Latest news with #ChecksandBalances
Indianapolis Star
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Indianapolis Star
A different kind of race
President Donald Trump will not be among the 300,000-plus fans at the Indy 500 on Sunday, but we asked our local and statewide elected officials about whether they plan to be at IMS for the race. Here's what we found about Gov. Mike Braun, Mayor Joe Hogsett and more. If you're like me and have no plans on Sunday, keep an eye on for coverage of all things race day from our colleagues who will be at the track. -Brittany Forwarded this newsletter from a friend? Sign up for Checks and Balances here. Among the other last-minute higher-education oversight provisions slipped into the state budget this year is a provision that could eliminate more than half of the bachelor's degrees offered at Indiana's public colleges and universities. Education institutions that don't meet program size quotas will now have to get permission from Gov. Braun to continue their programs. The change has critics worried Indiana's already low college-going rate could dip even further. Read more from Hayleigh on what Indiana's higher education institutions had to say about the change. During an Oval Office announcement this week, Indiana U.S. Sen. Jim Banks named a few Indiana defense organizations that are expected to help develop President Trump's "Golden Dome" missile defense shield. Indiana's support will be "a big factor," Trump said. We've got more here on what groups should be involved. Indiana executed Benjamin Ritchie in the early hours of Tuesday morning more than two decades after he murdered Beech Grove police officer William Toney. Read more here about Ritchie's final words and last meal. The execution was the first of Gov. Braun's administration and the second since the state paid $900,000 to secure the drug pentobarbital in 2024. The law firm that's been investigating Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett's response to sexual harassment claims against his former chief of staff Thomas Cook appears to be wrapping up its work. Fisher Phillips investigators will present its findings to the City-County Council's investigative committee on Thursday, May 29. The Hogsett administration has said they're fully cooperating with the investigation. Axios: Each week a different Senate Republican provides lunch for the rest of the caucus. This week it was Sen. Todd Young's turn, and he went with St. Elmo Steak House's shrimp cocktail. Hopefully someone warned the senators to take it easy with the cocktail sauce. IndyStar columnist James Briggs argues that, if Indiana continues to carry out executions with little transparency, the state should "go all in on the violence and permit firing squads." "If state Attorney General Todd Rokita is so enthusiastic about killing inmates, he can even pull one of the triggers and put it in a campaign ad," Briggs writes. Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay died this week at age 65. | The League of Women Voters of Indianapolis said it likely held its final voter registration event at a naturalization event at the Indianapolis Public Library following a DHS decision about where such ceremonies can be held. | Indiana University is shuttering it's diversity, equity and inclusion office following state and federal actions targeting DEI policies and programs. Even the U.S. Senate was glued to Wednesday night's Knicks-Pacers game.
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
IndyStar wins Indiana journalism awards: Check out some of our best work of 2024
IndyStar's coverage of sexual harassment in Indiana politics was recognized as one of the top investigative stories of 2024 at an annual competition honoring the state's best journalism. Last year, IndyStar reporters reported on sexual misconduct allegations on three different elected or appointed officials in state and local government: state Rep. David Niezgodski, state Sen. Greg Taylor and Thomas Cook, former chief of staff to Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett. Taylor was removed from his position as the Senate Minority Leader, and in December, the Indiana Democratic Party created an ethics committee and adopted a new code of conduct. Hayleigh Colombo, James Briggs, Tony Cook and Kayla Dwyer took home second place for A-Mark Investigative Story of the Year at the state's Society of Professional Journalists ceremony on May 2. IndyStar also took home nine first-place awards in categories including sports reporting, environmental reporting and news photography: Coverage of government or politics, for statehouse reporter Kayla Dwyer's work, including stories about cuts to a family caregiver program and the gubernatorial race. Coverage of children's issues, for reporting on failures in child welfare by Tony Cook and Caroline Beck. Sports reporting, for Dana Hunsinger Benbow's coverage including stories about a dying 22-year-old's experience of watching the Final Four from the hospital and an FBI investigation at a racing facility. Multiple picture group, for Mykal McEldowney's gallery of Avon High School's mascot. Environmental reporting, for Karl Schneider's coverage of the beat, including stories about a new fish and wildlife area and the history of Indiana's buffalo. News photography, for Christine Tannous' pictures showing the aftermath of a car crash that injured six children and two adults. Newsletter, for the politics team's Checks and Balances. Non-deadline story or series, for a story by politics editor Kaitlin Lange and Mirror Indy deputy managing editor Ryan Martin on a gubernatorial candidate's failure to repay $69 million of a development loan from the city of Indianapolis. First Amendment award, for 20 media outlets including IndyStar that worked together to cover the trial of Richard Allen despite strict restrictions from the court. Other top awards included: Story of the year: Mirror Indy's Out of Options, by Mary Claire Malloy and Jenna Watson, which described firsthand accounts of widespread abuse and neglect at a mental health facility in Lawrence. Journalist of the year: Indiana Capital Chronicle reporter Casey Smith, whose coverage of state politics and courts in 2024 included stories about Indiana's first execution in years and the felony arrest of congressional candidate Gabe Whitley. Student Journalist of the Year Award: Wil Courtney of the Purdue University Exponent, who reported that Purdue students would be unable to vote on campus in the 2024 election. Ryan Murphy is the communities reporter for IndyStar. She can be reached at rhmurphy@ This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IndyStar wins 2024 journalism awards: Check out some of our best work
Indianapolis Star
03-05-2025
- Politics
- Indianapolis Star
IndyStar wins Indiana journalism awards: Check out some of our best work of 2024
IndyStar's coverage of sexual harassment in Indiana politics was recognized as one of the top investigative stories of 2024 at an annual competition honoring the state's best journalism. Last year, IndyStar reporters reported on sexual misconduct allegations on three different elected or appointed officials in state and local government: state Rep. David Niezgodski, state Sen. Greg Taylor and Thomas Cook, former chief of staff to Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett. Taylor was removed from his position as the Senate Minority Leader, and in December, the Indiana Democratic Party created an ethics committee and adopted a new code of conduct. Hayleigh Colombo, James Briggs, Tony Cook and Kayla Dwyer took home second place for A-Mark Investigative Story of the Year at the state's Society of Professional Journalists ceremony on May 2. IndyStar also took home nine first-place awards in categories including sports reporting, environmental reporting and news photography: Coverage of government or politics, for statehouse reporter Kayla Dwyer's work, including stories about cuts to a family caregiver program and the gubernatorial race. Coverage of children's issues, for reporting on failures in child welfare by Tony Cook and Caroline Beck. Sports reporting, for Dana Hunsinger Benbow's coverage including stories about a dying 22-year-old's experience of watching the Final Four from the hospital and an FBI investigation at a racing facility. Multiple picture group, for Mykal McEldowney's gallery of Avon High School's mascot. Environmental reporting, for Karl Schneider's coverage of the beat, including stories about a new fish and wildlife area and the history of Indiana's buffalo. News photography, for Christine Tannous' pictures showing the aftermath of a car crash that injured six children and two adults. Newsletter, for the politics team's Checks and Balances. Non-deadline story or series, for a story by politics editor Kaitlin Lange and Mirror Indy deputy managing editor Ryan Martin on a gubernatorial candidate's failure to repay $69 million of a development loan from the city of Indianapolis. First Amendment award, for 20 media outlets including IndyStar that worked together to cover the trial of Richard Allen despite strict restrictions from the court. Other top awards included: Story of the year: Mirror Indy's Out of Options, by Mary Claire Malloy and Jenna Watson, which described firsthand accounts of widespread abuse and neglect at a mental health facility in Lawrence. Journalist of the year: Indiana Capital Chronicle reporter Casey Smith, whose coverage of state politics and courts in 2024 included stories about Indiana's first execution in years and the felony arrest of congressional candidate Gabe Whitley.
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Have questions about Indiana's 2025 legislative session? Join our Reddit AMA on April 21
After more than three months, we're finally approaching the home stretch of the 2025 legislative session at the Indiana Statehouse. Gov. Mike Braun is already signing bills into law, but lawmakers still have to iron out the details of some major legislative proposals before they gavel out for the year. Whether you live in Lake County, Clark County or somewhere in between, Hoosiers likely have some questions about what Indiana lawmakers have done this year and how that might impact your lives in the future. Allow us to introduce ourselves. We're here to help. I'm Kayla Dwyer. And I'm Brittany Carloni. We are Statehouse and politics reporters at IndyStar. We're hosting a Reddit "Ask Me Anything" at 1 p.m. on Monday, April 21 to answer your questions about Indiana's 2025 legislative session. We've both been immersed in the actions at the Statehouse since the start of the session in January, monitoring the twists and turns of votes on property tax relief, the cost of health care, immigration policy and the state budget. It's not our first rodeos: Kayla is covering her third legislative session and Brittany her second. There's a lot going on as state lawmakers prepare for Sine Die and many bills will go into effect that impact Hoosiers. We're looking forward to diving into your questions together, so join us on Reddit on Monday at 1 p.m.! In the meantime, sign up to get IndyStar politics news in your email every week. Checks and Balances, our free newsletter, hits inboxes on Friday mornings. Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Brittany Carloni at Follow her on Twitter/X @CarloniBrittany. Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Kayla Dwyer at kdwyer@ or follow her on Twitter @kayla_dwyer17. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Join IndyStar's Reddit AMA on Indiana's 2025 legislative session
USA Today
31-01-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
The State of the State is unsurprising
Big night Wednesday for Gov. Mike Braun: His first State of the State address. You guessed it, the state of the state is... "STRONG." This was a speech with no surprises, apart from some ad-libs. It was a recitation of his kitchen-table-issue campaign agenda, steering clear of most of the divisive culture wars of our time, apart from a brief mention of his rebuke of DEI. (Read his full speech with our annotations here, and our takeaways here.) Because of that last point, most of the Indiana Black Legislative Caucus (all but two: Sen. Andrea Hunley, D-Indianapolis, and Rep. Alex Burton, D-Evansville) skipped his speech and held a "Unity Rally" on the fourth floor instead. -Kayla Forwarded this newsletter from a friend? Sign up for Checks and Balances here. THE MAIN EVENT: Immigration takes center stage First came President Donald Trump's executive orders out the gate, then this week came a symbolic one from Gov. Mike Braun ― essentially pledging Indiana law enforcement will do what state law already compels them to do. But there are also a flurry of bills impacting those state laws. At least 15 bills were filed in the legislature this year, by our count, doing everything from increasing information sharing with the feds to increasing penalties on local agencies that don't comply with the feds' requests. Tensions are high. Brittany and our colleague Noe Padilla examined the unprecedented number of bills. UNDER THE DOME: Digging into DEI Since this was the reason why the Black caucus boycotted the State of the State for the first time in at least decades, it's worth exploring the nuances of the DEI debate. The reasons behind the DEI purge are strikingly similar to that of the Critical Race Theory panic of yesteryear: A reaction to "woke ideology" and notions of white guilt or privilege. But the target this year, and the impacts to schools, workplaces and society writ-large, are far, far broader. We even almost had another "neutral on Nazism" moment. Read Kayla's deep dive. IN SCHOOLS: What the IPS dissolution bill is really about There's been a lot of noise made so far this year about a bill to dissolve Indianapolis Public Schools. But that's relatively unlikely - the House Education Committee Chairman Rep. Bob Behning, R-Indianapolis, hasn't even scheduled the controversial bill for a hearing. So what is this really about? Sharing tax revenue between traditional districts and charter schools. We have more here. UNDER THE DOME: Other bills we're watching We're drinking from a firehose over here. (Us right now). Here's a few other bills of note that advanced this week: 📱House Bill 1432, which would legalize gambling on your phone, passed out of the House Public Policy committee by a 9-2 vote. 💵 Senate Bill 451, which would decrease the income tax, unanimously passed out of the Senate. 👪 Senate Bill 143, which prohibits government units from denying parents information about their children, passed out of the Senate by a 44-5 vote. Every Monday morning we also post a recap of where significant bills stand at BEHIND CLOSED DOORS What's going on with that Illinois secession talk? On Tuesday, a Illinois Republican Rep. Brad Halbrook filed a companion bill in his legislature. Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston said our House Bill 1008 will get a hearing soon. Asked whether he had anything to do with setting that in motion in Illinois, Huston smirked and demurred. "I think they just thought it was a good idea," he said. "You'll have to ask them." TLDR Allen County Democratic Party Chair Derek Camp officially joined the race for state party chair on Monday. He joins former state Sen. Karen Tallian , former attorney general candidate Destiny Wells and former gubernatorial candidate Jennifer McCormick . officially joined the race for state party chair on Monday. He joins former state Sen. , former attorney general candidate and former gubernatorial candidate . Among the platter of tools state lawmakers want to give local governments to tackle road funding (rather than allocating more state dollars)? A tax on DoorDash-like deliveries. President Donald Trump criticized former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg during a press briefing on the deadly plane crash, saying the former South Bend mayor, "was a disaster as a mayor." TAKE OF THE WEEK Not everyone is unhappy with Braun's DEI orders. Ball State University business professor Mike Hicks praised Braun for eliminating DEI programs because, Hicks argued, they are unconstitutional. WHAT WE'RE READING Indiana Capital Chronicle: A bill to move a casino license from Rising Sun in the southeast to New Haven in the northeast pitted neighbor against neighbor at an intense hearing Wednesday. A committee chair killed the bill ― for now. TICKER Sen. Todd Young questioned Tulsi Gabbard during her confirmation hearing for national intelligence director Thursday about some of her past pro-Edward Snowden statements. | Buttigieg is exploring a U.S. Senate run in Michigan in 2026. | An IndyStar investigation from 2023 spurred a bill this session to empower the Indiana Alcohol & Tobacco Commission to shut down problem bars quickly. | A bill bringing back A-F letter grades passed out of the House Committee on Education this week. | The House unanimously passed a bill requiring the expungement of certain red flag law records if the person is deemed no longer dangerous. SEEN ON SOCIAL Social media proof that bipartisan friendships and praise remain in these divisive times: -SEND US YOUR FEEDBACK- Checks and Balances is compiled and written by Brittany Carloni, Hayleigh Colombo, Kayla Dwyer and Kaitlin Lange on the IndyStar politics and government team. 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