Statewide News

Ball State University trustees now say the Muncie school will remove the name of Papa John’s pizza founder and alumnus John Schnatter from a business program on campus.  As IPR’s Stephanie Wiechmann reports, the board says it is reversing course from an earlier statement on the recommendation of the university president.

Ball State’s board has voted to remove John Schnatter’s name from its Institute for Entrepreneurship and Free Enterprise.  Schnatter’s name will also be removed from a professorship funded by the same donation.

The U.S. House passed a bill last year to make Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore the state’s first national park, but the National Park Service doesn’t think it should be one. 

Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch announced Thursday the creation of a cabinet-level position to help expand affordable broadband solutions for rural communities.

A private religious school’s plan to terminate a guidance counselor’s job for her marriage to a woman is throwing the state’s voucher system into the spotlight once again. The school received more than $1.5 million through school vouchers last year.

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management is doing more testing for chemicals that could be causing rare child cancers in Franklin. That includes re-testing air in homes that showed high levels of PCE and TCE in the report by the Edison Wetlands Association. 

One in five American children has or will have a serious mental illness – and at least half of them won’t get treatment.

The Indiana Commission on Improving the Status of Children wants every school district in the state to have personnel to help integrate what’s called social emotional learning into the classroom – essentially, education that improves mental health.

Public health and public safety leaders gathered in Carmel to find ways to collaborate to address the opioid epidemic in Hoosier communities.

Indiana State Department of Health Commissioner Kristina Box says many are responding to the addiction crisis in Indiana.

U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) will meet Wednesday with President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

The White River Alliance hosted the state’s first water summit this week. The two-day event brought experts together to take a closer look at how Indiana can protect its water resources.

Roncalli High School guidance counselor says she may lose her job after administrators found out she is married to a woman.

Data from schools across the state shows a sharp increase in bullying, but the numbers could be a bit misleading. That’s because the state recently changed how schools are required to collect and report the data.

U.S. Rep. Jim Banks (R-Columbia City) hosted a roundtable with law enforcement, medical officials and advocates Monday morning to discuss the opioid epidemic in northeast Indiana.

Metal detectors and “hardening” schools are one of several steps the state and schools are taking to keep kids safe, but another essential piece remains: how can teachers prevent or better prepare for the worst case scenario?

A Republican state lawmaker says medical marijuana legalization is a realistic goal for the 2019 session.

Fifth generation Elkhart County farmer Mike Morehouse comes from a family that’s been working the land for more than 150 years. Growing corn and soybeans, he recently bought a new grain bin to store his corn.

Indiana doctors are some of the first in the country to use a new tool that increases the ability to extract clots from the head which can reduce the damage from a stroke.  Indiana Public Broadcasting’s Jill Sheridan talked to Goodman Campbell Brain and Spine Surgeon Dr. Dan Sahlein at a St. Vincent hospital in Indianapolis about a newly approved device called the Embotrap II that can change a stroke patients outcome for the better.

The City of East Chicago is working to replace lead pipes in up to 800 homes near the USS Lead Superfund site. Residents found out at a public meeting Thursday night some lead lines are only getting partially replaced leaving those residents still at risk. 

The group responsible for Indiana’s school safety report says the state needs to improve mental health services and data sharing to keep kids safe.

Indiana started its new fiscal year on a positive note, with tax revenues that slightly outperformed expectations.

That’s despite the continuation in July of a negative trend.

Indiana collected about $5 million more in taxes than state budget makers planned for. That’s largely due to individual income tax revenue, which bested projections by more than $30 million.

Gov. Eric Holcomb says “the time is right” for Indiana to pass a hate crimes law – and he’s ready to pitch in to help that effort. 

US Senator Todd Young says while he supports President Donald Trump standing up to capitalist nations like China on trade, he also wants a more targeted strategy for international tariffs.  IPR’s Stephanie Wiechmann reports.

“I’m very much aware Indiana is the most manufacturing-intensive state in the country.  We don’t want to disrupt our global supply chains.  That’s happening already.”