The Indianapolis Star
‘Do not let this opportunity slip away’
Indiana lawmakers are advancing legislation to address some of the circumstances surrounding the death of Fishers teen Hailey Buzbee, including reviving language that would require parental consent for young people to have social media. “This is a...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Who’s running for Indy’s 3 IN Senate seats?
Three Indiana Senate seats that represent portions of Indianapolis and its neighboring communities are up for grabs, with no incumbents running in this year’s election, and the filing deadline for candidates vying to fill the seats has now passed. The...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Indiana lawmakers: Keep elections under state control
Indiana legislative leaders aren’t on board with President Donald Trump’s suggestion that Republicans nationalize elections, instead reaffirming the role of the state in election administration. Speaking at the Oval Office on Feb. 3, Trump suggested...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
VANISHED
Shannon Marie Sherrill was shy, quiet and was not one to talk to strangers. She never liked leaving her father’s side. She never just wandered off alone without telling her mother. • Yet, on a warm fall afternoon, while playing hide-and-seek with other...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Indiana Republicans work to collaborate with TPUSA
Indiana Republican leaders are working to mint a partnership with late conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s youth organization, Turning Point USA, that would strive to start chapters in every school and punish those who block their creation. Turning...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
CHANGE ON THE WAY
Before its centennial anniversary next year, the Madam Walker Legacy Center on Feb. 4 unveiled plans to finish a new $1.2 million rooftop venue this spring that will overlook the cityscape. The center held what it called a “skybreaking” as it gets...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Those who knew Buzbee recall life of ‘wonderful young woman’
Hailey Buzbee was excited about attending college and following her passions. The 17-year-old was a hard worker in every sense of the word, and she left a comforting impression on people who met her, even if they were meeting her for the first and only...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
North Central students walk out in ICE protest
Cate Charron, Cindi Andrews and Jade Jackson Hundreds of North Central High School students participating in an anti-ICE walkout spilled onto 86th Street in northern Indianapolis on Feb. 2 in an initially chaotic scene. Dozens of drivers passing by...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Attorney: Body of Fishers teen believed found in OH
The body of a missing Fishers teenager is believed to have been found in central Ohio, according to the attorney for a person of interest in her death. Sam Shamansky, the attorney for 39year-old Tyler Thomas, said on Feb. 2 that authorities believe...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Homeless shelters packed amid latest Indy cold snap
Plodding through the snow alongside a road that overlooks the White River, two police officers stepped over a guardrail toward the tent of a man who worried his toes had succumbed to frostbite. “You’re sure you don’t want me to call you an ambulance?”...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
See our Hoosiers Tootball coverage
A local developer gained approval last week to build a boutique Hyatt hotel in a blighted area near the Monon Trail and 30th Street, where a master redevelopment plan is slowly coming together after years of delays and lagging momentum. Monon...
Read Full Story (Page 2)
‘We’re very concerned’
Yes, Homeland Security was in Indianapolis this week. No, not that one. A rumor that proliferated across many Indianapolis residents’ social media pages in recent days may have arisen over confusion between similarly named state and federal...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Bill OK’ing execution by firing squad fails
Kristine Phillips and Kayla Dwyer Efforts to legalize execution by firing squad in Indiana are stalled after the House failed to pass legislation that would allow condemned prisoners to be gunned to death. But it’s not completely off the table...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Senate passes transgender bathroom bill
Schools could be penalized for failing to stop transgender students from using restrooms or locker rooms that match their gender identity under a bill that passed the Indiana Senate on Jan. 27, the latest in a flurry of legislation targeting...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Snow day finds few Hoosiers braving the bitter cold
With most IndyStar journalists snowed in Monday just like our readers, we checked out our neighborhoods to see what hardy souls we might find outside despite a wind chill temperature of -18 degrees and close to a foot of snow on the...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Plows and residents dig out Indy
After the worst winter snowstorm in a more than a decade hit Central Indiana over the weekend, much of the region focused on bundling up Monday and digging out from under a foot of snow. The National Weather Service of Indianapolis reported a total of...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Eagle Creek faces risk
Indiana’s billion dollar plan to supply water to Boone County’s LEAP district, a region with limited water resources, has been mired in controversy since its conception. Citizens Energy now plans to ship up to 25 million gallons a day from the...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
ENERGY COSTS HIT HOME
Sophie Hartley and Karl Schneider Lindsay Trameri spent a good chunk of Thanksgiving weekend hauling fiberglass insulation pads into the attic of her small home in Irvington. After a couple of trips to Menards and some tight squeezes through a small...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
The biggest events coming to Indianapolis in 2026
With several attendance records broken and new hotel rooms added to the city, Indianapolis continues to pride itself on being one of the top destinations for conventions. At this point, Indy runs like a well-oiled machine for large events, drawing in...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
A CLEAN SLATE
First came Kyle Walker. Then J.D. Ford. Now Andrea Hunley. That makes for three state senators from the Indianapolis area all deciding not to run for reelection to the Indiana General Assembly in 2026, meaning three open seats with no incumbents that...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Area, state leaders at odds over housing affordability solution
Local and state leaders are at odds over how to mitigate Indiana’s housing affordability problems, as Gov. Mike Braun and lawmakers push legislation that would limit cities’ ability to restrict duplexes and other dense development in residential...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
IU-phoric
The confetti flying around Hard Rock Stadium is crimson and cream, and so is the 2025 college football national champion as the pro-Indiana football crowd celebrates the Hoosiers’ 2721 victory over Miami in the College Football Playoff championship...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
What Indianapolis police, activists want in new chief
Whoever takes the helm of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department will be coming in on years of steadily reduced violent crime, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be significant challenges. IndyStar spoke with dozens of people with close ties...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
‘Dad would be so jacked’
Pat Knight can see his dad with that proud smirk on his face, giving a firm handshake to coach Curt Cignetti, telling him what an incredible job he’s done leading Indiana University football to an undefeated season and a chance at a national title. ●...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Braun lays out an agenda for his 2nd year in office
Gov. Mike Braun is putting on record the key issues he wants to address in 2026, his second year in office. Many of these pillars he touched on in his second State of the State address on Jan. 14. A number of them reflect his support for what the...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
‘The last straw for IPS’
An effort to transform Indianapolis public education brewing in the Indiana Statehouse would weaken the Indianapolis Public School Board and transfer significant power to an independent entity controlled by the Indianapolis mayor. To many of the...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Police chief: Safety key to new city post
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Chief Chris Bailey says he didn’t see his new job coming. He expected to remain police chief through the rest of Mayor Joe Hogsett’s third term, digging into IMPD’s core issues as part of a new five-year...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Indy crowd rallies against ICE after Good shot, killed
One night after a federal agent fatally shot a 37-year-old woman in Minneapolis, hundreds gathered in Monument Circle both to mourn her death and to call for an end to the presidential administration’s aggressive anti-immigration tactics. The...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Judge rejects sentence reduction for Pender
A Marion County judge rejected a request from Sarah Jo Pender, a woman once likened to a murderous cult leader from the 1960s, to modify her 110year prison sentence so that she can be released. The ruling by Marion Superior Court Judge Kevin Snyder...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
‘We’re stepping backwards’
The Trump administration has steered the federal agency tasked with protecting human health and the environment in an unusual direction over the last 12 months: The Environmental Protection Agency has deregulated and delayed swaths of industrial rules...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Marijuana, future of IPS likely topics for lawmakers
After mid-decade redistricting sucked up considerable oxygen, it sounds like there will be less breathing room for other issues during the 2026 legislative session, which restarts Jan. 5. The meat of the session began early, as lawmakers met for two...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
A STATEHOUSE DIVIDED
Of the wide swath of business the Indiana legislature tackles each session, only a small percentage is controversial. An even smaller slice will sow divisions in the Republican party, like over abortion or gaming. But the lifecycles of these rifts are...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Indiana residents fight to feel heard against data centers
Andrew Filler first learned about a data center proposed for the cornfield directly across the street from his home when he opened his mail. That was February. Since then, Filler quickly became a local activist who corralled hundreds to oppose and...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
No taxes on servers’ tips could be costly for Indiana
Madison Potts, a 26-year-old server at The District Tap in downtown Indianapolis, often dreads the approaching tax filing deadline each April. It’s in some ways a game of roulette: Will she owe $1,000 in taxes on her tips, or $6,000? And if it’s more...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
IN MEMORIAM
Over the past year, Indiana lost a number of Hoosiers who broke boundaries, made waves and contributed to the state’s identity. Among them were philanthropists who changed the cityscape, star athletes and coaches who passed along their wisdom,...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
‘We still craft our own destiny’
Gov. Mike Braun is about to wrap his first year in office coming off a redistricting push that ultimately fell apart in the Senate and made Indiana the only Republican-led state to defy President Donald Trump’s wishes. ● Redistricting is the issue that...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Changes under Braun law leave all sides unhappy
There’s a saying in public policy that you’ve done something right if you make everyone a little mad. That’s the definition of compromise. That’s by and large how Gov. Mike Braun assesses the end result of his property tax relief bill, his first major...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
If 2025 seemed like a lot, IndyStar has receipts to prove it
What a year. Who could have imagined at this time last year the Pacers going to the NBA finals or Indiana Republicans defying President Donald Trump? Roundups of the year’s top stories are a longstanding tradition in newspapers — one created, no...
Read Full Story (Page 2)
‘Once-in-a-lifetime opportunity’ Preparing for the Rose Bowl parade
TThe 230-member Sound of Brownsburg will step into that turn on New Year’s Day as the only Indiana high school band participating in the 137th Rose Parade. The group will join the Indiana University Marching Hundred, whose football team scored a Rose...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
‘Sometimes it’s really hard’
It’s not uncommon for Stephanie Jackson to lose work hours to get her kids to school. It’s a 20-minute drive from Greenwood to the Riverside neighborhood northwest of downtown Indianapolis to get her youngest daughter to school each day. And her older...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Neighbors help with ‘something magical’
The Christmas lights outside Lorie Graves’ home went up in August this year. The 50-year-old mother and grandmother was known for setting up at least three Christmas trees inside her Waterstone of Carmel house, baking sweet treats for her neighbors...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Finding ‘the right path’
As Brian Wagaman drives his tow truck around Indianapolis, strangers shout in recognition. Wagaman — who goes by Wags — is hard to miss with his electric green beard. The Martinsville native told his TikTok audience in 2021 that he’d dye his facial...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Data center boom stirs opposition to big tech
Three years ago, the St. Joseph County Council welcomed an Amazon hyperscale data center to Northern Indiana with open arms, capitalizing on a company that wanted to spend $11 billion and create high-paying jobs in Northern Indiana. But the welcome...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
DATA CENTRAL
Alec Willis moved to Monrovia, Indiana, weeks before learning he would soon have a new neighbor: a 390-acre Google data center campus that will require twice the electricity of all Indianapolis households combined when operational, according to a...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Citizenship delays escalate once again
Eighty-three people slowly shuffled along the walls of the Indiana War Memorial and Museum, waiting for an assistant of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services to confirm their eligibility to take the oath of allegiance to the United...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Indianapolis home built in 1820 could be yours
When Katherine Martin, 31 and Devon Ross, 32, moved into 1020 Palmer St. in 2018, they were the first residents to call the house a home in several years. They felt a huge responsibility; they were moving into the oldest house in Indianapolis, built in...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Kids offer ‘beautiful’ climate fix solutions
Some of the kids who attend Earth Charter Indiana’s summer camps do so because they want to learn more about animals, sustainability or the environment. More than a few are also anxious about the changing climate. Others arrive on the first day because...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
A weak La Niña could linger through January
The La Niña conditions remain weak, according to federal forecasters, but the phenomenon still has a say in what kind of weather Hoosiers will see this winter. The National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center issued an advisory Dec. 11...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Indiana was the only red state to defy Trump on redistricting. Why?
In the wake of Indiana Republicans’ resounding rebuke of President Donald Trump’s redistricting plea, two very distinct philosophies of the reasons why are emerging. Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith articulated one in a lengthy X post the morning after: In...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Indiana’s redistricting debate was unlike any I’ve ever covered
I’ve covered Indiana politics for almost a decade and can usually predict how a vote is going to turn out. But this past week, as I holed up in the IndyStar’s press “shack” in the Statehouse basement waiting for the redistricting fight to unfold, I...
Read Full Story (Page 2)
Monumental rebuke of Trump administration Indiana lawmakers reject mid-decade redistricting push
In a monumental rebuke of President Donald Trump’s wishes, Indiana’s supermajority Republican state legislature became the first to formally reject his push for mid-decade redistricting. The Senate’s 19-31 vote caps months of anticipation and pressure...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Convicted killer receives support from victim’s son
There were six bodies, but Tracy Pace remembers seeing only four caskets. One for the woman and one for her husband. The couple had four young children; two shared one casket and another two shared the other. Pace does not remember much else about...
Read Full Story (Page 1)