The Indianapolis Star
Rise of rogue roofers gives contractors a bad name
The first person whom Beth Peters considered hiring to fix her roof showed up five hours late. The second came to inspect her house wearing pajama pants. So, when Charles Baldwin III came out to Peters’ southside Indianapolis home on time, dressed in...
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A BIG BLUE SWING
It was an Indiana election seemingly unlike any other in recent memory. • Indiana Republicans barely clung unto their House majority. Two Democratic statewide candidates, Beau Bayh and Jessica Bailey, won despite a 14-year dry spell for Democrats...
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Looking ahead to Indy mayoral race
As Democrats shift their focus from the midterm election to choosing a candidate for Indianapolis mayor in six months, Andrea Hunley unveiled a policy platform Nov. 5 with bold goals she hopes will set her apart from the pack. Among them: Make pre-K...
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State executes man convicted in murders of 2 young children
The Evansville man convicted of intentionally setting a Vanderburgh County house on fire in 2010 and leaving his then-girlfriend’s two young children inside to suffer and die was executed by the state of Indiana early Thursday morning. Jeffrey...
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Bayh breaks GOP grip
Democrat Beau Bayh has won the Indiana secretary of state race, breaking Republicans’ more than decade-long grip on statewide power. Republican Max Engling conceded the race around 11:30 p.m. on Nov. 3, giving Democrats their first statewide victory...
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Civics lesson
Chelsea Gustafson explains the process to her little one, Brecken Gustafson, as they vote at the Carmel Clay Public Library on Nov. 3 in Hamilton County. For complete election coverage and results, go to and
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It’s Election Day
After a grueling campaign season, it’s finally Election Day in Indiana. This year, the main event is the unusually competitive Indiana secretary of state race, though a bevy of school referendums, Indiana Statehouse races and congressional races are...
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A CHALLENGING ENVIRONMENT
Beech Grove City Schools superintendent Laura Hammack glowed at the attendance of about a dozen community members at a recent meeting to talk about the school referendum on voters’ ballots in the upcoming election. She said she would have been happy...
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Official business?
Indiana law says township trustees can use a government-owned vehicle only “for the performance of official duties.” At least three times in about six months, however, Pike Township Trustee Annette Johnson took a townshipowned SUV to events that...
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SNEAK PEEK
The Indianapolis Airport Authority is pumping $205 million into a Westin hotel that will be the first place to stay overnight at the Indianapolis International Airport — and the project is ahead of schedule with plans to wrap construction and welcome...
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‘Should not be competitive’
MUNCIE – If a blue wave is about to crest in the 5th Congressional District, it wasn’t evident at the sole early voting site in Delaware County, a working-class county with a penchant for political swings, on the morning of Oct. 28. There were...
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What rift in campaign donations reveals
In this year’s crowded Indianapolis Public Schools board races, a potentially decisive factor for voters could be whether or not candidates embrace a new state-mandated entity that has assumed key powers that once belonged to school board...
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‘Icing on a cake’
Gurdwara Sikh Satsang of Indianapolis has been crowned. More than five months after it opened on Southeastern Avenue off Interstate 74, four of the five golden domes have been installed on top of the gurdwara, the place of worship for Indianapolis’...
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Beyond ‘the hill and the valley’
On Monday, Oct. 5, IndyStar journalists traveled to Floyd County, Indiana, for the fourth stop on our second annual reporting tour to hear about what issues matter to Hoosiers. The following is a dispatch from that visit. NEW ALBANY, IN — It was...
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Endangered species lose some protection
Indiana wildlife from bats to birds to mussels will have less protection from habitat destruction following a federal rule changing a definition in the Endangered Species Act. The U.S. Department of the Interior and Department of Commerce in July...
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A device from Cook Medical was supposed to stop blood clots. Thousands are blaming the Indiana medical device maker for injuries
If it’s local you want, we’ve got it.
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Engling vs. Bayh
Incumbent Secretary of State Diego Morales and his controversies loomed large during the first two debates among the four candidates for that office. This time, it was the Democrat Beau Bayh and Republican Max Engling show. With just the two...
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REVIVING A HISTORIC THEATER
Sometime around the year 2000, east-sider James Taylor was walking down East 10th Street when he saw the front doors to the long-shuttered Rivoli Theatre standing open. He entered the auditorium, only to be shocked a moment later. “I was appalled to...
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Last go-around for secretary of state set
The final debate in Indiana’s competitive secretary of state race is set to be a tête-à-tête between Democrat Beau Bayh and Republican Max Engling, but Bayh is joining up with the two thirdparty candidates in the race to urge Fox59/CBS4 to include all...
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Winners and losers
The 2027 budget season began in August with Indianapolis City-County Council Democrats overriding Mayor Joe Hogsett’s veto to push through vehicle tax hikes that will generate new revenue for roads next year. Other than that, the subsequent two months...
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Spots from Ford, Spartz blast ‘radical record,’ stock trades
It’s no secret that the normally uncompetitive 5th Congressional District race has turned negative. Republican U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz has accused her opponent’s supporters of sign theft, threatened to sue her opponent over what she claimed was an...
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Audit confirms prison problems
A state audit at Indiana’s largest ICE detention center, spurred by an IndyStar investigation, has led to the recovery of thousands of dollars, the firing of a state contractor’s employee, and an inspector general investigation. The internal audit...
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Trial by voters
Republicans routinely blame Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears for crime. Can the GOP’s challenger defy the odds and beat Mears in the biggest local race on the ballot?
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WEATHERING THE STORM
Mark Williams raises his hand over his head when he describes the height of August’s flood at the Indy Art Center’s ArtsPark. The water had gulped all but the top of the whimsical “Twisted House.” It inched toward the eyes of John Andrew Spaulding’s...
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Giving wildlife an assist
Concrete and stonework created a deadly feature on the White River in Indy and stopped aquatic wildlife from freely traveling their home for more than 125 years, but the city is removing the Emrichsville Dam to let the river flow. The city of...
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PEDESTRIANS GET THEIR OWN SPACE
For years, conventiongoers have crowded the Georgia Street sidewalks as they spilled out of the Indiana Convention Center and onto the busy thoroughfare in search of dinner spots, their hotel room or brisk air outside. Not anymore. The western portion...
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Who gets the money
Looking around her neighborhood, Cierra Johnson, a community organizer in the Martindale Brightwood area, can quickly rattle off several social services that desperately need financial support. There are the public schools, workforce training, plus a...
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Racing against the clock
In the real estate world, original timelines for expensive projects often come and go, making construction at times feel infinite. With three months left in the year, several high-profile projects are slated to open in Indianapolis, as developers race...
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Trump uses federal power to boost GOP ahead of vote
WASHINGTON – Americans are seeing taxpayer-funded television ads promoting President Donald Trump, government checks are hitting nearly 1 million mailboxes across the country, and federal agents are scouring voting rolls as a midterm election marked...
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If it’s local you want, we’ve got it.
Anew collegiate rivalry is taking shape in Indianapolis. • Drivers and pedestrians heading west on Michigan Street from downtown can’t help but notice the reality of two universities living across the street from each other. Two glaring symbols face...
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Forum sees intense jabs, concrete ideas
After the second debate among the four candidates in Indiana’s competitive secretary of state race, one might still think incumbent Republican Diego Morales is running. He’s not. Democrat Beau Bayh, Republican Max Engling, independent Lincoln Party...
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Are you in or are you out?
Major League Soccer still wants a team in Indianapolis; Indianapolis still wants an MLS franchise and wants to build a new stadium near Lucas Oil Stadium by 2031; and the Indianapolis Colts are enthusiastically on board. That’s the latest news, some of...
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Crucial competitions
The elections for two Indiana Senate seats representing the suburbs north of Indianapolis are expected to be some of the most competitive this cycle. And the races appear to be crucial for ● Democrats who are hoping to break the supermajority that’s...
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A return to fiction
A back room in the halls of the Pike Performing Arts Center drowned in beloved young adult fiction books. Staffers scrambled to make sense of the piles of “Paper Towns,” the flurries of “The Fault in Our Stars,” the, well, abundance of “An Abundance of...
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Ties that bind
Noblesville tennis players Joey Beahrs, Finn Stallings and Luke Davidson clasped their rackets against their chests. It’s 6:43 p.m. Wednesday evening and they are standing on their home court for an interview, minutes before the pock sounds of tennis...
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INSIDE INDYSTAR Flood victims managing pain of recovery often isolate from attention
I spent the first weekend of the floods driving across Central Indiana, talking to Hoosiers who lived in or near the rising water. Many shocked by the immediate danger hadn’t yet begun to process the life-altering quality of a flood. But as my...
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‘Too polished’ or just right?
For most Hoosiers, the name Max Engling has been a recent addition to their political lexicon. But even after hitting the ground running after becoming the Republican nominee ● for Indiana secretary of state in June, Engling, 39, remains elusive for...
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The Bayh name is back
Even in a nondescript gray shirt and blue jeans at a crowded Purdue tailgate party, Beau Bayh draws eyeballs like a minor celebrity. Every few minutes, a stranger stammers: “BBeau! ● It’s Beau!” often with a finger pointed that Bayh envelops in a...
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Resourceful candidate
Lauri Shillings, Libertarian candidate for Indiana secretary of state, is no stranger to power tools. The 55-year-old Carmel resident can repair ● a car, replace tile, hang drywall and fix plumbing, though campaigning doesn’t leave much time for that...
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He thinks he can do it again in the Indiana secretary of state race
Greg Ballard’s preferred campaign mode is meeting with a small group of voters for at least an hour, because then there’s plenty of time to break down the game theory of his monkeywrench of a candidacy for Indiana secretary of state, answer everyone’s...
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‘Another level of pain’
Before she read the letter from the city, Erin Gates was preparing to rebuild her Ravenswood home that sustained extensive damage in the August floods. Now, she fears her best case scenario might be a bulldozer. Gates and her son, who lived in the...
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A season of red and gold
Leaf peeping season is nearly here and fall colors will soon appear on trees throughout Indiana. Early predictions show leaves could begin turning vibrant ● reds, yellows and oranges in the northern part of the state as early as Sept. 28 and then move...
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Circle City chills
Scariest movies, creepiest concerts and more haunted Halloween fun in the area
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IMPD chief: Flock audits to continue
“Our community should see that we are holding our people accountable when their actions violate policy or the law, and that no one, including our own, is above that standard.”
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5 IMPD police officers charged
Five Indianapolis police officers were charged with allegations of Flock camera misuse in what may be the nation’s biggest roundup of its kind, Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears announced. Over the past six weeks, the Indianapolis Metropolitan...
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THE NEED FOR REINVENTION
On Sept. 9, IndyStar journalists traveled to Brown County, Indiana, for the second stop on our second annual reporting tour to hear about what issues matter to Hoosiers. The following is a dispatch from that visit. NASHVILLE, IN – Brown County...
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BRINGING JOY
Tyrese and Jade Haliburton are standing nestled together, posing for a photo. They’re holding a big red heart with white letters that read: I said yes! But the two former college sweethearts were engaged in 2025 and they married in July. This “yes”...
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EPA rollback
The U.S. EPA is continuing its effort to repeal air quality regulations with proposals to rescind rules for power plant emissions, a move Indiana environmental advocates say strips the agency of its tools to combat climate change. The repeal, which...
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Judge denies suspension of Center Twp. constable
A judge denied an attempt to suspend Center Township Constable Kenneth Allen from office in a Sept. 18 court ruling, but the lawsuit alleging that Allen’s residency status should disqualify him from the role remains unsettled. On Sept. 18, Marion...
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IndyStar pop culture reporter connects with the community
It takes a staff of dedicated journalists to bring you the news from around Central Indiana. In this feature, the Indianapolis Star introduces readers to our newsroom staff – or, rather, we let them introduce themselves. Up this week is Heather...
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GIANT OF A SHOW
If you want to meet a different side of Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz, the side that came before their world-famous hits and collaborations, then start with the art they’ve collected. “Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys,”...
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Indiana residents: Lack of tree trimming made outages worse
First came a June tornado that tore a 61⁄2-mile path through northwest Indiana. About two months later, a summer derecho followed, and residents in the area were plunged into darkness in an outage that lasted nearly two weeks. But many say the true...
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Shifting control
The state of Indiana has moved one step closer toward managing its own coal combustion residuals program, the costly and complicated process of cleaning up the toxic residue that coalburning power plants leave behind when they burn coal to produce...
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Faculty speech issues climb at state schools
Indiana colleges saw an increase in complaints made about their professors’ classroom speech last year, according to university reports filed with the state. This was the second year in which public universities were required to host a portal to...
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From a ‘broken home’ to GOP star
It was only the second week of the 2025 Indiana legislative session, and Republican state Sen. Chris Garten’s Medicaid legislation had just been pummeled in committee testimony. One by one, advocates and medical association representatives warned of...
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Immigrant-owned restaurants in turmoil amid Indy ICE surge
Arturo Yanez Peza’s worst week as a restaurant owner didn’t come during the pandemic when he had to temporarily shutter his business, nor during any of the late-summer dry spells when his regular customers at Mr. Pulpo Marisquería flee Indianapolis for...
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Assistant sports editor looks beyond box score
It takes a staff of dedicated journalists to bring you the news from around Central Indiana. In this feature, the Indianapolis Star introduces readers to our newsroom staff — or, rather, we let them introduce themselves. Up this week is Aaron...
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‘HOT TICKET’
The long journey began in July 2025. Tickets for opening weekend of “The Odyssey,” a film ● directed by Christopher Nolan and one of the most anticipated movies of 2026, went on sale a whole year before the film released in theaters. Tickets sold out...
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A GENERATION OF AFTERSHOCK
Aquarter-century later, 9/11 still echoes. The worst terrorist attack in U.S. history has been followed by other seismic events, from a once-in-a-century global pandemic to the rise of artificial intelligence that is transforming commerce, education...
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The barometer for nation’s economy
On Aug. 25, IndyStar journalists traveled to Elkhart County, Indiana, for the first stop on our second annual reporting tour to hear about what issues matter to Hoosiers. The following is a dispatch from that visit. ELKHART – Brent Curry, 71, got his...
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Standing up for the rights of others
More than 130 people gathered in a parking lot across from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building on Woodland Drive on Sept. 5, protesting the agency’s presence after a wave of detentions in Indianapolis last week. Participants lined up...
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Access in danger?
Under the atrium at the Indianapolis Public Library, a woman is busily typing away on her laptop. Another patron seated at the Central Branch is charging their device while streaming music through earbuds as they read quietly between the stacks. Free...
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Church members lament loss of green space
First United Methodist Church leaders are weighing a sale of the church’s downtown lot between Third and Fourth streets to Chicago-based student housing developer Core Spaces for $8.8 million. Church leaders say the church, at 219 E. Fourth St., parts...
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NOTE TO READERS
We will not be printing a paper on Monday, Sept. 7, but will be providing it to you via the eNewspaper. You can always find the latest news on our website, mobile app, newsletters and social media. Subscribers can access the eNewspaper by going to our...
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Crowd gathers as city sees spike in agency activity, arrests
Protesters gathered outside the Hampton Inn adjacent to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Indianapolis amid reports of increased ICE arrests. The roughly 100 protesters used horns, whistles and chants late at night to keep the...
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Empty cars. Left behind tools. A shattered door.
A sister, frantic to find her brother. An observer shaken by what she was witnessing. A business left in shambles after a warrant was served. As ICE sightings piled across Indianapolis, the stories behind them started to come into focus even as...
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Troubling trend
People are increasingly relying on artificial intelligence in their personal and professional lives, and lawyers and litigants are no exception. Yet, one major limitation of the technology has fueled a growing concern in courts around the world,...
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Suit seeks constable’s ouster over residency
A new lawsuit seeks to oust Center Township Constable Kenneth Allen from office based on allegations that he’s breaking state law by primarily living outside of the township at his wife’s home. The Aug. 26 lawsuit filed by his political opponent...
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In critical condition
A mill that produced flour for a century, a hub for Black culture near Indiana Avenue and a pioneer village that tells the story of President Abraham Lincoln’s boyhood all face uncertain futures, according to a nonprofit organization that advocates for...
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‘Generational win’ for a local defense contractor
A Rolls-Royce factory powering U.S. Air Force operations will continue to provide thousands of jobs in the state for decades to come, thanks to the company’s $1 billion investment completed earlier this year. Not to be confused with the automaker of...
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Politics editor Lange to guide next chapter as news director
Kaitlin Lange will take over as IndyStar’s news director after more than two years of leading the media outlet’s award-winning Statehouse and politics team. Lange has been at the forefront of several efforts to expand IndyStar’s reach and serve more...
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Chreece to bring big global flavor
As concert concessions go, the 2026 Chreece Hip-Hop Festival will feature an unusually expansive menu thanks to the third annual Epicurean food festival, which will operate as part of Chreece on Aug. 29 in Fountain Square. The free-to-attend food...
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‘That office really needs stability’
The secretary of state’s race is usually a humdrum, quiet contest. Not this year – and the first official debate of the race showed that. The debate room at the Indy Chamber HobNob event, which is a social and networking event attended by a crowd of...
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U.S. Rep. Shreve plans to crack down on ‘chameleon carriers’
U.S. Rep. Jefferson Shreve wants to increase the safety of drivers on I-465 by cracking down on so-called “chameleon carriers” in the trucking industry and other bad actors he says are a threat to Indiana drivers. Shreve, a Republican who...
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Union leaders blame USPS overtime cuts for mail delays
Two local union leaders representing thousands of U.S. Postal Service workers say the federal postal service has dramatically cut back on overtime for Indianapolis postal workers in recent months, leading to days where some carrier routes don’t get...
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