Drivers should prepare for daytime and overnight paving at 116th Street and Allisonville Road beginning Oct. 9, while closures along 136th Street continue to affect travel in eastern Fishers, according to the city’s weekly construction report.

Milling and paving on Allisonville Road is scheduled for 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Oct. 9–10. Crews will work on outside lanes Friday and inside lanes Saturday, with lane and turn restrictions and temporary entrance closures.

On 116th Street, overnight milling is scheduled from 7 p.m. Oct. 12 to 7 a.m. Oct. 13. Overnight paving is listed for Oct. 13–16, with work hours of 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. Businesses will remain accessible, although individual entrances may close temporarily.

The intersection remains limited to one lane in each direction. The east leg of Fishers Crossing Boulevard at Allisonville Road is closed for paving, requiring drivers entering or leaving Fishers Station Shopping Center to use another entrance. Sidewalks within the project area also are closed.

136th Street and Olio Road

The widening project has closed 136th Street to through traffic between Southeastern Parkway and Prairie Baptist Road. The signed detour uses those two roads. Improvements include raised medians, multi-use paths, new pavement and drainage upgrades.

Separately, the fifth leg of the Southeastern Parkway and Olio Road roundabout has permanently closed. Olio Road is being reduced to one lane in each direction between the roundabout and a point south of 136th Street.

The report also lists an approximately three-week closure of 136th Street west of Olio Road, with traffic detoured via 134th Street. Access from I-69 to IU Health Fishers remains open through the bypass lane, and emergency access will be maintained.

Other construction impacts

USA Parkway north of 106th Street will have lane restrictions through October. Business and driveway access will remain open. Substantial completion is anticipated in mid-October, with final work continuing into November.

Utility relocation at 131st Street and Brooks School Road may cause periodic lane restrictions ahead of roundabout construction. Duke utility work continues to restrict lanes on Cumberland Road between 106th and 116th streets from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Resurfacing is substantially complete on 131st Street, Howe Road and Promise Road, with finishing work remaining. Milling in Springs of Cambridge is scheduled to begin on or after Oct. 23.

Construction schedules are subject to weather and other conditions. Drivers should allow extra travel time and follow posted detours.

Here is the full report, as provided by the City of Fishers:

Continue reading Fishers road update: Paving ahead at 116th and Allisonville, closures continue on 136th →

Hamilton Southeastern earned a 36–0 win at Noblesville Friday night, October 2, while Fishers lost at Franklin Central, 46–22.

The Royals improved to 3–4 overall and 2–3 in the Hoosier Crossroads Conference. The victory snapped a two-game losing streak and gave HSE its first shutout of the season.

According to MaxPreps’ scoring updates, HSE led 10–0 after the first quarter and 23–0 at halftime. The first-half scoring included a 28-yard field goal, two 2-yard touchdown runs and a touchdown pass.

Complete individual statistics and second-half scoring details were not available at the time of this report. Noblesville fell to 2–5 overall and 1–4 in conference play.

Fishers remains in search of its first victory after the loss to Franklin Central. The Tigers are 0–7 overall and 0–5 in the conference. The Flashes improved to 3–4 overall and 2–3 in league play.

Individual statistics and a scoring breakdown for the Fishers game were not available.

Both local teams return to action Friday, October 9, at 7 p.m. HSE travels to Franklin Central, while Fishers hosts Westfield.

The former Fry’s Electronics property along Interstate 69 in Fishers has now sat empty for more than five years, and Mayor Scott Fadness says the city is willing to keep waiting for the right redevelopment, according to a report published today by the Indianapolis Business Journal.

IBJ reporter Mickey Shuey reported that the nearly 17-acre site at 9820 Kincaid Drive has seen little activity since Fry’s closed in February 2021. The city began requiring fencing and around-the-clock security monitoring at the property in 2022 after incidents of squatting and vandalism.

Fadness told IBJ the city has heard several proposals for the site, including trampoline parks, car dealerships and discount stores. None fit the city’s plans for the I-69 corridor, which Fishers wants to develop as a life sciences and corporate office area alongside hotels, apartments and entertainment venues.

Price a sticking point

Fadness said several developers have tried to buy the property but could not reach a deal with its owner, California-based Mound Builders LP. He did not name the developers or disclose the asking price, telling IBJ only that the cost had made projects unworkable. The city’s last talks with the owner took place nearly two years ago through the company’s attorney, he said.

IBJ was unable to reach a registered agent for Mound Builders.

A hard site to reuse

Sara Coers, director of Indiana University’s Center for Real Estate Studies, told IBJ the property is tougher to redevelop than its highway frontage suggests. The site is highly visible from I-69 but difficult to reach, since drivers must wind through the surrounding commercial area rather than turn directly off 96th Street.

The roughly 180,000-square-foot building, which opened in the mid-1990s as an Incredible Universe store and later housed an AutoNation used-car lot, is likely obsolete for most users, Coers said. She told IBJ demolition could cost several million dollars.

Land broker Mike Horrigan of Bradley Co. said the site could suit a campus-style or mixed-use project with multiple tenants, but he expects the existing building would have to come down.

City holds the zoning cards

In 2021, Fishers changed its zoning rules to require City Council approval before most tenants can move into commercial spaces of 25,000 square feet or more. The approach grew out of a 2017 policy the city adopted after Marsh Supermarkets closed its Fishers stores.

Coers said the I-69 corridor remains one of the strongest development areas in the state, and developers have easier, ready-to-build sites to choose from. She said the Fry’s property could stay empty for several more years.

Fadness said the city has no plans to pursue eminent domain and expects the owner and a buyer will eventually reach terms on a project the city can support.

“We’re going to play the long game,” Fadness told IBJ.

This story is based on reporting by Mickey Shuey of the Indianapolis Business Journal and can be accessed at this link.  You will need an IBJ subscription to access this story.  Once again, I encourage you to subscribe to your local news sources!

The Noblesville-based nonprofit Hamilton County Area Neighborhood Development, known as HAND, has opened six new affordable rental homes in Carmel. It’s the group’s latest effort to ease a housing shortage felt in Carmel, Fishers and across Hamilton County.

HAND held an open house and ribbon cutting Tuesday at Home Place Duets, at the corner of 108th and McPherson streets in Carmel’s Home Place area. The development includes three duplex buildings with six three-bedroom homes, one of which is accessible. Residents are expected to begin moving in this month.

HAND also has a presence in Fishers, where it operates Cumberland Crossing, an affordable housing development at 141st Street and Cumberland Road.

Affordable housing remains in short supply in fast-growing communities like Carmel and Fishers. From January through August, 560 people completed HAND’s online housing interest form asking to be placed on its waiting list.

“At the end of the day, this work is about more than completing a development,” said Andrea Davis, HAND executive director. “It’s about making sure people have the opportunity to live in a quality home and remain part of the communities where they work, raise their families and build their lives.”

Residents of Home Place Duets will be referred through Prevail Inc. and Family Promise of Hamilton County. To qualify, applicants must be experiencing homelessness or fleeing domestic violence. HAND will own and manage the homes, while the two partner organizations will continue providing services to the families they refer.

Each home carries a property-based housing voucher that stays with the unit. Qualified residents will pay 30% of their income toward rent, with utilities included.

“Each organization brings something different to the table, and together we can provide both a quality place to call home and ongoing support,” Davis said.

The $3 million project was funded through a mix of public and private sources, including HOME-ARP funding through the Indiana Housing & Community Development Authority, Hamilton County Community Development Block Grant funds and financing from Lake City Bank. H-E Homes served as custom home builder, Inherent Commercial as owner’s representative and CEC Inc. as engineer.

With the new homes, HAND now owns and manages 163 affordable homes across 12 rental communities in Hamilton, Boone and Tipton counties. The nonprofit was founded in 2003.

More information is available at handincorporated.org.

Fans can meet new Indy Fuel head coach Jesse Messier and get a look behind the scenes at Fishers Event Center during the team’s annual open house Sunday, Oct. 11.

The event runs from 1 to 4 p.m. at the arena, 11000 Stockdale St., with activities scheduled just five days before the Fuel’s home opener.

The team’s announcement invites fans to meet Messier, explore the facility and pick up giveaway items. Its promotional graphic also lists locker room tours, vendors, a special guest meet-and-greet, a fire sale and a blood drive with Versiti. The Fuel’s online event listing adds food and a jersey reveal to the afternoon’s activities.

Messier is preparing for his first season leading the Fuel. The team announced his hiring Aug. 21, making him the fifth head coach in franchise history.

He most recently served as an assistant coach with the ECHL’s Bloomington Bison, where his responsibilities included defense, penalty killing and player development. His coaching background also includes the Ontario Hockey League’s Saginaw Spirit, York University and the Kam River Fighting Walleye. As a player, Messier was a member of the Allen Americans’ 2015 Kelly Cup championship team.

The Fuel enter their 13th season in 2026-27 as the ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks and the American Hockey League’s Rockford IceHogs.

For Fishers residents who have yet to visit the arena, the open house offers an opportunity to see the team’s home outside a game-night setting. The 7,500-seat Fishers Event Center opened in November 2024 as part of the expanding Fishers District.

The Fuel’s home opener is Friday, Oct. 16, against the Wheeling Nailers, with puck drop at 7:15 p.m. The team lists a pregame fan fest and rally towel giveaway among the opening-night activities.

Winter may not be top of mind just yet, but the City of Fishers is already looking for workers to help clear the way when the snow arrives.

The city is hiring seasonal, on-call snow plow drivers and snow loader/backhoe operators for its Department of Public Works. Snow plow drivers earn $20 per hour, while loader/backhoe operators earn $30 per hour.

Both positions provide extra help during winter weather events.

The hiring is part of the preparation that takes place before winter storms send crews onto local streets. According to the city, Public Works prepares for snow and ice throughout the year, with crews working 12-hour shifts during major storms to keep city-maintained roads accessible.

Fishers follows a priority system when clearing streets. Major roads and routes connecting hospitals, police and fire stations receive attention first, followed by other heavily traveled roads and neighborhood streets. During a major snowfall, crews may need to return to primary roads several times before moving deeper into subdivisions. The city outlines those priorities on its snow and ice control page.

For those interested in earning extra money this winter, the openings offer a chance to help keep the community moving when weather makes travel difficult.

Applicants can review the requirements and apply by using this link.

Drivers should plan for delays in one of Fishers’ busiest intersections next week. Crews will start milling and paving at 116th Street and Allisonville Road, one of the last major steps in the city’s improvement project there.

The City of Fishers says the work starts Friday, Oct. 9, and runs through Friday, Oct. 16. Crews will pave Allisonville Road during the day. On 116th Street, the work moves to overnight hours to limit the effect on daytime traffic.

Schedule

• Friday, Oct. 9, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.: Milling and paving of the outside lanes of Allisonville Road. Some access points along the road may close for several hours while crews work through the area. They will reopen when possible.
• Saturday, Oct. 10, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.: Milling and paving of the inside lanes of Allisonville Road. Expect lane and turn restrictions.
• Monday, Oct. 12, 7 p.m. to Tuesday, Oct. 13, 7 a.m.: Overnight milling along 116th Street. Access points may close for a time as equipment moves through.
• Oct. 13-16, 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. nightly: Overnight paving along 116th Street. Access points may close for a time and will reopen as work allows.

Motorists should expect lane restrictions, traffic shifts and delays during the work. City officials say businesses in the area will stay open and reachable, though some individual entrances may be affected for short periods.

About the project

Construction started in April. The city redesigned the project to improve traffic flow and safety at the intersection, which gets heavy rush-hour traffic.

Fishers first planned a roundabout there but switched to a traditional signalized intersection. City Engineering Director Hatem Mekky said a roundabout would have required closing the intersection completely. The current design kept traffic moving, with lane restrictions.

The improvements include:

• Longer left-turn lanes to ease rush-hour backups
• Upgraded traffic signals
• New sidewalks and curbs that meet ADA accessibility standards
• Resurfacing of 116th Street

The project is backed by about $2.6 million in federal funding. Indianapolis-based Rieth-Riley Construction is the contractor.

In August, the Fishers Board of Public Works and Safety approved a $345,000 change order to rebuild worn business driveways along the corridor. A field review by the city and the contractor found concrete with broken and cracked edges, asphalt with heavy wear, and drainage problems at those entrances.

The work is part of the city’s broader effort to revitalize the Allisonville Road corridor on the west side of Fishers. City officials have said traffic at the intersection should get lighter once other nearby projects are done. Those include INDOT’s work at Interstates 69 and 465 and the planned rebuilding of the Hazel Dell Bridge in Carmel.

The project is still expected to be finished in late October, weather permitting.

There are about 39 automated license plate reader cameras operated by the Fishers Police Department, most of them supplied by Flock Safety. This week’s edition of “Fridays with Larry” looks at the promise and the risks of that technology.

In my opening commentary, I outline the case for the cameras. Fishers police have described a road rage case in which plate reader data helped officers find and detain an armed suspect within about five minutes. The city keeps the data for 30 days, trains the officers and analysts who use it and says it does not sell the data.

I also look at the Sept. 23 charges filed by Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears against five current and former Indianapolis police officers. They are accused of fraud and official misconduct for running Flock searches with no law enforcement purpose. IMPD now requires every search to be tied to a case number. Chief Tanya Terry said that before, it was optional.

My argument is that the technology itself is neither good nor evil. But Indiana needs clear statewide rules on who can search the data, why, how long it is kept and who checks the logs.

My guest is Walker Lasbury, a Carmel High School graduate and DePauw University junior. He is president and executive director of Eyes Off Indiana, a nonpartisan nonprofit pushing for statewide limits on license plate reader surveillance.

Lasbury said he started the group last November. He began noticing the cameras while driving and learned Indiana has no state law regulating them. Each department now sets its own rules on how long data is kept and who can see it. As a result, he said, a driver’s privacy protections can change from one jurisdiction to the next.

His group supports three measures: a seven-day data retention limit, with a warrant required for older data; a ban on commercial sharing or selling of the data; and basic transparency and audit requirements.

Lasbury said the issue is a rare one that brings together conservatives and progressives. He said at least four efforts are forming in the Indiana General Assembly, and he expects some form of regulation to pass in the 2027 session.

“The question is no longer are we going to regulate,” he said. “The question is to what extent.”

In the closing segment, I discuss the Indiana High School Athletic Association’s May 4 decision to allow athletes to earn money from name, image and likeness. The board approved the change on a 13-5 vote. Starting this school year, athletes may profit from social media endorsements, personal appearances, private lessons and youth camps. Athletes cannot use school names, logos or uniforms. Booster collectives are banned, and every deal must be reported to the athletic director within 48 hours.

For most athletes at Fishers and Hamilton Southeastern, the change may mean little. For a standout athlete, though, it opens a door that was closed for more than 120 years.

“Fridays with Larry” is sponsored by Citizens State Bank, with a Fishers branch in the Thomas A. Weaver Municipal Complex.

Watch the video on YouTube at this link, listen to the audio on SoundCloud using this link, or utilize the links below.

Fourteen students from Fishers and Hamilton Southeastern high schools were honored at an Oct. 1 breakfast for being named semifinalists in the 2027 National Merit Scholarship Program, according to HSE Schools.

Nine students attend Fishers High School and five attend Hamilton Southeastern High School. The recognition gives them an opportunity to continue competing for college scholarships.

The program identifies semifinalists based on qualifying PSAT scores, with the highest-scoring entrants in each state earning the designation, according to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.

The district identified the local honorees as:

Fishers High School: Asher Burgoyne, Cooper Chapple, Sashi Ganapaneni, Owen Jerrell, Abeer Khan, Abiola Olutayo, Allison Svilenov, Seth Tennekoon and Ben Wu.

Hamilton Southeastern High School: Thomas Bezza, Liam Kenyon, Tyler Orris, William Pence and Hojin Shin.

Svilenov credited teachers with helping shape her academic experience.

“Having teachers that genuinely cared about their students and were passionate about teaching had a tremendous impact on the type of student I am today,” she said in the district’s news release.

Jason Urban, assistant superintendent of secondary education, said preparation for academic achievement begins long before high school.

“One of the things that really prepares students well is to have a challenging, rigorous, relevant curriculum throughout their journey,” Urban said.

According to the district, freshmen and sophomores take practice exams that help families, teachers and counselors identify students’ strengths and areas for improvement. That information helps guide course selections, including Advanced Placement and dual credit classes.

Bezza described the semifinalist recognition as an accomplishment shared with those who supported him.

“Being named a semifinalist feels less like validation and more like a shared achievement with my school. It reminds me how fortunate I am to be surrounded by passionate HSE educators, my thoughtful friends and my supportive family,” he said.

Perfect fall weather and a packed parking lot greeted families Wednesday evening as the Fishers Police Department opened its doors for the 2026 FPD Open House.

The free event ran from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at police headquarters, 4 Municipal Drive, and gave residents a close look at the officers who patrol one of Indiana’s fastest-growing cities. Ascension St. Vincent presented the event under the theme “Serving Together. Caring Together.”

Children and parents moved between stations featuring equipment demonstrations, police vehicles and members of the department’s specialty units. Kids lined up for face painting, Kona Ice and cotton candy, and the department served a hot dog dinner to everyone who came.

One of the most popular stops was the dunk tank. It gave young residents the rare chance to send a school resource officer into the water. Fishers police SROs work every day in Hamilton Southeastern Schools buildings, and the open house let many students see them in a different setting.

“Our Cops. Our Kids. Our City.” was the department’s slogan for the evening. The night was built around informal conversation, with no speeches or formal program, and officers spent the two hours answering questions, posing for photos and letting children climb into patrol cars.

The open house used to be part of National Night Out, which is held nationally in early August. Last year the department moved it to the end of September to draw more families, and the larger crowds that followed brought it back to the same date this year. Ascension St. Vincent Fishers sponsored the event again in 2026.

Community events like this one are part of the department’s wider outreach effort, which also includes its citizens police academy and school programs. As Fishers has grown to more than 100,000 residents, the department has put a priority on keeping that neighborhood connection.

Judging by Wednesday’s crowd, many Fishers families plan to keep coming back.

Here are some photos from Wednesday evening:

Continue reading Families Pack Fishers Police Headquarters for Annual Open House →