The Formula 1 team building its permanent home in Fishers had another tough day Saturday. Both Cadillac cars finished at the back of the field in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, and one of them ended the race in the wall.

Sergio Pérez finished 15th, the last car to complete all 51 laps, 41.4 seconds behind the winner. Teammate Valtteri Bottas crashed at Turn 15 on the final lap. He was still classified 16th, two laps down, because he had run most of the race distance.

George Russell of Mercedes won after holding off Red Bull’s Max Verstappen by less than two-tenths of a second. Two safety car periods had wiped out Russell’s 11-second lead. Isack Hadjar of Red Bull finished third.

Bottas said a problem with the car’s hybrid system caused his crash. Earlier on the same lap he had run off the track at Turn 1, and he believes the system “got confused” after that. He described a “big super-clip” that lasted about 100 meters, a sudden loss of electrical power, and said that afterward “only the front brakes would probably work.”

The team confirmed there was a technical problem and said it would investigate. Race stewards also opened an investigation into the crash.

“A long, difficult day,” Bottas said. He added that the team is still short on pace.

Pérez has won in Baku twice before, in 2021 and 2023. He called the weekend one of his best ever at the street circuit, even though the car was about one to two seconds a lap slower than the leaders. He said drag on Baku’s long straights was the biggest problem.

Cadillac is in its first Formula 1 season and has not scored a championship point yet. Its best finish so far is Bottas’ 13th place in China in March.

Back home, the team is still building its Fishers headquarters. Cadillac F1 CEO Dan Towriss has said the facility will become “increasingly important” as the team moves into “a more U.S.-centered phase.” Employees now based in the U.K. have been told to relocate to Fishers by January 2027.

With eight races left, the Fishers-bound team is still looking for its first top-10 finish.

Changes at the Southeastern Parkway and Olio Road roundabout lead the latest Fishers road construction report, with a permanent closure scheduled for the week of Sept. 28 as work continues across the city.

According to the city’s weekly update, the roundabout’s fifth leg will permanently close to traffic that week. Olio Road will be reduced to one lane in each direction between the roundabout and a point just south of 136th Street.

As part of that work, 136th Street west of Olio Road will close for approximately three weeks, with traffic detoured using 134th Street. Access from I-69 to IU Health Fishers will remain open via the bypass lane, and emergency access will be maintained.

Elsewhere on 136th Street, the widening project has moved into its second phase between Southeastern Parkway and Prairie Baptist Road. That stretch remains closed to through traffic, with a signed detour using those two roads.

At 116th Street and Allisonville Road, traffic remains limited to one through lane in each direction, with designated turn lanes. That arrangement is expected to continue through early October, weather permitting. The east leg of Fishers Crossing Boulevard at Allisonville Road is also closed for paving, requiring drivers headed to Fishers Station to use another entrance. Businesses remain open.

Resurfacing crews plan to pave 96th Street between Carroll and Olio roads during the week of Sept. 28, following milling and base repairs. Flaggers will direct traffic as work moves east to west. Milling is also scheduled to begin that week in Springs of Cambridge.

Lane restrictions continue on USA Parkway north of 106th Street through October. Utility relocation at 131st Street and Brooks School Road may cause periodic restrictions as preparations continue for a new roundabout.

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

The full report, including utility work, neighborhood projects and Clear Path traffic restrictions, follows below:

Continue reading Fishers road work brings new closures, paving the week of Sept. 28 →

Both Fishers and Hamilton Southeastern faced unbeaten Hoosier Crossroads Conference opponents Friday night, and while neither school came away with a victory, the Tigers showed their most explosive offense of the season.

Fishers fell to Avon 36-26 at home, while Hamilton Southeastern dropped a 30-14 decision at Zionsville.

For the Tigers, the final score only told part of the story.

After struggling offensively through the season’s first six games, Fishers produced its best passing performance of the year behind quarterback Drew Wessel. The senior completed 36 of 53 passes for 439 yards and four touchdowns, despite throwing three interceptions.

The 439 passing yards are by far the Tigers’ highest total of the season and kept Fishers in contention throughout much of the night against one of the Hoosier Crossroads Conference’s top teams.

Fishers finished with 478 total yards, including 439 through the air, but managed only 39 rushing yards as Avon controlled the line of scrimmage.

Bogan led the Tigers on the ground with 27 yards on nine carries, while Skelton added 13 yards on four attempts.

Although Fishers outgained Avon through the air by a wide margin, the Orioles countered with a dominant rushing attack, piling up 235 rushing yards while finishing with 381 total yards.

Avon converted three of nine third-down opportunities, scored on both of its red-zone possessions and capitalized on Fishers’ three interceptions.

The Tigers recorded 28 first downs compared with 16 for Avon, illustrating just how productive the passing game became despite the loss.

The defeat drops Fishers to 0-6 overall and 0-4 in Hoosier Crossroads Conference play, but the offensive production offered encouragement for a team that had struggled to generate points during the first half of the season.

Hamilton Southeastern also faced a difficult challenge on the road against undefeated Zionsville.

The Eagles remained unbeaten with a 30-14 victory over the Royals, handing Hamilton Southeastern its fourth conference loss of the season.

The loss dropped the Royals to 2-5 overall and 1-4 in the Hoosier Crossroads Conference.

Hamilton Southeastern had entered the game hoping to build momentum after its victory over Fishers two weeks earlier, but Zionsville continued its strong season with another conference win.

The Royals have now faced one of the state’s toughest schedules, including Fort Wayne Carroll, Avon, Westfield and Zionsville—all programs that have spent time among Indiana’s top Class 6A teams.

With the regular season entering its final stretch, both Fishers schools will look to finish strong against another series of challenging conference opponents.

HSE’s next opponent is Noblesville at the Miller’s home field, while Fishers travels to Franklin Central.

The Fishers Health Department issued a public health advisory Friday, Sept. 25, after recent water testing produced unsatisfactory E. coli results at two locations along Fall Creek.

The advisory identifies Fall Creek at Canal Place, 14400 Geist Ridge Drive, and Fall Creek at Geist Park, 10800 Florida Road.

The department said unsatisfactory results often follow periods of heavy rainfall. Its notice did not provide bacteria counts, sampling dates or a timetable for follow-up testing.

Both locations help the city track water quality as Fall Creek approaches Geist Reservoir. The department identifies Geist Park as a location where the creek enters Fishers and Canal Place as a point where it begins emptying into the reservoir. Sampling at Canal Place allows comparisons with locations farther into Geist, according to the city’s water-testing information.

E. coli testing helps health officials assess whether water has been contaminated by human or animal waste. Most strains of the bacteria are harmless, but some cause gastrointestinal illness. The bacteria also serve as a warning that other disease-causing organisms may be present, according to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.

An unsatisfactory result does not identify the source of contamination or establish that anyone has become ill. The Fishers notice did not report illnesses associated with either location.

Rain can carry waste from land into creeks and reservoirs. IDEM identifies pet and wildlife waste, agricultural runoff, leaking septic systems and sewer overflows among the possible sources of E. coli contamination. The advisory did not identify a specific source for these results.

Fishers’ testing program covers 40 creek and open-water locations, with results for nine areas published monthly during spring, summer and fall. The city says runoff from both developed areas and agricultural land affects local water quality. Streets, rooftops and parking lots allow rainfall to run into storm drains and waterways, while vegetated ground helps absorb it. Details and links to sampling results are available on the department’s environmental testing page.

For people spending time on the water, IDEM recommends checking posted advisories, avoiding swallowing surface water while boating, kayaking, canoeing or fishing, washing hands before eating and showering after water contact. Residents can also help reduce contamination by picking up pet waste and having septic systems regularly checked and emptied.

The notice names the two Fall Creek sampling locations and does not announce a park closure. It also does not address household drinking-water quality.

Residents can find water-testing information and sign up for environmental email alerts through the Fishers Health Department.

Hamilton Southeastern Schools students scored more than 24 percentage points above Indiana’s statewide proficiency rates in math and English/language arts on the 2025-26 ILEARN assessment, according to results released by the district.

For students in grades 3-8, HSE reported a math proficiency rate of 68.1%, compared with 42.7% statewide. In English/language arts, the district reported 66.4%, compared with Indiana’s 42.0%.

Those figures put HSE ahead of the state by 25.4 percentage points in math and 24.4 percentage points in English/language arts. The district said differences across individual grade levels and subjects ranged from 21 to 30 percentage points.

The results come with an important qualification: Indiana redesigned the assessment, so the scores cannot be used to determine whether performance improved or declined from previous years. The Indiana Department of Education says changes to academic standards and test design make the 2026 results a new baseline for future comparisons.

“We are proud of our students as well as the teachers and staff who support them every day,” HSE Superintendent Matt Kegley said in the district’s release. “These results show a high level of learning happening in classrooms across HSE Schools. They also give us important information about where our students are doing well and where we can continue to grow.”

The redesigned math and English/language arts assessments use a “through-year” model. Students in grades 3-8 complete three checkpoints during the school year before taking a shortened final assessment in the spring.

The checkpoints give teachers information they can use to adjust instruction and identify students who need additional help. The spring assessment measures students’ mastery of state standards and is used in school accountability, according to the Indiana Department of Education’s ILEARN overview.

HSE said an overview of the district’s results will be presented at the Oct. 14 school board meeting.

Chris Cameron, the Indy Fuel’s all-time leader in games played, is retiring from professional hockey after five seasons, the team announced Thursday, Sept. 24.

Cameron, 27, leaves with 309 games played for the Fuel. The defenseman also holds franchise records for penalty minutes with 552 and goal differential at plus-47, according to the team.

He was named the Fuel’s 10th captain at the start of the 2024-25 season.

“The last five years have been an amazing ride,” Cameron said in the announcement. “I’d like to thank the Fuel fans and the Indianapolis community for embracing me, providing me a second home and an opportunity to live out my dreams of playing professional hockey. All glory to God and Go Fuel!”

The 6-foot-5 defenseman spent nearly his entire professional playing career with Indy, with the exception of two games with the American Hockey League’s Milwaukee Admirals during a 2022 call-up. The Fuel said he helped the team reach the Kelly Cup Playoffs in each of his four full seasons with the club.

The Fuel will return to Fishers Event Center in October for their 13th season. The team is the ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks and the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs.

Five weeks after the White River crested near 24 feet in Noblesville, breaking a record that had stood since 1913, the water is gone. For many Hamilton County families, the hardest part may still be ahead.

More than 160 county families left their homes during the flood. Fishers police and firefighters evacuated residents along Wapahani Drive. Researchers who study disasters say the deeper mental health toll often shows up weeks and months later, once volunteers leave and insurance claims, FEMA paperwork and temporary housing start to wear people down.

On this week’s Fridays with Larry, I talk with Michael Ross, former Indiana state director of disaster mental health and now a faculty member at Indiana University in Bloomington. Ross explains what flood survivors go through after the water goes down. He also covers the warning signs to watch for in adults and children, and why he believes “the greatest technology for cultivating community resilience is talking to each other.”

If you or someone you know is struggling, help is available:

• Disaster Distress Helpline: Call or text 1-800-985-5990. It is free, confidential and open 24 hours a day.
• Local recovery help: 317-595-3211, or dial 211.
• FEMA assistance: The deadline to apply is Oct. 25 at DisasterAssistance.gov.

Also on this episode: Artificial intelligence tools have become very good at breaking into computer systems. I look at what that means for city offices, schools, hospitals, utilities and small businesses in Fishers and Hamilton County, and the one question every public board and business owner should be asking: Who is patching our systems, and how fast?

This episode is sponsored by Citizens State Bank, member FDIC and an equal housing lender.

Watch the podcast at this link, or if you just want to listen, use this link.

With its U.S. headquarters under construction in Fishers, the Cadillac Formula 1 team is adding three experienced engineers to its technical leadership, including former Red Bull chief designer Craig Skinner, according to Motorsport.com.

Filip Cleeren reports that Skinner will become Cadillac’s chief development engineer. Eric Blandin, formerly Aston Martin’s deputy technical chief, will take over as head of aerodynamics. Tim Lean, whose experience includes work at McLaren, Red Bull and Ferrari, will become chief engineer for aerodynamics modelling and simulation, reporting to Blandin.

The appointments come as Cadillac works to improve its car and prepares for its second Formula 1 season in 2027. The team said all three engineers are expected to join within the next few months.

“These appointments represent a vital step in the technical evolution of the team,” Cadillac team principal Marcin Budkowski said in a statement quoted by Motorsport.com.

Budkowski said the hires bring experience from race and championship-winning organizations to areas central to Cadillac’s development.

Cadillac entered Formula 1 this season as the series’ 11th team, with veteran drivers Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas. Its debut car uses Ferrari engines.

The Fishers headquarters is part of an operation with facilities on both sides of the Atlantic. Cadillac also has a base in Silverstone, England. General Motors has described the Fishers campus as part of the team’s growing infrastructure, alongside its work at GM’s motorsports facility in Charlotte, North Carolina.

For Fishers, the hires mark another step in the development of the racing organization building its U.S. home here.

U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz’s campaign said Thursday, Sept. 24, that her attorneys had demanded Indianapolis television stations stop airing a political advertisement she says falsely portrays her as profiting from stock trading while serving in Congress.

The advertisement, sponsored by Commonsense Hoosiers PAC, accuses Spartz of becoming “a corrupt politician getting rich at our expense,” according to a cease-and-desist letter provided by her campaign.

The campaign’s news release identifies WISH-TV, WNDY-TV and WRTV as recipients of its demand. The copy of the letter supplied with the release is addressed to WTHR sales manager Brent Denny.

Spartz, the Republican incumbent in Indiana’s 5th Congressional District, is seeking reelection against Democrat J.D. Ford. The district includes Fishers.

“This is not a difference of political opinion. These are objectively verifiable facts,” Spartz said in the campaign release. “I have never personally owned or traded individual stocks, and I certainly did not get rich in Congress, through stock trading or anything else — as anyone can see from my public financial disclosures.”

Her attorneys, Jason Torchinsky and David Johnson of Holtzman Vogel, argue that the advertisement incorrectly attributes transactions in her husband’s and dependent children’s Roth retirement accounts to Spartz personally. They also dispute the advertisement’s use of a $5 million figure, saying it appears to reflect the upper end of a reported transaction range.

Financial disclosures included with the letter identify multiple stock transactions as belonging to family members’ retirement accounts. One entry in the report covering 2024 lists a partial sale of Simon Property Group stock on Sept. 20, 2024, valued between $1,000,001 and $5 million. The entry specifically identifies the transaction as being made by Jason Spartz’s Roth IRA.

That disclosure reports a range for the sale amount. It does not establish an exact $5 million transaction or identify that amount as profit.

The attorneys acknowledge that five transactions in the report covering 2021 lack descriptions identifying the account owner. They say those transactions also involved Jason Spartz’s Roth IRA and supplied account records in support of their argument.

The campaign separately maintains that Spartz’s overall disclosed net worth has not materially changed since she entered Congress and that most family assets consist of real estate, farmland and other holdings largely owned before she took office. The disclosures list assets and liabilities in broad ranges, limiting precise comparisons of net worth.

The dispute comes amid broader criticism of Spartz’s finances by Ford. His campaign’s online media kit alleges that she traded $5 million in stocks in industries she regulated while in Congress. Spartz’s attorneys cite that page in their letter and contend the PAC advertisement repeats its allegations.

The letter calls the advertisement false and defamatory and warns that Spartz is prepared to seek legal relief if it continues airing. Those are her attorneys’ allegations; the letter is a demand to remove the advertisement, not a court ruling on its accuracy.

The materials provided by the campaign do not establish whether any station has stopped airing the ad.

Crews are scheduled to begin demolishing the flood-damaged Hazel Dell Parkway bridge just south of 106th Street on Monday, Sept. 28, according to Hamilton County.

The bridge was destroyed during August flooding. Milestone Contractors will begin moving equipment to the site Friday, Sept. 25, with crews expected to work 10-hour days, six days a week. The contract requires demolition to be completed by Oct. 30.

The work will also include restoring slopes along the banks to improve stability and safety, County Highway Director Brad Davis said.

“This is more than just taking the bridge down,” Davis said. “Crews will also restore the slopes along the banks to make the area more stable and safer.”

Representatives from Hamilton County, the City of Carmel, Carmel Utilities, Martin Marietta and Milestone Contractors met at the site Thursday to review demolition plans and coordinate the work.

Design work on a permanent replacement is continuing.

“Getting the demolition done now will save valuable time once we’re ready to begin construction on the new bridge,” Davis said.

The county’s release did not provide a construction start date or an opening date for the replacement bridge.