The City of Fishers has released its weekly construction report, and the biggest impact this weekend is a full closure of the 96th Street and Cyntheanne Road roundabout on Saturday, August 8, while crews mill and pave. Signed detours will route traffic around the intersection, with local access maintained. Weather permitting, the roundabout reopens Monday, August 10.

Also on Saturday, drivers near Launch Fishers should expect temporary restrictions during Hamilton Humane’s Woofstock 5K & Dog Walk. Morning delays are possible.

Several long-term projects continue. The 136th Street Widening Project has moved into Phase 2 between Southeastern Parkway and Prairie Baptist Road, where 136th Street is closed to through traffic. The project will convert the rural two-lane road into a boulevard with raised medians, multi-use paths on both sides, new pavement and curb, and upgraded storm sewers.

At 116th Street and Allisonville Road, outside lanes remain closed with traffic shifted to inside through lanes and turn lanes — a pattern expected to hold through early October. As of August 5, the west leg of Fishers Crossing Boulevard at Allisonville Road closed for roughly three weeks, blocking that entrance to the shopping center. All businesses remain open.

The USA Parkway Widening Project north of 106th Street brings lane restrictions through October, with substantial completion expected in mid-October. Work includes widening, new curbs, trail construction, and resurfacing.

At the Southeastern Parkway and Olio Road roundabout, lane restrictions begin in early August, including Olio Road reduced to one lane each direction and closure of the roundabout’s “5th leg.”

Utility work continues on Cumberland Road between 106th and 116th streets from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. AT&T begins fiber installation in Beaver Ridge, Pine Bluff Overlook, Bradford Ridge, Walnut Creek, Delaware Pointe, Summerfield, and Delaware Crossing. Brightspeed starts fiber work in The Boulders, Reserve at Steeplechase, Sanctuary at Steeplechase, and Oakhurst.

Resurfacing crews begin concrete operations in Fawnsbrook the week of August 10, with milling and base repair coming to 96th Street from Carroll to Olio roads and Westmoreland Drive in Somerset.

Regionally, Cumberland Road south of 116th Street has daily lane restrictions through August 21 for bridge work, and I-465 ClearPath closures are scheduled nightly August 10–14.

Full report as provided by the City of Fishers is below:

Continue reading Fishers Weekly Road Construction Update: What Drivers Need to Know →

Bluegrass star Billy Strings was struck in the head by an object thrown from the audience Thursday night during the first of three sold-out shows at Fishers Event Center, and he did not let it pass quietly.

The incident, first reported by WideOpenCountry.com, happened between songs as Strings was talking to the crowd. Video posted to social media by a concertgoer shows an object sail out of the darkness and bounce off the singer’s head about two seconds in. The fan who filmed it said he could not identify what was thrown.

Strings was not injured, but he was visibly angry. He stopped the show and delivered a blistering, profanity-heavy rebuke to the crowd, asking why anyone would throw something at him and noting that he had been about to tell the audience how happy he was to be in Indiana. He closed by asking the crowd to identify whoever did it.

Because of the language, this story does not link to the video.

The Thursday show was a makeup date. Strings postponed a run of spring concerts, including the original Fishers stop in April, after breaking his leg in a skateboarding accident backstage. The August 6 performance was among his first back on stage since the injury.

A Growing Problem at Concerts

Throwing objects at performers has become a recurring hazard at arena and amphitheater shows over the past few years. Riley Green, Morgan Wallen, Luke Bryan and Kelsea Ballerini have all been hit by items launched from the crowd, in some cases requiring the show to stop.

Theories about the motive vary. Some fans appear to be trying to get an artist’s attention — tossing a phone toward the stage in hopes the performer picks it up and films a clip. Others may simply be angling for a viral moment when someone in the crowd captures the throw and posts it.

Whatever the reason, a hard object thrown from a dark arena at a person under stage lights is a genuine safety risk, both for the artist and for anyone standing nearby.

About the Venue

Fishers Event Center opened in late 2024 and has quickly become a regular stop for national touring acts in the Indianapolis metro area. Strings’ three-night stand is among the venue’s larger bookings of the summer.

Neither Strings’ representatives nor Fishers Event Center had issued a public statement as of Friday.

Hamilton Southeastern Schools board of trustees will vote Wednesday on a rewritten fee schedule for renting school gyms, fields, pools and auditoriums — a change that would raise most rates for the first time in years while creating a discount tier for Fishers-based youth organizations.

The current schedule charges every renter the same price. The proposed version splits users into three tiers: Fishers-based youth organizations, Fishers-based organizations, and non-Fishers-based groups. In most cases, out-of-town renters would pay roughly double what a local youth club pays.

The steepest increases land on practice space. High school practice fields, now $32 an hour for everyone, would go to $75 for local youth groups, $95 for other Fishers organizations and $110 for outside groups. Elementary practice fields double from $13 to $26 at the lowest tier. Elementary gyms jump from $58 an hour to $100, $125 or $150 depending on the renter.

A few rates move very little. The high school auditorium — already the most expensive space in the district at $441 an hour — rises to just $450 for local renters, though non-Fishers groups would pay $675. Tennis courts stay at $8 per hour per court for Fishers youth groups. And the high school football stadium would actually get cheaper for those groups, dropping from $278 an hour to $225.

The schedule also adds something the current one lacks: flat weekend day rates for Saturday–Sunday tournament use. Renting the football stadium for a full weekend day would cost a Fishers youth organization $1,125, compared with $1,700 for an outside group. Similar day rates appear for the soccer stadium, baseball and softball fields, the junior high stadium and tennis courts.

The proposal arrives during a difficult budget stretch for the district. In June, the board approved a separate package of family-facing fees for 2026-27 — reinstating consumable material fees, adding athletic participation fees and raising preschool tuition — on a 5-1 vote. Trustees also advanced a referendum resolution the same month.

Facility rentals are a comparatively small revenue line, but the tiered structure signals a policy choice as much as a financial one: local kids’ programs get the district’s best price, and everyone else subsidizes them.

The full proposed rate schedule appears below.

The following message was sent by the Hamilton County Highway Department Friday afternoon:

Please be advised, beginning on Friday, August 7th, drivers should expect daily lane restrictions on Cumberland Road, south of 116^th Street, for bridge preservation work. The expected completion date for this project is Friday, August 21, 2026.

Please use extreme caution while driving through the construction zone. Drivers are encouraged to be vigilant and watch for flaggers in the area.

Fishers Arts Council is expanding its leadership and exhibition space in 2026, adding two board members and opening galleries in partnership with Build BW and the Ball State Fishers Center.

New board members Fabi Gonzalez and Esperanza Alonzo bring experience in business, law and the arts.

Gonzalez is a business owner, architect and concrete contractor with more than 15 years of commercial and residential construction experience. Alonzo, a Mexico native who has lived in Indiana for more than 20 years, practices family law, criminal defense and workers’ compensation. She also founded the Hispanic Cultural Hub and creates sequin artwork and jewelry.

At its January annual meeting, the council elected Chris Hayes as president, Erica Foreman as vice president, Amanda Wilhite as treasurer and Ross Hilleary as secretary.

Returning board members are Susan Dickey, Greg Dierfeldt, Tyna Green Seall, Olivia Harris, Molly Hammer and Latrica Schooley. Pat Grabill was named board emeritus, while Les Reinhardt will continue as executive director.

The council also partnered with Build BW to establish a gallery in the first-floor lobby at 11 Municipal Drive. Open seven days a week, the gallery is currently exhibiting work by Fishers Arts Council artist member Casey Williams of McCordsville.

Reinhardt said the partnership provided a new home for the council’s Hub Gallery after the Hamilton County Community Foundation decided to sell its building.

“Having an accessible space is important to us, not only for artists, but also for the public,” Reinhardt said. “Being able to come after work or on the weekends to see an art gallery isn’t always an option, but the Build BW Gallery makes that possible.”

A third council exhibition space, Ball State Gallery-Fishers, is opening this month at 8626 E. 116th St., Suite 300. The gallery is accessible from the Switch Patio by elevator.

Its first exhibition, “Summer Shine,” will feature floral themes, bright colors and work from artists who are new to the council.

Both galleries will participate in the Second Friday Gallery Hop from 5 to 9 p.m. Aug. 14, along with the Art Gallery at City Hall and other Nickel Plate District galleries. Seven galleries will take part during at least a portion of the event.

Four Day Ray is sponsoring the hop and will offer a free dessert with a dinner purchase to participants who complete the hop and dine at the restaurant between Aug. 14 and 16.

Gallery locations, hours and event cards are available at FishersArtsCouncil.org/galleryhop.

On the August 7, 2026 edition of the Fridays With Larry podcast, Larry asks whether America has too many lawyers—or whether its attorneys are simply concentrated in the wrong places. He examines rising law school applications, the effect of artificial intelligence on the legal profession and the rural “legal deserts” where residents may struggle to find an attorney.

Larry also talks with Fishers High School graduate Emersen Kolb about her experience in the prestigious Trial by Combat mock-trial tournament. Now preparing to attend the University of Cincinnati College of Law, Kolb discusses courtroom storytelling, the programs that inspired her career path and her goal of becoming a public defender. The episode ends with the lighter story of an Arizona driver whose unusual excuse for traveling 112 mph did not keep him out of trouble.

Fridays With Larry is sponsored by Citizens State Bank.

Listen to or watch the podcast using this link for video, this link for audio, or the links below.

Hamilton Southeastern Schools is preparing to sell roughly 16 acres of district-owned land at 136th Street and Prairie Baptist Road, with an auction possible as soon as September, officials told the school board’s Finance and Facilities Committee on Thursday.

The property, currently leased out and being farmed, is left over from a larger parcel the district once owned at the intersection. A portion of that original tract was used in a partnership with the City of Fishers to build a fire station, leaving the roughly 16 acres now on the table.

District officials said the remaining ground is not a realistic site for a future school building — too small, and in the wrong spot, to support one.

Chief Financial Officer Tim Brown told the committee the district is working through the legal steps required before a public school corporation can dispose of real estate. The first appraisal of the property is expected in mid-August, with a secondary review of that appraisal following shortly after.

Once the appraisal work is complete, Brown said he anticipates bringing a full resolution to the board, with the goal of engaging an auctioneer in September.

The sale would come with no strings attached on how the land is used. The district does not plan to attach contingencies restricting the buyer, Brown said, and any zoning questions or land-use approvals would be handled by the City of Fishers rather than the school district.

The school board will weigh in twice. Members will vote to authorize the sale before the property goes to auction, then vote again to approve the final sale once the auction is complete.

No estimated value for the property was discussed at the committee meeting.

In other items before the committee Thursday morning:

–A ribbon cutting ceremony is scheduled for August 20th for the Fishers Elementary School renovation.

–At HSE High School, Royalty Drive is open but construction continues in the parking lot area.  Brown anticipates the new parking area will be open and ready for use following fall break.

Hamilton Southeastern Schools will recommend a lower HSE referendum tax rate for 2027 than officials projected earlier this year, after Hamilton County government delivered better-than-expected assessed valuation numbers this week.

The assessed value of property inside district boundaries “came in quite a bit higher than we were projecting,” HSE Chief Financial Officer Tim Brown told the school board’s Finance & Facilities Committee Thursday morning.

That matters because a referendum rate is applied against total net assessed value. When the base is larger, a lower rate raises the same number of dollars. Administrators had been planning around a rate of 22.75 cents per $100 of assessed value in 2027 — the figure Brown has used in public presentations since spring — using the county data available at the time.

Brown did not tell the committee what the new 2027 recommendation will be, only that it will land below 22.75 cents.

An informational presentation on the revised recommendation is scheduled for Wednesday night’s board meeting. No vote is expected then.

What voters will decide November 3

Voters will decide November 3 whether to replace HSE’s current operating referendum, approved in 2023 with 70% support. State law requires the ballot question to show the maximum possible impact, so voters will see a rate of up to 36 cents per $100 of assessed value over eight years. District officials have consistently said they do not expect to levy the maximum in any year.

The rate is not locked in by the ballot. If the referendum passes, the school board votes each year on the referendum tax rate as part of the budget process — which is exactly the mechanism producing this week’s downward revision.

The district is asking again three years into an eight-year measure because of Senate Enrolled Act 1, the 2025 property tax overhaul signed by Gov. Mike Braun. Larger homestead deductions shrink the assessed value a rate is applied against, and consultants project HSE will collect roughly $45.3 million less than expected between 2026 and 2031. The same law limits referendum questions to general election ballots in even-numbered years, meaning HSE’s next opportunity after this fall would not come until November 2028.

HSE is far from alone. School finance experts estimate 40 to 50 Indiana districts will put referendum questions on this fall’s ballot, including Carmel, Noblesville, Westfield and Zionsville.

The revised number arrives as Brown and Superintendent Dr. Matt Kegley prepare a series of speaking engagements across the community to explain the referendum question to voters — appearances that will now carry a smaller first-year number than the one presented this spring.

Three members of the Hamilton County law enforcement community were recognized Tuesday for their work in patrol, investigations and community engagement.

The Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office presented its annual Officer of the Year Awards to Westfield Patrol Officer Ezekiel McCarthy, Carmel Detective Michael Morley, and Noblesville police K-9 Luna and her handler, Sgt. Ben Lugar.

“We are incredibly fortunate to serve alongside some of the finest law enforcement professionals anywhere,” Hamilton County Prosecutor Joshua Kocher said. “This year’s honorees not only stand apart from everyone else, but they exemplify the dedication, courage, and compassion that define our law enforcement partners every day.”

McCarthy was named Patrol Officer of the Year for what the prosecutor’s office described as extraordinary courage, decisive action and a steadfast commitment to public safety. Officials said his professionalism, selflessness and ability to remain calm under pressure reflect the highest ideals of law enforcement.

Morley received the Detective of the Year award for his work investigating complex financial crimes and offenses targeting vulnerable adults.

As an FBI task force officer and member of Hamilton County’s Elder Abuse Multidisciplinary Team, Morley uses his financial expertise to investigate cases, hold offenders accountable and pursue the recovery of stolen money for victims. The prosecutor’s office credited his persistence and thorough investigative work with helping restore justice for vulnerable residents.

The K-9 of the Year award went to Luna and Lugar for their service with NobleACT, a partnership involving police, fire and mental health professionals.

The program connects people experiencing a crisis with community resources and seeks to divert them from the criminal justice system when appropriate. Luna provides emotional support and therapeutic comfort during crisis responses. She also serves as a familiar and reassuring presence at community events.

A new internal poll released Wednesday by Democrat J.D. Ford’s congressional campaign portrays Indiana’s 5th District as a dead heat, a striking claim in a district that has been reliably Republican since it was redrawn after the 2020 census — and one that comes just a day after national Democrats formally added the race to their target list.

The survey, conducted July 16-20 by Impact Research, a Democratic polling firm working for the Ford campaign, shows incumbent Republican Rep. Victoria Spartz leading Ford, a state senator from Indianapolis, 48 percent to 46 percent — within the poll’s margin of error.

The poll paints a difficult picture for the three-term congresswoman. According to the campaign’s summary, 51 percent of district voters view Spartz unfavorably, against 34 percent favorable. A majority, 53 percent, see her as “part of the problem in Washington,” and 49 percent consider her ineffective. The survey also found President Trump, who carried the district by 17 points in 2024, now viewed unfavorably by 51 percent of its voters.

“Hoosiers in the 5th district want a leader who will make life more affordable for us,” Ford said in a statement accompanying the release. “For six years, Victoria Spartz has used her position in Congress to rig the rules to benefit herself and her big corporate donors while our friends and neighbors struggle to make ends meet.”

The Spartz campaign did not issue an immediate response.

Internal campaign polls deserve caution. They are typically released only when favorable to the campaign paying for them, and their assumptions about who will turn out in November cannot be independently verified. Even this poll’s own numbers show Republicans holding a five-point advantage on the generic ballot, 45 percent to 40 percent. The poll’s most optimistic finding for Ford — a six-point lead — emerges only after respondents heard positive information about both candidates, a common technique that tends to overstate a challenger’s ceiling.

The district’s recent history also argues for skepticism. Since redistricting made it safer Republican territory in 2021, no Democrat has come close. Spartz won reelection in 2024 with 56.6 percent of the vote, an 18-point margin, and the major election forecasters rated the seat safely Republican throughout that cycle.

Still, there are signs this race is drawing attention it hasn’t seen before. On Tuesday, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee added the 5th District to its “Districts in Play” list — one of 12 Republican-held seats, nearly all carried comfortably by Trump in 2024, that the House Democrats’ campaign arm is targeting in November. The designation typically signals that national money and organizational support will follow, and it puts Spartz in the company of higher-profile Republican targets such as Colorado’s Lauren Boebert.

Ford, the first openly gay member of the Indiana General Assembly, has served two terms in the state Senate. His campaign reported raising more than $365,000 in the second quarter and has argued Spartz’s war chest is comparatively thin. Spartz, first elected in 2020, survived a crowded and expensive Republican primary in 2024 after briefly announcing she would not seek reelection.

Whether the 5th District — anchored in Hamilton County’s fast-growing suburbs — is truly in play won’t be clear until independent polling and spending decisions confirm what the Ford campaign’s numbers suggest. Midterm cycles have historically favored the party out of the White House, and Democrats are betting that suburban districts like this one are where any wave would break first. Republicans, for now, can point to two decades of results that say otherwise.

The general election is Nov. 3.