The Fishers Board of Public Works and Safety on Tuesday morning approved a five-year lease for digital storage services that will house evidence for the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, a police operation based here that investigates online and other crimes targeting children.

The resolution states the lease with SHI International Corp. will cost an amount not  to exceed $705,773.33 over five years.

Tracy Gaynor, director of information technology for the City of Fishers, brought the request to the board. He said the agreement will give investigators room to store case files that have grown steadily in size and complexity — particularly video, which can run to considerable length and consume large amounts of space.

The Fishers Police Department is the home agency for the task force, known as ICAC, which serves a growing number of departments across central Indiana. Partner agencies include the police departments in Carmel, Noblesville, Westfield, Anderson and Greenfield, along with the Hamilton County and Madison County sheriff’s departments and Homeland Security Investigations, a federal agency. The task force is also affiliated with the Indiana State Police ICAC Network.

Under the agreement, evidence will first be stored on equipment at the local department and secured there before being moved to the cloud. Gaynor said that arrangement matters because investigative material has to remain available for long stretches of time — through the course of an investigation, then through court proceedings, and often through years of legal appeals that follow.

The lease marks a shift in how the city pays for storage. Fishers has historically bought storage hardware outright through periodic capital purchases, replacing the equipment every few years as it aged out or ran short of capacity. Gaynor describes that approach as increasingly difficult to scale and to predict, given how quickly digital evidence is accumulating.

The new agreement moves the city to what is known as a storage-as-a-service model, in which capacity is leased rather than purchased. Capacity can expand as investigative demands change, without the city having to plan and fund a hardware replacement project every few years. The arrangement also carries a fixed five-year cost structure, which city officials said makes budgeting more predictable than the current cycle of capital outlays.

The package includes security and data recovery services intended to protect investigative files, including protection against ransomware. City documents indicate the platform is expected to eventually replace the city’s existing storage infrastructure as that equipment reaches the end of its supported life.

The city is buying through SHI International Corp. under a State of Indiana Quantity Purchase Agreement administered by the Indiana Department of Administration, a cooperative arrangement that lets local governments purchase off pricing the state has already negotiated.

Internet Crimes Against Children task forces operate nationwide under a program administered by the U.S. Department of Justice, with regional units handling investigations that frequently cross jurisdictional lines. The Fishers-based unit’s expanding roster of partner agencies reflects that pattern, with smaller departments in the region relying on the shared operation rather than standing up their own capabilities.

In other action by the Board of Works Tuesday, contracts were approved for restroom buildings at the Fishers Sports Complex at Fishers High School and the Plateau Complex at HSE High School.  Also, contracts were approved providing EMS and Fire Services to the unincorporated areas of Delaware and Fall Creek Townships.

A familiar name to anyone who followed Fishers development debates a few years ago is now at the middle of a political standoff at the City-County Building in Indianapolis.

Megan Vukusich, who served as Fishers’ director of planning and zoning before leaving in 2023, is director of the Indianapolis Department of Metropolitan Development and a member of Mayor Joe Hogsett’s cabinet. Last week she publicly broke with the mayor’s own economic development arm over $56 million in tax breaks sought for a proposed $250 million data center in the Martindale Brightwood neighborhood.

Indy Economic Development Inc., the organization Hogsett created to lead development efforts and whose board he chairs, recommended the abatements for California-based Metrobloks. Vukusich told the Metropolitan Development Commission at its July 15 meeting that the request should be pulled.

“I am urging the IEDI to withdraw their request today,” she said. “If they do not, then I would ask that the commission not vote to move this (tax break) forward.”

“Offering economic incentives at this time is not appropriate,” Vukusich added. “It is vital that we do not rush these decisions and take our time to have all community benefits clearly outlined and documented to ensure that we are getting the best outcome for the residents of Indianapolis.”

Her comments came two days after city-county councilors voted to advance a moratorium on new data centers — a moratorium Hogsett supports, and one that would not affect projects already in the pipeline, including Metrobloks. According to Mirror Indy’s Peter Blanchard, the statement appeared to catch commission president John Dillon off guard, and two people familiar with the mayor’s thinking said Hogsett did not expect his DMD director to stand in the way.

IEDI has said the project would not be economically feasible without local incentives. IEDI President Andrea Richter-Garry, who declined an interview request from Mirror Indy, said in a statement that IEDI is working with the mayor’s office, DMD and the community to document the long-term benefits of the incentive package.

Hogsett spokesperson Emily Kaufmann disputed that there is any daylight between Vukusich and the mayor, saying all parties are working to secure “the highest standard of commitments” for Martindale Brightwood residents. City documents indicate those could include pedestrian improvements, affordable housing and other infrastructure.

Vukusich came to Indianapolis in September 2023 as DMD deputy director after roughly a year running planning and zoning in Fishers. She was promoted to director in 2025 and now oversees zoning, planning, historic preservation, housing programs and economic incentives for the city.

The tax abatement goes to a public hearing at 1 p.m. Aug. 5 at the City-County Building, 200 E. Washington St., where residents will be able to comment.

Reporting in this story is based on Peter Blanchard’s coverage for Mirror Indy, a nonprofit newsroom covering Indianapolis.

For the first time, Hamilton Southeastern voters will see party labels next to school board candidates’ names on the Nov. 3 ballot. But the 2025 law that created those labels contains a sentence that reads differently than the state’s own guidance — and the conflict is now threatening to knock the only two candidates for an Indianapolis Public Schools seat off the ballot entirely, as WFYI’s Caroline Beck reported this week.

No Hamilton Southeastern candidate has been challenged over party affiliation. The deadline to file one is noon Aug. 21.

Two tests, five words apart

Senate Enrolled Act 287 added IC 3-8-2.5-2.5(c), which says a candidate claiming a major party “must have voted in the two (2) most recent primary elections in Indiana held by the party.” Read literally, that means both May 2024 and May 2026. Miss either one and you fail.

The decades-old statute governing every other partisan candidate, IC 3-8-2-7, says the two most recent primaries “in which the candidate voted” must have been that party’s. That’s a test of consistency, not attendance — and the state’s 2026 Candidate Guide says so explicitly: the law “does not mean the candidate must have voted in the two (2) most chronologically recent primary elections.”

The school board provision drops those five words. The Indiana School Boards Association’s FAQ says the Election Division has clarified that the looser test applies — but that’s guidance, not law, and county election boards decide these challenges.

That is the Marion County Election Board’s problem. IPS District 4 candidates Lindsey Cornett and Chris Bultman both filed as Democrats and, per voter records obtained by WFYI, voted in the 2026 Democratic primary but not 2024. Loose reading: they qualify. Strict reading: they don’t. The board voted unanimously Monday to wait for guidance. “First, thank you General Assembly, because this seems clear as mud,” Clerk Kate Sweeney Bell said.

What’s still unsettled

The escape hatch. A county party chairman’s written certification of membership, filed with the petition, “conclusively rebuts” a challenge under IC 3-8-2.5-7. In races that were nonpartisan for a century, party chairs now hold an effective veto over who carries the label.

The remedy. The state’s Election Administrator’s Manual tells county boards they may remove a successfully challenged candidate. The statute is murkier: Section 7(f) governs what “shall be indicated on the ballot” — the label — not whether the name appears at all. If removal follows, the IPS District 4 race would have no candidates.

Who’s exempt. Libertarian, independent and no-party candidates cannot be challenged over political status. Only major-party claims can.

Locally

Thirteen of Hamilton County’s 27 school board filers declared a major party and are the only ones exposed: Flittner, Cashin and Kirby (Carmel Clay); Wright and Turk (Hamilton Southeastern); Forgey, Ray, Dye and Sampson (Noblesville); Anderson, Ogle, Crawford-Paree and Huff Willis (Westfield Washington). Seven of HSE’s nine candidates filed as no-party, independent or Libertarian.

Statewide, 379 Republicans and 66 Democrats filed — the only labels open to challenge out of 1,043 candidates, per the Indiana Capital Chronicle.

Challenges close at noon Aug. 21; county boards must resolve them by noon Sept. 4. The General Assembly doesn’t reconvene until January 2027 — two months after the votes are counted.

A Heat Advisory is in effect for Fishers and all of Hamilton County until 9 p.m. Monday, July 27, as high humidity pushes apparent temperatures into potentially dangerous territory.

The National Weather Service said heat index values could reach 105 degrees within the advisory area. Hot temperatures combined with high humidity may cause heat-related illnesses.

The advisory also covers Clinton, Hancock, Shelby and Carroll counties. Fishers, Carmel and Noblesville are among the communities included.

Hamilton County Emergency Management warned that the conditions increase the risk of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Officials are asking residents to take precautions even if they plan to remain indoors.

Staying cool indoors

Residents should drink water regularly—even before feeling thirsty—and spend time in air-conditioned spaces whenever possible.

Officials also recommend closing blinds or curtains to block direct sunlight, taking cool showers or baths, wearing light and breathable clothing, and choosing lighter meals. Windows may be opened at night if outdoor temperatures fall enough to provide relief.

Precautions for outdoor activity

Anyone who must be outside should try to schedule activities during the early morning or evening, take frequent breaks in shaded areas and carry plenty of water.

Damp cloths or lightly wet clothing can also help the body cool down. Children, older adults and pets should never be left inside a parked vehicle, even briefly.

The National Weather Service advises residents to stay out of the sun when possible and check on relatives and neighbors, particularly older adults, people with health conditions and anyone without reliable air conditioning.

An 88-year-old Frankton woman was killed in an SR 37 crash Sunday morning in northern Hamilton County, according to the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies were called at about 10 a.m. July 26 to the intersection of State Road 37 and 266th Street, near the town of Atlanta, for a two-vehicle collision.

Preliminary information from the sheriff’s office indicates a Jeep Grand Cherokee carrying one occupant was eastbound on 266th Street and stopped at the stop sign at SR 37. A Chevrolet Impala carrying two occupants was traveling south on SR 37.

As the Jeep pulled onto the highway to make a right turn and head south, the southbound Impala struck it on the driver’s side, investigators said. The Jeep appears to have failed to yield the right of way, according to the preliminary account.

Both vehicles suffered what the sheriff’s office described as catastrophic damage.

Both drivers were taken to area hospitals with injuries the sheriff’s office characterized as minor to moderate. The Impala’s passenger was also taken to a hospital but died of her injuries. She was identified as Mary West, 88, of Frankton. A dog riding in the Impala was also killed.

The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office Crash Investigations Team is handling the investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call 317-773-1282.

The intersection sits at the northern edge of Hamilton County, roughly 30 miles north of Fishers, where SR 37 runs as a two-lane highway through farm country rather than the limited-access corridor Fishers drivers use to the south.

Two events reflecting sharply different views of immigration are scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 1, but key details about the private rally that prompted the response remain unconfirmed.

Save Heritage Indiana says its invitation-only “Mass Deportation Rally” will begin at 7 p.m. at an undisclosed Fishers location. Former U.S. Border Patrol commander-at-large Gregory Bovino is scheduled to speak, and Republican Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith is expected to provide prerecorded video remarks rather than attend in person.

Tickets have been advertised at $50, with the location promised only to approved guests shortly before the event. Save Heritage Indiana’s website calls for ending and reversing “mass migration” and backs universal E-Verify and mandatory local cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

Executive Director Daniel Poynter has said the event is about enforcing immigration laws, not promoting violence or racial division. The Southern Poverty Law Center describes Save Heritage Indiana as anti-immigrant, a characterization Poynter disputes.

Bovino retired in March after nearly 30 years with the Border Patrol. He led high-profile immigration operations in Los Angeles, Chicago and Minneapolis and was removed from his commander-at-large position after federal agents fatally shot U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. Bovino drew condemnation for saying Pretti planned to “massacre” officers, a claim The Associated Press reported authorities had not substantiated.

Bovino also has claimed that 100 million people are living in the United States illegally, without presenting supporting evidence. Pew Research Center’s latest comprehensive estimate was 14 million in 2023. Pew said preliminary evidence indicated the number remained above that level in mid-2025, but had begun to decline.

Earlier Saturday, Fishers Resists and partner organizations plan a public “Hoosier Hospitality March” from 3 to 6 p.m., beginning at Roy G. Holland Memorial Park. The roughly 2-mile route is expected to follow Lantern Road and the Nickel Plate Trail to the Fishers Municipal Center for speeches and a vigil, then return by 116th Street. Organizers describe it as a nonviolent show of support for immigrant neighbors and say safety marshals will be present.

Census data show 11.5% of Fishers residents were foreign-born in 2020-24. That figure includes people with a range of legal statuses and does not indicate how many are in the country without authorization.

Mayor Scott Fadness has said the city did not bring the private rally to Fishers and had no coordination with its organizers. He said the city cannot suppress lawful expression on private property. Fishers police have been working to identify the site so they can protect participants and the public, but will not provide private security.

As of July 27, organizers had not publicly disclosed the private rally’s address, venue, ticket sales, expected attendance or any elected officials planning to appear in person. A widely shared social media claim that the organization was still seeking a venue relies on unnamed sources and has not been independently confirmed. Save Heritage Indiana’s separate claim that it received death threats also has not been publicly substantiated. No reliable crowd estimate for either event was available.

Somehow, I had a feeling this game would come down to the last play. It did. It just didn’t go the Fishers Freight’s way.

The Freight had the ball on the Orlando 17-yard line with one snap left and everything riding on it. Felix Harper’s pass toward James Blackman in the end zone fell incomplete, and the Orlando Pirates escaped Fishers Event Center with a 67-63 win Sunday afternoon — and with the last playoff spot in the Indoor Football League’s Eastern Conference.

The stakes could not have been simpler heading into Fan Appreciation Night: winner in, loser out. Orlando arrived at 9-6, Fishers at 8-7. The Pirates finish the regular season 10-6 and advance to the postseason. The Freight end their second season at 8-8, still looking for the franchise’s first playoff berth.

It was clear early that these evenly matched teams would trade punches to the finish. Both staffs had their clubs ready, and neither side could put the other away.

There was one bizarre sequence in the middle of it. An onside kick bounced loose and rolled all the way into the end zone before Fishers fell on it. The referee first announced that Orlando would take over at the Fishers 1-yard line. After several minutes of discussion among the full crew, the call was reversed: Fishers had the ball at its own 1.

Orlando finished with 244 passing yards to the Freight’s 196. Fishers deserves credit for what it did to Pooka Williams, the Pirates’ star back and a former Kansas standout, holding him to minus-3 rushing yards. But quarterback Paxton DeLaurent again proved to be the problem. He added 24 yards on the ground and threw the ball well — the same formula that beat the Freight 60-57 in Orlando on May 9, a game decided by a leaping catch over the wall as the clock hit zero.

Sunday’s result leaves Orlando 4-0 all-time against Fishers, including a sweep in 2025.

The Freight missed the postseason, but they can hold their heads high. They lost a stack of close games this season and played what was arguably the toughest schedule in the league, and they were still alive on the final play of the final week. That is a long way from a year ago, when the expansion Freight dropped nine straight before closing with five consecutive wins.

Now comes the offseason. Coach Dixie Wooten and his staff will start rebuilding the roster for 2027 — the team’s third season in Fishers, and the first with real expectations attached.

The Formula 1 team that will soon call Fishers home hit another rough patch Sunday, as both Cadillac cars failed to finish the Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest.

Valtteri Bottas was the first to go. On Lap 15 of the 70-lap race, the Finn pulled into the pit lane with his left-front brake on fire, even using the pit wall to help slow the car, according to PlanetF1’s race report. Teammate Sergio Perez, who had started from the pit lane, limped back to the garage late in the race and joined Bottas in retirement. Both drivers are officially classified as DNF (Did Not Finish) in the official results, where Lando Norris took the win for McLaren.

The double retirement extends a frustrating pattern for the first-year American team. Just four weeks ago in Austria, both Cadillacs dropped out within the opening laps with brake fires — Bottas’ third straight retirement after brake-related exits in Monaco and Barcelona, RacingNews365 reported. After that race, Bottas said the team should accept an aerodynamic penalty in exchange for bigger brake cooling. “We’ve got to start finishing races; that’s when we learn,” he said.

Why does any of this matter in Hamilton County? Because the team’s growing pains are, in a real sense, ours. Cadillac’s world Formula 1 headquarters — a $200 million, 400,000-square-foot facility — is rising right now between 96th and 106th streets west of Hague Road, near Indianapolis Metropolitan Airport. The Fishers campus is expected to employ about 300 engineers, technicians and staff who will design and build the team’s race cars.

For now, Cadillac is running its debut season out of a temporary base in Silverstone, England, while construction here is completed. That means the solutions to problems like Sunday’s brake fires will eventually be engineered a short drive from downtown Fishers.

New F1 teams almost always struggle in year one, and reliability — not speed — has been Cadillac’s biggest hurdle. The next chance to turn things around comes Aug. 23 at the Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort. By the time the team’s operations move to Fishers, locals will hope the hard lessons of 2026 have already been learned.

Indianapolis Business Journal reporter Mickey Shuey, who is new to the publication’s North of 96th beat after years of reporting on other IBJ beats, has hit the ground running, reports that Fishers District now represents more than $900 million in completed and committed investment—and city officials say it is far from finished.

The district began with The Yard, which opened near East 116th Street and Ikea Way in 2019. It has since expanded to include restaurants, housing, hotels, offices and the 8,500-seat Fishers Event Center.

Mayor Scott Fadness told Shuey that additional development could easily push the district’s total investment beyond $1 billion.

Indianapolis-based Thompson Thrift has worked with Fishers on the district since 2015. The master developer is nearing completion of The Union at Fishers District, while construction continues on an expansion called The Crossing.

At the district’s southern end, Buckingham Cos. is developing apartments, town houses and a sports facility. The company is also working with JD Sports on plans to move the retailer’s North American headquarters from Indianapolis to the former Navient office complex along Interstate 69.

The Yard has maintained an overall occupancy rate of about 95%, according to Thompson Thrift. Its restaurant and retail spaces are full, while only two small retail vacancies remain in The Union.

More than 500 apartments and nearly 40 town houses have been developed within the broader corridor, with most leased or sold. Union Flats is expected to add 251 apartments later this year.

Thompson Thrift CEO Paul Thrift said The Yard’s restaurant-centered model was unusual when planning began. Rather than relying on a grocery store or traditional retailer as an anchor, the development made dining and entertainment its primary attractions.

Housing was also essential to creating activity throughout the day. The district benefits from nearly 171,000 people living within five miles and from its location near an I-69 interchange.

Upcoming additions include Indiana’s first AC Hotel by Marriott. The Crossing is expected to feature a 10,000-square-foot Prime 47 steakhouse and the state’s first hotel under Hilton’s Curio brand.

Professional sports have become another major draw. The $170 million Fishers Event Center is home to the Indy Fuel hockey team, Indy Ignite volleyball team and Fishers Freight indoor football team.

The Ignite is also building a 29,000-square-foot headquarters as part of Buckingham’s planned fieldhouse development. Fishers will own the 180,000-square-foot fieldhouse, projected to cost $65 million.

The growth has required substantial public support. Fishers has issued $56.6 million in tax-increment-financing bonds for multiple phases of the district, in addition to building the event center and committing to the fieldhouse. JD Sports is also set to receive a 10-year tax abatement for its headquarters relocation.

City officials argue those investments will encourage long-term commercial and entertainment growth. Fishers’ population has risen from about 38,000 in 2000 to approximately 106,000 in 2026.

More development could occur on both sides of East 116th Street. About 60 acres north of The Yard are owned by Sunbeam Development Corp., while additional land remains near Buckingham’s projects south of the event center.

Fadness said discussions with property owners and development partners are underway. For Fishers District, reaching $1 billion might be less a finish line than the start of its next chapter.

You can read Shuey’s entire story at this link, but you will need an IBJ subscription to access the piece.

Continue reading Fishers Road Construction: What to Know This Week →