IndyStar.com: Metro & State
Indiana's leading news source for all the top stories, local news, sports and weather.
IMPD investigating two fatal stabbings
Indianapolis police are investigating reports of two fatal stabbings in the city early today.About 2 a.m., officers arrived at a home in 2936 Schofield Ave., where a man had called police to say he had stabbed his grandmother. Investigators found a...
Morning rain washes away overnight ice
Icy conditions prompted state police to close more than 20 miles of I-69 in both directions early today in Hamilton and Madison counties, bogging down early-bird commuters. As temperatures warmed the sleet turned to rain, lessening the...
LaPorte deputy prosecutor shot
LAPORTE. — A northern Indiana deputy prosecutor who was recently elected as a judge was hospitalized after being shot.LaPorte County Prosecutor Rob Beckman says 34-year-old Jennifer Evans’ injury was not life threatening and is expected to fully...
Audit clears commission in charge of levees
Hammond » A state audit has found no wrongdoing by the commission in charge of building levees along the Little Calumet River in Northwest Indiana."The report is basically a clean report," said State Examiner Bruce Hartman.The Little Calumet River...
'Trail of misery' ends with removal of animals
Cloverdale » Nearly 60 animals have been removed from the property of a Cloverdale woman who failed to comply with a state subpoena for her business and tax records.Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter said in a news release Tuesday that the...
Watch for closures on I-74 near Ind. 44
Shelbyville » I-74 will be closed at times through January for road work, the Indiana Department of Transportation said Tuesday.Lanes between the Ind. 44 and Ind. 9 interchanges may be closed intermittently from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily as rock used...
Ex-Star editor to direct new program at IU
Timothy A. Franklin, the former top editor at The Indianapolis Star, is returning to Indiana to start a sports journalism center at his alma mater, Indiana University.Franklin, 48, will hold the Louis A. Weil Jr. Endowed Chair and direct a new sports...
Indiana high court lets state sue over 'robo calls' in political races
The Indiana Supreme Court says the state can go forward with lawsuits against companies that use auto-dialing machines to make prerecorded telephone calls in political races.The court ruled 5-0 Tuesday to overturn a trial court's decision to...
Boone Co. crash claims lives of couple
Christmas Eve will bring rain and snow, but it shouldn’t see the miserable driving conditions Tuesday that caused two deaths, dozens of accidents and excruciating waits on icy roads.A thin coating of ice Tuesday afternoon closed portions of...
Daniels to public workers: Skip raises
With the recession straining government budgets, Gov. Mitch Daniels on Tuesday asked police officers, firefighters, teachers and other public employees to make a personal sacrifice: Voluntarily forgo their pay increases for 2009.Not surprisingly, the...
BMV expands available online services
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles is now allowing new vehicle registrations and additional options through its Web site.Previously, only vehicle registration renewals were available online.The BMV said Tuesday it had also added an...
17,000 still without power in Fort Wayne area
FORT WAYNE, Ind. — Utility officials say crews have restored electricity to more than half of the 37,000 Fort Wayne homes and businesses that started Monday night without power because of last week’s ice storm.Indiana Michigan Power says that the...
Evansville council backs plans for new arena
EVANSVILLE, Ind. — The Evansville City Council has endorsed plans to build a new 11,000-seat downtown arena.Council members voted 7-1 on Monday night to support the estimated $127 million project. The new arena would replace the city’s 52-year-old...
Obama picks Lugar for inaugural panel
WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama has tapped Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., to serve as one of 15 honorary co-chairs of his inaugural committee.The position carries no responsibilities, according to Lugar’s office.The inaugural committee said...
No prayer box at Rensselear city hall
RENSSELAER, Ind. — Rensselear City Council members have rejected a request by local pastors to install a prayer box in City Hall.The Rev. Garry Wickert says the boxes would allow people to leave anonymous notes with requests for prayers. He says...
Experts offer Santa their advice
OK, kids, it's time to learn the truth about Santa.He's real.He runs a multi-national business from the North Pole.And just like everyone else, he is struggling to make sense of the current economic crisis.But this close to Christmas Day, the...
Brownsburg West students helping seniors
Mike Brown spent his time in health class at Brownsburg West Middle School last week bowling and swinging at a baseball on a Nintendo Wii.Don’t think of him as a kid goofing off, though. He was an expert at work, testing the playing directions...
Subsidized meals on rise in Indiana schools
The economic downturn has increased the number of Indiana schoolchildren whose meals are subsidized by taxpayers to nearly one-third, according to new statistics from the Indiana Youth Institute.The number of children who were eligible for free...
Holiday closings
Some services will be curtailed this week in observance of Christmas Day.Federal offices: Open Wednesday; closed Thursday and Friday.State offices: Open Wednesday; closed Thursday and Friday.City offices: Open Wednesday; closed Thursday.County...
Man gets 135 years in kidnapping
A Richmond man convicted last month of kidnapping, attempted rape and confinement has been sentenced to 135 years in prison.Charles E. Hubbard, 47, was found guilty but mentally ill on charges stemming from the abduction of a 63-year-old woman...
4 people die in crash on snowy, icy Toll Road
New Carlisle -- State Police say two Marines were among four people killed when their car crossed the median on an icy Indiana Toll Road and was struck by a semitrailer truck.Police said there was snow and ice on the road when the car crossed from...
Police kill man after he drives cop car into river
Jeffersonville -- A two-state chase of a stolen police car ended with the robber shot dead by officers early Monday, authorities said.A man suspected of robbing a fast-food restaurant drove the police car into the frigid Ohio River in...
Man gets 80 years in murder-for-hire
Muncie -- Anthony W. "Tony" French was sentenced Monday to 80 years in prison for arranging the murder of his estranged wife more than 15 years ago.French, 47, was found guilty of murder and conspiracy to commit murder by a Delaware County court...
Purdue student killed on I-65
A man who was killed Saturday when his car split in half during a three-vehicle crash on Interstate 65 was supposed to graduate Sunday from Purdue University.Daniel Song, 22, of Carmel, was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident, which occurred...
State cord-blood bank is nearing reality
Indiana soon could have a state-run cord-blood bank that would preserve and store umbilical cord tissue that might save the lives of those with certain illnesses.Many states, including California, Texas and New Jersey, already have public cord-blood...
40 years later, veteran gets Purple Heart
Merrillville -- A former soldier who was almost left for dead in Vietnam after one of his comrades dug a shovel into a land mine has received a Purple Heart 40 years after the blast.Arthur Riddle, 63, received the medal last week at U.S. Rep....
Two teens arrested in One Stop killing
Valparaiso -- Two men have been arrested on charges that they killed a clerk at a Northwest Indiana convenience store during a robbery.Porter County police say 42-year-old Barbara Heckman, Portage, was fatally hit with a blunt object about 11:30...
Stimulus money may spur Illiana highway
Munster -- Talk of $650 billion or more in federal spending for infrastructure and other programs has revived some hope in Northwest Indiana for the proposed extension of the South Shore commuter line and construction of a new highway into...
Proposed moratorium on charter schools stirs debate
Indianapolis Public Schools is supporting a state lawmaker’s push for a moratorium on new charter schools, once again sparking impassioned debate over the merits of charter schools and the extent to which they have harmed school districts.State...
80,000 still without power in N. Indiana
More than 80,000 electricity customers across northern Indiana still had no power today. Indiana Michigan Power said it has more than 68,000 customers — mostly in the Fort Wayne area — without electricity.Northern Indiana Public Service Company says...
