The 2021 NCAA tournament may be coming to Indianapolis. The ENTIRE tournament.
The NCAA announced on Monday (November 16th) that they plan on relocating the 13 preliminary round sites for the 2021 Division 1 Men’s Basketball Championship. They are also in talks with the State of Indiana and the city of Indianapolis to possibly host the tournament in the area in March and April.
In a statement, Mitch Barnhart, the chair of the Division I Men’s Basketball said “My committee colleagues and I did not come lightly to the difficult decision to relocate the preliminary rounds of the 2021 tournament, as we understand the disappointment 13 communities will feel to miss out on being part of March Madness next year. With the University of Kentucky slated to host first- and second-round games in March, this is something that directly impacts our school and community, so we certainly share in their regret. The committee and staff deeply appreciate the efforts of all the host institutions and conferences, and we look forward to bringing the tournament back to the impacted sites in future years.”
Lucas Oil Stadium is the host of the men’s final four April 3-5, 2021.
Johnson gives her first media interview to Cameron Ridle, just days after a grand jury decided not to file charges against Indianapolis Police Officer Dejoure Mercer in the May 6th shooting that killed Dreasjon Reed.
Open Lines airs live Sunday Mornings at 8AM on 106.7 WTLC and HOT 96.3 Indianapolis.
INDIANAPOLIS — A security guard was shot to death early Monday in Downtown Indianapolis, police said.
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers responded to the 300 block of East New York Street before 3:45 a.m. on a report of an unresponsive person. When they arrived, officers found the security guard, who had a gunshot wound to his back.
Medics transported him to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead. His identity has not been released.
Police said it is not clear if the security guard was on duty at the time he was shot. He was in uniform, but did not have a gun.
Investigators are looking for surveillance video and interviewing witnesses at the scene.
Anyone with information should contact the IMPD Homicide Office at 317-327-3475 or Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana at 317-262-8477.
Recently, Jules had the chance to talk with IU Health’s Dr. Tamika Dawson about why getting the flu shot is important, especially during this flu season.
Recently, AshMac had the chance to talk with IU Health’s Dr. Tamika Dawson about why getting the flu shot is important, especially during this flu season.
INDIANAPOLIS — An east side Indianapolis apartment complex with a troubled past, has a brighter future, following a complete renovation.
Tuesday marked the re-opening of the Amber Woods Apartments at East 38th Street and North Mitthoeffer Road—an area with one of the city’s highest violent crime rates.
The complex has been the scene of deadly shootings and other crimes. It was badly damaged by a tornado nearly 20-years ago.
City leaders hope the renovation of Amber Woods will offer encouragement to those who live there.
“Having this project gives this community a beacon of hope it gives us inspiration when we see investments made back to our communities,” said State Representative Robin Shackleford at Tuesday’s ceremony.
Improvements were made inside and around the units, including new kitchens with updated appliances, new flooring, furnaces, and water heaters. Outside, there are new playgrounds, landscaping, and repaved driveways.
The Indianapolis City-County approved the project, which cost about $10 million.
INDIANAPOLIS — There have been days this year when downtown Indianapolis looked like a ghost town filled with unwelcome smells and public safety concerns.
“There was just this vacuum downtown of people. There’s no workers, there’s no normal visitors to downtown, so it started getting taken over by some of the seedier elements and they started to come down and take advantage of the homeless people,” said Doug Stephenson.
Stephenson owns the comic bookstore on Monument Circle. He says in June and July there were days that he described the area as out of control. Illegal activity was never far away making customers feel unsafe. That on top of the smell from city streets being used as a restroom. But several weeks later, improvements are noticeable. Monument Circle feels and even smells different after a focused effort from Downtown Indy Inc to clean the heart of the city.
“The downtown recovery committee came together and said remember when we were called the cleanest downtown in the nation? Let’s recommit to that,” said Bob Schultz, Senior VP of Marketing, Communication and Events for Downtown Indy, Inc.
Thanks to Downtown Indy, Inc. safety ambassadors and additional police officers now patrol the areas of Monument Circle, Market Street and Georgia street. Roads and sidewalks are power washed regularly by the Indianapolis Department of Public Works. All of it arraigned or paid for by Downtown Indy, Inc.
“All of that was done and continues to be done to say downtown is clean, safe, and beautiful and we’re working on the vibrancy as we try to come back in measured ways,” Schultz said.
Both Downtown Indy, Inc. and business owners say homelessness was not the sole cause of the issues downtown. They believe there were other factors including mental health.
Stephenson hopes the effort being put into downtown encourages visitors to return.
“It’s absolutely gotten better. Things started turning the corner at the end of July and now we’ve got cleanliness factor under control and safety is a million times better,” Stephenson said.
The improvements made by Downtown Indy, Inc. were funded with $750,000 from the City of Indianapolis back in August. According to the organization’s website, The $750,000 was approved by the Metropolitan Development Commission and administered by the Capital Improvement Board to Downtown Indy, Inc.
INDIANAPOLIS — On top of masking up and lathering up, health officials are urging people to sleeve up and get a flu shot to help protect against the flu and COVID-19.
A flu shot clinic was offered on Sunday by the Marion County Public Health Department. Throughout October, the health department is hosting low-cost flu vaccines at multiple locations.
The CDC recommends the flu shot for everyone six months and older. The flu shot is especially recommended for pregnant women, people over the age of 65 and anyone with certain medical conditions.
On Sunday, the health department was at St. Gabriel Catholic Church. The church has hosted these flu shot clinics for several years. The parish nurse said now it’s more important than ever to be able to offer flu shots to the community.
“Here at St. Gabriel Parish, we have about 60 percent Latino as well as the surrounding community here on the west side off of 34th Street,” Betty Legeay, parish nurse at St. Gabriel Catholic Church, said. “So we really feel that we need to offer them this chance and opportunity. And with the COVID-19, we want to make sure that everyone gets a flu shot that can possibly get one.”
Flu shots through the health department are $20 and for children under 2 they are free. Medicare and Medicaid are accepted.
The next flu shot clinic will be Oct. 22 at Englewood Christian Church on North Rural Street from 4 to 6 p.m. It’s available on a walk-in basis.
The Marion County Public Health Department is also hosting weekly flu shot clinics by appointment at its three main district health office locations. To schedule an appointment, please call 317-221-5700.
The Indianapolis Colts have shut down their facilities after multiple COVID-19 tests. No word on who and how many positive tests are within the organization. Multiple teams including the Tennessee Titans, New England Patriots, and Atlanta Falcons are among the teams who have closed their facilities due to COVID-19.
This morning, we were informed that several individuals within our organization have tested positive for COVID-19. The team is currently in the process of confirming those tests. In the meantime, the practice facility will be closed and the team will work remotely while following NFL protocols.
The Colts are scheduled to play the Cincinnati Bengals this Sunday at 1pm EST. The NFL has announced if the game will play as scheduled as of yet.
INDIANAPOLIS — On Monday night, the Indianapolis City-County Council will vote on a proposal that would mean major changes for the way IMPD policies and procedures are created and reviewed.
Proposal 237 would add four civilian members to IMPD’s General Orders Board, giving them a majority on the board. It currently has three members, all from law enforcement.
There are strong opinions on both sides. Supporters say it allows the community to have a say in how they want to be policed and will increase transparency with the community. Those against it say it strips the chief of his power and creates a lack of accountability.
“This is something that we believe would be a step towards unity and accountability and helping the community as well as the police department work to make sure there’s a good relationship and everything is being viewed from both sides,” Pastor Kenneth Sullivan Jr., of New Direction Church, said. He said this is something he and other faith leaders have been pushing for.
Those against the proposal say it goes too far.
“This is an extreme deviation from the way any police department operates,” Rick Snyder, president of the Indianapolis Fraternal Order of Police, said.
Snyder met with law enforcement officers and their families outside of the City-County Building on Monday, saying they support having citizen input, but they want to see changes to Proposal 237 before passed by council.
He said it will have a negative impact on already low officer morale as well and if approved as is, could lead to community frustration as well.
“When citizens are frustrated with what is going on they’ll point fingers at their politicians. Their politicians will point fingers at their civilians on the board, and the civilians on the board will point fingers at the police department. There is no clear line of accountability,” said Snyder.
“I am not against civilian participation in the use of force board or the general orders board. I’m not crazy about it being a majority and I’ve said that in the past,” IMPD Chief Randal Taylor said. “I think we need to be given an opportunity to see how that works out at a lower level first, but I’ve also said in the past if this ends up getting passed tonight I’m going to be fully behind it and I’ll work with whoever those civilians are to make sure we represent our members in the best way we can while also taking into account the communities concerns.”
The proposal already has strong support from council members as 18 of the 25 councilors have signed on as co-sponsors.
A spokesperson for Mayor Hogsett said he was unavailable for interviews on Monday, but said the mayor supports this proposal.
“Mayor Hogsett supports the City-County Council as they consider Proposition 237. Following the death of George Floyd this summer, we heard the clear message from residents that they wanted more civilian participation and oversight on issues of law enforcement. Proposition 237 reflects the popular will, and we believe it will strengthen the policies and procedures of law enforcement, leading to a safer community and more trust between neighborhoods and the IMPD,” said Mark Bode with the City of Indianapolis.
INDIANAPOLIS — A violent weekend in Indianapolis continued Sunday night when a man died in a shooting on the east side of Indianapolis.
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers responded to the shooting around 10 p.m. in the 2600 block of East Washington Street. Medics transported the man to an area hospital where he died, IMPD Sgt. Grace Sibley said.
The homicide was the seventh of the weekend in Indianapolis.
Earlier Sunday evening, officers found two people shot inside an apartment before 6:30 p.m. in the 7100 block of Vega Way. Sibley said medics pronounced one person dead at the scene and a second victim was in serious condition.
“We are not releasing at this time the suspects that we are looking for, but we can say they are clearing the area to make the area safe. Obviously, these are armed people they are looking for,” Sibley said.
Other homicides over the weekend included:
At about 9:40 p.m. Friday, a man was shot to death and then hit by the driver of a vehicle in the 3000 block of North Park Avenue.
Minutes later, on the west side, a woman was shot in the 1200 block of North King Avenue. Medics transported the woman to an area hospital in critical condition, but she died later in the evening.
At 10:20 p.m. Saturday, Martin Cruz, a Marion County Jail inmate, was found dead after he was believed to have been assaulted by another inmate.
Officers were dispatched just after noon Sunday to 120 W. 38th Street after a person was stabbed to death in the parking lot of a Subway restaurant.
A woman died at about 12:40 p.m. Sunday after she was shot and the vehicle she was driving hit a building in the 8400 block of Craig Street in Castleton. Officers originally were called to the scene after witnesses found a man lying on the ground in the 8700 block of Masters Road. Police believe he fell from a vehicle and both incidents are part of one investigation.
At least nine other people were transported to area hospitals with nonfatal gunshot wounds. The person’s death in the 2600 block of East Washington Street marked the 187th homicide and 160th intentional homicide in 2020.
“We’re really disappointed. This is discouraging,” Sibley said. “We don’t want to see this violence take place.”
Anyone with information about a homicide should contact the IMPD Homicide Office at 317-327-3475 or Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana at 317-262-8477.
The latest ruling means Indiana election offices can only accept absentee ballots until noon on Election Day which was the previous rule. This back and forth on the absentee ballot deadline concerns voting advocates.
“Every year, we encourage voters to make a voting plan but this year in particular is very important,” Erin Kelley with the League of Women Voters of Indianapolis said. “The pandemic of course is one issue but then all these changes that seem to keep happening, Hoosiers being told what they can and can’t do.”
Kelley says if voters have questions because of all these changes, there are people in your community who have answers.
“Reach out to your county election board, use services like vote411.org by the League of Women Voters or just reach out to any kind of non-partisan, civic organization in your community. Don’t be afraid to ask for help,” Kelley said.
“My best advice to voters is if you plan to vote by mail, get that ballot and get it back,” Julia Vaughn, Policy Director for Common Cause Indiana, said.
Common Cause Indiana is the non-partisan organization that filed the lawsuit to extend the absentee ballot deadline. Slow mail delivery through the USPS is one of the main reasons they filed the lawsuit.
“We can’t control the mail. We don’t have any control over that ballot once we let it go in the mail slot,” Vaughn said. “Voters shouldn’t be disenfranchised because of something out of their control.”
In a statement, Attorney General Curtis Hill said the noon Election Day deadline set by the General Assembly is reasonable because it allows most races to be called on Election Day, ensuring there’s public confidence in how we vote.
The postal service recommends giving your ballot a week to arrive by mail. That means you should send yours back before October 27th. You can also drop off absentee ballots in person at your county’s election office.
INDIANAPOLIS — The city of Indianapolis has tied the intentional homicide record of 153 set last year with a shooting on the city’s northeast side on Thursday.
According to a report from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, it happened around 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the area of East 30th Street and Keystone Avenue.
Officer William Young, a spokesman for IMPD, said officers who were on routine patrol came across what they initially thought was a traffic crash. When officers made contact with the individual inside the vehicle, they found he had injuries consistent with a gunshot wound. The victim, an adult male, was pronounced dead at the scene.
“As you can tell behind me this is a very intense scene, it’s a very active scene,” Young said. “Our IMPD homicide investigators have arrived on scene, as well as our crime lab as well as the Marion County Coroner’s Office trying to gather information as to what happened this evening.”
Police have no suspect information.
“It is so important that our community comes together with us and provides us with that information,” Young said. “No one wants to lose a loved one. No one does. It’s important that we gather that information to hold those accountable who are responsible.”
Young said anyone who was in the area between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. or who has information is asked to call the IMPD Homicide Office at 317-327-3475 or Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana at 317-262-TIPS.
“It’s very concerning to us. We are trying to get a handle,” Young said. “We want the community to work with us as well as us working with the community. It’s so important to these families to those who have to go through this.”
Johnson gives her first media interview to Cameron Ridle, just days after a grand jury decided not to file charges against Indianapolis Police Officer Dejoure Mercer in the May 6th shooting that killed Dreasjon Reed.
