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Voting in Indiana is not an easy process. Doing your civic duty requires optimism and nimbleness. There’s very little state voter education, and registration deadlines fall almost a month before the Nov. 3 election. We have one of the lowest voter turnout rates in the country because most races are not competitive…
Big-money contributions from out of state have poured fuel into this fall’s expensive campaign for Indiana secretary of state.
Fifteen years after agreeing to acquire a large swath of the former Newport Chemical Depot for conservation, Indiana is still working to complete the $10 transfer — and planning to manage the additional land without more money or staff. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources has not yet acquired the roughly 1,705…
Household water bills are increasing faster than inflation and income, according to a new analysis. The environmental advocacy nonprofit Food and Water Watch analyzed water bill data among the nation’s 500 largest community water providers. Those systems serve a collective 155 million people — nearly half the nation’s…
Scores varied widely in the analysis of reviews about public vehicle registration and driver's license offices.
The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration quietly paused determinations for disability Medicaid waivers in August to review how case managers were implementing the agency’s new interRAI assessment system, as advocates raised alarm about the tool’s accuracy. But after a break, the system is already back in…
President Donald Trump wants to sharply curtail mail ballots. He’s called them “inherently corrupt” and baselessly condemned them as a major source of fraud. But with Republicans falling behind in the polls, the president is now urging his supporters to vote in the midterm elections any way they can, including by…
Lincoln Party secretary of state candidate Greg Ballard picked up a notable endorsement Monday from former Lt. Gov. Sue Ellspermann. “I’ve always been about good governance, and that has to be the top priority, even above a party. It has to be about good people who will do the right thing for Hoosiers,” Ellspermann…
Indiana's Bureau of Motor Vehicles has sold more than 380,000 "blackout" license plates in the year since the minimalist design launched.
The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration shared internal estimates Monday showing 58,000 Hoosiers insured through the Healthy Indiana Plan are not in compliance with federal Medicaid work rules set to take effect next year. Estimates suggest as many as 12% of current HIP members are at risk of losing…
Indiana judges may soon have the ability to deny bail for more defendants they believe pose a danger to the public. Defendants are guaranteed the right to bail under the Indiana constitution except in cases of murder or treason — even when a judge believes the defendant may reoffend while awaiting trial. Hoosiers will…
Walk into almost any public library in Indiana, and you’ll find much more than just the books on the shelves. You’ll find reliable internet access, a place to escape the heat, and often, a staff member who has quietly become the first person to which a struggling neighbor turns. Librarians have become a mental health
State officials are planning to launch an anonymous tip line regarding safety concerns that will be available for all K-12 schools starting in January.
Kalshi, Polymarket and the Coalition for Prediction Markets have spent at least $3 million this year on lobbying and campaign contributions across the federal and state levels, according to a new report from the government watchdog group OpenSecrets. Prediction market platforms say they are like commodity markets that…
Political polls are backing up what extensive campaign advertising indicates — that the Indiana secretary of state race is tight as early voting starts next week.
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita sued current and former members of the state’s attorney disciplinary commission Thursday, alleging years of retaliation and asking a federal judge to block a demand that he answer an ethics grievance tied to his personal jet ski transaction. The 34-page complaint, filed in the U.S…
Indiana Gov. Mike Braun selected a new chief for public access requests and grievances, after months of complaints about his previous pick's responsiveness.
Indiana prison officials plan to proceed with Jeffrey Weisheit’s Nov. 5 execution after a botched lethal injection in Tennessee prompted that state’s governor to halt executions and order an independent review. The Indiana Department of Correction said Thursday that it remains confident in its procedures despite using…
Property taxes are a perennial thorn in the side of Indiana lawmakers. The state doesn’t receive any of the revenue, but legislators write the rules that infuriate citizens. Many residents agree on one thing: the assessment system for properties needs to be revamped. Hoosiers deserve some stability in these values…
Indiana is building additional interstate capacity where other states are focused on road maintenance or federal bridge funding.
President Donald Trump is scheduled to kick off a month-long blitz of campaign stops with a Thursday rally in deep-red Oklahoma before heading to other states with strong Republican leanings. The first events in the closing stretch of the midterm election campaign suggest his strength with swing voters is limited, as…
Children with autism learn to accomplish some of life’s most important skills through highly effective, evidence-based therapies like applied behavior analysis. I’ve seen it throughout my career, and it never becomes less remarkable to me. Seeing the profound impact that meaningful care can have on the life of an…
Denouncing political activity by Indiana’s top elections officer, secretary of state candidate Greg Ballard is calling for a ban on partisan actions by whoever holds the office.
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Republicans did not gain any support Wednesday from Democrats as they attempted to advance a bill that mashed together two hot-button midterm issues: requiring voter ID in federal elections and limiting stock trading for members of Congress. The Republican-led bill, titled the Stop Insider…
Gov. Mike Braun on Wednesday renewed Indiana's gas tax suspension for another 30 days — until early November — and issued a new order lifting restrictions on the sale of untaxed diesel fuel for semi-trucks operated by farmers and timber harvesters, citing continued disruption to global oil supply.
Black journalists on TV have had to think about their appearance on air in ways that other journalists do not. In August 2020, broadcast journalist Jalea Brooks knew she needed to have an uncomfortable conversation with her news director about her hair. She had been working in Montgomery, Ala. for nearly four years…
No Indiana retailers have been fined since the state banned the purchase of candy or soda using Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Administration said the agency has taken action 61 times this year against Indiana retailers for…
In the early months of 2022, Democrats in Congress came close to passing an appropriations bill that did not include a provision barring federal funding for abortions — maybe the closest it had ever come in more than 40 years. But those who wanted the Hyde Amendment included won the battle in the end. Three
WARSAW, Ind. — About 300 Hoosiers showed up Tuesday night in Warsaw to hear a pitch headlined by three high-ranking legislators about ending “property taxes on the home you live in.” Another dozen lawmakers also attended. The room also had local government officials worried about revenue cuts and homeowners worried…
NIPSCO defends storm outage performance as lawmakers crowdsource ideas for fixes next session.
Lawmakers want Hoosier farmers to be allowed to use off-road diesel fuel in their semi-trucks this harvest season to offset record diesel prices. The fuel, often called red or dyed diesel, is a tax-exempt version of diesel used by tractors, bulldozers, portable generators and other off-road equipment. State Rep. Jim…
Indiana’s governors are moving out of their offices — at least on canvas. Official gubernatorial portraits that have hung inside state offices or spent time in storage are being gathered for a long-term display in the Statehouse’s public hallways, giving visitors a chance to see the former Hoosier leaders without…
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has, once again, infuriated lawmakers from both political parties by using a controversial maneuver to cancel funding previously approved by Congress. The $810 million in the “pocket rescission” would have gone to refugee assistance programs at the Department of Health and Human…
Leaders talked about their bid for the academy before approving $5 million for a separate collaboration with Nvidia.
More than 10,000 expungement cases were filed in Indiana courts last year, continuing a decade-long rise in the number of people asking judges to restrict access to old arrests and convictions. Courts opened 10,156 expungement cases in 2025, up 52% from 6,660 in 2016, according to state court data obtained by the…
Many smart people have been spending time thinking about how state leaders might invest Indiana’s growing revenue and robust reserves. This is especially of interest as monthly revenue collections continue to outperform forecast estimates (revenues have exceeded estimates for the last ten consecutive months). We…
For more than 35 years, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has surveyed American high school students every two years about their health and behavior. The Youth Risk Behavior Survey, established in 1991, draws a nationally representative sample of students in grades 9 through 12 at public and private…
State officials say a $1 billion annual payment to an Indiana teacher pension fund won’t be needed within the next couple of years.
What do school referendums and data centers have in common? They are all unpopular but not all of them are bad. That’s why I hope Hoosiers consider each proposal on their individual merits instead of automatically opposing all of them. And there are key things you should think about when weighing the pros and cons…
Voters in nine states will weigh changes to their criminal legal systems and drug policies this fall. The Nov. 3 ballot measures include questions about pretrial release, fentanyl and human trafficking penalties, immigration enforcement, traffic cameras, drug cartels and marijuana regulation. The measures reflect a…
The project will unlock 2,000 to 4,000 megawatts of transfer capacity for an Indiana grid interconnection that Gov. Mike Braun dubbed a "choke point."
Indiana’s centuries-old paper trail — from the state’s original constitutions to governors’ correspondence and millions of agency records — is back downtown after a quarter-century in a temporary warehouse. State officials marked the opening of the new Indiana State Archives with a ribbon-cutting Thursday, celebrating…
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita filed a lawsuit against the Indiana High School Athletic Association in a bid to eliminate a race-based quota for the association’s board of directors, which reserves two of its 19 seats for minorities. The lawsuit, filed in Marion County Superior Court Wednesday, alleges the IHSAA…
Indiana businesses are experiencing what many homeowners have seen in recent years: dramatic jumps in the assessed values of their real property. In 2026, the statewide assessed value of all types of property is going up 9.7% compared to 2025. Residential property, which is just over half of the assessed value in…
The birth of Beau Bayh and his twin brother was headline news across Indiana in 1995 as the first children born to a current governor and first lady in more than a century. That hasn’t inoculated Bayh from political attacks over his Hoosier ties as he runs as the Democratic candidate for secretary of state,
State officials want to establish a second short-term residential facility to stabilize intellectually disabled adults who need temporary around-the-clock supervision, following the 2024 closure of a co-ed facility in Marion. The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration recently issued a request for proposals…
WASHINGTON — A vast and growing network of artificial intelligence-driven Flock cameras could violate constitutional privacy rights, U.S. senators on a Judiciary Committee subcommittee said during a Wednesday hearing. GOP Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, the chair of the Crime and Counterterrorism Subcommittee, said the…
Indiana officials don’t expect many more counties will be added to the 21 already approved for federal disaster aid from last month’s severe storms and flooding.
The two agencies often play conflicting roles in the rate cases that determine utility prices for most customers.
Dozens of Indiana’s public school superintendents say their districts will cut teaching and support staff in the coming years to contend with the financial fallout of property tax reform, according to a new survey from the Indiana Coalition for Public Education. This is the second year the volunteer advocacy group…
If you are having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for a list of additional resources. The mistrial in Lindsay Clancy’s murder trial earlier this month places her future in doubt, three years after she killed her three children…
A six-week advertising campaign launched Tuesday by the bipartisan group ReCenter Indiana features young Hoosiers going to vote and sharing their experience. It’s directed specifically at residents of Marion, Hamilton and Boone counties between the ages of 18 and 24. The videos were recorded in Lawrence, Carmel and…
The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration still doesn’t know who will qualify for a medical frailty exemption from the state’s forthcoming Healthy Indiana Plan work requirements, with just three months before the requirements take effect. Thousands of low-income Hoosiers insured through HIP, a Medicaid…
Medicaid enrollees from five states and leading medical organizations filed a lawsuit Friday challenging new Medicaid work requirements. The broad tax and spending law that President Donald Trump signed last summer, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, established work, school or community service requirements for…
WASHINGTON — The three news organizations that President Donald Trump has barred from entering the White House filed a lawsuit against the administration on Monday. CNN, MS Now and Politico wrote in a joint statement the suit is intended “to protect our First Amendment rights and defend the principle that the…
Two Indiana coal-fired generating plants scheduled to retire last year must remain available through December under renewed Trump administration orders, prolonging a dispute over the cost of keeping the aging facilities on the grid. The latest federal directives cover two units at NIPSCO’s R.M. Schahfer Generating…
Indiana’s new “bell-to-bell” ban on student cellphones in K-12 schools has made it easier for teachers like Andrew Biller to confiscate phones or send students to the principal’s office. The Anderson High School student publications advisor said few teachers in the past wanted to enforce the school’s “silent-and-away”…
Money matters. It opens opportunities, provides for experiences, and creates connections that — even if possible without it — invariably become much easier with it. Despite The Beatles proclamation that “money can’t buy me love,” nearly every political campaign and candidate in American politics knows the great impact…
WASHINGTON — The rare 2026 issue that draws huge support from Republicans and Democrats in Congress is the same one that’s mobilized many Americans: restrictions on giant data centers. The House has overwhelmingly passed legislation forcing state regulators to consider requirements that data centers absorb the cost of…
Our daughter called last week, and she was absolutely beside herself. She had just topped off her diesel-powered VW Jetta. It cost $42 for not even half a tank. As a young woman working and living independently, her rising fuel costs have her in panic mode. Diesel has surpassed $6 a gallon for the first
A dispute over Duke Energy Indiana's natural gas plant now threatens the concept of associational standing in Indiana.
The rest of the increase is scheduled to take effect in January, despite the pending case.
Students ages 12 to 18 experienced higher rates of reported crime at school than away from school in 2024, according to a new federal analysis. But the overall rate of crime victimization at school has not changed significantly since 2014. The rate of total victimization, including theft and nonfatal violent crimes…
The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration will begin issuing additional Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefit replacements to Hoosiers in 19 counties whose food perished in power outages on Aug. 11. The U.S. Department of Agriculture approved the agency’s request Thursday to replace SNAP…
Indiana’s state agency for business recruitment will soon have its third leader since Gov. Mike Braun took office early last year.
The first $1 million in state disaster aid for Hoosiers impacted by August storms has been sent out the door — either through paper checks or direct deposits. In all, $1.7 million for about 260 homes was approved as of Wednesday by the Indiana Department of Homeland Security. From there, the Indiana Comptroller’s…
Several mothers vented anger over court-ordered interventions regarding their children, with some on Wednesday urging Indiana lawmakers to establish additional oversight.
WASHINGTON — As the November midterms approach, vulnerable U.S. House Republicans voted late Tuesday to require congressional approval for President Donald Trump to continue his war in Iran. Seven Republicans broke ranks and joined all Democrats to pass a War Powers Resolution sponsored by Rep. Seth Moulton, a…
Andy Zay rejected allegations he misspent campaign money — and said he settled because he didn't have the time or money to continued the lawsuit.
Officials insisted that state control over disposal permits for toxic coal byproducts will be better for public health and the environment.
WFYI newscaster and reporter Samantha Horton remembers how hard it was to establish her journalism career in Indiana. A former college athlete, she wasn’t daunted by the long hours, but says the low pay and sudden schedule changes were tough to manage. “I lived with roommates and, at times, worked a second job to have
WASHINGTON — The cost of U.S. military operations in Iran has exceeded $40 billion and the war will continue to cost taxpayers between $2 billion and $3 billion per month, according to an analysis released Tuesday by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. The ongoing bombing campaign, which President Donald…
Jeffrey Weisheit’s bid to avoid execution is headed to the Indiana Parole Board, which has scheduled October hearings on his request to avoid the death sentence imposed for killing two children in 2010. The Indiana Parole Board received the application and issued a hearing notice Tuesday, less than two months before…
The Indiana State Board of Finance on Tuesday approved its third round of reimbursements to local governments for losses incurred during the state’s gas tax suspension. The three-member board unanimously approved roughly $139 million in reimbursements from the State Highway Fund to replace July revenue from Indiana’s…
An image of a sunglasses-wearing Abraham Lincoln will appear near the top of Indiana election ballots this fall. That is the emblem submitted by the Lincoln Party to appear in the section for voters choosing to cast straight-ticket ballots — even though the newly formed party’s only candidate is Greg Ballard running…
Our newsroom doesn’t take democracy for granted, and we hope you don’t either. This story is part of an international celebration called Democracy Day, to remind us all to value our democracy and work to protect it. Below you will learn about the legislative process to turn a bill into a law. Be sure to
This Democracy Day, learn about the mechanics of voting and what each of the three branches of Hoosier government do.
WASHINGTON — Both chambers of Congress return to Capitol Hill this week for a brief session before heading back to the campaign trail until mid-November. The House will be in for one week and the Senate for three, giving Republicans little time to enact any laws or confirm nominees before voters decide whether to give
Two Indiana coal-burning power plants remain open under an order from the Trump administration. But a federal appeals court ruling could change that in the future. The U.S. Department of Energy has repeatedly extended the lifespan of coal plants in five states, arguing the electricity generated at the facilities is…
Political observers are predicting a big year for Democrats in congressional elections. This is expected given the dynamics of midterm loss, where the president’s party loses seats in Congress in non-presidential election years. This has been the pattern in all but two elections going back to 1938. Common explanations…
Amid fierce customer pushback to high electricity bills and increasingly frequent hikes, Indiana officials are reconsidering utility risks, profits and key charges in a bid to bring prices down — ahead of a major regulatory transition.
Cerina Fairfax, a Virginia dentist and mother of two, spent nearly two years living in the same house as her husband while she was trying to divorce him. Virginia state law required couples with children, like the Fairfaxes, to wait a year before being allowed to file for divorce. Cerina’s husband, former Virginia Lt…
The first television ad from Republicans in this year’s Indiana secretary of state race is an all-out attack on Greg Ballard’s time as the Republican mayor of Indianapolis.
Eleven Indiana counties hit by severe storms in August are eligible for state and federal assistance to reimburse a majority of debris removal costs as part of the federal major disaster declaration. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will reimburse 75% of eligible debris removal costs in Delaware, Fayette…
What a delight the current secretary of state race is. It has everything that a quality election contest should have — most importantly, open and accessible candidates. No one is hiding from constituents or ducking media interviews. And Hoosiers have four genuinely good choices. In reverse alphabetical order, to mix…
State officials want to see more Hoosier students earn college credits or career certifications before they graduate high school. Indiana leads the nation for students finishing at least one college class in high school, but many students are just one or two classes shy of earning a credential upon graduation. Others…
Twenty-five years after 9/11, the surveillance infrastructure built and expanded in its aftermath has become part of a far larger digital ecosystem — producing tools that can collect and analyze information on a scale unimaginable in 2001. The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, did more than reshape the nation’s…
Indiana Republicans say they’re starting a statewide advertising campaign to boost secretary of state candidate Max Engling — a month after Democratic nominee Beau Bayh’s ads first hit the airwaves.
Voting rights groups challenging Indiana's citizenship verification statutes as discriminatory have less than a month to refile their complaint after a federal judge on Thursday dismissed it.
The Indiana Supreme Court on Thursday declared state Sen. Spencer Deery as a three-vote Republican primary winner over a President Donald Trump-endorsed challenger.
The attorney general’s office urged Indiana’s highest court Thursday to dismiss a religious freedom challenge to the state’s near-total abortion ban, arguing that women who are not pregnant or seeking abortions have brought their case too soon. But Indiana Supreme Court justices questioned whether women should have to…
State Treasurer Daniel Elliott is making $50 million available immediately for communities hit hard by last month’s wind and flooding damage. Cities, towns, counties, townships, schools, libraries and municipal utilities with damage to public infrastructure or facilities from a natural disaster can apply for up to $1…
Former two-term governor, Purdue University president and possible presidential contender Mitch Daniels’ new book — “Impatience is a Virtue: A Life Where the Buck Stops” — hits shelves Sept. 15. “From the White House to the boardroom of Eli Lilly and Company to Indiana’s Governor’s Office to the presidency of Purdue…
Indiana officials are increasingly looking to employers for help tackling the state's childcare shortage, but a tax credit remains unused.
The country’s two largest school districts — New York City and Los Angeles — banned most student use of artificial intelligence in classrooms for this school year as anxiety over AI’s effect on learning intensifies. The Los Angeles Unified School District announced last week that it is barring student use of…
The greatest risk to secure voting in Indiana is a lack of sufficient training for county election workers, secretary of state candidate Greg Ballard said in proposing a standardized statewide training program.
A Dubois County man accused of sending threatening messages to Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith was sentenced Tuesday to nearly a year of probation after pleading guilty to felony intimidation. Joshua Wasson, 25, of Jasper, pleaded guilty in Dubois Circuit Court to one Level 6 felony count of intimidation and misdemeanor…
Indiana State Police is seeking nearly $30 million in federal funding for surveillance technology, vehicles and investigative tools that would bolster the agency’s work with federal immigration authorities. Hoosier law enforcement officials applied in July for funding through the U.S. Department of Justice’s fiscal…
Indiana is still waiting for a definitive answer from the Chicago Bears on their new stadium plans even as Hoosier drivers on the Indiana Toll Road prepare for another rate hike and $300 million sits unused in an account. Lawmakers in February directed the Indiana Finance Authority to negotiate an amendment to the…
WASHINGTON — Canada’s retaliatory tariffs on American goods kicked in Tuesday, escalating a trade war with one of the largest U.S. trading partners that President Donald Trump continued to antagonize over the holiday weekend. Trump posted an AI-generated cartoon image of himself Sunday evening in which he is depicted…