Families planning to attend this weekend’s Fall Festival at the Fishers AgriPark have until 11:59 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 1, to register. Fishers Parks says the annual event usually sells out.

The festival runs Saturday, Oct. 3, and Sunday, Oct. 4. Every person who attends must register in advance, including adults and children. Children 2 and younger get in free but still need to be registered.

Registration costs $5 per person for Fishers residents and $7.50 for non-residents. Groups pick one of four time slots:

• Saturday, Oct. 3, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Saturday, Oct. 3, 3 to 7 p.m.
• Sunday, Oct. 4, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Sunday, Oct. 4, 3 to 7 p.m.

According to Fishers Parks, every time slot offers the same activities and programming.

This year’s festival includes a corn maze, animal encounters, a scarecrow trail and contest, a chainsaw art demonstration and a touch-a-tractor area. Visitors can also try archery, javelin and axe throwing.

For younger visitors, there are puppet shows, a scavenger hunt walk, a bounce corral, a bubble zone, a craft station, life-size building blocks, a floor scooter track, and a straw bale pyramid and maze. Other games include mini golf, a giant slingshot, a needle-in-the-haystack search, a rocket launch, basketball and ring toss.

Firepits, yard games, food trucks and live music round out the event.

Registration is available through the City of Fishers online at app.amilia.com/store/en/cityoffishers. Parking and shuttle details, plus an event map, are posted at fishersagripark.com.

The Fishers AgriPark is at 11197 Florida Road.

Indiana has credible estimates showing that taxing services could replace property-tax revenue statewide. What remains unproven is whether the swap would protect every community’s budget or make taxes fairer for lower-income Hoosiers.

Rep. J.D. Prescott, R-Union City, plans to revive his proposal in 2027 after House Bill 1288 died in committee. His current pitch extends Indiana’s 7% sales tax to most services, preserving healthcare and education exemptions. He argues that would make taxation more predictable and fair.

The stakes are already visible locally. Hamilton Southeastern Schools projects that property-tax changes under SEA 1 will reduce expected referendum revenue by more than $45 million over 2026–2031.

There is substantive evidence behind the replacement claim. The nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency’s fiscal analysis of HB 1288 projects $13.1 billion–$15.2 billion in distributions during calendar 2028, compared with $11.6 billion in eliminated property-tax levies. Those distribution totals include charter schools and private-school vouchers.

LSA used federal economic and industry-sales data, excluded transactions already taxed, and allowed for reduced demand as services become more expensive. These are forecasts for the 2026 bill, not an assessment of a final 2027 proposal. Additional exemptions would require recalculation.

Fairness is less settled. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy’s analysis of 2024 law found Indiana sales and excise taxes consumed 6.9% of income for the lowest-income fifth of nonelderly households, versus 1.2% for the top 1%. Property taxes were also regressive: 4% versus 1.4%.

Those figures flag risks; they do not measure this proposed swap. Taxing services disproportionately purchased by wealthier households can make a sales tax less regressive, ITEP notes. Low-income homeowners could benefit substantially from eliminating their property bills.

Renters also bear property taxes indirectly, but immediate, dollar-for-dollar rent reductions cannot be assumed. They could face new service taxes before receiving housing savings. The household outcome depends on property-tax relief, spending patterns and rent responses.

Taxing services purchased by businesses presents another complication: taxes can accumulate through production and raise consumer prices, according to the Tax Foundation.

Local control would change substantially. Under HB 1288, the state would collect and automatically distribute replacement revenue. Counties’ and municipalities’ shares within their respective funding pools would depend 75% on population and 25% on road mileage. Schools would receive 45% of revenue remaining after reserve contributions, allocated by eligible student counts, including charter and voucher students.

Local officials would still adopt budgets, but could not set the replacement tax’s rate. The bill would prohibit new property-tax referendums and new property-backed borrowing. Existing school referendum obligations could continue as property-based fees.

A statewide surplus therefore would not guarantee that Fishers, Hamilton County or HSE receives enough. The bill includes a 10% reserve mechanism for downturns, but its fiscal note supplies no household-by-income analysis or individual-community results.

There appears to be a consensus among people I know and have experience with state lawmaking that eliminating property taxes entirely with a tax on services is unlikely in the 2027 budget session of the Indiana Legislature.  But, nothing is guaranteed.

Establishing fairness and local adequacy requires an updated fiscal estimate, household comparisons and community-specific funding projections.

U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz’s re-election campaign is calling on Democratic challenger J.D. Ford to explain how his campaign came to use a Carmel property that is scheduled for Hamilton County’s Oct. 8 tax sale. The Ford campaign responded that it has no role in its landlord’s tax payments and accused Spartz of trying to distract voters.

The property at 610 N. Rangeline Road serves as Ford’s campaign headquarters in the 5th Congressional District race. According to the Spartz campaign, it is listed for the tax sale over $16,937 in delinquent taxes.

The Spartz campaign said this is not the first time the property has been on the county’s tax-sale list. It said the property was listed in 2022 for $14,516 and in 2024 for $20,252. The property has also been listed for sale since October 2025, with a current asking price of $749,999, the campaign said.

The campaign says the property is owned by D M Investment Group LLC. The company’s registered agent is Jason Delk, and it uses the same Muncie address as the law firm Delk McNally LLP. Delk founded the firm with Mike McNally. The firm lists the Rangeline Road property as its Carmel office.

The Spartz campaign is asking Ford to say what arrangement his campaign has for using the building. It also wants him to say whether Mike McNally is related to Matt McNally, the Indiana Democratic Party’s 5th Congressional District vice chair.

“Ford’s arrangement raises many questions. J.D. Ford wants voters to trust him with their tax dollars, so why did he choose for his campaign headquarters a property that has repeatedly been listed for tax sale and currently has almost $17,000 in delinquent taxes?” Spartz said. “I hope the IndyStar is as eager to ask these questions.”

In a statement to LarryInFishers.com, the Ford campaign said the property taxes are the landlord’s responsibility.

“As a businesswoman and CPA, Congresswoman Spartz should know that JD Ford’s campaign has absolutely nothing to do with the payment of property taxes by its landlord,” the campaign said. “But rather than focus on the real issues — such as why she has used donor dollars to pay for property taxes on her family’s investment property — she’s picking fights, trying to distract from the issues.”

Spartz, a Republican from Noblesville, is seeking re-election in the 5th District, which includes Fishers and most of Hamilton County. The general election is Nov. 3.

U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz’s re-election campaign is calling on Democratic challenger J.D. Ford to explain how his campaign came to use a Carmel property that is scheduled for Hamilton County’s Oct. 8 tax sale.

The property at 610 N. Rangeline Road serves as Ford’s campaign headquarters in the 5th Congressional District race. According to the Spartz campaign, it is listed for the tax sale over $16,937 in delinquent taxes.

The Spartz campaign said this is not the first time the property has been on the county’s tax-sale list. It said the property was listed in 2022 for $14,516 and in 2024 for $20,252. The property has also been listed for sale since October 2025, with a current asking price of $749,999, the campaign said.

The campaign says the property is owned by D M Investment Group LLC. The company’s registered agent is Jason Delk, and it uses the same Muncie address as the law firm Delk McNally LLP. Delk founded the firm with Mike McNally. The firm lists the Rangeline Road property as its Carmel office.

The Spartz campaign is asking Ford to say what arrangement his campaign has for using the building. It also wants him to say whether Mike McNally is related to Matt McNally, the Indiana Democratic Party’s 5th Congressional District vice chair. If they are related, the campaign asks whether that connection has anything to do with the campaign’s use of the property.

“Ford’s arrangement raises many questions. J.D. Ford wants voters to trust him with their tax dollars, so why did he choose for his campaign headquarters a property that has repeatedly been listed for tax sale and currently has almost $17,000 in delinquent taxes?” Spartz said. “I hope the IndyStar is as eager to ask these questions.”

The Spartz campaign has not said that Ford’s campaign has done anything illegal or improper in using the property.

LarryInFishers.com asked the Ford campaign for a response. None had been received by the time this story was published. This story will be updated if the campaign responds.

Spartz, a Republican from Noblesville, is seeking re-election in the 5th District, which includes Fishers and most of Hamilton County. The general election is Nov. 3.

The Indy Fuel added a junior hockey champion to their forward group Tuesday, signing Noah Aboflan to a standard player contract for the 2026-27 season. The team also re-signed forwards Owen Robinson and Alex DiPaolo.

The Fuel play their home games at the Fishers Event Center.

Aboflan brings a winning résumé

Aboflan, 21, will make his professional debut with the Fuel this season. The 6-foot, left-handed forward from Elliot Lake, Ontario, joins Indy from the Greater Sudbury Cubs of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League. He had seven points in 10 playoff games to help the Cubs win the league championship.

Before that, Aboflan played for the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League, who won the OHL title in 2025. The Knights went on to win the Memorial Cup, the Canadian Hockey League’s national championship.

In 2023-24, Aboflan averaged more than a point per game for the Elliot Lake Vikings of the NOJHL before joining the Pelham Panthers of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League. With Pelham, he had 13 points in 16 regular-season games and four points in five playoff games.

He also won a GNML championship in 2021-22 with the Soo Greyhounds U18 AAA team.

Robinson returns for third season

Robinson returns for his third season with the Fuel. He played 59 games for Indy last season, recording 12 goals and 14 assists for 26 points, and appeared in five playoff games.

He first joined the Fuel late in the 2024-25 season, scoring seven points in 10 regular-season games and three points in four playoff games. That came after a strong final season at the University of Toronto, where he had 15 goals and 23 assists in 28 games.

Robinson played four seasons at Toronto. Before college, he spent parts of three seasons with the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves, where he had 87 points in 124 regular-season games. He also played three games with the ECHL’s Orlando Solar Bears in 2021-22.

DiPaolo back after late-season trade

DiPaolo, 26, came to the Fuel in a trade with the Maine Mariners late last season after playing 37 games for Maine. He had six points in 13 regular-season games with Indy.

He made his pro debut with Maine the season before, playing 10 games after graduating from Colgate University. The 6-foot-1 winger played 129 games over four seasons at Colgate, scoring 88 points, and helped the Raiders win the ECAC championship in 2022-23.

The Oakville, Ontario, native played three seasons in the British Columbia Hockey League before college, with the Victoria Grizzlies, Penticton Vees and Coquitlam Express. He was a captain and an alternate captain in Victoria, and he was named Rookie of the Year with Coquitlam.

The creators of the Easter production “The Thorn” are bringing a new Christmas show to Fishers this holiday season.

“The Arrival,” a theatrical telling of the birth of Jesus, will be at the Fishers Event Center on Saturday, Dec. 19, 7pm.

The production follows the journey to Bethlehem with live music, aerial acts, movement arts, dance and visual effects. Organizers describe it as a chance for audiences to “encounter the age-old story in a new way” during the Advent season.

How to get tickets

A venue presale begins Thursday, Oct. 1, at 10 a.m. Use the presale code HOLYNIGHT.

General ticket sales open Friday, Oct. 2, at 10 a.m.

Tickets are available at FishersEventCenter.com. More information about the show is at thearrivaltour.com.

It is not often that a meeting of the Hamilton County Election Board ends with applause, but that happened Tuesday morning in Noblesville.

The board voted unanimously to replace precinct-based voting with countywide vote centers starting with the 2027 municipal elections. State law requires a unanimous vote of the board.

Under the new system, voters will no longer have to vote at an assigned precinct on Election Day. They can vote at any vote center in the county.

“This gives voters more flexibility while allowing us to build an election system that can better accommodate Hamilton County’s continued growth,” said County Clerk Kathy Kreag Williams, who wrote Indiana’s original vote center legislation while serving in the Indiana House.

Board Chairman Ray Adler pointed to the plan’s broad support from the county commissioners, the county council, and both Republican and Democratic party leaders.

Last year, the proposal fell one vote short. Adler, the Republican appointee, voted no because he wanted to see how vote centers worked in Allen County first. Adler and the local GOP have since come on board.

“I had concerns last year because this is a major change that will affect hundreds of thousands of voters,” Adler said. “We’ve had another year to study the process, learn from other counties, and strengthen our own plan. I’m comfortable that we’re ready to move forward.”

Greg Purvis, the Democratic appointee, voted yes both times.

“We didn’t all start in the same place on this issue, but we took the time to work through the concerns and get to a plan we could all support,” Purvis said.

Four people spoke during public comment. All of them supported the change.

Schools return as voting sites

The county now uses 102 polling sites. The plan calls for 57 vote centers. The county says that is more than double the 28 that state law requires. Starting the change in 2027 gives officials time to work out problems before the higher-turnout 2028 presidential election.

Most of the vote centers are schools. Several school districts had stopped serving as polling places because of security concerns, but all have now agreed to host voting again. According to the plan, using schools will save almost $20,000 a year in rental fees.

“One of the biggest reasons this proposal works is because our local school districts have stepped up as partners once again,” Williams said.

The vote centers will be open 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. for the May 4 primary and the Nov. 2 general election. Most will have eight voting machines. Seven sites that also serve as early voting locations will have 10. That includes Fishers’ Roy G. Holland Memorial Park Building and Billericay Park Building.

The plan must still be approved by the Indiana Election Division. Before the first vote center election, the clerk’s office will mail a postcard to every registered voter explaining the change and listing every location.

Proposed 2027 vote centers:

Continue reading Hamilton County Election Board approves vote centers for 2027 elections →

Eleven men were arrested during a three-day undercover online operation aimed at people trying to meet children for sex. The Hamilton County Metro Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force announced the arrests Tuesday.

The task force is headquartered at the Fishers Police Department. It ran the operation Sept. 22-24 with detectives from the Greenwood and Lebanon police departments and help from the Westfield Police Department.

According to the task force, each man arranged online to meet someone he believed was a young girl and drove to a location in the Westfield area. Undercover police officers were waiting for them there.

“With digital evidence as well as admissions by the suspects it was unmistakable that these men were at the location with the intent to sexually abuse children,” the release stated. “The results of this operation solidify the need to be ever vigilant in the protection of our most vulnerable population.”

All 11 were charged with child solicitation, a Level 4 felony, and taken to the Hamilton County Jail. Some face more charges. Police said the investigation is still active and the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office may file more charges.

Those arrested:

• Ricardo Flores, 43, of Indianapolis, also charged with attempted sexual misconduct with a minor, a Level 4 felony, and attempted dissemination of matter harmful to a minor, a Level 6 felony
• Lucky Udoudo, 30, of Carmel, also charged with attempted sexual misconduct with a minor, a Level 4 felony
• El Hadji Babacar Ndiaye, 26, of Indianapolis
• Sean Conway, 28, of Westfield
• David Josue Gomez-Posada, 21, of Texas
• Simon Cinzah, 31, of Indianapolis, also charged with attempted sexual misconduct with a minor, a Level 4 felony
• Homero Madrigal Arevalo, 41, of Logansport
• Darian Foster, 25, of Indianapolis
• Arvind Kumar Kaul, 49, of Carmel
• Jermas McNeal Jr., 36, of Indianapolis, also charged with resisting law enforcement, a misdemeanor
• Michael Podniestrzanski, 38, of Indianapolis

Criminal charges are only accusations. Everyone charged is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

Detectives thanked the undercover officers and the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office for their work during the operation.

The task force includes detectives from the Fishers, Carmel, Westfield, Noblesville, Greenfield and Anderson police departments, the Hamilton County and Madison County sheriff’s offices, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. It investigates internet crimes against children and child exploitation cases in Hamilton, Hancock, Madison and Tipton counties.

The family of the late Jeff Schwarz, a Fishers resident who died of brain cancer in 2023, has given $10 million to Indiana University to create a new neuro-oncology research center in his name.

IU announced Sept. 24 that the gift creates the Jeff Schwarz Center for Neuro-Oncology Research at the IU Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center. The center will study brain cancer, cancer that has spread to the brain and other neuro-oncology conditions. It will bring together lab scientists, translational researchers and clinicians to get new therapies to patients faster.

The IU School of Medicine is adding $5 million, bringing the total investment to $15 million. The center is in new research space in the school’s Medical Education and Research Building.

Schwarz, an IU alumnus, met his wife, Jill, when both were students in Bloomington. He was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer, in late 2022 and died in November 2023.

“Jeff and I always shared a love for IU, and it is so meaningful to create something permanent at our alma mater in his name,” Jill Schwarz said. “Our family believes research is the key to better treatments for patients with brain cancer, and we are so proud IU will do that work in Jeff’s memory.”

IU President Pamela Whitten said the family’s generosity “will help IU recruit the brightest minds in neuro-oncology and advance innovations that bring new therapies, new possibilities and new hope to patients and families.”

The gift includes endowed funding for two faculty positions: the Jeff Schwarz Senior Professor in Neuro-Oncology Research and the Jack Schwarz Professor in Neuro-Oncology Research.

Dr. Scott Boden, dean of the IU School of Medicine, said the school’s $5 million commitment “reflects how strongly we believe in the potential of this center and the work that will happen here.”

The donation builds on earlier support from the family. In 2022, Schwarz and his family started the Schwarz Family and Friends Cancer Research Fund. That fund allowed the cancer center to hire Jia Shen, an assistant professor of medical and molecular genetics. Shen’s lab at IU Bloomington studies how to keep glioblastoma from coming back, and also studies brain tumors in children.

The gift is part of IU’s Never Daunted fundraising campaign.

Nearly 25,000 people in the U.S. are expected to be diagnosed with brain or other nervous system cancers this year, according to the National Cancer Institute. The five-year survival rate is less than 33%.

Hamilton County residents who want to vote in the Nov. 3 general election have until Monday, Oct. 5, to register. Early in-person voting begins the next day, Tuesday, Oct. 6.

Early voting opens first at two sites in Noblesville: the Hamilton County Judicial Center, One Hamilton County Square, and the Hamilton County Fairgrounds, 2003 Pleasant St.

Fishers voters will get two locations closer to home when eight more sites in Fishers, Carmel and Westfield open Wednesday, Oct. 21. In Fishers, voters can cast ballots at the Roy G. Holland Memorial Park Building and the Billericay Park Building. Early voting sites in Sheridan and Cicero open Wednesday, Oct. 28.

“Early voting gives residents more flexibility to cast their ballot when it works best for their schedule,” said Hamilton County Clerk Kathy Kreag Williams. “With locations throughout the county and weekday, evening, and Saturday hours available, we hope voters will take advantage of the option that is most convenient for them.”

Any registered Hamilton County voter who meets the requirements to vote may vote early in person. No application or reason is required.

Voters should bring an acceptable photo ID. Before heading to the polls, they can check their registration status and see who is on their ballot at IndianaVoters.in.gov or by calling the Hamilton County Voter Registration Office at 317-776-9632.

Early voting locations:

• Hamilton County Judicial Center, Noblesville (opens Oct. 6)
• Hamilton County Fairgrounds, Noblesville (opens Oct. 6)
• Roy G. Holland Memorial Park Building, Fishers (opens Oct. 21)
• Billericay Park Building, Fishers (opens Oct. 21)
• Westfield City Hall, Westfield (opens Oct. 21)
• Westfield Washington Township, Westfield (opens Oct. 21)
• Cool Creek Nature Center, Carmel (opens Oct. 21)
• Wilfong Pavilion at Founders Park, Carmel (opens Oct. 21)
• Jill Perelman Pavilion, Carmel (opens Oct. 21)
• Carmel Library, Carmel (opens Oct. 21)
• Sheridan Public Library, Sheridan (opens Oct. 28)
• Cicero Public Library, Cicero (opens Oct. 28)

Hours vary by location and date. For a full schedule, visit the Hamilton County Elections website at this link.