The Fishers Health Department has identified its first positive West Nile virus test of the season in mosquitoes collected through local monitoring, prompting a reminder for residents to protect themselves from mosquito bites until the first frost.

The department urges residents to use insect repellent, wear long sleeves and pants, and remove standing water around their homes.

The announcement concerns mosquitoes collected in traps. The department’s statement did not report a human case or identify the location or collection date of the positive sample.

West Nile virus most commonly spreads to people through bites from infected mosquitoes, which acquire the virus by feeding on infected birds. Mosquito season extends into fall, according to the

About 80% of infected people develop no symptoms. About 20% develop an illness that can include fever, headache and body aches. Less than 1% develop severe illness, which can affect the brain and nervous system, according to

The Fishers Health Department highlighted adults age 50 and older as being at greater risk for serious illness. The CDC says the risk increases with age and is also higher among people with certain chronic medical conditions or weakened immune systems.

Residents can reduce their exposure by taking several steps recommended in the CDC’s mosquito prevention guidance:

• Use an Environmental Protection Agency-registered insect repellent, such as one containing DEET or picaridin, and follow the label instructions.
• Wear loose-fitting, long-sleeved shirts and long pants outdoors.
• Once a week, empty and scrub, turn over, cover or discard containers that hold water, including buckets, flowerpot saucers, toys and birdbaths.
• Repair holes in window and door screens to keep mosquitoes outside.

Extra precautions are useful from dusk to dawn, when the mosquitoes that spread West Nile virus are most active. The CDC advises seeking immediate medical attention for symptoms such as high fever, neck stiffness, confusion, muscle weakness or tremors.

There is no licensed human vaccine or specific medicine to treat West Nile virus. People with severe illness may need hospital care, making mosquito bite prevention the main way residents can protect themselves, according to the CDC.

David Turk says his campaign for the Hamilton Southeastern School Board is, at its heart, a thank-you note.

Turk, a Republican running in District 3, is the latest guest in my series of podcast interviews with HSE School Board candidates ahead of the Nov. 3 election.

Turk grew up near the Fishers–Noblesville line, graduated from Noblesville High School and earned a biology degree from Purdue University. He has a small place in local sports history: he played for Noblesville in the first Fishers High School football game 20 years ago. After working in food safety and quality assurance, he joined his wife Rachel’s family real estate business in Champaign, Illinois. Today he is a real estate developer who restores older downtown buildings for new uses.

The family moved to Fishers in 2021, in large part for HSE Schools. Their middle son, James, was born blind, and Turk said remote Braille instruction during the pandemic was not working. James is now a third grader at Brooks School Elementary, and Turk praised the district’s special education staff and the family’s IEP team.

“This is my way of saying thank you to HSE,” Turk said.

Turk said he is “absolutely pro-referendum,” arguing that teacher pay has not kept pace with inflation and that state property tax changes have hit local schools and cities hard. If the referendum passes, he said he would lean on the district’s financial projections when setting the annual tax rate while respecting taxpayers. If it fails, he said across-the-board cuts and larger class sizes would be on the table.

“Public schools are a pillar of our community,” Turk said.

On enrollment, Turk noted that elementary numbers are down as longtime residents stay in their homes. He supports HSE’s move to accept transfer students from other districts and said families should be made more aware of that option.

Turk is running as a Republican under the state law that now lets school board candidates declare a party. He said he has always voted Republican and would have felt he was “hiding behind a nonpartisan label” otherwise, but he pledged to keep politics and activism out of board decisions. Asked how voters should judge his first year, he said: whether the board kept its focus on students and kept the drama out.

We also discussed college and career readiness, including trades programs; teacher recruitment and retention; student mental health; and the board’s role in overseeing Superintendent Matt Kegley.

The LarryInFishers Podcast series is sponsored by Citizens State Bank.

Listen to the full conversation at this link or the link below.

Three acts that defined 1990s R&B will share the Fishers Event Center stage Saturday, Nov. 28, two days after Thanksgiving.

“The ’90s R&B Experience” features Grammy-nominated singer Joe along with vocal groups Dru Hill and Silk. Tickets go on sale Monday, Oct. 12, at 10 a.m. at FishersEventCenter.com.

Joe Thomas, who performs simply as Joe, was one of the leading R&B voices of the late 1990s and early 2000s. He was known for smooth vocals and romantic ballads. His albums include “All That I Am” and “My Name Is Joe.” His best-known songs include “I Wanna Know,” “All the Things (Your Man Won’t Do)” and “Don’t Wanna Be a Player.”

Dru Hill, a Baltimore vocal group, became one of the era’s biggest R&B acts with tight harmonies, dramatic ballads and high-energy live shows. The group’s multiplatinum run produced hits including “In My Bed,” “Never Make a Promise” and “How Deep Is Your Love,” which appeared on the soundtrack for the 1998 film “Rush Hour.”

Silk, a group associated with Atlanta, is known for five-part harmonies and a slow-jam sound. Its debut album, “Lose Control,” went platinum, and the single “Freak Me” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1993. Other signature songs include “Meeting in My Bedroom” and the album’s title track.

The concert is the latest national touring act booked into the city-owned arena near 106th Street and Cumberland Road, just off Interstate 69. The $170 million venue opened Nov. 22, 2024, so the show falls almost two years after the arena’s debut.

The building seats about 7,500 for hockey and is home to the Indy Fuel of the ECHL, the Fishers Freight of the Indoor Football League and the Indy Ignite professional volleyball team. When the arena was being built, city and venue officials said they planned to book concerts that draw too many fans for smaller Indianapolis theaters but not enough to fill larger venues like Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

The Nov. 28 show adds a nostalgia-driven option for families and visitors in Fishers over the holiday weekend.

Concertgoers should check FishersEventCenter.com for show time, parking options and venue policies before attending.

Fishers built its reputation on young families, good schools and safe neighborhoods. On this week’s Fridays with Larry, I look at what happens when many of those families decide to stay and grow older here.

According to the city’s housing study, residents 65 and older made up about 5% of the Fishers population in 2010. That share rose to about 11% in the 2020 Census, and recent Census survey estimates put it above 12%.

The change is showing up in Hamilton Southeastern Schools. Enrollment peaked in the 2019-20 school year at about 21,800 students. It has now declined for seven straight years and fell below 20,000 this fall for the first time in a decade. Superintendent Matt Kegley has pointed to housing as a key factor: when empty nesters stay in their homes, fewer houses turn over to young families.

My guest is Sheryl Hamer, an attorney with Life by Design Estate & Elder Law, a firm she started in February 2025. Before law school, Hamer worked in senior living and spent five years as a clinical liaison for a geriatric psychiatric hospital. There she saw families in crisis who did not have the legal documents they needed to make decisions for an aging parent.

Hamer says every adult needs an estate plan, especially parents of minor children. In Indiana, an inheritance left to a child under 18 must be held in trust, so parents need to decide who would manage that money and who would care for their children.

We also discuss Medicaid and long-term care. Hamer says many people are surprised to learn that Medicare does not cover long-term care such as skilled nursing, memory care, assisted living or home care. She explains how advance planning, or crisis planning when care is needed right away, can help protect assets for a spouse or a single person.

Hamer calls a general durable power of attorney the most important document anyone can have. Without one, family members may have to petition a court for guardianship if a loved one can no longer make decisions. That includes married couples, because spouses do not automatically have the authority to sign for each other.

For families with a relative who won’t discuss these issues, Hamer suggests describing planning as a gift: making decisions now so loved ones don’t have to make them in a crisis.

Hamer can be reached through her website, lifebydesignlaw.com, or by calling 317-349-2013. She offers free initial consultations.

Also this week, I offer my commentary on artificial intelligence and jobs. Yale’s Budget Lab has found no clear evidence yet of broad labor market disruption from AI. Stanford research, however, shows younger workers in AI-exposed jobs such as coding and customer service are feeling the effects. My message to Hamilton County graduates is that the entry-level door has narrowed, but it hasn’t closed.

Fridays with Larry is sponsored by Citizens State Bank, with a Fishers branch inside the Thomas A. Weaver Municipal Complex.

You can watch this week’s podcast at this link, or just listen using this link…or use the links below.

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.