Dear Indy,
Today we’re featuring another competitive legislative race in Marion County. This time, we’re heading to the southeast side.
Rep. Mike Speedy is a Republican who has represented the area for more than a decade but who is now running for Congress.
Four Republican candidates are running to fill the open seat:
- Tim McVey, who works for a storage company
- David Waters, a former pharmacist
- Elizabeth Williams, who owns a daycare
- Andrew Ireland, a former deputy attorney general
Three of the candidates spoke about their priorities with reporter Claire Rafford. Some were especially interested in seeing the Indiana General Assembly play a stronger role in managing Indy issues.
“I’m all for local control in Evansville, in Terre Haute, in Fort Wayne,” Ireland said. “But Indianapolis is our capital city. I don’t think there’s anything wrong, just the same way that our Congress has a broader role over what happens in Washington, D.C., than other cities, for the Statehouse to have a broader footprint on what happens here in our city.”
Read more here.
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In other news
- It appears we have our first candidate to fill the late Sen. Jean Breaux’s vacant seat: City-County Councilor La Keisha Jackson, whose council district partially overlaps with Senate District 34, has filed the initial paperwork. She did not respond to our requests for comment yesterday.
- Indiana Avenue’s important history as a hub for Black culture and commerce was erased because of interstate highways and university development. Now city officials are urging the public to attend a community meeting Tuesday night to discuss a plan to revitalize the area.
- Indy Documenters attended the March 28 meeting of the city’s Board of Business and Neighborhood Services, where they learned about new service agreements connected to the animal shelter. Read the notes here.
What’s going on around the city
- Tomorrow, April 13: If you’re looking for a sign to get your fortune read, this is it. Starting at 4 p.m., you can get a personalized tarot card reading at GoldLeaf Savory & Sweet, 1901 E. 46th St. Free.
- Monday, April 15: Join the Indianapolis Fever at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, 125 S. Pennsylvania St., for the 2024 Fever Draft Party. The fun starts at 5:30 p.m. with the Bicentennial Unity Plaza Party, with Gainbridge opening the doors at 6:30 p.m. Families can grab food and drinks and shoot some hoops before the 7:30 p.m. live stream of the draft. Free.
- Thursday, April 18: If you have a piece of clothing or two you’ve been looking to rehome, head out to Indy Maven’s Style Swap event from 6 to 8 p.m. at Maven Space, 433 N. Capitol Ave. Tickets are $15 and include a free tote bag for your new-to-you items, chair massages, hair styling and a photo booth. Several vendors, including Salame Jewelry Designs, will be on site, as well.
— The Mirror Indy arts and culture team
Looking for other things to do? Check out Mirror Indy’s events calendar.
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What else we’re reading today
- WFYI: The stakes couldn’t be higher for 18-year-olds who are counting on financial aid to get into college. Yet with just days remaining until Indiana’s priority deadline of April 15, the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid is still throwing up roadblocks for students whose parents are immigrants. “Even though this is supposed to be easier … for people that don’t have Social Security numbers, it’s much harder,” said one 18-year-old admitted to Ball State University. “If I don’t fill this out, what is my plan?”
- IndyStar: Years of financial problems and substandard living conditions have resulted in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to join the city in taking over operations of the Indianapolis Housing Agency. A HUD official said the conditions were “unacceptable.”
- State Affairs Indiana: U.S. Sen. Mike Braun remains the leading Republican candidate for Indiana governor, according to a new poll released this week by the news outlet State Affairs/Howey Politics Indiana.
Reporter’s Notebook: Carley Lanich
Every two years, the Indiana Bar Foundation publishes a civic health index. Its most recent report found Indiana routinely ranks among the least civically engaged states.
So the foundation is setting a goal to improve voter registration. At a summit yesterday, I learned how the goal will lean heavily into reaching the state’s youngest eligible voters: high schoolers.
Schools seem like a natural path, but there are obstacles.
Teachers have busy course loads, and tabling in school cafeterias brings challenges. As Barbara Tully with the League of Women Voters put it: It’s not always easy to tell the really tall 14-year-olds from the 17- and 18-year-olds who may be eligible to register.
And the registration process itself can be tricky. Did you know if you don’t have a valid driver’s license, learner’s permit or state ID, you can’t register to vote online? That can be a barrier for teens who are increasingly on their devices and have gotten away from printing out important documents. Take it from me — a 28-year-old reporter who went two years without replacing her colored ink cartridges — printing from home can be a struggle.
So, summit attendees, including several Indy-area educators, offered their advice. Consider a voter registration day event that doesn’t take time away from class. If you do want to visit a class, approach teachers with specific details about the presentation you hope to make and focus on providing practical action steps students can take to get involved.
But perhaps the easiest thing you can do, Anthony Conley of the Edna Martin Christian Center said, is to model good civic engagement for students around you. Conley said it’s as simple as registering yourself and taking your kids with you when you vote.
—Carley Lanich, K-12 education reporter
Have a question or suggestion for our reporters? Contact them here.
Reflections
Today we’re welcoming back economics reporter Tyler Fenwick from parental leave. We’re so glad to have him back in the newsroom!
That’s it for today, Indy. See you Monday.
Ryan
P.S. If you liked something about today’s newsletter, or didn’t, let me know at ryan.martin@mirrorindy.org. It helps us serve you better.