The Indy Fuel announced Thursday that Christian Horn has been named interim head coach while newly hired head coach Jesse Messier awaits approval from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services following an unexpected processing delay.

Horn will oversee the team’s coaching duties until Messier receives the authorization he needs to take over behind the bench.

Messier will not coach Saturday’s preseason game against the Bloomington Bison. The team said it is uncertain whether approval will come in time for the Fuel’s regular-season home opener next Friday, Oct. 16, at Fishers Event Center.

Fuel President Sean Hallett said the late-offseason departure of former head coach Duncan Dalmao pushed back the team’s immigration filing.

“The unexpected departure of our previous head coach, Duncan Dalmao, late in the offseason meant we submitted our immigration application later than we typically would,” Hallett said. “While that timing did not cause the processing delay in and of itself, it has left us with less flexibility to accommodate this unforeseen development.”

Hallett said the organization is working to speed up the process, including contacting the office of U.S. Sen. Todd Young, whose staff he described as “extremely responsive” in trying to help.

“We have confidence in Coach Horn’s ability to lead the team during this interim period and look forward to Jesse assuming his responsibilities as soon as necessary authorization is received,” Hallett added.

The Fuel said it will provide additional updates as appropriate.

The Indy Fuel are the ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks and the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs. The 2026-27 campaign is the team’s 13th season, and it will again play its home games at Fishers Event Center.

The Heart and Soul Church proposal for a community campus on East 126th Street will go to the Fishers City Council without a recommendation after the Fishers Plan Commission came up one vote short Wednesday night.

The commission voted 5-2 to send the plan forward with a favorable recommendation. Passing a recommendation takes six votes from the 11-member commission, no matter how many members attend. Seven members were present, one remotely.

Commission President Howard Stevenson and City Councilor Tiffany Ditlevson voted no. Ditlevson will also have a vote when the measure reaches the council.

The church wants to rezone 18.66 acres at 11616 E. 126th St. from the Lake Meadows PUD and R5 Residential to a new Heart and Soul Community Campus planned unit development. The rezone would allow a place of worship, outdoor recreation and small-scale commercial uses.

Eleven people spoke during the public hearing. Four supported the plan and seven opposed it. A petition from residents of the Whispering Woods neighborhood was also part of the meeting materials.

The petitioner’s team told the commission that the concept plan shows the most that could ever be built on the site. Any later changes could reduce the project but not expand it. They said traffic studies come later, during review by the city’s Technical Advisory Committee. They also said city engineers, not the church, control traffic patterns on 126th Street.

The team also corrected an earlier staffing estimate. The church had originally projected 75 to 90 employees on site. The revised estimate is 15 to 20 for church operations and perhaps 20 more at times in the retail area, depending on which businesses move in.

City staff raised concerns about who would own the retail portion of the campus and asked whether the church could own retail property and keep its 501(c)(3) status. Church representatives said the retail operations are part of the church’s mission. Staff is asking the council to add a commitment that the church will own and maintain those buildings.

Traffic safety on 126th Street was a recurring concern, including a fatal crash in 2021 that came up during public comment. Staff said the city engineering department has looked at traffic signals near the two major intersections in the area, but a signal is not planned at this site. Other measures, such as right-in, right-out access, could be considered. Staff said the city’s engineering director will answer outstanding traffic questions before the council meeting.

Commission member and City Councilor Pete Peterson said the city cannot take away property owners’ rights, but it can steer projects to fit the community. He urged that the retail buildings be designed to look residential. He also said lighting from the planned pickleball courts and noise must be addressed, along with fire and police access to the site. He called the project a positive one for the community.

The City Council will takes up the rezone October 12.

A Hamilton Southeastern School Board committee is recommending the full board adopt a rewritten student immunization policy meant to clear up confusion over how the district handles students who start school without vaccination records.

HSE Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Schools, Jason Urban, told the board’s policy committee that the “root cause” of the confusion was a misunderstanding of the district’s long-standing practice.

Indiana law requires parents to provide proof of their child’s immunizations by the first day of school. The law also lets the superintendent grant a 20-day waiver. Urban said that for as long as he can remember, HSE has granted that waiver to every student automatically on the first day. Those students keep attending while families get their records in.

The current policy, adopted in 1997 and last revised in 2006, says a student without proof of immunization cannot attend unless the superintendent “determines that the student qualifies” for a waiver. Urban said that wording suggests a review process that does not actually happen.

The policy first came to the board for action Sept. 9. Board member Suzanne Thomas suggested clarifying language, and the district’s attorney offered his own revision. Urban said both versions either did not match practice or made the policy harder to read, so he rewrote it himself.

The new version says students may be admitted without proof of immunization if documentation arrives within 20 days. After that, the superintendent or a designee must begin exclusion proceedings unless the family has filed a valid religious objection or a physician’s statement supporting a medical exemption. The committee agreed to specify “20 school days” in the language.

Urban and Amy Hanna, HSE Director of Health Services, also presented new written administrative procedures. Under them, students without records or a valid exemption are excluded starting on the 21st school day and may not attend classes or school activities until they comply. Students who enroll mid-year get 20 school days from their enrollment date.

Hanna said exemptions must be renewed every year. She said nurses check CHIRP, the state immunization registry, where providers, including pharmacies, must enter vaccinations within seven days.

She described months of outreach before each deadline. That includes spring newsletter notices, a summer message to families of sixth and 12th graders, and vaccine clinics. This year, clinics were held at all four intermediate schools during preview nights. Nurses also send targeted ParentSquare messages to families who are still missing records.

This year’s deadline was Sept. 2, which was also a walk-in clinic day at the Fishers Health Department, and Hanna said that clinic saw more appointments that day.

Board member Suzanne Thomas, although not a member of the Policy Committee. asked what happens to a student whose parent insists the paperwork was already turned in. Hanna said the district needs proof, but a parent can simply photograph the vaccination record and email it to the school. Urban said a nurse cannot let a student attend without documentation without violating state law.

The rewritten policy now goes to the full school board October 14 for consideration.

Ivy Tech Community College Hamilton County has two local honorees among this year’s Ivy Tech Foundation award recipients.

Ava Knight received the 2026 Distinguished Alumni Award, and OneAmerica Financial was named the 2026 Hamilton County Benefactor of the Year. Both were recognized Sept. 25 at a statewide celebration in Indianapolis.

The Distinguished Alumni Award is the college’s highest honor for alumni achievement. It recognizes graduates who have made a lasting impact on their professions, their communities and Ivy Tech through professional, philanthropic or volunteer work.

Knight graduated from the General Studies program at the Hamilton County campus in Noblesville. While a student, she served as secretary of the Student Government Association, was active in campus life and took part in the college’s Leadership Academy, along with community service work.

She now works at Centier Bank in Carmel. Knight has stayed involved with the campus, representing Centier at the college’s career fair and helping current students prepare for their careers.

OneAmerica Financial was honored for its support of the Hamilton County campus. The college cited the company’s commitment to expanding educational opportunity, strengthening the local workforce and helping students pursue careers in Central Indiana. Allen McClendon accepted the award on behalf of the company.

“Today we celebrate remarkable individuals and an organization whose contributions reflect the transformative power of education and philanthropy,” said Kelly Wallace, executive director of development and marketing at Ivy Tech Hamilton County.

Ivy Tech Foundation President Stephannie Bailey said the honorees “represent the very best of Ivy Tech’s mission in action.”

“Their achievements, leadership, generosity, and service create opportunities for students and strengthen communities across Indiana,” Bailey said.

Members of the Hamilton Southeastern Board of School Trustees represented HSE Schools this week at Indiana School Boards Association events in Indianapolis.

Board President Tiffany Pascoe served as the district’s voting delegate at ISBA’s annual Delegate Assembly, held Oct. 5 at the Indiana Convention Center. In that role, Pascoe represented the HSE board in discussions and votes on issues affecting school governance and public education statewide.

Delegates approved ISBA’s annual budget, a slate of officers and directors, and the association’s Legislative Priorities and Foundational Statements for the 2027 session of the Indiana General Assembly. Those priorities will guide ISBA’s advocacy at the Statehouse during the upcoming session.

Three other HSE board members, Sarah Parks-Reese, Latrica Schooley and Suzanne Thomas, attended the ISBA/IAPSS Annual Fall Conference, also held in Indianapolis.

The conference brings together school board members, superintendents and education leaders from across Indiana for professional learning and discussion of issues facing public schools. Sessions cover governance, leadership and district operations.

“The school board members who served as delegates this year are to be commended for representing the interests of their students, families, and taxpayers,” said ISBA Executive Director Terry Spradlin. “The decisions made by delegates help ensure that local voices are heard at the state level through ISBA.”

The Indiana School Boards Association supports local school boards through professional learning, policy development, advocacy and legal guidance.

The long-delayed Maple Del housing project in the Nickel Plate District is nearly ready to break ground after the Fishers Redevelopment Commission unanimously approved changes to the project agreement Tuesday afternoon.

The amendment lets developer Mithra Development LLC assign the agreement to David Weekley Homes, which will build 54 for-sale townhomes and eight single-family homes on the site. It also removes a multiparty covenant the commission had required as protection while the home builder was still unknown.

“We’re really excited that we’re at like the one-yard line now,” said Megan Baumgartner, the city’s director of economic development and community development.

Baumgartner called the project “a long and winding road.” It began around 2018 as a J.C. Hart multifamily development. The COVID-19 pandemic led the city to rethink the site, and the plan shifted to for-sale homes under developer Corby Thompson and his Boomerang Development team. Old Town Group was initially expected to build the homes, but Baumgartner said that arrangement didn’t work out, and the team turned to David Weekley.

The architecture has been approved through the Nickel Plate Review Committee and permits are largely in hand, Baumgartner said. The amendment and a sewer agreement are the final pieces needed.

The three-story townhomes will be paired with single-family homes along the south side of the site along 116th Street, creating a buffer so headlights and parking do not affect existing neighbors’ homes and backyards.

Baumgartner said the covenant is no longer needed because city staff worked closely with the builder on the site plan and architecture. Removing it gives David Weekley Homes the comfort to take on the agreement. She said the city’s commitments to the project do not change.

Attorney Jennifer Messer told commissioners the developer’s investment has exceeded what the original agreement required. The only protection the city gives up, she said, is a trigger tied to continuing construction; the other trigger, failure to begin work, is essentially already met. Messer said it would be “super odd” for the builder to start and then not finish, given the money already invested, and noted the mayor has described the David Weekley project as the city’s best chance.

Under the amended agreement, the property must be transferred to David Weekley Homes and the first improvement location permit issued by Dec. 1, 2026. If that deadline is missed, the commission may terminate the agreement and reclaim the property. If it is met, the commission will record a release giving up that right.

The documents also state that Mithra closed on the property Dec. 27, 2024, was originally required to start townhome construction within a year, has cited delays beyond its control and has self-financed the project rather than taking a construction loan. The overall site work carries an estimated $5.6 million investment.

Asked whether neighbors had been informed of design tweaks, Baumgartner said changes went through the Nickel Plate Review Committee’s public meetings with posted notice signs. She acknowledged some neighbors still wish the city would turn the land into a park.

Early voting starts Tuesday, Oct. 6, in Hamilton County. Voters who plan to vote a straight party ticket should know that a single selection won’t complete their ballot.

According to the Indiana Capital Chronicle, Indiana is one of six states that still let voters choose all of one party’s candidates with one mark. But state law leaves out several parts of the ballot. In those contests, a straight-ticket vote doesn’t count, and voters have to mark each choice themselves. If they don’t, that race is left blank.

School board

The newest exception is school board races. That includes four of the seven Hamilton Southeastern Schools board seats on the ballot this year.

Senate Bill 287, signed by Gov. Mike Braun in 2025, lets school board candidates list a Republican or Democratic affiliation, run as independents, or list no party at all. Even when a party label appears next to a candidate’s name, a straight-ticket vote does not count in that race. HSE board members are elected by district, so voters see only the race for the district where they live.

School funding referendum questions also need an additional vote cast past the straight-party vote.  HSE has a referendum on this year’s ballot.

Township boards

Township board members are elected three at a time, and voters may choose up to three candidates. Under a law signed in March 2016 by then-Gov. Mike Pence, a straight-ticket vote no longer counts in races where voters elect more than one candidate. This year that affects township board races, including those in Fall Creek and Delaware townships.

State officials said the change was made because voter intent was unclear when people marked a straight ticket and then also marked individual candidates in multi-seat races.

Judicial retention

Hamilton County voters will be asked whether to retain Court of Appeals Judge Dana J. Kenworthy, Court of Appeals Judge Mary A. DeBoer, Court of Appeals Judge Paul A. Felix and Tax Court Judge Justin L. McAdam. Retention questions are yes-or-no votes with no party label, so a straight-ticket vote doesn’t apply. No Indiana Supreme Court justices are up for retention this year.

Two constitutional amendments

Public questions aren’t partisan races, and both proposed amendments to the Indiana Constitution need a separate yes or no vote:

• Question 1 would let judges deny bail to people charged with crimes other than murder or treason. A judge could do so only when the proof is evident or the presumption strong, and the state shows by clear and convincing evidence that no release conditions would reasonably protect others or the community. Right now, the constitution allows denying bail only in murder and treason cases.
• Question 2 would let a city or town court judge live in the court’s county or in the bordering county closest to that city or town.

Check your ballot first

Through Oct. 20, early voting is available only in Noblesville, at the Hamilton County Judicial Center and the Hamilton County Fairgrounds. The two Fishers sites, at the Roy G. Holland Memorial Park Building and the Billericay Park Building, open Oct. 21. Bring a photo ID.

For full hours, visit hamiltoncounty.in.gov or call the Hamilton County Voter Registration Office at 317-776-9632.

Braiden Bell’s brief tenure as Portland’s new television announcer raises questions about accountability, growing up and the public interest in someone’s digital past.

Braiden Bell’s opportunity to become the television voice of the Portland Trail Blazers ended the same day his hiring was announced.

On Oct. 1, the team announced Bell’s arrival, then dropped him after Portland television station KGW brought offensive social media posts from his teenage years to its attention. The team said the posts violated its policies and those of the NBA.

The episode presents a difficult question for journalism: When does examining a public figure’s past serve the public, and when does it give youthful wrongdoing more weight than the adult life that followed?

Journalism’s major ethics codes offer no automatic expiration date for old information. They do require accuracy, context, fairness and consideration of harm. Applying those principles requires more judgment than simply finding something offensive.

Continue reading Should teenage posts cost an adult a career? Trail Blazers controversy tests journalism’s judgment →

Kelly Yang, a No. 1 New York Times bestselling author, will return to the Fishers Library on Monday, Oct. 19, to mark the release of the graphic novel adaptation of her novel “Front Desk.”

The Hamilton East Public Library event runs from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. and is presented with LoudMouth Books. Registration is required.

Yang was a popular guest with local readers and families when she visited HEPL in 2022. This time, children, families and fans will hear her talk about “Front Desk” and the new graphic novel version, which was illustrated by Fumio Obata.

“We are excited to welcome award-winning author Kelly Yang back to the Hamilton East Public Library!” said Allison Kartman, HEPL’s systemwide program coordinator. “Kelly has the unique ability to distill big ideas and topical issues into language kids can understand. Reading her books can spark many meaningful conversations between kids and caregivers.”

Kartman added that Yang “loves inspiring young budding writers to tell their own stories.”

“Front Desk” was first published in 2018 and draws on Yang’s own childhood. She was a first-generation immigrant who lived and worked in a motel with her family. The book follows 10-year-old Mia Tang, who runs the front desk of the Calivista Motel while her immigrant parents clean the rooms. As Mia deals with family, friendship and her dream of becoming a writer, she finds the courage to stand up for others and go after her own goals.

Kirkus Reviews named “Front Desk” one of the best books of the 21st century. Yang has written more than 15 books for children, teens and adults. Her awards include the Asian Pacific American Award for Literature, the California Young Reader Medal, the Parents’ Choice Gold Medal and Italy’s Strega Prize. Her books have also appeared on best-of-the-year lists from Amazon, The Washington Post, Kirkus, School Library Journal, NPR and Publishers Weekly.

Yang will sign books after the program. LoudMouth Books will have a selection of her titles for sale on site.

HEPL says registration helps the library and LoudMouth Books plan for the event. To register or learn more, see the events calendar on the Hamilton East Public Library website.

The City of Fishers is offering $200 grants to homeowners associations and neighborhood groups that want to start or expand walking groups.

The new Neighborhood Walking Grant program is part of the city’s Culture of Health initiative. Ten grants are available, with a limit of one per neighborhood.

Applications opened Oct. 1 and will be accepted through Oct. 30. The city will notify applicants by Nov. 13.

Grant money can go toward items that support participation in a walking group, including apparel, water, healthy snacks and other walking supplies.

“The simplest habits can make a meaningful difference in our health and well-being,” said Jake Reardon McSoley, the city’s director of recreation and wellness. “A walk through the neighborhood is an opportunity to get moving, spend time outside and connect with the people who live around us.”

The Culture of Health initiative encourages Fishers residents to get active, explore nature and connect with one another. Other programs under the initiative include the Geist Race Series, Open Gym and community bike rides.

City officials said the walking grants also support Mayor Scott Fadness’ focus on neighborhood vibrancy and building connections among residents.

“We want to continue investing in the things that make Fishers’ residents strong, and that includes the connections between the people who live there,” Fadness said. “The Neighborhood Walking Grants are a simple way to support healthy habits while giving residents more opportunities to connect with their neighbors.”

To learn more or apply, visit FishersIN.gov/NWG.