Indiana News

Hoosier business leaders around the state are calling for Congress to pass the Equality Act that will extend anti-discrimination protections to LGBTQ+ people. 

Unions across Indiana rallied Friday to pressure Sens. Todd Young and Mike Braun into voting for pro-union legislation. The Protecting the Right to Organize, or PRO, Act has already passed a House vote, but doesn’t have enough support in the Senate.

Purdue University on Friday announced its first “Old Golden Ticket” recipient, who will receive a year’s free tuition to the university. 

In May, Purdue announced it would hold a tuition lottery for Purdue students who submit proof of vaccination.

The Tolson Community Center has served south-central Elkhart almost continuously for the last 30 years. This weekend, Tolson officials and alums are gathering to celebrate the community center’s past and offer an update on its future.

A former University of Notre Dame student has filed a lawsuit against the school seeking a refund on tuition and fees for the Spring 2020 semester after classes were moved online due to the pandemic.

A new school year starts for many Hoosier students in the next two weeks, as COVID-19 cases are on the rise. With schools updating their safety plans and many children not eligible for a vaccine, one expert is recommending parents take extra precautions.

Earlier this week, the South Bend Housing Authority’s former executive director was indicted on federal fraud charges, along with former employees and contractors. Now, officials and activists are calling for transparency within the organization. 

Hoosier lawmakers will host meetings across the state in early August to solicit public feedback on the state’s redistricting process.  

The U.S. Constitution requires states redraw district lines for the U.S. House of Representatives, state senates and state houses of representatives, by using population data collected in the decennial census.  

The meetings, in each of the state’s nine congressional districts, will be grouped geographically. The meetings will be held on Aug. 6, 7 and 11:

A federal labor board sided with an Indiana union Wednesday in a dispute over a display outside of a trade show in Elkhart. It signals government support for a classic labor protest symbol, known by many as Scabby the Rat.

Starting this fall, South Bend Community School Corporation teachers will work an additional 40 minutes on Tuesdays and Thursdays with no salary increase. The district approved the change in early July, arguing it needs the extra minutes to help improve student performance.

South Bend is holding a series of public meetings to plan the city’s 2022 budget, and there’s an extra focus on the nearly $59 million in federal dollars the city is getting from the American Rescue Plan Act.

The extra money is about one sixth of the city’s overall annual budget of nearly $350 million, and the city is holding three special public meetings on how to spend it:

After hitting pandemic lows for new COVID-19 cases, Indiana is seeing new spikes in infections. Wednesday was the second day in a row with more than 700 new cases reported – the highest since May 21. 

A 43-year-old Elkhart man wrongfully convicted in a 2002 murder case has been officially exonerated after the state granted a motion from the Elkhart County prosecutor to dismiss the charges on July 19.

A new coalition plans to expand and improve foster care services in the state. It launched a pilot program in Lake County to increase equitable recruitment of foster parents and support for foster families.

The number of Indiana counties in more serious color categories more than doubled this week on the state’s color-coded COVID-19 tracking map.

The Goshen city council voted at its July 20 meeting to annex about 160 acres of land southeast of the city, near County Road 36. 

Farmers’ optimism fell for a second month in a row showing rising concerns in farmland rental prices and input costs, such as seed, fertilizer and labor.

Several former South Bend Housing Authority employees, including its former director, are facing charges of wire fraud, bank fraud and more following a federal investigation.

U.S. Senate Democrats have proposed a clean energy standard that calls for getting the country’s electricity from sources that don’t emit — or can capture — their greenhouse gases by 2035. But that could be a tall order for a state like Indiana.