News
New life for old coal: Minelands and power plants are hot renewable development spots
PETERSBURG, Ind. — AES Indiana’s Petersburg Generating Station, which towers over the White River here in southwest Indiana, has been burning coal to generate electricity since the late 1960s. That era, though, will come to an end soon. Two of the power plant’s four coal-burning units have already retired and the last is planning to […]
Holcomb releases five-dozen videos promoting Hoosier attractions
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb and Imagine Indiana — a nonprofit that promotes Indiana — recently released 62 videos touting the state’s top attractions. Dubbed, “All Around Indiana,” the project features a buffalo preserve, caves, parks, racing, sandhill crane migration and more — plus, a variety of industries. Holcomb narrates the videos. The project, Holcomb said, is […]
DCS annual staffing report nearly 100% statewide
Staffing levels for family case managers meet 99% of the need statewide, according to the annual staffing and caseload report from the Department of Child Services (DCS), but some areas of the state face a greater need than others. “Some of the most integral among the agency’s staff members are family case managers (FCMs). FCMs […]
Cursive makes a comeback — by law — in public schools
In 2016, California Democratic state Assembly member Sharon Quirk-Silva sat with then-California Gov. Jerry Brown at an event where he signed baseball-type cards featuring the image of his dog, Colusa. But many of the recipients of the cards couldn’t read his cursive signature, Quirk-Silva recalled, much to the Democratic governor’s dismay. “The governor asked me […]
Statehouse dome closed to tours
A structural engineering study completed in January 2023 quietly closed the iconic dome of the Indiana Statehouse to tours last year due to safety concerns, according to the Indiana Department of Administration (IDOA). The dome, which has its own lapel pin, is one of the most celebrated parts of the Statehouse and includes 256 panels […]
Indiana abortions drop steeply after ban goes into effect — but don’t hit zero
Indiana abortions plummeted to low double-digits after a near-total ban went into effect over the summer, according to data from the state’s health department. Abortion clinics stopped providing the procedures August 1, although the ban officially took hold on August 21. The law, which strips clinics of their licenses, includes several narrow exceptions: for the […]
Indiana Supreme Court rules in favor of Ball State University in COVID class action case
The Indiana Supreme Court on Wednesday sided with the state legislature over a Ball State University student who wants a refund for his pandemic-interrupted classes in early 2020. The 5-0 decision made three key findings: The law passed by the Indiana General Assembly in 2021 barring class action COVID-19 suits doesn’t violate constitutional separation of […]
Jury finds Senate candidate’s family-owned company price gouged eggs
An Illinois jury found on Tuesday that several companies, including one co-owned by a U.S. Senate candidate from Indiana, conspired to restrict the supply of eggs to drive up the prices. Rose Acre Farms Inc. — previously chaired by John Rust, who is running to succeed U.S. Sen. Mike Braun — Cal-Maine Foods Inc. and […]
Lawmakers to revisit reading proficiency, holding back third-graders
Too many Hoosier third-graders can’t read at an appropriate skill level — and some shouldn’t be going on to fourth grade, Indiana lawmakers said Tuesday during the ceremonial start to the legislative session. They’re also planning to tackle student truancy, antisemitism and more during the non-budget session, which will begin in earnest Jan. 8 and […]
Reliability v. sustainability: Inside the debate over the EPA’s proposed carbon rules
Electric reliability has been a hot topic lately — from congressional hearings to regulatory agencies and at the regional transmission organizations that run the electric grid in much of the country. The American electric grid is undergoing a major change, prodded by state and federal decarbonization policies, market forces pushing cheaper and cleaner forms of […]
Less ‘aggressive’ legislative session coming, Statehouse leaders say
Moderate your expectations for the next legislative session, say Indiana’s lawmaking leaders: more tweaks and fine-tuning, and fewer overhauls. They’re not taking on gambling expansions, water fights or costly initiatives during the shorter non-budget session, which begins in January and must end by mid-March. “We’ve had three aggressive sessions — three years, in which we’ve […]
Braun weighs in on gubernatorial competitors, governing
In 2018, Mike Braun was a political outsider who used his considerable wealth as the founder and CEO of Meyer Distributing to fund an underdog campaign to defeat incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly. After just one term in Congress, Republican Braun decided to step back from federal government and return to his home state […]