One person is dead and a Fishers man is facing a preliminary charge of operating a vehicle while intoxicated causing death after a violent late-night crash at 96th Street and Allisonville Road.

The Fishers Police Department said officers and medics were called to the intersection just after 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 4. When they arrived, they found the occupant of a white Hyundai Palisade dead at the scene.

The driver of a black Ford F-250 involved in the crash was still there when officers arrived and refused medical transport. Police identified him as Cory Amick and detained him for investigation of suspected operating a vehicle while intoxicated.

Amick refused field sobriety tests at the scene, according to police. Officers obtained a search warrant for a blood draw, which was completed.

During the investigation, Fishers police reviewed video from a Flock camera near the intersection. Investigators said the footage shows the F-250 traveling at a high rate of speed through the roundabout before violently colliding with the Palisade. Police said the video confirms the contributing factors the department’s Crash Reconstruction Team had already identified.

First responders determined the occupant of a white Hyundai Palisade, identified by the Hamilton County Coroner’s Office as 56-year-old Susann Hayden-Tindall, of Frankfort, had died.

“The Fishers Police Department sends its deepest condolences to the family of the victim of this devastating incident,” the department said in a statement.

The investigation remains ongoing. Final charges will be decided by the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office. The preliminary charge against Amick is OWI causing death, a Level 4 felony.

Under Indiana law, a Level 4 felony carries a sentence of two to 12 years in prison, with an advisory sentence of six years.

A preliminary charge is not a formal criminal charge, and Amick is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The HSE first day of school arrives Wednesday with new backpacks and more than a few front-porch photographs.

For most students, Aug. 5 marks a return to familiar hallways and friends. For Hamilton Southeastern Schools’ kindergartners — the Class of 2039 — it is the beginning of an entirely new adventure.

Some children will hurry toward the entrance without looking back. Others may need one more hug or a parent’s reassuring promise that they will be waiting when the school day ends. Families, meanwhile, will balance pride and excitement with the realization that a major childhood milestone has arrived.

HSE offers full-day kindergarten at its 13 elementary schools. The day begins at 7:40 a.m. and ends at 2:10 p.m., giving the district’s youngest students their first experience with classroom routines, lunch at school and the important work of learning teachers’ and classmates’ names.

The first day is a full day for students at every grade level, according to the 2026–27 district calendar. High schools begin at 8:30 a.m., while intermediate and junior high schools start at 9:15 a.m.

HSE serves more than 21,000 students from preschool through 12th grade across Fishers and all of Fall Creek, Delaware and Wayne townships, including portions of Noblesville. Officials are asking families to be patient with transportation during the opening days as drivers and students become familiar with new routes.

A first day in a new school

Wednesday will bring more new beginnings than usual for some families.

New attendance boundaries for preschool through eighth grade take effect this year. The redistricting accompanied the expansion of Fishers Elementary School, which increases that building’s capacity from 450 to 700 students, while helping balance enrollment at schools across the district’s growing eastern side.

That means some returning students will experience their own version of a kindergarten first day: a different building, unfamiliar hallways and new classmates. HSE’s redistricting information says the changes are intended to manage growth, improve feeder patterns and make better use of available space.

Personal devices go away “bell to bell”

One of the most visible changes this year may be something students do not see: cellphones.

Indiana’s Senate Enrolled Act 78, which took effect July 1, strengthens the state’s previous classroom cellphone restrictions. Beginning this school year, public schools must limit access to personal wireless communication devices throughout the entire school day.

HSE’s new policy requires cellphones, smartwatches, smart glasses, gaming devices, personal tablets and laptops, digital cameras and personal earbuds or headphones to be powered off or silenced, stored and inaccessible from the opening bell through dismissal.

The restriction includes lunch, passing periods and study halls. Students may bring a phone to school, but they cannot access it during the day. Device use remains permitted on buses traveling to and from school when it does not interfere with safety.

Exceptions are available for documented medical needs, individualized education programs, Section 504 plans and certain language-learning needs. During an emergency, students may use a personal device when authorized by school staff or allowed by law.

Parents who need to contact a K-8 student should call the school’s main office. High school students may also communicate with families by email. HSE says violations may result in confiscation and progressive discipline, with a parent or guardian required to retrieve a confiscated device.

The restriction does not apply to district-approved instructional technology. More information is available in the district’s device policy FAQ.

Other changes for 2026–27

The district is continuing to phase out its bring-your-own-device program. Incoming students in grades K-2, 5-7 and 9-11 will receive district iPads without a rental fee and are not eligible to bring their own instructional devices.

HSE is also limiting student access to YouTube. Students in kindergarten through eighth grade may view videos only through teacher-provided links in Canvas or another approved platform. High school students will be limited to educational content or videos assigned by a teacher.

Families will see the return of consumable-material fees as well. The charges range from $25 for grades K-3 to as much as $125 for high school students, depending on grade level and course selections. Fees are waived for students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals.

Junior high athletic participation costs $50 per sport, while the high school fee is $75. The district says financial need will not prevent a student from participating. Additional details are included in HSE’s back-to-school guide.

For all the changes, however, the heart of the first day remains wonderfully familiar.

Kindergartners will find their cubbies, practice walking in line and begin turning a room full of strangers into a classroom community. Older students will compare schedules, reconnect with friends and meet new teachers. Families will watch buses disappear around corners and begin counting the hours until they can ask the most important first-day question:

“How was school?”

Thirteen officers spent Tuesday morning parked along some of the city’s busiest 35 mph corridors, and by lunchtime they had pulled over 91 drivers.

The Fishers Police Department said 12 of its officers, joined by a deputy from the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, ran a targeted speed enforcement detail from 9 a.m. to noon. The worst offender clocked in at 25 mph over the posted limit — roughly 60 mph on a road designed for 35.

The timing was not accidental. With Hamilton County students heading back to classrooms, police say the mix of school buses, walkers, bicyclists and crossing guards changes the math on residential and collector streets that drivers may have gotten comfortable speeding through over the summer.

“As kids head back to school, we’re asking everyone to slow down, stay alert, and help protect the people who share our roads,” the department said in a post announcing the results.

Speed is one of the sharpest variables in whether a crash is survivable for someone outside a vehicle. Traffic safety researchers have long found that a pedestrian’s risk of serious injury or death climbs steeply as impact speed rises above roughly 20 to 30 mph — which is why enforcement efforts like Tuesday’s tend to concentrate on posted-35 roads rather than highways.

Ninety-one stops in three hours works out to roughly one every two minutes across the detail. The department did not say how many of the stops ended in citations versus warnings, or which roads were targeted.

Not every contact Tuesday morning involved a violation. Police said one officer broke off from enforcement to help an expecting family install a child’s car seat — a service Fishers officers and other Hamilton County agencies regularly provide, and one that safety advocates say matters given how often seats are installed incorrectly.

The department framed the morning as two halves of the same job. “But today wasn’t just about enforcement,” the post read, before closing with the department’s tagline: “Safe Streets. Strong Community.”

Multi-agency traffic details have become a routine tool for Hamilton County departments, which often coordinate around back-to-school weeks, holiday travel periods and known problem corridors. Partnering with the Sheriff’s Office lets a city department put more units on the road at once than its own patrol schedule would allow.

For drivers, the practical takeaway is simple enough: the 35 mph signs on Fishers’ arterials are being watched, and the margin officers were willing to extend Tuesday morning was thin.

Residents who want a car seat checked or installed can contact the Fishers Police Department to arrange an appointment.

Bull riding is coming to Fishers Event Center, and tickets go on sale later this week.

The Professional Championship Bull Riders (PCBR) will bring a full night of rodeo competition to the Fishers arena on Saturday, Jan. 9, 2027, pitting some of the sport’s top riders against a pen of rank bulls. Barrel racing will round out the card, with cowgirls running the cloverleaf pattern against the clock.

Tickets go on sale to the public at 10 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 6, at FishersEventCenter.com.

What to expect

For the uninitiated, the format is simple and brutal: a rider has eight seconds to stay aboard a bucking bull, with judges scoring both the athlete and the animal. Most attempts end well short of the buzzer.

Between rides, barrel racers take over the dirt, weaving a three-barrel pattern where hundredths of a second separate the payout from the drive home.

Family extras

Organizers are leaning into the family angle. The first 300 kids through the doors will receive a free cowboy hat and an autographed poster. Meet-and-greet opportunities with the bull riders will also be available.

About the venue

Fishers Event Center opened in November 2024 and has quickly become one of the busiest rooms in central Indiana. The 7,500-seat venue hosts comedy, country music, family shows and concerts across a range of genres, and doubles as a community space for local athletic events and high school graduations.

It is also home to three professional franchises: the Indy Fuel of the ECHL, Indy Ignite of Major League Volleyball and the Fishers Freight of the Indoor Football League.

If you go

• What: Professional Championship Bull Riders
• Where: Fishers Event Center, Fishers
• When: Saturday, Jan. 9, 2027
• Tickets: On sale 10 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 6 at FishersEventCenter.com

More than 21,000 Hamilton Southeastern Schools students return to classrooms Wednesday, Aug. 5, for the HSE first day of school. Their return will bring buses, student pedestrians and active school zones back to Fishers-area roads.

Elementary schools will operate from 7:40 a.m. to 2:10 p.m.; high schools from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.; and intermediate and junior high schools from 9:15 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Families should make one last check of Skyward Tuesday night. According to HSE’s back-to-school guide, bus routes became available Aug. 1 but may change at the last minute. Required back-to-school forms are also due Wednesday. The district cautions that buses may run late during the first several days as drivers learn new routes.

The new year also brings new pre-K through eighth-grade attendance boundaries. The changes accompany the reopening of Fishers Elementary School after an expansion that increased capacity from 450 to 700 students, according to the district’s redistricting information.

Beginning Wednesday, motorists should once again expect reduced speed limits in posted school zones. Drivers should watch for flashing signals, follow the speed and hours shown on each sign, leave extra time for morning and afternoon traffic, and remain alert for children near crossings, neighborhoods and bus stops.

Indiana law also requires drivers to obey school-bus warning signals:

Yellow flashing lights mean a bus is preparing to stop. Slow down and prepare to stop.

When red lights flash and the stop arm is extended, drivers must stop before reaching the bus. On an undivided road, traffic approaching from either direction must stop and remain stopped until the red lights stop flashing, the arm is withdrawn and the bus begins moving.

The exception is a roadway divided by a physical barrier or an unimproved median, such as a concrete wall, cable barrier or grassy median. Traffic behind the bus must stop; drivers traveling in the opposite direction may proceed with caution. A road without such a barrier is treated as undivided, regardless of how many lanes it has.

The first days of school can mean unfamiliar routes, late buses and children learning new routines. A few extra minutes and a slower trip can help everyone begin the school year safely.

Three-time Grammy winner Billy Strings will play three sold-out nights at the Fishers Event Center this week, but fans without tickets won’t be left out of the fun.

The Fishers Event Center has partnered with the City of Fishers and Hamilton County Tourism to build a weekend of free, community-wide experiences around the concerts, set for Thursday, Aug. 6, through Saturday, Aug. 8. The shows were rescheduled from April.

Each day, the FORUM Credit Union Plaza outside the venue will host more than 40 Shakedown Street vendors and local artisans, along with a beer garden, food trucks, fan meetups, pop-up activities and photo opportunities. Official tour merchandise will be available early each day at the Fishers Event Center from 4:30 to 6 p.m. — no concert ticket required for any of it.

The three-night run caps a landmark stretch for Strings, whose latest album, “Highway Prayers,” won Best Bluegrass Album at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards earlier this year. The record, produced by Strings and Jon Brion and released on Reprise Records, debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s all-genre Top Album Sales chart — the first bluegrass album to do so in 22 years. GQ has called Strings “the hottest roots-music phenomenon in decades.”

Since his 2017 debut, the singer, songwriter and guitarist has collected Grammy wins for Best Bluegrass Album at the 63rd, 67th and 68th ceremonies, back-to-back Artist of the Year honors at the Americana Music Awards in 2022 and 2023, and Entertainer of the Year at the International Bluegrass Music Awards in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2025. He has appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel Live! and PBS’ Austin City Limits.

Strings followed “Highway Prayers” with an Apple Music Nashville Sessions EP and a surprise collaborative album with Bryan Sutton, “Live at the Legion,” recorded at Nashville’s American Legion Post 82 and featuring 20 traditional bluegrass and folk songs.

The concerts also mark one of the biggest weekends yet for the Fishers Event Center, which opened in November 2024. The 7,500-seat venue hosts concerts, comedy and family shows, and is home to the Indy Fuel of the ECHL, Indy Ignite of Major League Volleyball and the Fishers Freight of the Indoor Football League.

For a full guide to the weekend, including things to do around Hamilton County, visit visithamiltoncounty.com. More information about the venue is available at FishersEventCenter.com.

As the father of twin daughters, this story is especially important to me. I have seen firsthand the remarkable bond twins share, and few Hamilton County families illustrate that connection quite like Commissioner Mark Heirbrandt and his extended family.

Mark, a Westfield resident and longtime Hamilton County commissioner, is an identical twin. His brother, Mike Heirbrandt, lives in Cicero. The family’s history of multiple births also includes Mark’s twin sons, Ethan and Evan, and Mike’s triplet sons, Chase, Joel and Tim.

Their story comes as families celebrate National Twins Day and the 50th anniversary of the Twins Days Festival in Twinsburg, Ohio. Founded in 1976, the event is recognized by Guinness World Records as the world’s largest annual gathering of twins, according to a news release about the Heirbrandt family.

For Mark and Mike, being twins has meant a lifetime of companionship, shared experiences and occasional confusion.

“Having a twin means built-in companionship from day one,” Mark said. “You share everything—from a childhood room to this incredible, unspoken connection. Watching that same dynamic play out across our entire family over the years has been truly special.”

Their nearly identical appearance once became an unusual asset during Mark’s political career.

During Mark’s 2016 reelection campaign, debates in Westfield and Fishers were scheduled for the same time. Mark said he asked Mike to attend one of the events, introduce himself as the candidate’s twin and answer questions on Mark’s behalf.

“People in the room were completely stunned,” Mark recalled. “It wasn’t just that he looked like me—his voice, his hand gestures, and everything else was an exact match.”

The resemblance has also created plenty of cases of mistaken identity. Mike has been approached by residents who thought he was the commissioner and wanted to discuss local issues, including drainage projects. Mark said he has occasionally been mistaken for Mike—with consequences ranging from amusing to uncomfortable.

“At this point, if someone calls me Mike or if someone calls him Mark, we’re used to it,” he said.

The family’s history of twins reaches back several generations. Mark and Mike’s maternal grandmother had identical twin brothers named Ennis and Willis, while their mother had identical twin cousins.

Then Mark and Mike carried the tradition into the next generation: Mark became the father of twins, while Mike became the father of triplets.

“Genetically, our family seems to be a complete anomaly,” Mark said. “To have my grandmother’s brothers, my mother’s cousins, Mike and me, and then pass that right down to twin boys and triplet boys—it completely defies the odds.”

The children who once appeared with Mark and Mike in a widely shared family photograph are now adults and pursuing lives of their own. But the connection between the original Heirbrandt twins remains as strong as ever.

Mark said he and Mike still speak three or four times each day.

“No matter how busy life gets, that connection never fades,” he said. “It’s a bond that’s unique and never fades.”

For those of us fortunate enough to raise twins, that bond is easy to recognize. The Heirbrandt family’s story is not simply about remarkable genetic odds. It is a local example of the companionship, shared history and enduring connection that make being a twin—and parenting twins—such a special experience.

A small blue rectangle on a commercial leasing plan has generated an outsized helping of headlines across Central Indiana.

Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams plans to open at The Union at Fishers District near Interstate 69 and 116th Street. If completed as planned, it will be the Columbus, Ohio-based company’s first Indiana scoop shop.

Jeni’s did not announce the location. Reporter Leila Kheiry of Current Publishing first discovered the company’s name on a leasing plan posted by developer Thompson Thrift.

The plan provides an important detail: Jeni’s is shown in the color designated for a signed lease, not a space under negotiation. However, Jeni’s has not confirmed an opening date and declined to comment when contacted by IndyStar.

The attention is not being driven by a shortage of ice cream. Handel’s has operated along 116th Street since 2002, while Graeter’s now has two Fishers locations.

Instead, the excitement centers on a particular brand entering Indiana for the first time. Jeni’s lists scoop shops in about 30 metropolitan markets, but none in Indiana. Its closest locations are in the Cincinnati area.

Founder Jeni Britton opened the company at Columbus’ North Market in 2002. The brand developed a following with flavors including Brambleberry Crisp, Salty Caramel and Brown Butter Almond Brittle. Britton’s cookbook won a James Beard Foundation award in 2012.

Jeni’s has also connected its products to popular culture through collaborations with “Ted Lasso,” Olivia Rodrigo and American Girl. A case study from a public-relations firm that has worked with Jeni’s says its campaigns generated 18 billion media impressions in 2024. That is a company-supplied marketing measurement, but it demonstrates the brand recognition behind the Fishers reaction.

The location also fits Jeni’s premium positioning. The Union will include approximately 60,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space, 251 apartments, offices and a 135-room hotel. Together with the neighboring Slate development, nearly 500 apartments will sit within walking distance.

Fishers’ median household income is approximately $130,200, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, making the city attractive to premium retailers.

The wave of coverage ultimately reflects four things: a first-in-state brand, an affluent and growing market, strong consumer familiarity and the appeal of a reporter, Leila Kheiry,  discovering the news before a corporate announcement.

One thing I learned early while studying political science in college in the mid-1970s is this: politics is a rough game. It is not for the faint of heart. It often does unfair things to good people.

That’s what first came to mind Friday when I learned that Indiana Senate President Pro Tem Rod Bray will not seek re-election to his leadership post when lawmakers reorganize in November.

Sometimes a man can be judged by what others say about him.

House Speaker Todd Huston of Fishers issued a statement after Bray’s announcement, calling him a great friend and legislative partner over the past six years. “I admire his many legislative accomplishments, but what I admire most is his commitment to family and to our state,” Huston wrote. “I look forward to continuing to work alongside him as a senator and continuing our long friendship.”

Another measure of a man’s reputation is what his political opponents say about him. “From my years in the State Senate, I have personally known Rod Bray as a decent, thoughtful and honorable man,” said Indiana Democratic Chair Karen Tallian. “So it was particularly sickening for me to watch as the MAGA zealots put on the pressure and reviled this brave man during Trump’s gerrymandering crusade last fall.”

It was redistricting that drove Bray’s decision. Last fall, President Trump and Gov. Mike Braun pressed Indiana lawmakers to redraw the state’s congressional maps mid-decade to favor Republicans. Bray voted against the new maps, and 21 of the Senate’s 40 Republicans joined Democrats to defeat the plan. Party leaders then threatened to recruit and fund primary challengers against any senator who backed Bray’s bid to remain leader. Bray said he would not put his members in jeopardy from their own party simply for supporting him. He will remain in the Senate, where his District 37 term runs through 2028.

I worked part time at the Martinsville radio station while in college in the mid-1970s and full time there for a year in the late 1970s. A Bray has held elective office in Indiana continuously since 1951 — the year I was born.

Rod’s father, Richard Bray, served 18 years in the Indiana House (1974–1992) and 20 more in Senate District 37 (1992–2012), when Rod succeeded him — roughly 38 years in the General Assembly in all. He was also Morgan County prosecuting attorney from 1958 to 1970, chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee and practiced law in Martinsville.

Rod’s grandfather, William G. “Bill” Bray (1903–1979), a decorated World War II Army tank officer, served 12 terms in the U.S. House from 1951 to 1975, representing Indiana’s 7th and later 6th districts, before losing his seat to David Evans in the post-Watergate Democratic wave of 1974. He, too, had been Morgan County prosecutor.

I did not know Richard Bray well and have never met Rod, but I spoke with Bill Bray on several occasions. He once told us he spent more time socially at the White House during John Kennedy’s presidency than any other, because the two men — from different parties — had struck up a personal friendship.

During Watergate, I interviewed Bill Bray about the impeachment hearings, knowing he was a staunch Nixon supporter. When I asked whether the Democratic chairman of the committee was handling the hearings fairly, he declined to comment. The chairman was a personal friend.

Big changes are sweeping our politics at both the national and state levels. Rod Bray’s decision is one of them. Where they take us is a question yet to be answered.

When I interviewed Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness in July, I asked what success would look like on the morning of August 2, after two immigration-related events were expected to bring sharply opposing groups to Fishers.

“That everyone’s safe,” Fadness answered.

On Saturday morning, the city issued another statement saying Fishers “did not ask to be a part of this debate.”

Now it is Sunday morning, August 2. I have found no reports of arrests, injuries or violence connected with Saturday’s events, so the mayor’s basic test of success appears to have been met.

But another question has emerged: Was the Save Heritage Indiana rally ever held in Fishers?

For days, Save Heritage Indiana publicly advertised its invitation-only immigration rally as a Fishers event. Its official event page identified Fishers as the location and said the exact address would be provided to ticket holders after purchase. General-admission tickets cost $50, and the event was later listed as sold out.

The featured speaker was Greg Bovino, a former commander-at-large of the U.S. Border Patrol. The organizers also advertised prerecorded remarks from Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith and Attorney General Todd Rokita, along with an appearance by state Rep. Jim Lucas.

Despite those repeated references to Fishers, no independent news organization has confirmed that the rally was held anywhere in the city.

A screenshot circulated online Saturday that purported to direct attendees to the Hancock County Public Library in Greenfield before they proceeded in small groups to another location. The Indiana Capital Chronicle properly described that email as unconfirmed.

Other online accounts later suggested the gathering may have occurred on private property in rural Boone County. Those assertions also remain unverified.

Photographs and portions of a subsequently deleted livestream do establish that a gathering took place. They show Bovino speaking from a podium inside a large white tent, with an audience seated in folding chairs. But the images contain no recognizable exterior landmarks or other details that independently establish where the tent was located.

Save Heritage Indiana organizer Daniel Poynter told the Capital Chronicle that two media outlets had been given exclusive access, but he declined to identify them. As of Sunday morning, I have not found an independent report from inside the rally. Poynter also declined to provide an attendance figure.

The public event held in response to the rally unquestionably took place in Fishers.

The Hoosier Hospitality March began at Holland Park late Saturday afternoon and proceeded to the Nickel Plate District Amphitheater. It was organized by Fishers Resists and several partner organizations as a demonstration of support for immigrants and opposition to mass deportations.

No official crowd count was conducted. The Capital Chronicle estimated attendance at about 1,000. I watched the event in person, and from my vantage point, the crowd appeared to exceed 1,000 people.

Organizers ended the program somewhat early as lightning approached the area.

It is possible the Save Heritage Indiana organizers originally intended to hold their rally in Fishers and later changed locations because of security, weather or difficulty securing a venue. It is also possible that Fishers was deliberately publicized while the actual location was kept elsewhere. At this point, we simply do not know, because the organizers have not explained what happened.

What we do know is that Fishers spent days in the public spotlight. Residents debated the event, city officials and police prepared for it, news organizations covered it and more than 1,000 people participated in a public response.

The unanswered question is therefore one for Save Heritage Indiana: Why did the organization repeatedly identify Fishers as the site of its rally if the event ultimately took place somewhere else?

Until the organizers disclose the venue—or independent evidence establishes it—the most accurate conclusion is this: The rally occurred somewhere in central Indiana, but there is growing reason to doubt that it occurred in Fishers.

Fishers may have carried the public consequences of an event it never actually hosted.