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Climate justice has begun
GARY — In a historic ruling that could change the trajectory of a rapidly heating planet, a court of law with binding jurisdiction over most of Europe has ruled that governments can be held liable for inadequate responses to climate change. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) determined that rising temperatures in Switzerland caused …
Yogi Berra and the INGov race
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — “It ain’t over ’til it’s over,” that great baseball philosopher Yogi Berra observed. But the race for the Republican nomination for governor appears to be over before the May primary voting is over. Maybe it was over on Feb. 9, when filing for the nomination ended. The likelihood of that is shown in the recent State Affairs/Howey Politics Indiana poll. Sen. Mike Braun was shown with a huge lead among likely Republican voters over any other …
The end of an era: Indiana’s GOP primary and the legacy of Mitch Daniels
EVANSVILLE, Ind. — As voters in Indiana prepare for the gubernatorial primary, the slate of Republican candidates reflects a shift that may mark the end of the Mitch Daniels era — an epoch characterized by pragmatic conservatism and an aversion to the performance politics that now dominates national politics. The new group of contenders, with their varied tactics and ideological fervor, indicates a party at a crossroads — veering from the restrained conservatism of their predecessors toward potentially more divisive …
Dan Coats defends Ukraine
INDIANAPOLIS — Dan Coats knows a thing or two about America’s security. Hours after the former U.S. senator from Indiana was sworn in as the U.S. ambassador to Germany, the September 11 terror attacks on the World Trade Center, Pentagon and Flight 93 plunged civilization into an epic crisis. Coats found himself with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder three days later at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate as 200,000 Germans expressed their solidarity rally with America. Ambassador Coats played a vital role in …
$20M spent in Republican INGov primary
INDIANAPOLIS — The leading Republican gubernatorial candidates spent more than $20 million during the first three months of this year, according to campaign finance reports filed Monday. Those reports show Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch’s campaign had the most cash on hand at the end of March with about $3 million in the bank. But Crouch’s $2.1 million in spending during the January-March period was much less than the $6 million spent by U.S. Sen. Mike Braun and the other top-tier candidates, Brad Chambers …
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The Midwest is struggling in the post-COVID world
MUNCIE — Post-pandemic America is in the midst of significant disruption to work and living options. People are on the move and face enormous choices in how and where to work. The Midwest should be a big winner in this mad scramble. But we have not been so far. Population growth remains sluggish, and the composition of interstate migration isn’t leaving the Midwest with a more educated workforce. The most likely reason for this is we are chasing past economic glories …
Hoosier housing costs and income below average
INDIANAPOLIS — Last week in this space we wrote: In 2022, the average Hoosier worker had a wage of $67,088, 33rd highest in the nation. This level of income permits her/him to buy the same basket of goodies as $73,067 buys in Averageton, USA. That statement supports our Hoosier article of faith: It’s cheaper to live in Indiana than most other places in the United States. It doesn’t mean we live better — we just spend less of our income than folks …
General Assembly’s fatal Gary shot
SOUTH BEND — The bill passed by the Indiana General Assembly to prohibit cities from suing the gun industry is retroactive to Aug. 27, 1999. That’s three days before Gary, a city suffering so much long-term from gun violence, sued key players in the gun industry, manufacturers and dealers, for “negligent conduct that contributes to the criminal gun market.” The bill, designed to end Gary’s decades-long effort through litigation to stop the free flow of guns to gangs by straw …
Sen. Braun and CHIPS
INDIANAPOLIS — Over the past two years, auto assembly plants in Fort Wayne; Chicago; Kansas City; Dearborn, Michigan; and Louisville, Kentucky, had to shut down for weeks at a time over the shortage of chips. Not as in potatoes, but as in semiconductors. Back lots filled with cars, trucks and SUVs that were nearly completed, except for the dozens of computer chips that help them run. Dealerships ran short of new vehicles. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted auto supply chains that …
What caused the Midwest to thrive? Education
MUNCIE — A newly released study by economists from Yale University and the University of California San Diego unlocked a key insight into the way the Rustbelt developed. Like most studies, it is just one piece of the puzzle. I found it insightful because it is yet another challenge to the view that attracting capital drives regional economic growth. In other words, jobs follow people; people don’t follow jobs. The study, “Sprouting Cities: How Rural America Industrialized,” used recently released …
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“This road map contains the foundation for building a better Evansville. Between now and April 9 we will continue to build a strong team of collaborative, creative city leaders and to create a culture of transparency, accountability and accessibility.”
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Self-funders spent $14M in congressional races
INDIANAPOLIS — A self-funding spending spree is happening in four Indiana congressional districts, with Republican candidates loaning their campaigns an unprecedented $13.88 million, according to Federal Election Commission filings on campaign activity through March 31. Former Indianapolis mayoral candidate Jefferson Shreve’s two-year political spending spree continues after he reported $4.5 million in loans to his 6th Congressional District campaign. State Rep. Chuck Goodrich has loaned his campaign $2.6 million; Siddharth Mahant $2 million; state Rep. Mike Speedy $1.3 million; Tim …
Do poll numbers reveal Crouch faces gender obstacles?
In 1999, Sue Anne Gilroy’s campaign for Indianapolis mayor had received a batch of tepid poll numbers. The campaign’s brain trust — Mitch Daniels, Mark Lubbers, Mark Massa — pored over the data and concluded Gilroy was lagging among females. It prompted the future Indiana governor to aptly declare, “Win the women, win the election.” Gilroy ended up losing the election to Democrat Bart Peterson 53%-42%, halting a three-decade Republican dynasty in the state capital’s city hall. In campaign postmortems, …
Health department plans new maternal, child health data system
The Indiana Department of Health wants to create an overarching maternal and child health data system that officials say will improve the health and well-being of mothers, children and families. According to an active request for proposal, the state is looking for a contractor to build an integrated data system to replace “outdated” systems that “do not provide actionable data to the [Maternal and Child Health] Division and its partners in a timely fashion.” The health department believes the integrated …
2 Democrats running in caucus to replace late Senator Breaux
An Indianapolis City-County Council member and the daughter of another council member are the candidates for the upcoming Democratic caucus to replace the late state Sen. Jean Breaux. La Keisha Jackson, who has been a council member since 2014, and Chunia Graves were the only candidates filing for the vacancy by the deadline for the Thursday evening caucus, state Democratic Party spokesman Sam Barloga told State Affairs. The winner of the caucus will complete Breaux’s current Senate term that runs …
Full results of ‘State Affairs/Howey Politics Indiana’ Republican primary poll
Full results of the State Affairs/Howey Politics Indiana poll of likely Republican primary voters are available to Pro service subscribers via a spreadsheet prepared by the polling firm SurveyUSA. The poll of 700 voters who identified as Republicans or Republican-leaning independents was conducted April 4-7 on behalf of State Affairs/Howey Politics Indiana. Survey questions included opinions on several current officeholders and candidates, along with questions on the importance of various issues to voters. Read these stories on the poll results: …