What happens when a community loses the reporters who attend public meetings, examine government records and ask questions?

That is where I begin the October 30 edition of Fridays With Larry. I discuss the growth of news deserts and what the loss of local reporting can mean for taxpayers, local elections and government accountability.

My guest is Adam Wence, owner of Linton News, a local news operation covering communities in southwestern Indiana, including Greene and Sullivan counties.

Adam explains why public records and government transparency have become such an important part of his reporting. We discuss his efforts to obtain records related to a data center project in Sullivan County and why he believes residents need access to information early in the process.

We also talk about Indiana’s Access to Public Records Act, the Public Access Counselor’s office and changes Adam would like to see in the way transparency laws are enforced.

There is a practical side to this conversation as well. How does someone build a local news business while working another full-time job? Adam discusses the role subscriptions, advertising and community support play in keeping his operation going.

Those are questions I think about in my own work here in Fishers. Our communities are different, but we share an interest in making sure someone is paying attention to local government.

In the final segment, I turn to artificial intelligence. As AI tools move beyond answering questions to taking actions, who is responsible when something goes wrong? I discuss the accountability questions that businesses and individuals need to consider.

Fridays With Larry is sponsored by Citizens State Bank.

You can watch the video edition or listen to the audio version of this week’s Fridays With Larry at these links or below.

Fishers High School students have a new place to share their artwork with the public, and visitors do not need a community center membership to see it.

An inaugural exhibition at the Fishers Community Center features approximately two dozen original works by the high school’s Advanced Placement Art students, along with student-created ceramics near the entrance, according to a City of Fishers news release.

The artwork is displayed in public hallways that are free and open to visitors regardless of membership.

The partnership began when Jasmine Osborne, visual arts department chair at Fishers High School, approached the center about creating a dedicated space for student artwork beyond the classroom and school hallways.

“Our students pour their heart into their art. It takes weeks and weeks of development, planning and refining,” Osborne said in the release. “I hope they can feel pride in seeing it here, and I hope they feel like they deserve to have others view their art.”

The exhibition includes drawings and mixed-media pieces. Some came from an assignment asking students to revisit earlier artwork and reimagine it through changes in composition, color and design.

Fishers High School senior Wil Lewandowski, who helped install the exhibition, said displaying work in a public setting gives students a different sense of accomplishment.

“It’s such a different feeling to have art that you make in school to have graded by a teacher versus having that in a real place where other people are coming and seeing it,” he said. “It makes you feel kind of professional.”

The first exhibition could lead to broader participation across Hamilton Southeastern Schools. Osborne and fellow art instructors are exploring rotating displays featuring additional schools and grade levels.

Plans also are underway to expand the partnership to the Fishers Health Department, where student artwork would be displayed in clinic rooms, according to the city.

“The Fishers Community Center was built to bring our community together and this partnership is another way we’re making it happen,” center director Mike Lindbloom said in the release. “We’re excited to give local students a place to showcase their creativity and add something special for our visitors to enjoy.”

The Fishers Community Center is at 11400 Johnson Farm Way. The city’s release did not specify an end date for the exhibition.

The City of Fishers has hired a consulting firm to study how the remaining undeveloped land in the Fishers District could be used, and how to attract developers to build on it.

The Fishers Board of Public Works and Safety on Thursday approved a contract of up to $90,000 with Nelco Architecture, Inc., a Pennsylvania corporation that refers to itself in contract documents as “Nelson.” The firm will prepare what the city calls the Fishers District Next-Generation Development Strategy.

According to the board’s agenda, the study is meant to identify development opportunities that complement what is already in the district and to set out a practical approach for drawing developers, operators and investment partners. City documents say the firm will draw on national development experience, market research and industry relationships to judge feasibility, identify potential barriers and recommend city actions and recruitment priorities.

The agenda notes the project had not previously come before the board.

Five phases

The firm’s fee schedule, dated Sept. 22, breaks the work into five phases, totaling $84,800 in basic fees:

• Discovery and development intelligence: $17,200
• A working session with city officials: $12,750
• Concept development: up to $16,750
• A developer strategy session: $25,550
• A final recommended development strategy: up to $12,550

Three phases are billed as lump sums and two are hourly with caps. The firm must notify the city as it approaches the cap, and it cannot go past that amount without written authorization.

Travel, lodging, presentation materials and similar expenses will be billed separately at 1.15 times actual cost, with receipts required. Any work outside the agreed scope, such as additional site visits or original market research, also needs written approval from the city and a separately negotiated fee.

Who will be involved

City documents say adjacent landowners, selected developers and industry experts will take part in the process. The developer strategy session is the most expensive single phase of the work.

The professional services agreement allows either side to end the contract with 30 days’ written notice. It also requires the consultant to carry liability insurance and to keep any confidential city information private.

The agreement states that the city must comply with Indiana’s Access to Public Records Act and will disclose the contract’s contents.

The city documents do not specify a completion date for the study.

In other items gaining board approval:

–The Fishers Community Center entered into a 3-year contract with City Wide Facility Solutions at a cost not to exceed $830,000 total for the 3-year period.

–W.R. Logistics will once again handle snow removal duties at the Fishers Event Center for $113,544.04, the same contract price as the previous year.

–The city will purchase 4 additional Ford Police Interceptor SUVs from Don Hinds Ford for the Fishers Police Department at a total cost of $183,585.00.

Reconstruction of the Olio Road and Southeastern Parkway roundabout has not caused major traffic problems so far, according to Fishers Director of Engineering Hatem Mekky.

Speaking Thursday morning before the Board of Public Works and Safety meeting, Mekky said the roundabout should reopen to traffic later this year. He said the full project should be complete by spring 2027.

The roundabout sits near the Interstate 69 Exit 210 interchange and is one of the busiest intersections in the region. It also serves as a main route to Ascension St. Vincent Fishers hospital. The city approved the $6.7 million project to replace the current five-leg design. That design brings Olio Road, Southeastern Parkway and 136th Street together in a way many drivers have found confusing, and the intersection has a history of frequent crashes. The new roundabout will have four legs, and plans also call for a traffic signal on Olio Road north of the roundabout.

When the city opened its 2026 construction season in June, it projected the roundabout work would finish in November. Spring 2027 is now the target for the entire project.

Mekky also gave an update on the 116th Street and Allisonville Road intersection on the city’s west side. He said all lanes are now open there. The only work left is installing new traffic signals, which is the final step of the project.

Built in the late 1990s, the intersection has seen steadily heavier traffic as Fishers has grown. The city first planned a roundabout there but dropped that plan in favor of widening and reconfiguring the existing intersection. Construction began in the spring. Through much of the summer, drivers were limited to one lane in each direction, and the city had projected an October finish.

The Fishers Redevelopment Commission on Wednesday increased the amount it will cover for a planned 200,000-square-foot multi-sports complex from $15 million to $23 million, clearing the way for developer Buckingham Properties to buy the project site, near the Fishers Event Center.

The commission approved an amendment to its professional services agreement with Buckingham on a voice vote with no discussion from members.

Attorney Jennifer Messer told the commission the change was needed after a neighboring property owner, Sunbeam, declined to grant Buckingham an easement that would have allowed initial site work to begin before the land purchase. Messer said the city had worked for years to get an easement from Sunbeam.

With that option off the table, Messer said, Buckingham decided to close on the property now because the project is on a tight schedule. She said there are commitments to have a user in the building by a certain date.

The original agreement, approved around July 1, authorized up to $15 million for Buckingham to buy steel, complete design work and cover other soft costs, including engineering. The amended agreement raises that ceiling to $23 million, which Messer said includes a buffer, and adds the cost of buying the site to the list of reimbursable expenses. At least $11 million of the total is set aside for building materials.

Under the agreement, the commission will reimburse Buckingham’s documented costs if the developer cannot acquire the site, if the city and Buckingham do not sign a lease, or if project financing falls through for reasons beyond Buckingham’s control. Messer said that if the deal goes awry, the property would be transferred to the commission “because it’s our dime.”

The amendment also pushes back the deadline for acquiring the site and signing a lease from Sept. 30 to Nov. 30.

The planned facility, described at an earlier meeting as a field house with some office space, would be built and then leased to the city long term. The Fishers City Council has already approved the lease. Messer said the commission will hold a public hearing on the lease Nov. 17 before voting on it.

Commission members are President Brad Johnson, Tony Bonacuse, Damon Grothe, Dan Canan and Anderson Schoenrock.

The Indy Fuel opened their week on the road Wednesday night and came home empty-handed, falling 4-1 to the Cincinnati Cyclones. Two former Fuel players led the way for Cincinnati, with Sahil Panwar finishing with three points against his old team.

Cincinnati struck first on the power play. After Indy’s Anthony Petruzzelli was called for interference at 7:46 of the first period, Nathan Burke scored with two seconds left on the man advantage. It was his first goal for the Cyclones against his former team.

The Fuel had killed off an earlier Cincinnati penalty when Matt Copponi was sent off for interference at 4:50. Late in the period, Indy’s Chase Dafoe was called for roughing at 19:28, but the Fuel held off the Cyclones’ power play as it carried into the second. Cincinnati outshot Indy 6-3 in the opening frame.

Panwar made it 2-0 at 2:19 of the second period with a goal against the team he used to play for.

Indy got two power play chances when Cincinnati’s Justin Portillo went to the box for roughing at 8:41 and for tripping at 17:14. The Fuel came up empty on both, but six seconds after the second penalty expired, Dafoe scored to cut the lead to 2-1. Owen Robinson and Dean Loukus assisted.

Play opened up in the second period, with both teams firing shots early. Cincinnati held an 11-7 shot advantage in the period.

Copponi put the game away in the second half of the third period, scoring twice. His second goal went into an empty net after the Fuel pulled goaltender Adam Gajan for an extra skater. Panwar assisted on the empty-netter.

Hamilton Southeastern Schools will head into 2027 with a smaller budget after the Board of School Trustees approved a financial plan Wednesday night projected to be about $15 million lower than this year’s.

The adopted budget totals $325.9 million, with actual spending expected to reach $323.9 million, compared to $339 million in 2026. The district attributed the decrease to ongoing cost-cutting, including nearly $8 million in projected savings identified by its Budget Task Force, along with changes in revenue and debt obligations.

“We’ve spent a lot of time over the past year looking at where we can reduce costs and operate more efficiently,” Superintendent Matt Kegley said. “That work is making a difference. We know there are still financial challenges ahead, but we’re bringing forward a budget that is about $15 million lower than last year while keeping our focus on students and the classroom.”

The district still faces declining enrollment, rising health insurance costs and higher mandatory teacher retirement contributions.

The projected 2027 tax rate is $1.1912 per $100 of assessed valuation, up from $1.1476 in 2026.

The board also approved the capital projects, bus replacement and referendum spending plans. The budget includes a projected $31.3 million Referendum Fund spending plan, with funding contingent on the outcome of the district’s replacement operating referendum Nov. 3.

Land sale bids fall short

The district received 45 bids for 16.14 acres it owns at 136th Street and Prairie Baptist Road, but none met the price school officials were willing to accept.

Several bidders said they could not close on the purchase and complete the required due diligence on the district’s timeline.

Administrators said they will ask the board next month for approval to hire Metzger Property Services to find a buyer. Under that plan, offers would be accepted through November and December of this year, the buyer would make a down payment in early 2027, and the sale would close in late 2027.

Members of the Hamilton Southeastern Education Association have approved a new 2026-27 contract with Hamilton Southeastern Schools, with 97% of voting members backing the agreement.

The HSE school board held a public hearing on the contract Wednesday night. No one from the public spoke.

Craig Frawley, co-chair of the HSEA bargaining team, praised the negotiations during the hearing.

“Having worked here for 12 years, Dr. (Matt) Kegley is the fourth superintendent I have worked under. I truly believe this is the smoothest process since I’ve been here,” Frawley told the board.

The school board is scheduled to vote on ratification Wednesday, Nov. 4, at 6 p.m., the final step in the approval process.

The agreement would raise eligible teachers’ base salaries by $1,225. Teachers would get another $603 if voters approve the district’s replacement operating referendum Nov. 3, for a combined increase of $1,828. Teacher salaries did not change last year.

To qualify for the raise, teachers must have worked at least 120 days during the 2025-26 school year and still be employed by HSE when the contract is ratified.

Starting pay for teachers hired after ratification would rise by $750, or $1,000 if the referendum passes. Teachers hired for 2026-27 before ratification would receive a $500 adjustment to their starting base salaries.

Other compensation provisions include:

• A $200 payment for teachers with a confirmed early literacy endorsement.
• A $4,000 supplemental payment for employees who earned a master’s degree between Dec. 15, 2024, and ratification.
• A $500 payment for qualifying employees who started between Jan. 1, 2026, and the end of the 2025-26 school year but otherwise would not qualify for the general raise.

The contract also addresses teacher safety. Teachers physically harmed by a student, or the target of a credible threat of violence, would receive paid administrative leave for the rest of the school day. Before returning to class, the teacher and building administrator would meet to discuss safety concerns, with a safety plan developed when appropriate.

Starting June 30, 2027, teachers would receive 14 paid time off days each school year, to be used before accumulated sick leave. The sick leave bank would allow approval of up to 90 days with a doctor’s note.

Beginning in 2027, married couples who are both HSE teachers would share a $20,000 pool for additional health savings account contributions. The district also cited new health insurance rates representing an investment of nearly $2.5 million.

The agreement adds extracurricular pay for high school esports, a student entrepreneurial class sponsor and a high school guidance department chair.

The full tentative agreement is available on the district’s public notices page.

The Central Indiana Regional Development Authority has adopted a regional strategy aimed at drawing life sciences investment and higher-wage jobs to central Indiana, a plan championed by CIRDA Board Chair and Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness.

The Catalyze Plan unites CIRDA’s 32 member communities behind a shared economic development framework. It is the result of a yearlong planning effort, according to a CIRDA news release.

The plan takes a broad view of life sciences, covering human, animal and plant health. It also links the sector to agriculture, advanced manufacturing and logistics, industries CIRDA says are closely connected in the region.

Fadness has been a leading advocate of regional cooperation in central Indiana, arguing that communities compete better for major investment when they work together rather than against one another.

“Central Indiana has the research institutions, industry leaders, talent, manufacturing capabilities, and logistical advantages to compete for the life sciences investments that will shape our economy for decades to come,” Fadness said in the release. “The Catalyze Plan reflects a year of thoughtful planning and regional collaboration in order to determine how we can better connect these assets and close critical gaps.”

CIRDA says the timing matters. Life sciences companies are spending billions of dollars on long-term decisions about where to put research operations, manufacturing, product development and distribution. Those decisions can take years to become buildings and jobs, and the authority says aligning regional priorities now will leave central Indiana better positioned when they are made.

The plan also builds on Gov. Mike Braun’s $1 billion commitment to agriculture and life sciences, announced in March.

A CIRDA committee representing communities across the region helped develop the plan. Bargersville Town Council President Andrew Greenwood, a CIRDA board member, said regional alignment benefits every member.

“When we align our economic development efforts regionally, every community gains a competitive edge,” Greenwood said.

The release does not identify specific projects, funding amounts or job targets tied to the plan. CIRDA describes it as a framework for building on existing strengths, addressing gaps and preparing the region to compete for the next generation of life sciences investme

Fishers celebrated the opening of its first municipally owned dog park at the Fishers Community Center with all 300 memberships sold and a waiting list of about 50.

Mayor Scott Fadness, city Recreation and Wellness Director Jake Reardon-McSoley and City Councilor Todd Zimmerman marked the occasion with remarks tracing the project back to residents’ requests for a place where dogs could play and their owners could gather.

“It’s been one of those things that residents have asked for time and time again, and today we get an opportunity to deliver it,” Fadness said.

The park includes a roughly half-acre section for small dogs and about 1½ acres available to dogs of all sizes, Reardon-McSoley said. He described the opening as the culmination of more than a year of work.

The celebration also comes during the week of the Fishers Community Center’s first anniversary, Reardon-McSoley noted.

Beyond giving dogs room to run, he said, the goal is to create another gathering place for families, friends and neighbors.

Reardon-McSoley credited Hagerman Construction and the city’s Department of Public Works for their roles in preparing the park. He singled out Public Works Chief of Staff Eric Steiner for his work bringing the grounds into shape and thanked the park’s coordinator for helping members complete the registration process.

Zimmerman recalled a conversation with Fadness at Sunrise Cafe in early 2021, when the mayor asked him to help gather residents’ ideas for a recreation center.

As the community worked through the COVID-19 pandemic, Zimmerman said, the discussions focused on ways to bring people together. A dog park ranked high among the amenities residents wanted.

Zimmerman attended the opening with his family’s dogs, Jack and Lucy. He said the two are 4 years old — younger than the community’s initial discussions about the project.

“They’re not just animals,” Zimmerman said of dogs. “They’re part of our families.”

He also recalled conversations with nearby residents who initially questioned replacing an open field with a community center. Those neighbors became involved in the planning process and are pleased with the result, he said.

The Humane Society for Hamilton County also participated in the opening celebration.

For residents hoping to join, the Community Center’s dog park website lists memberships as sold out and provides a waiting-list option. The park limits enrollment to 300 dogs.

Membership costs $72 for six months, with a limit of three dogs per family. Each dog must have required vaccination records and complete a $60 DNA test used to enforce the park’s waste cleanup policy. Dog park memberships are separate from general Community Center memberships.