Fishers ordinance limits golf carts to approved neighborhood streets

Fishers residents seeing more golf carts on neighborhood streets as warm weather returns should know the city ordinance allows them only under limited conditions.

Under Fishers City Code Section 94.02, golf carts may be operated on city-maintained neighborhood streets only after the city determines they can be used safely, the neighborhood’s homeowners association or developer conducts a vote, at least 75% of all lot owners vote in favor, the result is certified to the city, and city-approved signs are posted designating the streets where golf carts are allowed.

That means golf carts are not automatically legal on every neighborhood street in Fishers. According to a previous Fishers Police Department reminder, the neighborhoods that had met the ordinance requirements were Britton Falls, Thorpe Creek, Intracoastal at Geist and Graystone. I was unable to locate a newer publicly available list showing additional neighborhoods approved under the ordinance.

The ordinance defines a golf cart as a four-wheeled motor vehicle originally designed and intended to transport people for the purpose of playing golf on a golf course. The ordinance does not restrict golf cart use on golf courses, private property or official city use on municipal property.

There are also operating rules. Golf carts may be operated only on designated streets from sunrise to sunset unless the cart is equipped with headlights, taillights, brake lights, seatbelts, turn signals and a rearview mirror. Only a person with a valid driver’s license may operate a golf cart on city streets. Golf carts are not allowed on city sidewalks, non-designated streets or other public ways.

The ordinance also includes a limited public service exemption. A resident may apply through the Police Department for permission to operate a golf cart for a public service purpose, but the decision rests with the chief of police. Anyone receiving such an exemption must carry verification while operating the cart.

Violations can result in fines. The ordinance sets the penalty at $50 for a first offense, $100 for a second offense within one year, and $250 for a third or additional offense within one year. Unpaid violations may be referred to City Court.

For residents, the main point is simple: unless a neighborhood has gone through the city’s approval process and the proper signs are in place, golf carts are not permitted on Fishers public streets.

Fishers Memorial Day service draws large crowd to Nickel Plate Amphitheater

Alex Kor, keynote speaker

The Fishers Memorial Day service has grown into one of the largest in the area, drawing a large crowd to the Nickel Plate Amphitheater Monday morning in perfect weather to honor those who died in service to the nation’s Armed Forces.

Mayor Scott Fadness told the gathering he had watched the massive pre-race ceremonies at the Indianapolis 500 a day earlier and wondered how a community like Fishers could ever match that scale. Some things, he said, matters more than spectacle.

Having local people honor local families, Fadness explained, is the best way to pay homage to military service — and to those who have lost loved ones in armed conflict.

The keynote address came from Alex Kor, the son of two Holocaust survivors. Both of his parents have died in the past six years. Kor spoke of how American GIs rescued his father Mickey from a Nazi concentration camp and later helped him become an American citizen. Mickey went on to serve in uniform during the Korean War.

El Ahlwardt, co-chair of the Fishers Armed Services Commission, handled his master-of-ceremonies duties with his usual aplomb, keeping the one-hour program moving briskly. The service closed with the playing of “Taps” and a flyover by Indy Biplanes.

The ceremony is one of many events the City of Fishers sponsors throughout the year to honor military veterans — and, on Memorial Day, those who made the ultimate sacrifice for America.

Additional photos of the Fishers Memorial Day ceremony appear below.

Continue reading Fishers Memorial Day service draws large crowd to Nickel Plate Amphitheater

Hamilton Southeastern’s Janet Chandler Retires After 48 Years in Education

Janet Chandler

After nearly five decades shaping young minds in Fishers classrooms, Janet Chandler is closing the book on a remarkable career at Hamilton Southeastern High School.

Chandler, who spent 47 of her 48 years in education as a Royal, has retired from HSE, where she taught social studies and built a reputation as one of the district’s most influential educators, mentors and leaders.

During her tenure, Chandler helped lead nationally recognized academic programs at HSE, including We the People and Mock Trial — programs that taught generations of Fishers students the value of civic engagement, leadership and respectful discourse.

Her influence extended well beyond the classroom. Chandler served as longtime president of the Hamilton Southeastern Education Association, where she became a trusted advocate for teachers and a respected voice across the district and the broader Fishers community.

Her work earned her some of Indiana’s highest honors in education. Chandler received the Indiana State Teachers Association’s Hoosier Educator of the Year Award and was named a Sagamore of the Wabash, the highest distinction given by the governor of Indiana.

For HSE Softball fans, Chandler’s voice has been part of the soundtrack of spring evenings at the ballpark. She served for years as the team’s public address announcer, a role the program recognized in a tribute before a recent home game.

“Janet’s voice has become part of the tradition of game nights,” HSE Softball said in honoring her. “She has served as our public address announcer with professionalism, energy and care — helping create memorable experiences for student-athletes, coaches, families and fans alike.”

The softball program offered a playful tribute to what the word “ROYAL” has meant in Chandler’s case — ready and reliable, observant, yielding to weather-dependent schedules, altruistic with her time and legendary as the voice of HSE softball.

Chandler’s retirement closes a chapter that began in the 1970s and touched thousands of Fishers families. From the classroom to the press box, her fingerprints are on much of what HSE has become.

Cadillac Endures Tough Canadian Grand Prix as Antonelli Claims Fourth Straight F1 Win

Cadillac’s first Formula One season continued Sunday with a difficult Canadian Grand Prix, but the team with a growing Fishers connection still managed to get one car to the finish in Montreal.

Valtteri Bottas finished 16th for the Cadillac Formula 1 Team, four laps behind race winner Kimi Antonelli, while teammate Sergio “Checo” Perez retired after completing 39 laps, according to official race results compiled by Motorsport.com. Bottas made four pit stops in the race, while Perez also stopped four times before retiring.

The race at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve was won by Antonelli, the 19-year-old Mercedes driver who captured his fourth consecutive Formula One victory. Lewis Hamilton finished second for Ferrari, with Max Verstappen third for Red Bull Racing. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was fourth, followed by Isack Hadjar and Franco Colapinto. Formula One’s official results listed Antonelli’s winning time at 1 hour, 28 minutes, 15.758 seconds, with Hamilton 10.768 seconds behind.

The most dramatic moment of the race came when George Russell, who had started from pole and battled Antonelli for the lead, retired on lap 30 with a power unit failure. Reuters reported that Antonelli now leads the drivers’ championship by 43 points after five rounds.

For Cadillac, the Canadian weekend offered both signs of progress and reminders of how steep the climb can be for a new Formula One team. On Saturday, Cadillac said Perez delivered the team’s best on-track result to date in the Sprint, crossing the line 11th before a post-race penalty dropped him to 14th. Bottas finished that Sprint 17th after starting from the pit lane.

Qualifying proved more difficult. Perez started Sunday’s Grand Prix from 20th, while Bottas qualified 22nd. Cadillac team principal Graeme Lowdon said after Saturday’s running that the team had shown it could be “in the mix of the midfield” when everything came together, but acknowledged the team could not repeat that form in qualifying.

Cadillac came to Canada with additional upgrades, including new front brake drums, diffuser trim and winglets, and front torsion bars designed to help the car handle the steep curbs at the Montreal circuit. Lowdon said before the weekend that the team’s goal was to build on momentum from Miami, where Cadillac had shown improved performance and completed both the Sprint and Grand Prix with both cars.

The team is of local interest because Cadillac is building a purpose-built Formula One headquarters in Fishers. Motorsport.com reported last year that the team is operating across both sides of the Atlantic, with its 2026 car coordinated largely from Silverstone while the Fishers facility is completed. Lowdon has said the Fishers development is nearly a half-million square feet and that, over time, the headquarters will handle the bulk of the car’s manufacturing.

Cadillac is competing in its debut Formula One season with veteran drivers Perez and Bottas. The team is backed by General Motors and TWG Motorsports and joined the F1 grid this year as the sport’s 11th constructor. Cadillac’s own site lists Perez and Bottas as the team’s lead drivers for its first season.

Formula One’s next race is the Monaco Grand Prix, scheduled for June 5-7.

Rosenqvist wins closest Indy 500 ever; Fishers-based Prema watches from the sidelines

Felix Rosenqvist

Felix Rosenqvist edged David Malukas by 0.0233 seconds on Sunday to win the 110th Indianapolis 500, the closest finish in the race’s history and a result that will be felt across Fishers, where thousands of local fans had gathered at IMS, around television sets and at watch parties for “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”

The Swedish driver, who races for Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian, swept past Malukas in the run to the checkered flag after a frantic series of late-race restarts at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The win is Rosenqvist’s first at the Brickyard and the second of his NTT IndyCar Series career.

Scott McLaughlin finished third, followed by Pato O’Ward, Marcus Armstrong, Rinus VeeKay, defending series champion Alex Palou, Santino Ferrucci, Romain Grosjean and Takuma Sato in the top 10. The race featured an event-record 70 lead changes, breaking the previous mark of 68 set in 2013.

A late caution for a heavy crash by A.J. Foyt Racing rookie Caio Collett with eight laps remaining brought out a red flag for debris and set up the final shootout. Armstrong briefly led with four laps to go before one more yellow reset the field a final time.

Rosenqvist became the third Swede to win the 500, joining Kenny Brack (1999) and Marcus Ericsson (2022).

Prema Racing absent from the field

Conspicuously missing from the 33-car field was Prema Racing, the Italian-rooted IndyCar team that operates a 95,000-square-foot shop at the northeast corner of East 96th Street and Willow View Road, at the Indianapolis Metropolitan Airport in Fishers. Prema fielded two full-time entries with Robert Shwartzman and Callum Ilott in 2025 but did not appear at the Speedway this May.

The team’s parent, Swiss-based DC Racing Solutions, has been searching for new investment or a buyer for the IndyCar operation since the founding Rosin family exited in January, according to reporting by RACER, Motorsport.com and the Indianapolis Business Journal. Prema is the only former full-time entrant without a charter under IndyCar’s 2025 system, leaving its grid spot unguaranteed.

Despite the absence, team officials have said they are not done with IndyCar. More than 30 full-time staff remain at the Fishers facility, where race-ready cars have been built and are waiting. Engines reserved for Prema were released to other teams for the 500, so the earliest realistic return is June, with 10 races still on the schedule before the season finale Sept. 6 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

For Fishers race fans, that leaves an open question heading into the summer: whether the city’s hometown IndyCar team can find the backing to put a car on a grid before the checkered flag falls on 2026.

Final SR 37 Interchange Marks End of a Decade-Long Transformation in Fishers

East side of 141st Street headed to the new roundabout, driving westbound

When the new 141st Street interchange opens Tuesday, May 26, it will mark the completion of one of the largest transportation projects in Fishers history.

The State Road 37 Improvement Project has transformed a heavily traveled corridor once known for congestion and traffic signals into a free-flowing roadway featuring grade-separated interchanges and roundabouts. The effort has reshaped how motorists move through Fishers and areas to the north in Hamilton County.

Although construction began in 2018, the roots of the project stretch back even further. In late 2015, Fishers officials, working with the Indiana Department of Transportation, Hamilton County and the City of Noblesville, unveiled plans to convert the corridor into a parkway with interchanges at 126th, 131st, 141st and 146th streets. At the time, the estimated cost was about $124 million.

The project was designed to eliminate stop-and-go traffic, improve safety and prepare the corridor for continued growth. Rather than traditional traffic signals, planners chose roundabout-style “dogbone” interchanges that allow traffic to move continuously through the corridor.

Work officially got underway in 2018 with drainage improvements and utility work. Over the next several years, construction advanced in phases. The 126th Street, 131st Street and 146th Street interchanges were completed by 2022, along with improvements at 135th Street. Throughout construction, SR 37 remained open with two lanes of traffic maintained in each direction.

By the fall of 2022, only the 141st Street interchange remained unfinished. City officials initially hoped to begin major construction there in 2023, but rising construction costs and delays in the bidding process pushed the project back by roughly six months. Construction finally began in 2024.

The final phase proved to be the most complex, requiring long-term traffic shifts, bridge construction and multiple detours while maintaining traffic flow on SR 37. The project also took longer than originally anticipated, with completion eventually pushed into 2026.

The opening of the 141st Street interchange will effectively complete the Fishers portion of the SR 37 corridor modernization effort. According to project officials, all major Fishers interchanges are now in place, creating a continuous free-flow route through the city.

While Fishers’ work is ending, attention is beginning to shift northward. Noblesville has started evaluating future interchange options along its section of SR 37, though construction there is not expected to begin until at least 2028 or 2029.

For Fishers motorists, however, the ribbon cutting at 141st Street represents the end of a project nearly a decade in the making—and a new chapter for one of the city’s most important transportation corridors.

Weekly Road Construction Report for the week starting Sunday, May 24

 

The big road construction news around Fishers is the ribbon cutting ceremony set for Tuesday morning at 141st Street and State Road 37, effectively ending one of the largest road construction projects in Fishers history,.  But there is much more going on.

Here is the full listing of area road construction, as provided by the City of Fishers:

Continue reading Weekly Road Construction Report for the week starting Sunday, May 24

Public Health Advisory for Geist Waterfront Park from E.coli tests

The Fishers Health Department issued this statement on Friday afternoon:

Public Health Advisory:
Water at Geist Waterfront Park

The Fishers Health Department received unsatisfactory results during recent E.coli testing at Geist Waterfront Park. This often occurs following periods of heavy rainfall. As a result, swimming at Geist Waterfront Park beach will not be permitted this weekend and will reopen once conditions allow.

Riverside’s Jordan Teeple Leads List of Hamilton Southeastern Schools Teachers of the Year

Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools has recognized 25 educators as its 2025-26 Teachers of the Year, honoring those selected by their schools and district programs for excellence in the classroom and their impact on students.

Leading this year’s group is Riverside Junior High School math teacher Jordan Teeple, who was recently named the district-wide Teacher of the Year during a special assembly at Riverside. Teeple, a seventh-grade math teacher, was selected from among the building-level winners and will now represent HSE Schools in the Indiana Teacher of the Year competition. He also received a $1,000 award from the Hamilton Southeastern Education Foundation.

The annual recognition program honors one educator from each of HSE’s 22 schools and three district programs. The honorees were chosen by their school communities from among more than 1,200 educators across the district.

“These teachers represent the very best of what happens in our classrooms every day,” HSE Superintendent Dr. Matt Kegley said. “They build relationships, challenge students to think deeply and create learning environments where students feel supported, capable and ready to grow. Being selected by your school community is a tremendous honor, and I am proud to celebrate each of this year’s recipients.”

District and building administrators surprised many of the winners at their schools before announcing the district-level honors.

Three educators were selected as finalists for district Teacher of the Year honors:

  • Casey Ochieng, English Language Learner (ENL) teacher at Brooks School Elementary, elementary finalist
  • Jordan Teeple, seventh-grade math teacher at Riverside Junior High School, intermediate/junior high finalist and district Teacher of the Year
  • Lindsay Mahan, social studies teacher at Hamilton Southeastern High School, high school finalist

The complete list of 2025-26 HSE Teachers of the Year includes:

  • Brooks School Elementary — Casey Ochieng (ENL)
  • Cumberland Road Elementary — Elizabeth James (3rd Grade)
  • Deer Creek Elementary — Kelly Hogan (2nd Grade)
  • Fall Creek Elementary — Chloe Diedam (FOCUS)
  • Fishers Elementary — Lisa Harvey (3rd Grade)
  • Geist Elementary — Kelli Caughman (Kindergarten)
  • Harrison Parkway Elementary — Brandy Wilkinson (2nd Grade)
  • Hoosier Road Elementary — Karissa Mayol (P.E.)
  • Lantern Road Elementary — Jennifer Skinner (2nd Grade)
  • New Britton Elementary — Audrey Gundersen (4th Grade)
  • Sand Creek Elementary — Chelsea Elmore (Kindergarten)
  • Southeastern Elementary — Kelly Wolf (3rd Grade)
  • Thorpe Creek Elementary — Liza Borgert (Kindergarten)
  • Fall Creek Intermediate — Ashley McConnell (5th Grade)
  • Riverside Intermediate — Becky Holman (FIATS)
  • Sand Creek Intermediate — Jodi Whalen (5th Grade)
  • Hamilton Intermediate Junior High — Jill Mockler (5th Grade)
  • Fishers Junior High — Michelle Huston (Language Arts)
  • Fall Creek Junior High — Brittany Potts (8th Grade Social Studies)
  • Hamilton Southeastern Junior High — Adam Brown (Science)
  • Riverside Junior High — Jordan Teeple (Math)
  • Hamilton Southeastern High School — Lindsay Mahan (Social Studies)
  • Fishers High School — Alisa Vaughn (Math)
  • ENL Program — Taylor Meador
  • Preschool Program — Megan McGee
  • FOCUS Program — Andrea Marine

School officials said video spotlights featuring this year’s finalists will be available to highlight their work and the difference they make for students across the district.

The recognition comes as HSE Schools prepares to close the 2025-26 school year, celebrating educators whose work has helped shape student success throughout the district.

Fishers to Celebrate Completion of State Road 37 Project with Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony

The City of Fishers will mark the completion of one of its largest transportation projects with a ribbon-cutting ceremony next week for the final interchange along the State Road 37 corridor.

City officials will host the event on Tuesday, May 26, at 10:30 a.m. to celebrate the opening of the new 141st Street interchange, the final major component of the State Road 37 Improvement Project within Fishers.

The ceremony will be held at Ed Martin Toyota, 9230 E. 141st Street. Following remarks from local and state officials, participants will take part in a ribbon-cutting parade through the newly completed interchange.

The State Road 37 Improvement Project has been a major infrastructure undertaking for the city and the state, with construction beginning in 2018. The project was designed to improve safety, traffic flow, mobility and connectivity along the Fishers portion of the busy corridor.

Over the past several years, the project has transformed portions of State Road 37 by replacing traditional signalized intersections with grade-separated interchanges, allowing traffic to move more efficiently while reducing congestion and the potential for serious crashes.

The completion of the 141st Street interchange marks the final phase of the Fishers segment of the project and represents the culmination of nearly eight years of planning and construction.

Expected to attend the event are officials from the State of Indiana, the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT), Hamilton County, the City of Fishers, project partners, business leaders and community stakeholders.

State Road 37 serves as a major north-south transportation route through Fishers and Hamilton County. City leaders have long viewed the corridor improvements as a key investment to support continued residential and commercial growth while improving travel times for motorists.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony is open to invited guests and project stakeholders, with the parade through the interchange immediately following the formal ceremony.