote Monday, Aug. 10, moved the proposed moratorium forward. Indianapolis city-county councilors voted 23-1 in favor of the measure to cheers...
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Ex-Indy theater director convicted
A longtime Indianapolis director and actor has been convicted of attacking an Indianapolis artist in a domestic violence incident. A jury convicted Ben Rose of domestic battery and battery resulting in bodily injury on Aug. 5 after a two-day...
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Will child care reforms lower costs or quality?
After Iayanna Fluharty’s son started day care at Gifted and Talented Academy, she noticed him signing “all done” in American Sign Language at meals and walking with more confidence. Fluharty said skill development like this made the center’s cost worth...
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