Indiana News

Indiana health officials say they’re working on multiple fronts to help counter COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among Hoosiers.

As Hoosiers wait to find out whether the governor will cut off extra federal unemployment benefits, Republican legislative leaders say it’s time to get the system back to the pre-pandemic normal.

Following new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control, the St. Joseph County Health Officer Dr. Robert Einterz has rescinded the county's public health order, which required face masks in most enclosed public spaces.

Indiana opened registration to all Hoosiers 16 and older on March 31. Following federal approval, the state expanded eligibility to Hoosiers 12 and older on May 13.

An external review on the death of a Black woman doctor found the “medical management and technical care” she received from Indiana University Health did not contribute to her death. But the review also found a lack of empathy and compassion in the delivery of her care, according to a news release from IU Health Wednesday. 

Indiana is sending doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to counties without it, in preparation for federal approval of that vaccine for 12- to 15-year-olds.

Two charter schools are competing to buy an elementary building in South Bend under a controversial Indiana law that forces districts to sell or lease closed schools for $1.

Former Indiana Gov. Oliver P. Morton (R) ran the state himself from 1863 to 1865 after the Democrat-controlled General Assembly attempted to stymie his executive powers. Photo circa 1860-1865. (Wikimedia Commons)

On Monday, the Republican-dominated General Assembly overrode Gov. Eric Holcomb’s veto of a law that strips emergency powers from local health officials.

Restaurants that were temporarily able to sell alcohol for carryout during the pandemic get to do so permanently after June.

The Indiana Department of Health will expand vaccine eligibility to 12- to 15-year-olds starting Thursday, pending recommendation from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

UPDATE: Three more teachers at Concord High School were placed on admnistrative leave during the district's investigation into sexual comments made by a CHS teacher. The district has begun the termination process for that teacher.

(Read more in the school's release.)

Late Monday night, May 10, the Concord Community Schools Police Department obtained court-issued search warrants as part of the investigation into teacher Andrew Cowells’ conduct last week. 

The South Bend Common Council revised its goals for hiring minority- and women-owned contractors on Monday. That’s after an error was discovered last year in the disparity study that helped set the council’s original goal.

Members of the local Black Lives Matter chapter opposed the changes, saying the existing program had not been implemented well enough and that the new ordinance would be even harder to enforce.

A former northwest Indiana union official was recently sentenced to more than four years in prison for extortion after an assault on non-union workers. It started when members of a local union found out work was being done without union workers in their area.

Officials with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources announced last week that tularemia had been identified in the bodies of wild cottontail rabbits found dead near Middlebury. 

Tularemia, also known as "rabbit fever," is a bacterial disease that can affect dozens of species of animals but is especially common in rabbits. While it is extremely rare, Tularemia can infect humans. 

The Elkhart County Health Department has announced several COVID-19 vaccination clinics over the next month, the first of which will be held tomorrow: 

May 11 (Tuesday)

Indiana surpassed 13,000 confirmed COVID-19 deaths Sunday. The state’s rate of newly reported deaths has continued its exponential slowdown since the state began vaccine distribution.

Advocates for older Hoosiers say while Indiana nursing homes have emerged from the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are still ongoing issues that can’t be ignored.

The Indianapolis Black Lives Matter group, Indy 10, held a memorial rally on Monument Circle Saturday.