The City of Fishers will be paying more for property and casualty insurance in 2024, and the city’s insurance broker says market conditions are the culprit.

According to a document approved by the Fishers Board of Works & Public Safety Wednesday morning, the city will be paying $123,000 more for the insurance coverage next year.  The total bill for the city is just under $1.2 million.

The approved city documents cite MJ Insurance, the city’s broker, as saying the “increase is predominately due to market increases for property insurance due to replacement values and reinsurance, auto insurance due to increased rate due to composite rate due to claims, cyber insurance and police professional insurance along with increased general liability insurance due to increased budget.”

In one other item before the board, approval was given to the city’s Health Department to enter into what is described as a “credentialing process” as part of a provider agreement with Anthem and Aetna health insurance companies.  Currently, a third-party processor charges the city a $20 monthly fee and $10 per inoculation or test when the city bills a citizen’s insurance company for the shot or test.  This action will save the city those fees when dealing with those 2 insurance firms.

Christmas Eve is a special time every year for me.  But it is not so with many others.

Surgeon General of the United States, Dr. Vivek Murthy, has expressed concern about how being lonely can impact one’s health.  Loneliness can be deadly for some people.

On this Christmas Eve, I would urge you to contact someone you know that may not have much in the way of family or friends during the Christmas Holiday season.  A simple thing like that could make so much difference.

I always appreciate my wide range of family and friends on this Christmas Holiday.  Seeing so many family members is special for Jane and myself.

Let me take this opportunity to express a special thanks to my readers of this blog.  I recently posted a story about completing 12 years of writing this local Fishers news blog.  What has heartened me is the support received in so many messages from so many people.  It was not just the number of people writing and thanking me for 12 years of mostly volunteer news reporting, but the fact that people of both political parties and many political persuasions have supported my work.

Trust me, I have worked hard to play it straight on most local issues.  There have been a few times I have written a commentary, but only if there is a compelling reason and no one else is commenting on what I think is an important Fishers issue.

So, Merry Christmas.  If your religious beliefs are different, I respect that and hope you celebrate this season in your own way.

Thank you, Fishers!

In 2016, after 4 years of blogging about local Fishers news, I went back to my roots as a radio broadcaster.  I had hosted several radio talks show in my day from the mid-1970s through 1982.  I had heard about this thing called podcasting.

Once I investigated, it turns out to be a lot like doing radio.  So, I read some books, did some online research, got some good advice from my good friend and tech guru Scott Fulton and plunged right in.

My first podcast in February of 2016 was Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness.  He was kind to give me his time then and many times since.  He is, not surprisingly, prominent in the listing below.

I decided to peruse all the data from my LarryInFisher.com local podcasts in 2023 and list those with the most listens.  Although the local election in Fishers did not show much traction in those reading my blog, it did turn out to be popular among my podcast listeners.  Half the top ten consist of podcasts tied to the November, 2023 Fishers municipal election (along with the school referendum).

So, here is a listing of the top ten LarryInFishers.com podcasts in 2023, based on the number of people listening.  (NOTE: You have links to each podcast if you wish to listen)

10.  David Giffel 

David Giffel was appointed to fill the term of long-time Council Member David George and ran for a full term in the Southwest City Council District.  He lost to Democrat Bill Stuart in a close race.  David was quite relaxed during this campaign interview with myself and retired teacher Mike Fassold and answered all our questions.  Whatever you may think of his political views, I like David personally.  Perhaps that is why so many people listened to his campaign interview in this podcast.

9.  Advance HSE

This is another podcast linked to the election, focused on the Political Action Committee (PAC) “Advance HSE” which advocated for passage of a property tax funding referendum for the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School District.  HSE Schools encompass the entire City of Fishers, but also include all of Delaware, Fall Creek and Wayne Townships.   The PAC accomplished its objective when the referendum passed by a wide margin in the November balloting

8.  New owners for Fishers & Geist Magazines

In 2023, I entered into an agreement with local publisher Tom Britt to provide content for  his monthly publication Fishers Magazine.  I am paid a small amount and provide Mr. Britt with news content for Fishers Magazine.  Tom Britt sold the Fishers and Geist monthly magazines but supports them through a franchise arrangement.  I recorded a podcast with Tom Britt, new Fishers Magazine publisher Allison Gatz and Geist Magazine owner Justin Biehl, to explain all the changes.

7.  Todd Zimmerman

Todd is featured in 2 podcasts on this list.  This is the interview Mike Fassold and I had about his re-election campaign.  I have known Todd a long time and he was kind to once again provide time for us to hear his views on the campaign podcast.

6.  Future Black Leaders, Fishers High School

At each HSE School Board meeting, the first item on the agenda is a “Snapshot of Success.”  One such snapshot was of the Future Black Leaders club at Fishers High School.  Through the school administration and the teacher sponsor, I arranged to record a podcast with three club members – Katrell Readus, Bailey Liner and Myla Cantrell.  This was an honest discussion with these students on their club and what they do.

 5.  Fishers Community Center 

This is the second podcast on this list featuring City Councilor Todd Zimmerman…another city official, Jake Reardon McSoley, joins the podcast.  We talk just after the official announcement of the new Fishers Community Center, to be located at 121st Street and Hoosier Road.  Ground breaking for this new facility is set for early 2024.

4.   Jody Britten – the Fishers Bubble

I moved to Fishers in 1991 and have always enjoyed living in this community.  Jody Britten and her family have also lived in Fishers for a while and says she has many good friends here in the city.  But she also travels extensively in her work.  She wrote a blog post that caught my eye.  She argues that most of us living in Fishers live in a bubble.  In other words, we do not always understand how people outside Fishers see us.  This podcast is worth a listen.

3.  Tiffany Ditlevson 

This was a close at-large election, but Republican Tiffanie Ditlevson did win a seat on the Fishers City Council.  We discussed a number of subjects in this podcast about her campaign, including her time on the Hamilton East Library Board and her views on Moms for Liberty.

2.  Howard Stevenson 

Unlike Tiffanie Ditlevson, Howard Stevenson came out on the short end of the at-large City Council election.  Mike Fassold & I talked with Howard about a number of subjects and his campaign.

Number 1

Scott Fadness

It should be no surprise the number 1, most listened-to LaryInFishers.com podcast in 2023 featured Mayor Scott Fadness.  The mayor had just provided comments to the Indianapolis Star and other local media outlets about the controversies surrounding the Hamilton East Library, serving Fishers and Noblesville.  A library board policy reviewing books in the young adult section for possible reshelving in the adult book collection drew the ire of local author John Green, which created a bevy of publicity about our local community.  The mayor has always made clear he doesn’t weigh-in on most social issues, but he did provide some measured comments about the library situation.  I also talked with the mayor about some other subjects in this podcast, but most of the time was spent on the library issue.  FYI, there has been a change in the membership of the library board and the controversial policy has been reversed by the new board majority.

So, that’s the list featuring the most-listened-to LarryInFishers.com podcasts for 2023, after a look at the data provided by my hosting company, Soundcloud.  Based on that, the number of total listens to all my LarryInFishers.com podcasts for 2023 exceeds 10,000.  Once again, thanks to all of you for reading this blog and listening to my podcasts.  You are the only reason I do all this.

The Fishers Arts Council is already looking ahead to March of 2024 and Disability Awareness Month.  The group is already in search of artists.  The Arts Council has released information on what is planned and deadlines.  See that information below:

During the month of March 2024, Fishers Arts Council – along with the Fishers Advisory Committee on Disability and Ignite Studio at Hamilton East Public Library – is looking to exhibit artwork created by artists who live with developmental or intellectual disabilities. The artwork will be featured at Fishers Arts Council’s Hub Gallery at the Collaboration Hub and Ignite Studio. This is a way to demonstrate the importance of art as we get “Fueled for the Future” during the month of March in the City of Fishers.

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION: Artists interested in participating must submit a request by 3 p.m. on January 26, 2024, to info@fishersartscouncil.org indicating their desire to participate or fill out the online form at https://www.fishersartscouncil.org/submit-your-work and select EXHIBIT March Disabilities Awareness from the drop down menu. For email submissions, please make your Subject Line: March Awareness and include the following in your email: · Artist’s name

· Full physical mailing address

· Phone number

· Email address

· One or two sample(s) of artwork in jpeg or pdf format. Please limit the file size of each image to 2MB or less. (Do not embed images in your email.)

ELIGIBILITY: Artists must:

· Have a developmental or intellectual disability,

· Be a 2D visual artist,

· Be able to provide at least two (2) to six (6) pieces of family friendly art for exhibit, and

· Agree that Fishers Arts Council or Ignite Studio may alter artwork for proper hanging and installation in the galleries if said artwork is not properly equipped for display.

· Artists may also be represented by organizations that serve individuals with disabilities.

Selection Process: Representatives from Fishers Arts Council will review submissions and select artists for the exhibit.

Notification: Artists will be notified of their acceptance into the exhibit by February 2, 2024. Delivery: Artists will be required to deliver artwork to the Ignite Studio on Saturday, February 24, 2024, from 3-5 p.m. or Sunday, February 25, 2023 from 1-3 p.m. Questions: For more information, contact info@fishersartscouncil.org

The Fishers Arts Council is looking for artists to display their work alongside artists from Fall Creek Junior High School.  For more information on all this, the the items below provided by the Arts Council:

Fishers Arts Council will be displaying the work of Fall Creek Junior High visual art students alongside professional artists from Fishers and surrounding areas for the annual Embracing Black Culture Exhibit.

Dayna Colbert is changing her role in Democratic politics.  The Hamilton County Chair since 2021, she will assume a post with the state-wide party, Executive Director for Indiana Democrats.  In this podcast, she says no definite date has been set for the caucus to select her successor.  Former Fishers City Councilor Jocelyn Vare has announced her intention to run for Hamilton County Democratic Party Chair, but Dayna is not backing anyone at this time to be her successor.

Dayna Colbert talks about her time as county chair and what she will be doing with the state party organization in this podcast.

The Fishers weekly road construction update has been issued early this week with the holidays.  There are two parts of this week’s report of note.

First, the city engineering department is holding to the assertion that the roundabout at 106th Street & Hoosier Road will be open by the end of this year.  For more details on the delays, read the update.

Secondly, there will be one lane of traffic open on Lantern Road from 9 am to 3 pm between South Street and Morgan Drive, December 26th.

Below is the latest update, as provided by the City of Fishers:

Continue reading Fishers Road Construction update →

The land owner of commercial space at 104th Street and Olio Road asked for a zoning variance, allowing a Bigby Coffee Shop at that location.  The Fishers Board of Zoning Appeals denied the variance request Wednesday night.

Only 3 of the 5 member of the Board of Zoning Appeals were in attendance, meaning all 3 members at the Wednesday session had to unanimously agree to any request.

The motion to deny received votes from board members Howard Stevenson and Jeffrey Silvey…Board President Steve Ferrucci voted not to deny the request.  A motion to approve the variance was made by Ferruci, but died for lack of a second.  The end result is denial of the zoning variance.

The owner of the property was asking to allow the coffee shop to be built on .7 acres of land, below the requirement of 1 acre in the Fishers Unified Development Ordinance (UDO).  That triggered the requirement of a zoning variance for the Bigby coffee shop.

It is not known whether the land owner will attempt to bring Bigby into the commercial development at 104th & Olio in a way that would not require a zoning variance.

Fishers City Judge Dan Hanke handled the ceremonial duties as all Fishers elected city officials, incumbents and the newly-elected, gathered at Fishers Fire Headquarters for the once-every-four-year swearing-in ceremony.

Mayor Scott Fadness had no opposition in the primary or general elections and was sworn-in first, after offering opening remarks about the accomplishments and challenges the city has faced in the past four years.

Judge Henke and local Pastor Darryn Scheske offered remarks before the ceremony got into full swing.

Below are more photos from the Wednesday evening event:

Continue reading Swearing-in ceremony for Fishers elected officials →

A new Indiana state law is set to start January 1, 2024, and the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board was briefed Monday evening on how the local district plans to setup a system for handling requests for removal of library materials in the schools, under the new statute.

Executive Director of Elementary Education Danielle Fetters Thompson and Executive Director of Staff and Student Services Ryan Taylor, explained the new procedure by presenting an algorithm explaining the process, which is available at this link.

They also reviewed the written procedure, citing state law, which also included the form used to file such a request.  Both are available at this link.

To be eligible to make a request to remove library materials, the requestor must be a parent of a child in the school system or a member of the community residing within the school district boundary.  In order to ask for removal of school material, under the state law, the person making the request must show the material is either contains obscene matter or performance….or matter or performance harmful to minors.

In order to successfully ask for removal, one or both of these provisions of state law must apply.  The statutory language going into more detail is part of the form and procedure.

Once the form is filed, the issue is to be discussed with the school librarian and building administrator.  If the issue needs resolving after that, the building principal reviews the form to ensure it is complete and forwards the form to the superintendent.

Three central office administrators will, as a committee, review the request and issue a recommendation.  If the person making the request is not satisfied at that point, an appeal is filed for a school board decision.

The procedures and form were fashioned by school administrators with help from attorney Chris Greisl.