When we think of newspapers, many think of the New York Times, Washington Post and other publications with a national reputation.  In Indiana, the state’s largest newspaper is the Indianapolis Star, but there are many smaller newspapers serving smaller communities.

It is sad that many of those smaller papers are gone.  When I think of small newspapers, my first thoughts go back to a weekly, the Loogootee Tribune.  My parents were both from the area around Loogootee and my dad subscribed to The Tribune.  It came in the mail to our Indianapolis home every week.

A weekly small town newspaper does report on the police blotter, the city council, but also focuses on smaller items about local people.  I recall my uncle, who grew up in Loogootee but lived in Arizona at the time, writing a long letter to The Tribune, and it was printed in its entirety.

I was saddened when the Loogootee Tribune published its last edition a couple of years ago.  When a newspaper like that, which began publishing just after the Civil War, is gone, a part of the local culture goes with it.

That’s when I was thinking when following a police raid on a small weekly newspaper, the Marion County Record, in rural Kansas.  Local police raided the newspaper office and took office records and cell phone data from at least one reporter.

You can read more about it from the Associated Press at this link.

There is much debate about whether this police raid was legal and that is still being sorted out.

What I fear is the future of a newspaper like the weekly Marion County Record.  It is hard enough to do business in the current news business climate.  Police raids like this just make things much harder.

So, to the Marion County Record, good luck in keeping your business afloat as you deal with the legalities of the police raid.  America needs news outlets like yours.

It will be another busy week for road construction crews in and around the Fishers area.  Be on the alert for several lane closures.

Here is the listing, as provided by the City of Fishers:

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To learn more about the State Road 37 Improvement Project and sign up to receive text updates, visit 37Thrives.com. 

STATE ROAD 37 AND 141ST STREET
A pre-construction phase at SR 37 & 141st Street is currently in place. During this phase, 141st Street will be a Right-In-Right-Out (RIRO) traffic configuration. 
This is not the permanent configuration. This will allow for traffic to flow more freely along SR 37 until the next phases of construction can be activated. This will eliminate backups along SR 37 that have caused dangerous stops to the free flow traffic and backups on the 146th Street interchange. Again, this is not the permanent configuration for 141st Street. The full timeline for the 141st Street interchange will be provided after project bids are accepted in the Spring 2024. View detour routes here. 

View how to merge safely onto Northbound SR 37 from 141st Street here and onto Southbound SR 37 from 141st Street here. To navigate the merge, remember:

• Use the accel lane to gain speed, not stop
• Use your mirrors and pay attention
• Look for a gap in SR 37 traffic and safely merge

To learn more about the Clear Path Improvement Project and sign up to receive text and email updates, visit clearpath465.com 

I-465 & I-69
Drivers will see an increase in construction along the I-69 corridor in the coming months. This work will focus on reconfiguring the interchange at I-465 and I-69. New ramps will provide direct movements from eastbound I-465 and northbound I-465 to northbound I-69. Binford Blvd. will also be reconstructed to separate local traffic from traffic entering and exiting I-69 and I-465. Access to I-69 from Binford Blvd. will remain open. 

The ramp from I-69 North to 82nd Street and the ramp from 82nd Street to I-69 North is currently closed through late 2023. For detour routes and additional project information, visit clearpath465.com 

To learn more about the Nickel Plate Trail, view the Capital Project Dashboard here.

NICKEL PLATE TRAIL
The City of Fishers is working on the completion of the Fishers portion of the Nickel Plate Trail between Hague Road and 106th Street. The installation of pedestrian rail is currently taking place and pedestrian flashers are not operative at this time.

There are daily lane closures currently on Cumberland Road, just south of 126th Street for sanitary and water line work. The northbound right turn lane and the southbound passing blister will be closed.

Phase 2A traffic restrictions are currently in effect. These restrictions eliminate left turn movements from 146th Street onto Allisonville Road and reopen to two through lanes on eastbound and westbound 146th Street. 

Utility relocation work is ongoing.  Periodic lane closures may be necessary to complete this work.  Please watch for flaggers and workers in and around the construction zone.  

Construction crews are continuing to work on storm sewer installation and roadway grading.  Crews have begun working on the widening of the westbound bridge over the White River.  The contractor has installed cofferdams and delineating buoys in the White River for pier construction.  Please use caution if canoeing or tubing through the work zone.

For additional project information, visit the 146th St. & Allisonville Rd. Project Page here.

There is a sanitary sewer project currently taking place at Metro Airport at 106th Street & Allisonville Road. There are times where lane restrictions may be in place on Allisonville Road. Please use caution in this area. 

106^TH STREET

113^th STREET

106^TH STREET TRAIL RESTRICTIONS

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Several months ago, I ran into a Democratic candidate for local Fishers office in the upcoming election, when the subject of campaign issues came up.  This Democrat was unsure what issues his party would feature when the campaign began in earnest.  Since that time has past, it is becoming easier to see what those issues might be.

IndyStar reporters John Tuohy and Rachell Fradette teamed up, writing a story that appeared on the newspaper’s Web site late Thursday morning.  They spoke to Democrats, Republicans and some independent observers to take the temperature of the local city council races as the election campaign begins in earnest after Labor Day.

The local school board and library board, and issues related to both, are cited in the IndyStar story.  Democrats feel they have issues that relate to local residents, Republicans say their own record will win the day.

One issue not raised in the IndyStar story is fund raising.  If Democrats want to be competitive in the November Fishers general election, they need to be competitive in raising money.  I know Republicans have been very busy on the raising-cash trail.

You can read the IndyStar story at this link.  (NOTE:  You may have trouble accessing this story if you are not an IndyStar subscriber.  Online subscriptions are very inexpensive.  Let me say this again:  Subscribe to your local media!)

Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness will present his 2024 budget to the Fishers City Council Monday night.  Also on the agenda is a vote on the recommendations from the Council’s Non-Profit Committee, consisting of Council Members Todd Zimmerman, Cecilia Coble and Jocelyn Vare.  In the past, the Council has approved the recommendations from that committee.

Here is the list of organizations slated to receive funding in 2024, if the full Council votes to approve:

Hamilton County Youth Assistance Program $40,000.00

Youth Mentoring Initiative $50,000.00

Janus Development Services $10,000.00

Conner Prairie Museum $80,000.00

Prevail $15,000.00

Shepherd’s Center of Hamilton County $10,000.00

Outside the Box $15,000.00

Cherish Child Advocacy Center $20,000.00

Recovery Café Hamilton County $10,000.00

During the COVID period, events like the One Zone Chamber of Commerce State of the Schools were not possible.  August 16, 2023, there was a State of the Schools luncheon featuring the superintendents For Hamilton Southeastern and Carmel school districts, with a large crowd on hand.

Dr. Yvonne Stokes spoke first, defining success and explaining how HSE Schools expect graduates to be “ready for the world,” be it a job out of high school, a professional certification or on to college.

She highlighted the many partnerships with the City of Fishers and the 180 businesses providing internships to HSE students.  Dr. Stokes reminded the crowd of the district’s involvement with the Pursuit Institute, along with the other Hamilton County school districts.

The district is also working with Ford Next Generation to form “Portrait of a Graduate,” envisioning what is needed to move that project forward.  Ford will be conducting a week-long event with HSE Schools the week of October 23.

She also plugged the need for community and business support for the referendum vote coming November 7th, emphasizing the importance of a “yes” vote, providing what she describes as “vital” funding for the 8-year period beginning in 2024.

Carmel Superintendent Mike Beresford touted the successes of his district and the good work by his board, staff and teachers.  He described the impact of the teacher shortage, saying teaching openings that once attracted 1.000 applicants now will draw about 25.

He also sold the need to pass the operating referendum for Carmel Schools in the November election.

Administrators for the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools briefed school board members on the state of academics in the district at a Tuesday morning work session.  Although there are areas ripe for improvement, the news overall was very good on the academic front.

The briefing, led by Assistant Superintendent Matt Kegley, did not include the most recent IREAD scores because those results are embargoed by the state for now.  But one number that stands out is the SAT score.

This is just the second year all high school juniors in Indiana have taken the SAT test and HSE ranks 5th in percentage of juniors at benchmark on both sections of the SAT.

Detailed comparisons were made of other school districts similar in size or located nearby HSE.  Those districts include Brownsburg, Carmel, Zionsville, Valparaiso, Pen Harris, Westfield, Center Grove, Warrick and Noblesville.

In ILEARN math scores, the data shows 10 of 12 demographic groups demonstrating increases over last year.

You can review the entire report shared with the board at this link.

The Geist Half Marathon is back and is better than ever.  The city of Fishers is taking over the event this year.  Jake Reardon McSoley talks about the city’s involvement and Tom Britt talks about the event’s history.  For more information, and registration, use this link.

Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness may have no appointments to the Hamilton East Library Board, but he is weighing-in on the library board policy of reviewing books in the teen section for possible placement in the adult collection based on content.  The mayor is asking for cooler heads to prevail and wants the library board to bring in everyone in the community to find a solution to the current dispute between the board and segments of the public.

The mayor talks about that, the 2024 budget and more in this podcast: