The Fishers Event Center opened with a Turnpike Troubadours concert on Nov. 22, 2024. Two years later, the arena is preparing to host the first Big Ten Volleyball Tournament. In between, it has made room for events closer to home, including graduation ceremonies for 3,383 students in 2026.

The 7,500-seat arena is home to three professional teams: the Indy Fuel, Indy Ignite and Fishers Freight. Fishers and Hamilton Southeastern high schools were among the schools that held commencement there this year.

Outside the arena, the FORUM Credit Union Plaza hosted five free World Cup watch parties over the summer, followed by free screenings of Back to the Future, Miracle and Hocus Pocus in September and October. The venue used the Hocus Pocus screening and an October CeCe Winans concert to collect supplies for HamCo Love and Wheeler Mission. The Event Center said the drive brought in 408 diapers, 194 razors and 976 menstrual products, among other donations.

The venue also announced new menu items, including a barbecue bologna sandwich made with Fischer Farms beef and a grilled cheese with brisket, cheddar and provolone.

What’s coming up

The inaugural Big Ten Volleyball Tournament brings 15 teams to Fishers Nov. 20–25, with the championship match on Nov. 25. A free Fan Village will show every tournament match at the Nickel Plate District Amphitheater and Central Green in downtown Fishers.

• Nov. 29, 4 p.m. — Indy Fuel Teddy Bear Toss. The Fuel play the Bloomington Bison. Fans can throw stuffed animals onto the ice after the Fuel’s first goal, and the toys will go to local children in need.
• Dec. 13, 1–3 p.m. — Pepper’s second birthday party. The Indy Ignite mascot’s celebration includes visits with area mascots and Santa. Admission is free with a ticket, and donations to Special Olympics Indiana are optional.
• Dec. 18 — Mudsock basketball. Fishers and Hamilton Southeastern renew their rivalry, with the girls game at 6 p.m. and the boys game at 8 p.m.
• Feb. 19, 2027 — Collective Soul with Edwin McCain. The concert is part of the Hamilton Southeastern Education Foundation’s third annual Legacy Celebration.

The City of Fishers will honor local veterans and their families Wednesday at its annual Veterans Day ceremony.

The city and the Fishers Armed Services Commission are presenting the free event. It begins at 11 a.m. Nov. 11 in the Theater at Fishers Municipal Center, 1 Municipal Drive, and is open to the public. If you can’t attend in person, you can watch the livestream on the city’s YouTube channel.

This year’s keynote speaker is retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Tim Winslow. He is executive director of the Indiana War Memorials and Museum and assistant director of the Indiana Department of Veterans Affairs.

Winslow oversees the Indiana World War Memorial Historic District in downtown Indianapolis. The district includes the Indiana War Memorial building and museum, the Soldiers and Sailors Monument and 25 acres of monuments honoring Hoosier veterans. In his Veterans Affairs role, he supports the Indiana Veterans Home, the Indiana Veterans Memorial Cemetery, the Military Family Relief Fund and other assistance programs.

Winslow served more than 37 years in the military, including two combat deployments. He is a master Army aviator with 2,500 flight hours and is qualified in five aircraft. His assignments included interim adjutant general of the Indiana National Guard, commander of the 81st Troop Command, Indiana director of the Joint Staff and chief of staff of the 38th Infantry Division.

He received his commission through Purdue University’s Army ROTC program. He holds master’s degrees in business administration and strategic studies and is a graduate of the U.S. Army War College. Then-Gov. Eric Holcomb named him a Sagamore of the Wabash.

His wife, Dr. Catherine Winslow, is a former Army lieutenant colonel. She was inducted into the Indiana Military Veterans Hall of Fame in 2022.

Year-round tributes

The ceremony is one of several ways Fishers honors veterans throughout the year.

Residents can request a $50 light pole banner honoring a veteran. The banners hang around the Central Green and the Nickel Plate District Amphitheater. Photos must be at least 4 by 6 inches, 600 dpi, and in PNG or JPG format. The city prefers close-up photos of the veteran in uniform, from the waist up or as a headshot. The city’s website has an interactive map of existing banners.

Families can also buy an engraved brick paver for the Liberty Plaza walkway at the center of the Nickel Plate District Central Green. An 8-by-4-inch paver costs $100, and an 8-by-8-inch paver costs $200. Questions about pavers go to Samantha Wisecup, the city’s community outreach manager.

Through its Hometown Help for Heroes program, the Fishers Department of Public Works also helps families with a deployed head of household. The program provides driveway and sidewalk snow removal plus lawn mowing and trimming. It is open to any Fishers family with at least one head of household currently deployed in a branch of the armed forces.

More information is at this link.

Chef Kelsey Murphy’s Clutch Kitchen will celebrate its grand reopening Nov. 12–15 at Sun King Brewery Fishers with a renovated kitchen, an expanded menu and four days of events. The restaurant is at 9713 District N Drive in Fishers District.

The new menu adds thin-crust pizzas, a pastrami Reuben, pork belly bao buns and garlic Parmesan mozzarella sticks. Clutch Kitchen is keeping its wings, Cuban sandwich and smash burgers, dishes Murphy served at her original Clutch Kitchen location at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Murphy, a longtime Fishers resident and winner of Season 11 of MasterChef, opened Inspo in 2022 in the Fishers Test Kitchen. The city launched the restaurant accelerator in 2020 to help emerging food businesses get started. Murphy later expanded to Lucas Oil Stadium and returned to Fishers District with Clutch Kitchen, which now occupies the former Test Kitchen space.

“This grand reopening feels like coming home, and watching this kitchen transform is a dream come true,” Murphy said in the city’s announcement.

Reopening schedule

• Thursday, Nov. 12, at 4 p.m. The city, Clutch Kitchen and Sun King will hold a ribbon-cutting and VIP celebration.
• Friday, Nov. 13, from 4:30 to 6 p.m. The first 50 qualifying orders will receive a golden ticket. Winners will be announced at 6 p.m., with prizes including merchandise and gift cards.
• Saturday, Nov. 14, from 2 to 4 p.m. Guests 21 and older can sample pork belly bao buns, the Reuben and cinnamon roll pretzel bites with Sun King beer pairings at a free tasting.
• Sunday, Nov. 15, from noon to 9 p.m. The restaurant will host a game-day celebration. The Colts play the Miami Dolphins at 1 p.m., and the Indy Fuel host the Toledo Walleye at 4 p.m. at the Fishers Event Center.

The Big Ten Conference’s first volleyball tournament is coming to Fishers, and organizers have planned much more than matches.

The inaugural Big Ten Volleyball Tournament will be played Nov. 20-25 at Fishers Event Center, home of Major League Volleyball’s Indy Ignite. The top 15 teams in the regular-season standings will qualify, and it will be the first time the conference’s programs have played together in one venue.

The bracket will be announced Tuesday, Nov. 17. So far, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oregon, Penn State, Purdue, UCLA, Washington and Wisconsin have clinched spots.

The tournament opens with three first-round matches and four second-round matches, followed by the quarterfinals and semifinals. The championship match is set for Wednesday, Nov. 25. The schedule includes one off day.

A limited number of single-session tickets go on sale to the public Tuesday, Nov. 10, at 11 a.m. at FishersEventCenter.com.

Free fan village downtown

Fans without tickets can still be part of the action at the Big Ten Fan Village. It will be free and open daily at the Nickel Plate District Amphitheater, 1 Municipal Drive. Every tournament match will be shown there. The village will also have merchandise, photo spots, grass volleyball courts, crafts, food trucks and bonfires.

Each day has a theme:

• Friday, Nov. 20 (10 a.m. to 10 p.m.): Opening Celebration Day, with a concert by Toy Factory
• Saturday, Nov. 21 (10 a.m. to 10 p.m.): Family Day, with Indy Ignite appearances and youth activities
• Sunday, Nov. 22 (10 a.m. to 10 p.m.): Girls in Sports and Leadership Day
• Monday, Nov. 23 (about 6 to 9 p.m.): Explore Hamilton County and the Major League Volleyball Draft, hosted by the Indy Ignite
• Tuesday, Nov. 24 (4 to 10 p.m.): Semifinals Watch Party
• Wednesday, Nov. 25 (5 to 10 p.m.): Championship Watch Party

Blood drive, volunteers needed

The fan village will also hold donation hours for the We Give Blood Big Ten Blood Drive Challenge. Big Ten schools compete in the challenge for bragging rights and a $1 million grant for student or community health. Hours are:

• 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nov. 20, 21 (tentative), 22 and 25
• 2 to 6 p.m. Nov. 23
• 3 to 6 p.m. Nov. 24

Residents can also donate before or during tournament week at the Fishers Blood Donation Center.

Organizers need volunteers for fan village shifts on all six days. Roles include greeters, Kids’ Zone support, photo stations, information tables, trivia, outdoor volleyball courts and wellness activities. Most shifts last about two hours, with daytime and evening, indoor and outdoor options.

Local kids get in on the action

Starting Nov. 16, Hamilton East Public Library will offer young fans a Big Ten scavenger hunt with prizes. Kids can also make letters at a station to cheer on their favorite teams.

The tournament has already reached into Fishers classrooms. Since Oct. 28, Big Ten School Visits have reached about 5,000 students:

• Reading visits at 13 elementary schools
• Volleyball instruction at three intermediate schools
• Morning pep rallies at four junior high schools

Each student gets a Big Ten drawstring bag and pencil. The city of Fishers and the Indy Ignite, including mascot Pepper and the Firestarters, are helping with the visits, which run through Nov. 20.

A conference built for crowds

The Big Ten has led Division I volleyball in attendance every season since 2007. Current conference schools have won 22 NCAA Division I championships combined, including 12 of the last 20. Eight of the nine most-watched college volleyball matches ever have featured Big Ten teams.

The Indianapolis area has hosted several Big Ten championships this year. Big Ten football’s championship games will be played Saturday, Dec. 5, at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Valtteri Bottas never took the green flag at Sunday’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix, a frustrating new setback for the Fishers-based Cadillac Formula 1 team. It came in the same week as reports that the team’s majority owner may be looking to sell.

Bottas qualified 18th and was set to start 17th at Interlagos. Before the lap to the grid, the crew tried to change a tire but could not get the right rear wheel nut off. Team officials later said the nut was cross-threaded. Crew members went at it with a hammer on the grid, but the car was pushed back to the garage and Bottas was out.

“It’s sad that we were unable to start the race today,” Bottas said.

Teammate Sergio Perez started last, in 22nd, after a 30-place grid penalty for exceeding his quota of power unit parts. He started on intermediate tires in wet conditions, switched to slicks as the track dried, and went back to intermediates when rain returned with fewer than 10 laps left. He finished 18th, two laps down, after a slow pit stop that he said was a repeat of a problem in Mexico.

“We need to make sure we fix our tools and get everything right,” Perez said.

Team principal Marcin Budkowski called it “a challenging day.” Budkowski took over in August when Graeme Lowdon was removed as team principal.

Cadillac is still without a point in its first F1 season and sits 11th, last, in the constructors’ standings. Reliability has been a theme all year. The team had nine retirements in the first 11 rounds, five of them Bottas’. The Finn also walked away from a heavy crash in Mexico two weeks ago.

The trouble on the track comes as the team’s ownership faces new questions. Sportico reported Nov. 2 that TWG Global, the company of billionaire Mark Walter, is seeking at least $3 billion for its controlling stake. Sportico counted at least seven possible buyers. The Guardian and The Wall Street Journal have named Fenway Sports Group, owner of the Boston Red Sox and Liverpool FC, as one of them.

That would reverse TWG’s position from August. Then, amid reports of a federal probe involving Walter’s financial empire, the company said it was not considering a sale of the Cadillac team. TWG has since said a sale is not imminent. FSG declined to comment.

General Motors holds an undisclosed minority stake. It supplies staff and infrastructure and is developing the team’s future power units. Perez, who is signed through 2029, said GM’s involvement gives him confidence and he does not expect day-to-day operations to change.

For Fishers, the stakes are local. The team’s headquarters is a $200 million, 400,000-square-foot building near Indianapolis Metropolitan Airport. The team has said it expects about 300 people to work there, assembling the cars. None of the reports so far suggest the Fishers base would change under a new owner.

Cadillac’s next race is in Las Vegas in two weeks, the team’s third home race this season.

Fishers homeowners and other Hamilton County property owners have until Tuesday, Nov. 10, to pay the fall installment of their 2026 property tax bills.

Indiana law splits each year’s property tax bill into two equal installments, due May 10 and Nov. 10. The spring payment was due May 11 this year because May 10 fell on a Sunday. The fall deadline lands on a weekday, so there is no extra day this time.

The fall payment coupon came with the tax statement the county mailed in the spring. Property owners who have misplaced it can look up their parcel and balance on the county’s tax website, hamiltoncounty.in.gov/taxes.

How to pay

Hamilton County offers several ways to pay:

• Online through the county’s tax website. Convenience fees apply; the county has charged $1 for an e-check and 2.5% for credit and debit cards. Online payments can take two to three business days to show up in county records.
• By mail to the Hamilton County Treasurer, 33 N. Ninth St., Suite 112, Noblesville, IN 46060. Payments must be postmarked by Nov. 10. A postage-meter date does not count.
• In person at the Treasurer’s Office in the Historic Courthouse in Noblesville, open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays.
• By drop box at the Historic Courthouse.
• At participating local banks, with the tax statement in hand, before the deadline.

Late penalties

Missing the deadline costs money. Under state law, a payment made within 30 days after the due date carries a 5% penalty on the unpaid tax, as long as no earlier taxes are delinquent on the property. After 30 days, or if prior taxes are owed, the penalty rises to 10%.

The county has also cautioned that partial payments do not protect a property from penalties, fees or a tax sale.

New credit already on the bill

This is the first year Hoosier homeowners are seeing the relief in Senate Enrolled Act 1, the property tax overhaul lawmakers passed in 2025. Homestead bills now include a credit equal to 10% of the tax owed, up to $300 a year. Qualifying homeowners 65 and older on fixed incomes can receive an additional $150 credit.

Those credits were figured into the 2026 statements for property owners who qualify, so no extra step is needed to claim them when making the fall payment. Homeowners who believe a deduction or credit is missing from their bill should contact the Hamilton County Auditor’s Office.

Questions about a payment or balance can go to the Treasurer’s Office at 317-776-9620.

As a one-person news operation, I had a choice to make on election night. I could make the rounds and talk to candidates, or I could stay put and keep the vote counts current for readers following along at LarryInFishers.com. I chose to stay put.

My thanks to the Hamilton County Election Office. Staff sent me updated counts throughout the evening, and I posted them as they came in. I started with the Hamilton Southeastern Schools referendum and school board races. As more precincts reported, I widened my coverage. There was a lot more going on than I had expected.

By the end of election night, the county had reported results from all 234 precincts. The unofficial tally showed 150,804 ballots cast, or just under 52% of registered voters.

HSE voters approve funding and change the board

The HSE operating referendum passed with 58.33% support. It replaces the operating referendum voters approved in 2023. The district says teacher salaries and benefits account for more than 97% of its 2026 referendum budget. Carmel Clay, Noblesville and Westfield Washington voters also approved their school funding measures.

I’ll be watching Sheridan Community Schools and Tipton Community School Corporation, where voters turned down operating referendums. The next decisions will come at budget meetings, as school leaders sort out what they can keep and where they may need to cut.

Four of the seven HSE School Board seats will change hands in January. None of the incumbents sought reelection to the board. Greg Wright won in District 1, Josh Perry in District 2 and Michelle Fullhart in District 3. Stephanie Braden ran unopposed in District 4. For Fullhart, it’s a return to a board where she previously served two terms.

From Congress to the Statehouse

Democrat J.D. Ford defeated Republican U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz in Indiana’s 5th Congressional District. Ford drew nearly 52% districtwide and just over 55% in Hamilton County. The result stood out because Donald Trump carried the district by nearly 17 percentage points two years earlier. There’s a whole column to be written about that race alone.

The defeat of Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston surprised me. His TV ads caught my attention before Election Day and made me wonder how close the race might be. Democrat Lauren Cole finished 786 votes ahead of Huston in the unofficial count for House District 37. Democrat Stephanie Jo Yocum defeated Republican incumbent Chris Jeter in House District 88. And in Senate District 31, Marion County Sheriff Kerry Forestal, a Democrat, defeated Republican Juanita Albright for the seat Kyle Walker chose not to seek again.

The changes closer to home

Democrat Charles Hollowell defeated Republican Dustin Dixon for Hamilton County sheriff. Democrats Christopher Daniel, Nathan Bullock and Jason Frank won three of the four County Council seats on the ballot. Republican Mark Hall held his District 3 seat. In the county commissioner race, Republican Christine Altman won another term by just 323 votes over Democrat Ti’Gre McNear in the election-night count.

Democrat Emily Angel Shaw defeated Republican Danica Eyler for Superior Court No. 8. Democrat Alexandra Wilson defeated Republican Beth Sheller for circuit court clerk. That puts Wilson on the three-member County Election Board as its secretary.

The shift reached the township races, too. Democrat Stephanie Hunt unseated Republican Doug Allman as Fall Creek Township trustee, and Democrats won all three seats on the township board. In Delaware Township, Republican Trustee Debbie Driskell ran unopposed, while Democrats won all three township board seats.

The Hamilton County Election Board is scheduled to review provisional ballots and certify the county’s results at 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 13, at the clerk’s office in Noblesville.

When I moved to Hamilton County in 1991, I would have had a hard time imagining a night when Democrats won the sheriff’s race and three County Council seats on the same ballot. In January, I’ll be watching how that new mix of officeholders works together, starting with the decisions they make about county spending.

Thank you to everyone who followed the returns on the site and took the time to tell me the updates helped. It was a busy night in Hamilton County. I’m glad I stayed put.

The Fishers High School Marching Tiger Band finished fifth in Open Class A at the Indiana State School Music Association (ISSMA) Marching Band State Finals on Saturday, Nov. 7, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Avon won Class A for the fourth straight year. Carmel placed second, followed by Castle in third and Brownsburg in fourth. After Fishers, the rest of the top 10 were Center Grove, Homestead, Carroll, Franklin Central and Westfield.

ISSMA does not release point totals for its events.

Class A is the class for the largest schools. To reach state, a band has to get through regional judging and then semi-state, which leaves only 10 finalist spots in each class. Fishers had one of the night’s last slots and took the field at 10 p.m., shortly before the awards ceremony.

Fifth place is a step up from 2024, when Fishers finished sixth. The Marching Tiger Band has been a regular at state in recent years. It placed third in 2021 and 2022 and fourth in 2023.

Hamilton Southeastern’s Royal Command and Guard also competed in Class A this season. HSE qualified for the Open Class semi-state and performed Oct. 24 at Ben Davis High School, but it was not one of the 10 bands that advanced to state.

Elsewhere in Hamilton County, Carmel’s second-place finish led the county’s bands, and Westfield earned the last spot in the Class A top 10.

The Marching Tiger Band’s season isn’t over yet. The band’s schedule has it competing at the Bands of America Grand Nationals Nov. 12-14 at Lucas Oil Stadium. Further ahead, the band has been chosen to march in the 2028 Rose Parade in Pasadena, Calif.

In the other classes, Evansville North repeated as Class B champion, Edgewood won its fourth straight Class C title and Paoli won its 15th Class D state championship. In all, 40 bands competed in the finals.

The Indy Fuel led twice Sunday afternoon, but former Fuel forward Sahil Panwar scored 3:28 into overtime to give the Cincinnati Cyclones a 3-2 win before 3,664 fans at the Fishers Event Center.

Jackson Desouza put Indy ahead at 17:14 of the first period with his first goal of the season. Dean Loukus and Kyler Kupka assisted. Cincinnati outshot the Fuel 15-8 in the opening period, but Indy took a 1-0 lead into the intermission.

Alexander Burmistrov tied the game at 11:21 of the second period off an assist from Kurtis Henry. Jacob Perreault put the Fuel back ahead on a power play at 14:39 with his sixth goal of the season. Kupka picked up his second assist of the game, and Mitchell Hoelscher also assisted.

Cincinnati drew even again at 11:11 of the third period. With Tommy Budnick and Chase Dafoe serving minor penalties, Nathan Burke scored on a five-on-three power play with assists from Matt Copponi and Panwar. Copponi also set up Panwar’s game-winner in overtime.

Adam Gajan made 27 saves for the Fuel and was named the game’s third star. Kaidan Mbereko stopped 20 shots for Cincinnati, which outshot Indy 30-22. Panwar and Burmistrov were named the first and second stars.

The Indy Fuel snapped a five-game losing streak Friday night in Cincinnati but could not make it two straight Saturday, falling 3-2 in overtime to the Kalamazoo Wings before 5,042 fans at the Fishers Event Center. Indy did earn one point in the standings for the overtime loss.

Ryan Cox ended it 28 seconds into the extra period, with Noah Ellis assisting. That was Kalamazoo’s only shot of overtime. Ellis assisted on all three Wings goals and was named the game’s third star. Cox was the first star.

The first period was scoreless, and each team put six shots on goal. Kalamazoo lived up to its reputation as a defense-minded club.

Chase Dafoe broke the tie at 6:21 of the second period with his third goal of the season, assisted by Cody Laskosky. That was the only goal of the period.

Kalamazoo tied it 2:00 into the third period when Noel Edfeldt scored, assisted by Ellis and Tyler Gratton. Just 35 seconds later, Jadon Joseph scored his first goal of the season, assisted by Dustin Manz, to put the Fuel back in front 2-1. Joseph was named the second star.

Gratton tied the game 2-2 at 7:34 of the third. The goal was confirmed after a video review, and Ryan St. Louis and Ellis had the assists.

The teams were dead even on the stat sheet. Both had 21 shots on goal. Indy goaltender Thomas Gale made 18 saves, and Kalamazoo’s Aku Koskenvuo stopped 19. Neither team scored on the power play: the Fuel went 0-for-3 and the Wings 0-for-1.

The Fuel finish three games in three days when they host the Cincinnati Cyclones at 4 p.m. Sunday at the Fishers Event Center.