Indiana News

Gov. Eric Holcomb unveiled his priorities for the 2020 legislative session Tuesday, and one item on his education agenda has been on teachers’ minds for most of this year helping spur protests at the Statehouse – and it isn’t higher pay. 

Gov. Eric Holcomb will push next year to raise the minimum age to buy tobacco and vaping products from 18 to 21.

That initiative – which Holcomb calls "long overdue" – is part of his 2020 agenda, announced Tuesday. 

Health groups and the Indiana Chamber of Commerce have long pushed to raise the legal smoking age to 21, without luck. Holcomb says the sharp spike in vaping among young people helped convince him to push for the change now.

“It’s just horrifying to me that sixth graders are now vaping consistently, are addicted to nicotine,” Holcomb says.

A proposal from state workforce agencies would cut funding for classes that teach nutrition, personal finance, and other skills. It has many Family and Consumer Sciences teachers across the state worried.

Under the plan being considered by the Indiana State Board of Education, schools could still offer family and consumer science classes, but they’d no longer receive state funding for them. 

The federal government announced a push last year to end the HIV epidemic.  The virus, which was once a death sentence for many, can now be managed and prevented through medical advances, but it will take more than a pill to stop the spread of  HIV.

A one stop shop model aims to help close the gaps in care for Hoosiers.

Sam McHenry has been a volunteer at the Damien Center in Indianapolis for more than 20 years. 

Sales and marketing company Televerde celebrated the opening of its newest call center at the Madison Correctional Facility for women Friday. The company sees itself helping address the workforce shortage by preparing program participants and employees for professional careers after release.

Televerde trains and employs women while they are serving time to help provide opportunities after they leave the facility, with aims to reduce recidivism rates.

CEO Morag Lucey says with a growing workforce shortage, the company is tapping into an underutilized population.

Enrollment in teacher preparation programs has dropped significantly over the past decade. According to a new national report, Indiana has fewer than half of the candidates as it did in 2008.

Gov. Eric Holcomb will unveil his legislative and administrative agenda for 2020 Tuesday.

It’s likely to build on the themes Holcomb’s focused on throughout his term.

Speaking at a recent legislative conference, Holcomb said his agenda will incorporate the idea of “One Indiana” – that the state’s focus must be collaborative between not just urban hubs but also small communities.

“Connect this network of our port system, our rail system, our road system, internet system,” Holcomb says.

Budget cuts at the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and other state environmental agencies around the country are threatening public health. That’s according to a new report by the Environmental Integrity Project. 

The group, which advocates for better enforcement of environmental laws, looked at Indiana’s budget over the past decade. Its analysis shows that while overall state spending grew by 17 percent, IDEM’s budget was cut by 20 percent.

Indiana farmers can expect to see a plateau in farm income over the next decade, according to one agriculture expert.

With thin profit margins expected to continue into the coming decade, farmers may choose to consolidate farms or diversify their crops and livestock. Some may even take off-farm jobs, as have done in the past when the farm economy has been stagnant.

The state has approved the northern Indiana utility NIPSCO’s controversial rate increase. The utility will raise rates for residents while allowing industrial companies to buy potentially cheaper energy elsewhere. 

By March of next year, the average NIPSCO resident’s bill will go up by about $6 a month.

Even though that’s $5 less than the company had originally proposed, La'Tonya Troutman with the LaPorte County branch of the NAACP says it could have a big impact on low-income and minority residents.