Amy Drake

St. Joseph County prosecutors say Gloria Niedbalski committed felony identity deception Dec. 9 when she pretended to be County Council member Amy Drake's elderly neighbor in a call to the Department of Child Services. Niedbalski has bonded out of jail and on Monday she resigned from the county's Property Tax Assessment Board of Appeals.

A St. Joseph County Superior Court magistrate Tuesday agreed with prosecutors to set a higher-than-standard bond for Republican appraiser Gloria Niedbalski, citing the seriousness of her alleged crime.

St. Joseph County Council member Amy Drake says the county gave Amazon too many incentives and tax breaks for its data center near New Carlisle, so she's glad Microsoft won't seek a property tax abatement when it starts building a data center near Granger this year.

The Indiana House on Monday passed a bill to give local communities 1% of state sales tax that data centers are exempted from, while eliminating the public rezoning process that a growing number of communities have used to stop data centers.

Republican County Council member Amy Drake says someone sent Department of Child Services investigators and several county police officers to her Granger home at 2 a.m. for a welfare check. She wants DCS and police to investigate and prosecute the caller.

On the St. Joseph County Council, Democrats say businesses that receive property tax breaks should use mostly local firms to build projects while Republicans say the county's abatement process is too complicated and cumbersome for businesses.

St. Joseph County council members clash over a proposed update to the county’s tax abatement policy, debating timing, transparency, and how simple it should be.

A proposal to build a 275-foot financial tower in Clay Township has been withdrawn after months of neighborhood opposition and waning political support.

A delay on a proposed 275-foot telecommunications tower in Clay Township is giving nearby residents more time to organize before it returns to the agenda next month.