State News
- State News
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Bill seeks to put more police in state schools
Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller is backing legislation that could put more police officers in schools.
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Indiana’s new US senator stakes place in the ‘middle’
In a conference call with reporters before he was sworn in as Indiana’s newest senator Thursday, Joe Donnelly said he’ll be traveling the state next week seeking the support of Hoosiers to help him forge a stronger role for what he called “the middle.”
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Daniels, RV-1 hit the end of the road
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels took his final trip in RV-1 Wednesday, traveling from Indianapolis to the RV/MH Hall of Fame in Elkhart.
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Bosma may face divisions within party
Speaker of the Indiana House Brian Bosma says his pledge to restore civility to the chamber remains in force as the Indiana General Assembly prepares to take on some contentious social and fiscal issues when it convenes in January.
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Maureen Hayden: Treat gun deaths as major health problem
Last Friday afternoon, in the wake of the unfathomable tragedy that struck the community of Newtown, Conn., Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels directed that flags throughout the state be flown at half-staff until sunset Tuesday.
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New school leader making allies, even across party lines
Indiana’s new schools superintendent, Glenda Ritz, is making some allies in the Statehouse: Republican legislators who pushed the education-reform laws that triggered a wave of voter discontent that carried the Democrat Ritz into her new job.
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Support for gay-marriage ban wavering
Noting what he called the “rapidly evolving” shift in public opinion reflected in a poll released Thursday, an influential, conservative Republican state senator said he’ll oppose such a measure if, as expected, it comes up for debate in the 2013 session.
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Survey finds support for lighter pot law, opposition to same-sex marriage ban
A majority of Hoosiers are ready to support the decriminalization of marijuana and oppose putting a same-sex marriage ban into the state constitution, according to a new survey released today.
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Navy's top admiral visits Crane
The highest ranking admiral in the U.S. Navy visited NSA Crane on Monday and assured the facility will grow even if the government goes off the fiscal cliff.
Adm. Jon Greenert, Chief of Naval Operations, came to the base with Sen. Dan Coats, Sen.-elect Joe Donnelly and Congressman Todd Young. Indiana Lt. Gov.-elect Sue Ellspermann also joined the tour later.
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Full-day kindergarten enrollment up 19 percent after state boosts dollars to local schools
Indiana’s decision to increase funding for full-day kindergarten has led to an increase in students enrolling in kindergarten programs across the state and more state dollars doled out to local schools.
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Lugar calls for civility in politics
With just a few short weeks left in office, Indiana’s longest serving member of Congress exhorted an audience of high school students to venture into the public sphere with a willingness to seek common ground with others.
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Maureen Hayden: Lugar says DeMint can muster millions to support ultra-conservatives
The surprise resignation of ultra-conservative U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint was seen by some as an indicator of the weakening power of the tea party movement that helped put an end to the career of the nation’s most senior U.S. senator, Richard Lugar.
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Head of state budget-writing committee is healer by trade
Tim Brown is the lone physician in the Indiana General Assembly. In his 18 years in the Legislature, the Crawfordsville emergency-room doctor has never had a direct role in crafting the state’s two-year fiscal plan that now amounts to about $28 billion in spending.
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State education board votes to change licensing rules
Over the protests of teachers’ unions and some universities that train new teachers, the State Board of Education has changed the licensing and credential process rules for K-12 educators.
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Governor’s new book includes concession speech never made
Gov. Mitch Daniels has made headlines — as well as fans and detractors — with some of his sharp-worded speeches on fiscal policy, social issues and education reform. But a new book chronicling some of those words contains one speech he never made: His 2008 “concession” speech.
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'Parks and Recreation' meets real politics in Indiana shoot
Former presidential candidate Newt Gingrich unexpectedly walked into St. Elmo’s Steak House in downtown Indianapolis as actor Rob Lowe and his "Parks and Recreation" co-stars were filming a scene for an upcoming episode of the popular sitcom based in fictional Pawnee, Ind.
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Rob Lowe digs into his Indiana roots
Actor Rob Lowe didn’t just bring his boyish good looks and Emmy-winning star power to the NBC sitcom “Parks and Recreation” when he joined the ensemble cast two years ago. He also brought some Hoosier sentimentality.
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Indiana more likely to lessen penalties, not legalize pot
The head of the Indiana State Police may have surprised legislators last week when he told a state budget committee that he personally favored legalizing marijuana, but the push to re-think Indiana’s pot laws isn’t new.
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Maureen Hayden: ‘Getting Ritzed’ new catch phrase in Indianapolis
There’s a new phrase starting to emerge in the lexicon of the Indiana Statehouse: “Getting Ritzed.”
It refers to the stunning Nov. 6 electoral victory of political newcomer Glenda Ritz over her giant of an opponent, Tony Bennett, in the race for superintendent of public instruction. -
Supporters of Sunday alcohol sales try again
Supporters of failed efforts to legalize Sunday alcohol sales in Indiana live by the motto of “try, try again.” They’re re-introducing legislation, shot down in the past, that would allow the purchase of carryout alcohol on Sundays and put an end to one of the last “blue laws” on the books.
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GOP leaders in Statehouse predict review of education reforms
Republican legislative leaders stung by the defeat of the state schools superintendent say Indiana lawmakers may take a closer look at how some of the sweeping education reforms in K-12 schools have been implemented.
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I-69 opens in southern Indiana
With a cut of a ribbon, I-69 was open Monday.
The dream of many in Daviess County and southwest Indiana was realized as Gov. Mitch Daniels led the opening parade up the 67-mile stretch of new interstate from Evansville to NSWC Crane. -
Maureen Hayden: Email responses about upset present common themes
Political forecaster Nate Silver is a rock star in the world of statistical analysis, having earned well-deserved celebrity for his nearly spot-on predictions of how voters in each state would cast their ballots in the 2008 and 2012 presidential and Senate races.
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Visionaries reflect back on I-69's beginnings
It is hard to believe, but Interstate 69 did not start in an office, where its proponents had to convince others the road is needed.
Nor did it start a boardroom, where countless meetings and decisions were made on its potential impact or decide where it would go should there be a way to fund it.
It really didn’t start at the desk of Gov. Mitch Daniels, who decided to spend the $700 million to build the road, or in the cabs of hundreds of trucks who moved tons of earth in building the 67 miles that residents here will be driving on this Thanksgiving holiday.
The interstate on the city’s east side, set to open Monday, was definitely moved along in these places, but its start was small, at a breakfast table. -
East-end bridge expected to open in 2016
Under a proposal picked Friday by the state financing authority, the Indiana portion of the long-awaited Ohio River Bridges Project would be completed under budget and far ahead of the original project schedule.
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Ritz’s crew reaches reluctant legislators with social media
Some of the same forces that used social media to defeat the Republican state schools superintendent are mobilizing their resources again, this time to send a message to GOP leaders to pay attention to the election results.
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Indiana judge answers call of duty with specialized courts for veterans
Floyd County Superior Court Judge Maria Granger is the proud daughter of a retired Marine, sister to a former sailor, and wife and stepmother of soldiers. She answered her call of duty in a different way: By creating a problem-solving court for veterans who find themselves in legal trouble.
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Numbers drive creation of Indiana's military veterans courts
Since 2008, when the first veterans treatment court opened in New York, judges across the nation have been responding to the needs of veterans struggling to recover from the psychic wounds of war.
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New state schools superintendent may face limit on power
Democrat Glenda Ritz won the race for the state’s schools superintendent by challenging the education overhaul implemented by the Republican incumbent Tony Bennett, but her power to stop the sweeping changes in Indiana schools may be limited.
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Ritz upsets Bennett in Indiana education chief race
Democratic challenger Glenda Ritz pulled off a stunning upset Tuesday night, beating incumbent Republican Tony Bennett in the unexpectedly tight race for Indiana superintendent of public instruction.
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Bill seeks to put more police in state schools