FEMA representatives will offer one-on-one application help Aug. 31 through Sept. 2 at the Hamilton County 4-H Fairgrounds in Noblesville.

Hamilton County residents affected by recent flooding can get in-person help applying for federal disaster assistance at a temporary FEMA registration center Monday through Wednesday.

The Mobile Registration Intake Center will be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Aug. 31 through Sept. 2 at the Hamilton County 4-H Fairgrounds, 2003 Pleasant St. in Noblesville, according to a county announcement. No appointment is required.

FEMA representatives will help residents complete applications, answer questions about the registration process and confirm that applications have been submitted correctly.

“We know the FEMA process can feel overwhelming, particularly for people who are already dealing with the loss of their homes, belongings, or sense of normalcy,” Chad Knecht, executive director of Hamilton County Emergency Operations, said in the announcement. “We want to remove as many barriers as possible to getting people the help they need.”

Applicants are encouraged to bring:

• A Social Security number
• Insurance information
• Information about property damage
• Financial information
• Current contact information
• Bank account and routing information if they want any approved assistance deposited directly into an account

Visiting the center is not required to apply. The county said the fastest option is to apply online at DisasterAssistance.gov. A Spanish-language application is available at DisasterAssistance.gov/es.

Residents who cannot reach the center and are unable to apply online may call the Hamilton County Flood Relief Hotline at 317-645-3261. County staff will work with callers to identify barriers and determine what help may be available. Additional information is available on the county’s flood resources page.

“Our community has been through an extraordinary ordeal, and now we need to make sure the people who suffered losses have every opportunity to access the federal assistance available to them,” Hamilton County Commissioners President Christine Altman said. “Please don’t assume you won’t qualify. Register, ask questions, and let FEMA make that determination.”

My last regular job in radio broadcasting was as a reporter and anchor for Network Indiana in 1983. Later that year, I made the difficult decision to leave broadcast journalism and pursue another career.

During that final year, Don Fischer was working the sports side of Network Indiana. News and sports sat at opposite ends of the building, so I rarely saw Don or the rest of the sports crew. But I knew he was well liked by the staff. It is one thing to be an outstanding broadcaster and quite another to be an outstanding person. Don Fischer was, and is, both.

Indiana University’s public television station, WTIU, has produced a documentary about Don and his 50-plus years as the voice of IU football and basketball. It is called “Timeless: Don Fischer’s Half-Century Broadcasting IU Sports,” written and produced by Mark Alesia. It premiered Aug. 28 and runs about a half hour.

His story is a lot like mine. He went to a broadcast trade school out of high school, and so did I. In the documentary, Don says the first football game where he called play-by-play was the worst broadcast in history. He is wrong about that. My first venture into football play-by-play, in 1970, was certainly worse.

The difference is that Don had people willing to teach him the craft, and he improved. He was 26 when IU hired him in 1973 to build the school’s first exclusive sports radio network. He has since called more than 2,000 IU football and basketball games, been named Indiana Sportscaster of the Year more than 20 times, and been inducted into the Indiana University Athletics Hall of Fame. He has become a legend as an IU broadcaster.

In the mid-1980s, I worked at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during time off from my regular job, covering practice and qualifying for the Indianapolis 500. I met up with Don one year and we caught up, talking about people we both knew in the business. Let’s just say Don Fischer is a class act.

Very few people understand how much work goes into preparing to broadcast a sports event on radio or television. You put together massive amounts of material and usually end up using about 10% of it. You never know how a game will unfold, so you have to be ready for whatever comes at you.

Don Fischer is 78 years old and still going strong, calling play-by-play of IU sports. I will be 75 in a few days, and I doubt I have it together anymore to call a game on the radio. Don is still doing it, and at a very high level.

The documentary is worth your time. WTIU also has screenings scheduled at venues around Indiana during September. The link to the film is below.

Fishers drivers face a mix of detours, lane restrictions and a Sunday morning triathlon over the coming week, according to the city’s latest weekly construction update.

136th Street closed between Southeastern Parkway and Prairie Baptist

The 136th Street Widening Project has moved into Phase 2, shifting work to the stretch between Southeastern Parkway and Prairie Baptist Road. The road is closed to through traffic within the project limits, and drivers should follow the signed detour using Southeastern Parkway and Prairie Baptist Road to reconnect with 136th Street.

The project converts a rural two-lane road into a boulevard with raised medians, multi-use paths on both sides, new pavement, curb and gutter, and upgraded storm sewer infrastructure. The city is asking motorists to expect changing traffic patterns and added travel time.

New traffic pattern at 116th and Allisonville

At 116th Street and Allisonville Road, the outside lanes are closed and traffic has been shifted to the inside through lanes and designated turn lanes — one lane in each direction. The city expects that pattern to remain through early October, weather permitting.

The west leg of Fishers Crossing Boulevard at Allisonville Road has been closed since Aug. 5, meaning drivers cannot enter or exit the Fishers Crossing Shopping Center at that connection. Sidewalks within the project area are also closed. All businesses remain open and accessible.

Crews are currently replacing driveway approaches, painting streetlights, installing temporary traffic signals and reconstructing the west side of Allisonville Road at Fishers Crossing Drive.

96th and Cyntheanne now open

The 96th Street and Cyntheanne Road intersection is fully operational and open in all directions. Drivers may still see crews finishing punch-list items.

Other projects

Lane restrictions on USA Parkway north of 106th Street are expected to last through October as crews widen the roadway and add curbs, trail and new pavement. Substantial completion is anticipated in mid-October, with restoration work continuing into November.

At Southeastern Parkway and Olio Road, roundabout construction brings periodic lane restrictions, with Olio Road reduced to one lane. Phase 2 detour maps will be released before that work begins in October. Utility relocation is underway at 131st Street and Brooks School Road ahead of a new roundabout, with periodic lane restrictions possible.

Resurfacing and utility work

During the week of Aug. 31, paving crews will work in Fawnsbrook, Weaver Woods and Weaver Woods North, and on Westmoreland Drive in Somerset. Residents should expect equipment, temporary parking restrictions and short delays.

Duke Energy work continues on Cumberland Road between 106th and 116th streets, with lane restrictions from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. AT&T will install fiber in Beaver Ridge, Pine Bluff Overlook, Bradford Ridge, Walnut Creek, Delaware Pointe, Summerfield and Delaware Crossing, then Limesprings the week of Aug. 31. Brightspeed begins fiber work next week in The Boulders, Reserve at Steeplechase, Sanctuary at Steeplechase and Oakhurst.

Triathlon and interstate closures

The Geist Waterfront Triathlon starts at 7:30 a.m. Sunday at Geist Waterfront Park, 10811 Olio Road. Expect police-assisted intersections, cyclists on area roads and runners on nearby trails and neighborhood streets.

On the interstates, ClearPath crews will reduce northbound I-465 to one lane between Fall Creek Road and I-69 from 9 p.m. Friday until 10 a.m. Sunday, and close the ramp from northbound I-465 to northbound I-69 from 9 p.m. Saturday to 10 a.m. Sunday.

Here is the full road construction report, as provided by the City of Fishers, for the week beginning August 30:

Continue reading Fishers Road Construction: 136th Street Detour Continues, 96th and Cyntheanne Reopens →

Hamilton Southeastern 30, North Central 14 · Lawrence North 48, Fishers 0

Two Fishers high schools played Friday night. One spent three quarters proving its opening loss was an aberration. The other spent four quarters unable to reach the end zone for the second week in a row.

Hamilton Southeastern picked up its first win of the season, beating North Central 30-14 at home — but the final score undersells how the night started. The Royals trailed 14-3 after the first quarter. From there, HSE outscored the Panthers 27-0 over the final three quarters and did not allow another point.

That second-quarter-onward shutout is the story of the game. A week earlier at Fort Wayne Carroll, the Royals gave up 54 points in a 54-23 loss. On Friday they surrendered two touchdowns in the opening 12 minutes and then nothing at all.

The scoring line was unusual: HSE put up 3 in the first quarter, 6 in the second, 6 in the third and 15 in the fourth. Two six-point quarters point to touchdowns that didn’t come with the extra point, and the 15-point fourth suggests a two-point try in the mix — worth confirming with the coaching staff before it goes in print as fact.

Michael Kelly’s Royals are 1-1. They travel to Avon on Friday, Sept. 4 to open Hoosier Crossroads Conference play against a team that is 2-0 after a 22-12 win over Ben Davis.

Fishers still looking for its first point

Across town, Fishers hosted Lawrence North and never found footing. The Wildcats scored 27 points in the first quarter alone and added a touchdown in each of the remaining three for a 48-0 final.

It was the Tigers’ second straight shutout loss. Carmel beat Fishers 47-0 in the Week 1 opener. Through two weeks, Fishers has been outscored 95-0 and has not scored a point in the 2026 season.

The context matters, and it cuts both ways. Fishers has drawn one of the hardest opening slates in the state — Carmel entered the year ranked No. 5 in Indiana by MaxPreps, and Lawrence North was coming off a 48-25 loss to defending 6A state champion Brownsburg, meaning the Wildcats had every reason to come out sharp. Fishers itself opened the season ranked No. 6 in Class 6A.

But this is also a program that reached the 6A regional final last November, beating Hamilton Southeastern 28-20 in the sectional final before losing 20-10 to Westfield. A team with that recent a résumé being held scoreless in consecutive weeks is the kind of start that raises questions the coaching staff will be asked about.

Curt Funk’s Tigers are 0-2. They host Noblesville on Friday, Sept. 4 in their Hoosier Crossroads opener. The Millers are 1-1 after a 27-15 loss to Homestead.

What to watch

Both Fishers-area programs open conference play Sept. 4, and both draw opponents who will tell us something. Avon at 2-0 is a real measuring stick for whether HSE’s three-quarter defensive performance was a turning point or a one-week outlier. And Noblesville, at 1-1, is the most winnable game on Fishers’ schedule so far — if the Tigers are going to score a point this season, that’s the likeliest night for it.

Contemporary Christian music artist TobyMac will bring his Hits Deep Tour 2027 to Fishers Event Center on Friday, March 5.

Jeremy Camp, Seph Schlueter and Katy Nichole will join TobyMac for the Fishers concert, the venue announced Friday.

The tour is expected to feature TobyMac songs including “I just need U.,” “Help Is On The Way (Maybe Midnight)” and “Nothin’ Sweeter.” Camp’s catalog includes “I Still Believe” and “Dead Man Walking,” while Schlueter is known for “Counting My Blessings” and “Running Back to You.” Nichole’s songs include “In Jesus Name (God of Possible)” and “God Is In This Story.”

TobyMac has won seven Grammy Awards and received 18 nominations, according to the Recording Academy. His ninth studio album, “Heaven on My Mind,” was released in 2025.

A venue presale begins at noon Wednesday, Sept. 9, using the password HITSDEEP. General ticket sales begin at noon Thursday, Sept. 10, through Fishers Event Center.

Groups purchasing four or more tickets can save $3 per ticket, according to the announcement. Ticket prices and a concert start time were not included in the release.

There is no guest on this week’s edition of the Fridays With Larry podcast. Personal matters have taken up much of my time recently, so this one is just me — and three subjects worth your time.

The first is about journalism, and the lines I believe reporters should not cross.

When I studied the craft in the late 1960s and early ’70s, two competing ideas were on the table: the libertarian approach — publish and let the chips fall — and the social responsibility approach. Vietnam, the Pentagon Papers and Watergate made the first one look like the American model. My teachers told me otherwise, and once I got into the business in the 1970s, I understood why.

Here is what most people never realize: reporters know far more than they report.

That came back to me reading longtime Indianapolis sports columnist Bob Kravitz on his Substack. Kravitz wrote about a self-styled online sleuth who disclosed on social media that Buffalo Bills defensive lineman Ed Oliver had lost his 2-year-old son in a drowning accident in June — something the family had kept private. The credentialed reporters in that locker room all knew. Every one of them held it. Kravitz called the disclosure a breach of journalistic ethics, and I agree.

I share a story of my own on the podcast about a local official I learned was under investigation, why I did not report it, and what happened next.

The second subject is Meta.

Eight days into a federal trial in Oakland, California, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram agreed to settle claims brought by 29 state attorneys general — Indiana’s among them — that it designed its apps to hook children. The headline number is up to $17.1 billion over 10 years, but only about $12.1 billion is guaranteed. Indiana’s guaranteed share is $296 million, rising to as much as $419 million if a contingency triggers.

Nobody has said where Indiana’s money goes. That will be decided by state officials and the General Assembly, and Hamilton County families have a stake in it.

The product changes may matter more than the money. Beginning under this agreement, teen accounts get a two-hour daily default cap, the apps go dark from midnight to 6 a.m., and push notifications shut off from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on school days. Hamilton Southeastern went bell-to-bell on phones this month under Senate Enrolled Act 78. The district and the settlement are now pushing in the same direction.

Finally, Dolly Parton, who died this week at 80. The fourth of 12 children raised in a one-room East Tennessee cabin, she became a songwriter, an entertainer and a shrewd businesswoman who understood that ownership outlasts fame. I close the podcast with what I think is the finest part of her legacy.

Fridays With Larry is sponsored by Citizens State Bank.

Use this link to watch the video or just listen using this link.

The White River is open to recreational users again for the first time in more than a week, but Hamilton County officials say that milestone should not be mistaken for the end of flood recovery.

The Hamilton County Board of Commissioners lifted the travel warning prohibiting recreational travel on the river, effective immediately, while extending the county’s local disaster declaration another seven days. The declaration now runs through Sept. 3.

The river ban was issued Aug. 18 after historic flooding created what commissioners called life-threatening conditions — contamination, submerged debris and a river that had carved itself a new course into the Martin Marietta limestone quarry near 106th Street and Hazel Dell Parkway in Carmel. Commissioners warned at the time that boaters swept past 116th Street risked being pulled into the quarry’s steep drop-offs or into the wreckage of a washed-out bridge.

Recent inspections and testing show conditions have improved substantially. Water sampling by the Hamilton County Health Department found the White River has returned to pre-flood sanitation levels. The river’s course has been corrected so it no longer flows into the quarry. The Indiana Department of Environmental Management has determined the river is navigable, and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources found no immediate threat to the public that would prevent recreational activity.

“This is an important sign of progress, but it does not mean our recovery is over,” said Christine Altman, president of the Hamilton County Commissioners. “We are comfortable lifting the travel ban based on the testing and inspections that have been completed, but we still need people to use good judgment on the river. Debris and other hazards may remain in some areas. At the same time, families and neighborhoods across Hamilton County are still recovering from tremendous damage, which is why extending the disaster declaration remains necessary.”

The extended declaration allows Hamilton County Emergency Management and other county departments to continue coordinating response and recovery work, request assistance and pursue reimbursement from state and federal agencies. The declaration notes flooding impacts remain countywide, including significant infrastructure damage.

Fishers takes a different path

Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness chose not to extend the local disaster emergency he declared Aug. 15. That declaration expired Aug. 22, and the city has not renewed it. City operations, utilities and schools have returned to normal status, though road and park closures remain in the Fall Creek and White River areas.

The county’s decision to keep its declaration alive comes days after the recovery picture changed significantly. President Trump approved a major disaster declaration Aug. 26 covering 21 Indiana counties, with Hamilton County approved for both individual assistance and public assistance. Individual assistance matters here because standard homeowner policies exclude flood damage and many of the damaged homes sat outside mapped floodplains.

Residents can apply at disasterassistance.gov, by phone at 800-621-3362 or through the FEMA app.

The White River crested at 24.56 feet during the August storms, breaking a 113-year-old record. The Hamilton County Council has appropriated $2.85 million for flood recovery.

Nonprofit leaders from the Fishers area gathered at Ball State University’s facility in downtown Fishers to hear a message that ran counter to how many small organizations chase money: stop treating grant applications as a fundraising plan.

The session, sponsored by Citizens State Bank, was led by Michelle Leonard McConnell, a nonprofit consultant who spent years with two Indiana community foundations before joining IU Health Foundation, where she worked as a fundraiser and later director of campaigns during the system’s first combined statewide philanthropic campaign. She left to start her own practice after realizing she missed small nonprofits.

“I don’t have a crystal ball, and I do not have a money tree,” McConnell told the room. “But there is a structure that we can go off of.”

Much of that structure, she said, starts with understanding where charitable dollars actually come from. Citing Giving USA — the annual report researched by the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy — McConnell said Americans gave $607.2 billion to nonprofits in 2025. Individuals accounted for $394.2 billion of that, with an additional $62.19 billion coming through bequests. Foundations, the source of most grant dollars, contributed $117.15 billion. Corporations gave $43.67 billion.

“How many times do you hear somebody say, ‘Well, let’s just write a grant?'” she asked. “That’s not sustainability. That’s not even the biggest funder in town.”

Bequest giving rose nearly 20% last year, a jump McConnell and attendees attributed to an aging donor population. Education, public-society benefit organizations, and environment and animal groups saw the largest increases by sector.

Several attendees said the numbers matched what they are seeing locally, with corporate support tightening and individual donors stepping up. Others described a challenge specific to a fast-growing county: too many organizations approaching the same donors.

“We have a great culture of not competing with one another, but we end up going to the same wells,” one participant said.

McConnell urged the group to build relationships with their community foundation, arguing that as Hamilton County grows, community foundation staff often know newcomers before individual nonprofits do. She also cautioned that generational habits differ sharply — older donors tend to give and step back, while millennial and Generation Z donors want to participate.

Board engagement drew the most discussion, and several attendees admitted their boards do little fundraising. McConnell offered two changes she said any organization can make immediately: build an educational moment into every board meeting so members can speak fluently about the work, and put three to five named prospects in front of the board each time, asking who knows them.

“Never, ever let your board get off the hook by not helping with your fundraising,” she said. “It is all hands on deck.”

She also pushed organizations to examine the return on investment of special events, which many in the room identified as their default fundraiser, and to build stewardship plans that treat a longtime monthly donor differently than a one-time $25 memorial gift. Recurring donors, she said, are the most likely source of future planned gifts.

For organizations with little or no paid staff, McConnell said she writes “good, better, best” plans rather than ambitious ones no one can execute. She pointed to the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy’s webinars, priced at $19.74, as an inexpensive training resource.

Addressing a newly formed nonprofit whose founders called their operation a mess, she offered a correction: “You’re not a mess. You’re just new.”

Fishers enters the 2027 budget process with a strong revenue outlook, although state tax changes are creating uncertainty beyond next year, longtime city financial consultant Mike Reuter told the Fishers City Council Finance Committee Thursday morning.

“Revenues look good for ’27,” said Reuter. He reviewed the city’s two leading revenue sources: property taxes and the local income tax, or LIT.

Fishers’ certified assessed value grew just 0.4% for 2027, compared with 2.7% a year earlier. That figure included $282 million in assessed value from annexed areas—an addition equal to about 2.85% of the tax base.

Reuter said the figures show how new state deductions for homeowners, rental property and some business personal property are reducing taxable value even as property values remain strong.

The state-set maximum levy growth quotient is 6% for property taxes payable in 2027. The figure limits the potential growth of certain property-tax levies; it does not require Fishers to collect the full amount.

Reuter said an annexation adjustment of nearly 3% could push the city’s maximum available levy up roughly 9%, but city officials have not decided how much to use. A larger levy combined with nearly flat assessed-value growth would put upward pressure on the city property-tax rate, he said.

The LIT side offered better news. Hamilton County collections used in the distribution formula increased 15.7% for 2024 after growing 2.8% the previous year. Reuter cautioned that the sharp swing partly reflects when the state processed large tax returns, rather than an economic change of the same size.

The Indiana Department of Local Government Finance estimates Fishers will receive about $47.3 million in certified-share LIT revenue in 2027.

Reuter also said Fishers received a special distribution of about $10 million this year, adding to its cash balance, although officials had anticipated some of that money in the budget.

Beyond 2027, state law calls for new LIT ordinances beginning in 2028 for collections starting in 2029. Reuter said important details remain unresolved, including reliable city-level income data needed to set a municipal rate.  Councilor Bill Stuart referred to this as the “Mike Braun local income tax.”

The committee plans to meet again at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 2, to hear spending requests from city departments.

Throughout the coverage of what happened to Hailey Buzbee, this website has worked hard to report only the information her family has chosen to release. A Facebook post from Hailey’s father makes clear that others have not taken that approach — and that is a very sad thing for a family already living through the worst kind of loss.

Beau Buzbee, who signed his post “Hailey’s Proud Dad,” wrote that the family has not endorsed, supported, authorized or partnered with any media outlet, influencer, content creator or other individual or group planning to tell his daughter’s story.

“We have experienced and continue to live through the worst kind of pain a parent can endure on this earth,” Buzbee wrote. “While our family is still grieving and have a long road ahead, the vultures are circling and have already started to work to capitalize on this tragedy.”

He directed particular criticism at those who frame that work as a public service.

“I have a serious problem with people who hide behind words like ‘education’ or ‘awareness’ while exploiting a child’s tragedy and doing further harm to a family for attention, content, clicks, money, and personal gain,” he wrote.

Buzbee closed by describing his daughter in plain terms.

“Hailey was a child. She was our daughter. She was deeply loved. Her life and her story are not someone else’s opportunity,” he wrote. “Hailey had everything taken from her, and as her dad, I will continue to fight for her.”

Hailey Buzbee, 17, of Fishers, disappeared from her home Jan. 5. Police said she left willingly and had been in contact for more than a year with Tyler Thomas, 39, of Columbus, Ohio, a man she met through an online gaming platform. Her remains were found in early February in Wayne National Forest in southern Ohio after Thomas led investigators to the site. Authorities have said they believe she died within days of leaving home.

Thomas was initially charged in Ohio with pandering obscenity and tampering with evidence and held on $1.5 million bond. Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of Ohio then charged him with sexually exploiting a minor and traveling interstate with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, each carrying up to 30 years in prison, and the local charges were dismissed so the case could proceed in federal court. The investigation remains open.

The standard here does not change. This website will continue to report what the Buzbee family and public officials choose to make public, in a responsible, journalistic manner .