Families can build miniature robots, drive remote-control cars using virtual-reality headsets and try out tools during Fishers Parks’ first STEM Day on Saturday, Nov. 14.

The free event runs from noon to 5 p.m. at Fishers Maker Playground, 8100 E. 106th St. It is open to all ages, and no registration is required, according to the Fishers Parks event listing.

The event will give younger visitors a chance to explore the 15,000-square-foot makerspace, which typically serves people ages 16 and older. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and math.

“We are excited to welcome our youngest makers and innovators into Maker Playground,” Fishers Parks Director Marissa Deckert said in the city’s announcement.

Planned activities include competition robot demonstrations by Fishers High School’s robotics team and a look at a student-built electric go-kart from Purdue Polytechnic Anderson. Visitors also can watch demonstrations of 3D printing, laser cutting, CNC machines and limestone carving.

Hands-on activities will include building a bristlebot — a miniature robot powered by vibrations — and driving a remote-control car through a VR headset. A Power Tool Petting Zoo will let visitors try drills, hammers and screwdrivers. High-powered rocket demonstrations also are planned.

Participating organizations include Fishers Robotics, Purdue Polytechnic Anderson, Ivy Tech and local 3D printing distributor Fibricate. Tanaka Chonyera, who leads Maker Playground’s High-Powered Rocket Bootcamps, also will participate.

Families can meet educators from Make 5, Maker Playground’s fifth-grade program offered in conjunction with Hamilton Southeastern Schools, and learn about other STEM opportunities.

Maker Playground is Fishers Parks’ public makerspace, with equipment for woodworking, metalworking and 3D printing. Memberships are available to adults and students ages 16 and older.

Visitors may drop in anytime during STEM Day. More information about the facility, memberships and classes is available at FishersMPG.com.

The Big Ten Conference will crown its first women’s volleyball tournament champion in Fishers this month.

The inaugural Big Ten Volleyball Tournament is set for Nov. 20-25 at the Fishers Event Center, home of Major League Volleyball’s Indy Ignite. The top 15 teams in the conference’s regular-season standings will qualify. It will be the first time the conference’s volleyball programs, among the best in the nation, have gathered in one venue for a tournament.

The tournament opens with three first-round matches, followed by four second-round matches. Play then moves to the quarterfinals and semifinals, with the championship match scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 25. One off day is built into the schedule. The official bracket will be announced Tuesday, Nov. 17.

Free Fan Village at the Amphitheater

Fans without tickets can still be part of the week. The Big Ten has announced a free Big Ten Fan Village at the Nickel Plate District Amphitheater, open daily throughout the tournament.

The village will show every tournament match. It will also have official merchandise, photo spots, grass volleyball courts, crafts and activities, food trucks and bonfires.

Each day has its own theme:

• Friday, Nov. 20 (10 a.m. to 10 p.m.): Opening Celebration Day, with a concert by Toy Factory
• Saturday, Nov. 21 (10 a.m. to 10 p.m.): Family Day, with Indy Ignite appearances and youth activities
• Sunday, Nov. 22 (10 a.m. to 10 p.m.): Girls in Sports and Leadership Day
• Monday, Nov. 23 (about 6 to 9 p.m.): Explore Hamilton County and the Major League Volleyball Draft, hosted by the Indy Ignite
• Tuesday, Nov. 24 (4 to 10 p.m.): Semifinals Watch Party
• Wednesday, Nov. 25 (5 to 10 p.m.): Championship Watch Party

More information on the Fan Village is available at bigten.org.

Bringing the tournament to Fishers classrooms

The Big Ten is also taking the tournament into local schools. The Big Ten School Visits program will reach about 5,000 Fishers students at 19 schools.

The program includes reading visits at 13 elementary schools for kindergarten through fourth grade and volleyball instruction at three intermediate schools for grades five and six. Four junior high schools will hold morning pep rallies for students in grades seven and eight. Every student will get a Big Ten drawstring bag and pencil.

The visits are a joint effort with the city of Fishers and the Indy Ignite, including the team’s mascot, Pepper, and the Firestarters. They began Oct. 28 and run through Nov. 20.

For tournament and venue information, visit fisherseventcenter.com.

I was skeptical that the Chicago Bears would ever build their stadium in Hammond. The latest developments give that skepticism more weight.

Indiana’s problem from the beginning was straightforward: Its offer could help the Bears secure better terms in Illinois without requiring them to leave.

Consider what the team already owned. In February 2023, the Bears bought 326 acres in Arlington Heights for $197.2 million. That purchase did not guarantee a stadium, but it gave the franchise a substantial Illinois alternative long before Hammond entered the picture.

Then consider the gap between Indiana’s enthusiasm and the Bears’ actual commitment. When Hoosier officials celebrated their proposed stadium arrangement in February, the team’s statement remained conditional on further site investigation. Gov. Mike Braun likewise acknowledged that completing an agreement depended on that work. The publicity ran ahead of the certainty.

The strongest argument against my skepticism came in June, when the Bears’ board voted to advance the Hammond project. That was a meaningful action. Still, the team had not selected an exact site. Advancing a project left important decisions unresolved.

The Kansas City Chiefs’ planned move from Missouri to Kansas made an interstate switch seem more plausible. Their December 2025 announcement included a $3 billion stadium, a 2031 opening target and financing split 60% public and 40% private. It demonstrated that state borders are negotiable when stadium money is involved. It could not establish that Hammond would prevail in a separate negotiation.

Meanwhile, Illinois never disappeared. Emails obtained by Capitol News Illinois documented August discussions involving the Bears’ stadium executive and minority owner Pat Ryan. On Oct. 1, Ryan and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell met with Gov. JB Pritzker and legislative leaders about keeping the team in Illinois.

By Oct. 31, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Pritzker’s assessment that negotiators were closer than ever to an Illinois agreement. That remains short of a completed deal.

None of this proves Hammond was a bluff. A credible alternative can be both a genuine possibility and a powerful bargaining tool.

But it explains why Indiana’s plan may have been doomed from the start: Its greatest value to the Bears may always have been the pressure it placed on Illinois. Hoosier officials could offer a stadium framework. They could not prevent Illinois from responding.

Sunday’s Mexico City Grand Prix went badly for the Cadillac Formula 1 team, whose headquarters is still under construction in Fishers.

Valtteri Bottas crashed out on Lap 44 when the front-left suspension on his car failed under braking for Turn 1, at the end of the long front straight at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. The Cadillac hit the barriers hard. Race officials sent out the safety car and then stopped the race with a red flag so crews could repair the damaged barriers.

Bottas, 37, sat in the cockpit for several minutes while medical staff talked with him, then climbed out on his own. Cadillac said he was responsive on the team radio and went to the circuit medical center as a precaution. The team later said he had been released and was OK, though he skipped post-race media duties.

Teammate Sergio Perez, racing before his home crowd, finished 17th, about 31 seconds behind the winner. Max Verstappen of Red Bull won the race. Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli finished third, and at 20 that clinched the world championship and made him the youngest champion in F1 history. Four races remain in the season. Cadillac is still looking for its first championship point.

Herta moves closer to eligibility

For Colton Herta, the weekend may have been more important on Friday than on Sunday.

Cadillac’s test driver ran 24 laps, roughly 100 kilometers, in Bottas’ car during the first practice session. Going into the weekend, the team said Herta had 39 of the 40 super license points a driver needs to race in F1. The Mexico City run is expected to give him the last point, but the FIA still has to sign off.

Herta, 26, left IndyCar for Formula 2 this year to chase a Cadillac race seat. He has called the F2 season disappointing.

Last week, Cadillac CEO Dan Towriss said Perez and Bottas are both under contract, but the team is reviewing its lineup. Towriss said Bottas has been off the race pace in a few races. Asked whether Herta could race for Cadillac in 2027, he said, “Yeah, there’s always a chance.” He said the team expects to say more about drivers in the next few weeks.

Some reports say Cadillac would still rather keep Bottas for stability. Others say General Motors likes the idea of promoting Herta, the team’s most likely American candidate. Former Racing Bulls driver Yuki Tsunoda is also reported to be in the mix.

The Fishers connection

Back home, work continues on the team’s $200 million, 400,000-square-foot headquarters near Indianapolis Metropolitan Airport, between East 96th and East 106th streets west of Hague Road. When it’s finished, it will be the corporate home and manufacturing center for the Cadillac F1 team and TWG Motorsports. The team has said it plans to employ about 300 people there.

As Fishers and Hamilton County voters head into Tuesday’s midterm election, national forecasts point to a strong night for Democrats. One of the country’s best-known forecasters says that outcome is likely, but far from certain.

Nate Silver, founder of FiveThirtyEight and now author of the Silver Bulletin newsletter, wrote last week that Democratic leads in several key U.S. Senate races are “all just a normal-sized polling error away from flipping.”

Silver’s model shows Democrats ahead by only 2.4 points in Maine, 2.5 points in Texas, 3 points in Ohio and 3.6 points in Alaska. Those margins are well within the range by which polls have missed in recent elections.

His central worry is a polling error that runs the same way in every race. If the polls are off by 3 or 4 points toward Republicans across the board, Silver said, most of those Democratic Senate leads would disappear at once. He has also noted that recent polling misses have clustered in the Midwest.

Hoosiers have reason to remember how badly polls can miss. In 2016, most major forecasts gave Hillary Clinton a strong chance of winning the presidency. FiveThirtyEight put her odds at about 71%, and The New York Times’ Upshot model put them at about 85%. Donald Trump won.

In 2024, polls described the presidential race as a toss-up. Trump swept all seven battleground states and won the Electoral College 312-226. Next door in Iowa, a final poll from the respected Des Moines Register pollster Ann Selzer showed Kamala Harris ahead by 3 points. Trump carried the state by about 13.

Silver is careful to say the error could run the other way, too. He said he could imagine Republican turnout collapsing and giving Democrats an even bigger win. He also points out that polls in the last two midterm elections, 2018 and 2022, were fairly accurate.

Still, his overall forecast favors Democrats. The House remains his strongest call. If Democrats were to lose it, he said, there would be serious questions about what is happening with the polling.

The lesson for voters is the one that never changes. Forecasts describe probabilities, not outcomes, and a 70% chance means the other result happens nearly one time in three.

The only count that matters begins when the polls close Tuesday night.

Hamilton Southeastern Schools voters will decide Tuesday whether to replace the district’s operating referendum. The current measure is only three years into its eight-year term. It was approved in 2023 with about 70% of the vote.

HSE is one of five Hamilton County districts with an operating referendum on the ballot, along with Carmel Clay, Noblesville, Sheridan and Westfield. Across Indiana, a record 38 public school districts put referendums totaling around $500 million on the November ballot.

Why now

District leaders say they would not be asking for a higher rate if not for Senate Enrolled Act 1, the 2025 state property tax overhaul. The law phases in larger homestead deductions. Those deductions shrink the assessed value the referendum rate applies to. HSE projects losing about $45.3 million from 2026 through 2031 without a new levy.

The same law restricted school referendums to general elections in even-numbered years. If the measure fails Tuesday, HSE’s next chance is 2028.

Where the money goes

The referendum fund is primarily used to pay teacher salaries and benefits, which account for over 97% of the 2026 budget. The ballot question lists salaries and benefits for about 275 staff members. It also lists a behavioral health contract that puts therapists in school buildings, shared school resource officer costs, a director of school safety, traffic control, after-school event security, and safety supplies.

The district has already cut nearly 60 positions this year as elementary enrollment declines.

Reading the ballot language

The question sets a maximum rate of 36 cents per $100 of assessed value and caps yearly collections at $47.5 million. State-required wording says the tax bill on a median $400,000 home “would increase by $700 per year.” That number reflects the full referendum levy at the maximum rate, not the difference from what homeowners already pay.

The current rate is 19.95 cents. Chief Financial Officer Tim Brown has recommended a 2027 rate of 22 cents. At that rate, a homeowner with a 2026 gross assessed value of $400,000 is estimated to pay approximately $26 more per year, or about $2 a month.

Under Indiana law, school districts must seek voter approval for the highest possible rate they may need during the life of the referendum. The school board would set the actual rate each year and approve an annual spending plan through the public budget process. A rate schedule presented to the board in May showed the rate climbing about 6% a year, reaching roughly 33 cents by 2034.

The case for

Superintendent Dr. Matt Kegley cites three schools with 100% IREAD proficiency, a 97.3% districtwide third-grade passing rate, and both high schools ranking in the top 5% nationally by U.S. News & World Report. He wrote in an op-ed, “There is no substitute for having talented, capable professionals in front of students every day.” Advance HSE, a political action committee, is campaigning for a yes vote.

The case against

No organized local opposition has formed against HSE’s measure. Statewide, Americans for Prosperity-Indiana is running ads against school referendums. When the group opposed a Northwest Allen County referendum last year, it said the measure “would raise property taxes on families already struggling to make ends meet” and called for sustainable reforms instead. Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith, a Hamilton County resident, has criticized the measures. He has said districts sometimes use the threat of layoffs to pass referendums. Skeptics also point out that the ballot authorizes a ceiling well above what HSE plans to charge next year.

How to vote

Early voting ends Monday, Nov. 2, and Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. Check your registration, polling place and sample ballot at IndianaVoters.in.gov. The district has about 83,000 registered voters.

The Indy Fuel built a 3-0 lead early in the third period Sunday at the Fishers Event Center. Then the Fort Wayne Komets scored three straight goals to force overtime, and Jack Kopacka won it in the extra session for a 4-3 come-from-behind victory for the rivals from up I-69.

Kopacka’s game-winner was assisted by Mitch Hults and Cole Hults.

The Komets were playing their third game in three days, but they found their legs once they got on the board in the third period. They tied the game with 2:32 left in regulation.

It was another slow start for the Fuel, who had little energy early. Fort Wayne carried the play in a scoreless first period and outshot Indy 9-5.

Kyler Kupka broke the scoreless tie in the second period with a short-handed goal, assisted by Aaron Bohlinger. Both teams had several power-play chances in the period, but neither scored on one.

Owen Robinson made it 2-0 early in the third period. About four minutes later, Josh Nixon scored, assisted by Chase Dafoe. With a 3-0 lead, the Fuel looked to be in control.

That’s when the Komets got going. Shortly after Nixon’s goal, Mitch Hults scored, assisted by Arnaud Durandeau and Kopacka, to cut the lead to 3-1. With just over nine minutes left in regulation, Durandeau scored, assisted by Hults and Kopacka, to make it 3-2.

Josh Davies tied the game with 2:32 remaining, assisted by Cody Morgan and Cole Hults.

Kopacka and Mitch Hults each finished with a goal and two assists. Durandeau had a goal and an assist. Kopacka and Durandeau both signed with Fort Wayne in the offseason. Kopacka is a former Anaheim Ducks draft pick who spent the last four seasons playing in Sweden.

The loss came one week after the Fuel beat the Komets 6-2 at Fort Wayne’s Memorial Coliseum on Oct. 24. Fort Wayne beat Indy nine times last season.

The Fuel are back home Tuesday, Nov. 3, for their annual Education Day game against the Cincinnati Cyclones. Puck drop is 10:30 a.m. at the Fishers Event Center, and doors open at 9:30 a.m. Indy then hosts the Kalamazoo Wings on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 7 p.m.

Money does not guarantee a win on Election Day, but candidates rarely regret having more of it.

For years, the nonpartisan research group OpenSecrets has found that the top-spending candidate wins roughly nine of every 10 U.S. House races. Researchers caution that much of that edge reflects incumbency and lopsided districts, not cash alone, and PolitiFact has noted the advantage shrinks in state legislative races, where 80% of better-funded candidates won in 2008. Upsets happen.

Still, money pays for the yard signs, mailers, text messages and digital ads that make a candidate known. That matters a great deal in down-ballot contests like school board, where many voters know little about the names in front of them.

With that in mind, pre-election campaign finance reports filed with the Hamilton County Election Office offer a look at who is backing candidates for the Hamilton Southeastern Schools board ahead of Tuesday’s election.

The reports show two of Fishers’ most prominent officeholders putting money into the race. Fadness for Fishers, the campaign committee of Mayor Scott Fadness, gave $2,500 apiece to Greg Wright in District 1, Josh Perry in District 2 and David Turk in District 3. Todd Huston for State Rep, the committee of Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston of Fishers, gave $1,000 each to Wright and Perry.

That is $9,500 from the two committees, going to one candidate in each of the three contested districts. The money made up 61% of what Wright raised and 56% of Perry’s total. For Turk, the race’s top fundraiser, the mayor’s contribution was about 8% of his total.

None of their opponents who filed reports, Faiza Maqsood in District 1, Cyrus Keck in District 2 and Michelle Fullhart in District 3, reported money from either committee.

Turk led all candidates, reporting $31,156.48 in receipts, including a $10,000 loan he made to his own campaign. Maqsood was second with $19,113.55, including $7,000 from two political action committees: the Indiana Muslim PAC and I-PACE, the political arm of the Indiana State Teachers Association.

The rest of the field raised far less. Perry reported $6,209.86 and Wright $5,700. Fullhart, Stephanie Braden, who is unopposed in District 4, and Keck each paid for their campaigns entirely out of their own pockets, at $2,500, $1,934.90 and $1,131.82, respectively. Fullhart’s money came in the form of loans to her campaign.

Together, the seven 2026 reports on file show about $68,000 raised, with Turk and Maqsood accounting for nearly three-quarters of it.

Two candidates did not file reports: Anthony Wren, a Libertarian in District 1, and Ferras Abdalla, who has no party affiliation, in District 2. Under Indiana law, a school board candidate must form a campaign committee and file reports only after receiving more than $500 in contributions or spending more than $500 on the race.

The pre-election reports cover activity through Oct. 9 to Oct. 15, depending on the candidate, so money raised or spent in the campaign’s final weeks will show up in later filings.

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. Polls are open 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Here is a closer look at each candidate:

Continue reading Fadness, Huston money flows to some HSE school board candidates; Turk tops fundraising →

Triumph has canceled its Nov. 27 concert at Fishers Event Center as part of the cancellation of its remaining 2026 Reloaded Tour dates.

The Canadian rock band announced the decision Oct. 30, citing “sudden and unexpected medical circumstances affecting the band,” according to The Rock Revival. The North American tour was part of the group’s 50th anniversary celebration.

Ticketmaster lists the Fishers concert as canceled. The show had been scheduled for 8 p.m., with April Wine also on the bill.

In its statement, Triumph said the medical circumstances prevent the band from rehearsing and proceeding with the upcoming shows. The group apologized for the short notice and the inconvenience to fans.

Tickets for the affected concerts will be refunded automatically through the original point of purchase, the band said. Ticketholders do not need to take action to begin the refund process. Anyone with questions about an order should contact the ticket provider from which they purchased their tickets.

The statement did not identify who was affected or disclose details about the medical circumstances. The band described the outlook as positive and said it intends to return to the stage as soon as possible, but provided no timetable.

Triumph formed in Mississauga, Ontario, in 1975. Its best-known songs include “Lay It on the Line,” “Magic Power” and “Fight the Good Fight.”

Hamilton Southeastern’s girls soccer team is a state champion again, and this time the Royals didn’t drop a single point.

The top-ranked Royals beat No. 5 Center Grove 3-1 Saturday night in the IHSAA Class 3A state championship at Michael A. Carroll Track & Soccer Stadium on the IU Indianapolis campus. The win gave HSE its second straight state title and a 23-0 record.

HSE is only the third unbeaten, untied champion in the history of the IHSAA girls soccer tournament. The other two are Carmel, which went 25-0 in 2002, and Homestead, which went 22-0 in 2021, according to the IHSAA’s state finals preview. The Indianapolis Star reported that the Royals are also the third program to win back-to-back titles without a loss in either season, joining Carmel (1994-95) and Noblesville (2019-20).

Junior Skylar Mueller scored twice, and her first goal, on a penalty kick, put HSE ahead. About 20 minutes later, outside back Kinsley Good stepped in front of a Center Grove pass and shot from roughly 40 yards. The ball went over the Trojans’ goalkeeper, and HSE led 2-0 at halftime. It was Good’s first goal of the season.

“Overhit it but it worked out,” Good told the Star. “Perfect timing, ended on one.”

Center Grove’s Mia Marlin scored on a header eight minutes into the second half to make it 2-1. It was her 32nd goal of the season. With about seven minutes left, Mueller cut to her left near the top of the box and scored to put the game away. Mueller, a Colorado commit, is in her first season at HSE.

“Ironically, we didn’t have our best game and still won 3-1,” HSE coach Greg Davidson told the Star.

The IHSAA named senior goalkeeper Hannah Dodge the winner of the Wynns Mental Attitude Award. Dodge had 17 shutouts going into the final, and HSE had given up only eight goals all season before Saturday.

“Doing it once is awesome but doing it twice is just rare and incredible,” junior Sydney May said. May led the Royals with 27 goals going into the final.

HSE won its first six tournament games by a combined 32-3. That run included a 4-3 regional championship win over No. 2 Homestead and a 5-0 semistate win over Crown Point. The Royals haven’t lost in two seasons. Last year they went 22-0-1 and won the program’s first state title, beating Carmel 1-0. Davidson, in his 28th season leading the program, told the Star his team beat every top-10 team in Indiana this year.

Center Grove finished 17-3-2. The Trojans have never won a girls soccer state title, and this was their second loss in a state final in three seasons.

This is HSE’s second state team title this month. The boys tennis team won the school’s first state title in that sport on Oct. 17.

Also on Saturday, HSE junior Anya Zoeller finished third in the girls cross country state finals in Terre Haute, with a time of 17:08.0.