IndyStar.com: News
Indiana's leading news source for all the top stories, local news, sports and weather.
SUV smashes into Eastside tavern, runs
A man drove an SUV into an Eastside bar after closing this morning. A group of five or six people who were inside the bar near the front window escaped injury. The crash happened at 3:45 at Bar 52 at 3806 English Ave., according Indianapolis Fire...
Indiana dentist buys up Halloween candy
MADISON, Ind. — Most children get enough chocolate and sweets on Halloween to make dentists cringe, so some dentists are offering children an alternative treat: cash. Halloween candy buy back programs allow kids to turn in their candy for...
Town clerk surrenders after vanishing
LAKEVILLE, Ind. — The clerk-treasurer of a northern Indiana town has surrendered to police a week after failing to appear in court on charges he beat his girlfriend. An arrest warrant for Lakeville Clerk-Treasurer Casey Grove was issued Oct. 26...
Tully: Wishard rewarded for solid, sensible campaign
A few thoughts about an Election Day many Indianapolis residents chose to skip. It’s hard to imagine how supporters of the Wishard Memorial Hospital project — specifically Matthew Gutwein, head of the Marion County Health and Hospital...
Jury gets glimpse of shooting's effects
Wounded officer and wife are the first to testify at his alleged assailant’s trial VALPARAISO, Ind. — Jason Fishburn approached the witness stand with a limp. A curving scar covered the back of his head. He spoke softly, giving short...
Votes on city's school measures is mixed
Beech Grove passes; Franklin fails; loss likely in Perry Approval of an education referendum in Beech Grove means the school district won’t have to eliminate bus transportation, but Tuesday’s defeat of a similar measure in Franklin...
Schools chief expects vote on reforms by year's end
The state’s top schools official said Tuesday he expects to have a final vote by the end of the year on his proposal to reform the way the state trains and licenses teachers. “I dare to say we are going to reform teacher licensing in this...
Franklin, Perry questions facing long odds
A Beech Grove school referendum appeared headed for approval, but similar measures in Franklin and Perry faced long odds tonight. Official ballots weren’t tallied, but Perry Township Schools Superintendent Thomas Little said preliminary data...
Early results show favor for Wishard bond question
A new Wishard Memorial Hospital that will be built with the help of $754 million in taxpayer-backed bonds was winning wide approval in early election returns. Of 204 precincts reporting, Wishard supporters easily won in all of them 20,703 to 3,872....
Girl killed after being struck by car
A girl who celebrated her 12th birthday last weekend died when she was struck by a car on the Far Westside Tuesday night, police say. Helaina Hawkins, 1400 block of Lansdowne Road, was with a group of young people crossing the street when she was...
Man held in molestation of girl, 13
Indianapolis metropolitan police today arrested a man accused of molesting a 13-year-old girl. Rachad M. Strong, 29, was arrested without incident shortly after noon at an apartment in the 2700 block of Graham Avenue, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police...
Schools chief expects vote on teacher training, licenses by end of year
The state’s chief schools official said today that he expected to have a final vote by the end of the year on his proposal to reform how teachers are trained and licensed. “I dare to say we are going to reform teacher licensing in this state, and my...
Brizzi: Fishburn shooting was ambush
VALPARAISO, Ind. — Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi called the shooting of Indianapolis police officer Jason Fishburn an ambush at the opening of his accused assailant’s trial today in Northern Indiana. When Fishburn chased suspect...
Execution date set in Evansville killings
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Supreme Court has set Dec. 11 as the execution date for a man convicted of the 1994 slayings of his estranged wife and two of her relatives in Evansville. The court said today that 49-year-old Matthew Eric Wrinkles has...
Frightened pony smacks into squad car
A free-roaming pony raced into a parked police car on the Southside this morning, damaging the car, but apparently escaping injury itself. The pony was one of two that had escaped from a farm on the 4200 block of Bluff Road and had been darting in...
Vacant apartments host WMD exercises
Emergency workers are combing through a decrepit apartment building today as if a chemical or biological weapon were detonated in it, or at least nearby. It’s a training exercise for local police, firefighters and other first responders. The...
S. Ind. teen found dead behind home
ROCKPORT, Ind. — State police say a 15-year-old Southern Indiana girl was found dead behind a shed near her home nearly 24 hours after she was last seen. Authorities said they were working today to determine the cause of death for the girl from...
Cab driver overpowered, taxi stolen
Police say a cab driver was carjacked by one of his passengers this morning. Abdullahi Abdikarin, 25, picked up a woman for a ride at South and Illinois streets at 5 a.m. and was given directions to a Westside address, according to Sgt. Matthew Mount...
Indiana city rebuffed in adult bookstore battle
The City of New Albany must decide whether to keep fighting after another loss in its long-running battle to shut down an adult bookstore. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week denied the city’s request that the full court reconsider...
Voters trickle in at polling places
On today’s to-do list: vote 3:20 PM — Wishard effort tries to encourage voters Voters tricked into polling places on a bright and sunny day this afternoon to cast their votes on the Wishard ballot question that — should it pass — would...
IU to open doors to data bunker
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana University is celebrating its new $32 million data center built to protect computers from floods, power outages and even F5 tornados. Hundreds of people are expected Thursday at the IU Data Center’s formal...
Firefighters revive house fire victim
Firefighters rescued a man from a house fire on the Westside early today and resuscitated the victim whose heart had stopped beating. Michael Sanders, 49, was in critical condition at the Wishard Memorial Hospital’s burn unit, Indianapolis Fire...
Mom's death thought to be H1N1-related
Funeral services will be this week for a young mother from Mooresville who died from complications believed related to the H1N1 flu virus. Jamie Marie Blackwell Loveless, 27, died Thursday in a hospital in St. Petersburg, Fla., where she was...
Police chase nets burglary suspects
3 men, youth accused of robbing boy at home; fleeing suspect stole 2nd boy’s bike, police say Four males accused of robbing a 13-year-old in his home were arrested Monday after a car chase and crash on I-465 on the Northwestside. One of the...
Jury chosen for trial in shooting of Indy officer
After full day of questions, 7 men and 5 women selected to hear case in Porter County VALPARAISO, Ind. — Few potential jurors in Porter County said they knew about the near-fatal shooting of Indianapolis police officer Jason Fishburn last year,...
Is it necessary to learn to teach?
Debate swirls over whether knowledge of subject, or of the teaching process, is best What makes a good teacher — the ability to inspire students to learn or being a master of the subject you teach? That was the crux of a debate Monday at the...
Study: Half of U.S. kids will receive food stamps
Recession could push number of children who need help higher CHICAGO — Nearly half of all U.S. children and 90 percent of black youngsters will be on food stamps at some point during childhood, and fallout from the current recession could push...
Recap of debate on Wishard bond vote
During the campaign, officials from Wishard Memorial Hospital have repeatedly pledged that the new hospital they want to build can be completed without the use of any additional property tax money. Marion County Health and Hospital Corp. has posted...
New Albany's books draw complaints in state audit
NEW ALBANY, Ind. — State auditors have leveled a lengthy list of complaints about the city of New Albany’s books for 2008, including claims of poor record-keeping, inadequate documentation and overpayment of contractors. The audit,...
Defense chief to speak at IU winter graduation
Bloomington — Defense Secretary Robert Gates will visit Indiana University in December to speak at the school’s winter commencement. The university announced Monday that Gates also would receive an honorary degree during the Dec. 19...
