Fishers residents should be ready for several days of unsettled and potentially severe weather, according to the National Weather Service and Hamilton County Emergency Management.
Severe thunderstorms are possible late today into tonight across central Indiana, with damaging wind, heavy rainfall and localized flash flooding listed as the primary threats.
The threat does not end there. The Weather Service says thunderstorms will be possible at times through the week, with the potential for multiple rounds of severe storms through Wednesday night. Damaging winds and heavy rainfall again top the list of concerns.
Two ways to get warned
Hamilton County Emergency Management is using the extended stretch of active weather to remind residents to check how they receive alerts — both outside and inside the home.
Outdoor warning sirens are designed to warn people who are outdoors when severe weather threatens. They are not built to be heard reliably inside a house, especially with windows closed, air conditioning running or a television on.
For indoor alerts, the county recommends an all-hazards weather radio, which sounds an alarm when a warning is issued for your area, even overnight.
Residents are also encouraged to keep more than one way to receive warnings — a weather radio, alerts on a mobile phone and local media coverage — since any single method can fail during a power or network outage.
Before the storms arrive
A few steps worth taking before the first round moves in:
Charge phones and any backup battery packs.
Know where you would shelter: a basement, or an interior room on the lowest floor away from windows.
Bring in or secure patio furniture, trash bins and other loose items that damaging wind could throw.
Avoid driving through flooded roadways. Water depth is difficult to judge, and the roadbed underneath may be washed out.
Check on neighbors who may not receive alerts, including older residents and anyone living alone.
Forecasts can change quickly. Residents should keep up with the latest information from the National Weather Service office in Indianapolis and from Hamilton County Emergency Management as the week goes on.
Reports of children with disabilities abruptly losing Medicaid have intensified debate over Indiana’s eligibility reviews, disability assessments and efforts to control costs.
State Rep. Victoria Garcia Wilburn, a Democrat whose House District 32 includes western Fishers, says eligible families are being harmed by processing delays and a new waiver-assessment system. Indiana’s Family and Social Services Administration, or FSSA, says eligibility standards have not changed and that its process is more accurate and consistent with federal requirements.
A WRTV investigation profiled two Kokomo families with children who have autism. Ruth Hevelone said her son Sammy lost Medicaid after documents submitted May 22 remained unprocessed on an FSSA worker’s task list. The termination disrupted waiver-funded therapy and his father’s income as a full-time caregiver.
Former FSSA employee Will Colteryahn helped resolve the case. WRTV reported that coverage was restored within hours following one email, although the family still lost several months of caregiver income.
Trisha Norfleet said her son was removed because of family income even though parental income generally is disregarded for children receiving the Family Supports Waiver. Indiana’s waiver rules confirm that policy. FSSA said it collects parental income for possible future policy changes but does not currently use it to determine eligibility. Privacy rules prevented the agency from discussing either case.
Wilburn, an occupational therapist and Indiana University associate professor, said the accounts resemble complaints from constituents.
“These are families doing everything right and losing coverage because of state errors,” she said, calling the situation a “manufactured” crisis.
Two separate processes are involved. Routine Medicaid renewals verify financial and household information. A case can close for a “procedural” reason when required information is missing or its review is incomplete. Disability-waiver assessments separately determine whether someone requires an institutional level of care. Losing underlying Medicaid eligibility can also end waiver services.
Preliminary federal data show procedural terminations accounted for 44% to 46% of all Indiana cases due for renewal during October, November and December 2025. In April 2026, 46% of the state’s 87,136 renewal cases were closed for procedural or administrative reasons—the highest reported state rate that month.
A procedural termination does not establish that someone was ineligible. It also does not prove the person remained eligible. The dispute is how often qualified people lose coverage because documents are delayed, lost or misunderstood.
WTHR found that Indiana assessed 15,476 people with new disability-waiver tools during the first six months of 2026. Of those, 772—about 5%—were formally denied, while another 1,721 underwent additional review. Published FSSA figures put the previous denial rate below 1%, although reports cite different historical baselines.
FSSA says the former assessment was insufficiently standardized and poorly suited to children. The agency says trained people—not artificial intelligence—make final decisions and potential denials receive a second review.
Families and disability advocates argue that standardized questions can miss whether a child performs an activity safely, independently and consistently. They also want access to assessment questions and scoring methods, portions of which FSSA says are proprietary.
State officials say tighter reviews protect taxpayers and preserve Medicaid. FSSA projected $465.9 million in state savings over two fiscal years, partly because of declining enrollment after changes to eligibility redeterminations. Its own program-integrity report, however, says an “improper payment” does not necessarily indicate fraud and that many sampled eligibility errors resulted from state employee mistakes.
Wilburn argues that budget control has been placed ahead of continuity of care. FSSA counters that historically low denial rates allowed some recipients to remain on waivers after they no longer met federal standards. Secretary Mitch Roob has rejected lawmakers’ request to pause new denials.
The evidence shows a sharp enrollment decline, unusually high procedural termination rates and more waiver denials. It does not show that every terminated enrollee remained eligible. Unanswered questions include how many denials are reversed, how often timely paperwork goes unprocessed and whether the new assessments accurately measure children’s needs.
Members receiving an adverse notice should follow its appeal instructions immediately. Filing before the effective date may preserve benefits during an appeal. Free assistance is available from Covering Kids & Families of Indiana and Indiana Disability Rights. Wilburn has invited affected District 32 residents to contact her office.
One night after an object thrown from the crowd caught him in the head, Billy Strings walked onto the Fishers Event Center stage Friday wearing an Indy Fuel hockey helmet.
The crowd erupted. Strings gave them a quick, wry smile, said nothing about it, and started playing.
The gag landed as well as it did partly because of where he was standing. The Fuel, the ECHL affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks, are the primary tenant of Fishers Event Center and have played home games there since the $170 million arena opened in November 2024. Strings did not just put on a helmet — he put on the home team’s helmet.
It was a sharp turn from Thursday night. As reported here, Strings was hit in the head by an object thrown from the audience during the first of his three shows at the venue, and he stopped the show to deliver a profanity-laced rebuke to the crowd. “Maybe I shouldn’t have come back,” he told the audience, before asking why anyone would throw something at him and calling for the crowd to identify the person responsible.
The object has never been identified. Fans online have speculated it was a lighter. Strings was not injured.
Neither Strings nor Fishers Event Center has commented publicly on the incident or the helmet.
Because of the language in the Thursday clip, this site again is not linking to fan video from either night.
Not an Isolated Problem
Objects thrown from the crowd have become a recurring hazard at arena shows. Riley Green, Morgan Wallen, Luke Bryan and Kelsea Ballerini have all been struck mid-performance. Bring Me the Horizon frontman Oli Sykes suffered a mild concussion after a fan threw a phone at his head.
Strings’ three-night stand in Fishers was itself a makeup engagement. He postponed a spring run, including the original April date at Fishers Event Center, after breaking his leg in a skateboarding accident backstage.
His new album, So Much for Goodbyes, is due out in late August. His tour continues through December.
The City of Fishers has released its weekly construction report, and the biggest impact this weekend is a full closure of the 96th Street and Cyntheanne Road roundabout on Saturday, August 8, while crews mill and pave. Signed detours will route traffic around the intersection, with local access maintained. Weather permitting, the roundabout reopens Monday, August 10.
Also on Saturday, drivers near Launch Fishers should expect temporary restrictions during Hamilton Humane’s Woofstock 5K & Dog Walk. Morning delays are possible.
Several long-term projects continue. The 136th Street Widening Project has moved into Phase 2 between Southeastern Parkway and Prairie Baptist Road, where 136th Street is closed to through traffic. The project will convert the rural two-lane road into a boulevard with raised medians, multi-use paths on both sides, new pavement and curb, and upgraded storm sewers.
At 116th Street and Allisonville Road, outside lanes remain closed with traffic shifted to inside through lanes and turn lanes — a pattern expected to hold through early October. As of August 5, the west leg of Fishers Crossing Boulevard at Allisonville Road closed for roughly three weeks, blocking that entrance to the shopping center. All businesses remain open.
The USA Parkway Widening Project north of 106th Street brings lane restrictions through October, with substantial completion expected in mid-October. Work includes widening, new curbs, trail construction, and resurfacing.
At the Southeastern Parkway and Olio Road roundabout, lane restrictions begin in early August, including Olio Road reduced to one lane each direction and closure of the roundabout’s “5th leg.”
Utility work continues on Cumberland Road between 106th and 116th streets from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. AT&T begins fiber installation in Beaver Ridge, Pine Bluff Overlook, Bradford Ridge, Walnut Creek, Delaware Pointe, Summerfield, and Delaware Crossing. Brightspeed starts fiber work in The Boulders, Reserve at Steeplechase, Sanctuary at Steeplechase, and Oakhurst.
Resurfacing crews begin concrete operations in Fawnsbrook the week of August 10, with milling and base repair coming to 96th Street from Carroll to Olio roads and Westmoreland Drive in Somerset.
Regionally, Cumberland Road south of 116th Street has daily lane restrictions through August 21 for bridge work, and I-465 ClearPath closures are scheduled nightly August 10–14.
Full report as provided by the City of Fishers is below:
Bluegrass star Billy Strings was struck in the head by an object thrown from the audience Thursday night during the first of three sold-out shows at Fishers Event Center, and he did not let it pass quietly.
The incident, first reported by WideOpenCountry.com, happened between songs as Strings was talking to the crowd. Video posted to social media by a concertgoer shows an object sail out of the darkness and bounce off the singer’s head about two seconds in. The fan who filmed it said he could not identify what was thrown.
Strings was not injured, but he was visibly angry. He stopped the show and delivered a blistering, profanity-heavy rebuke to the crowd, asking why anyone would throw something at him and noting that he had been about to tell the audience how happy he was to be in Indiana. He closed by asking the crowd to identify whoever did it.
Because of the language, this story does not link to the video.
The Thursday show was a makeup date. Strings postponed a run of spring concerts, including the original Fishers stop in April, after breaking his leg in a skateboarding accident backstage. The August 6 performance was among his first back on stage since the injury.
A Growing Problem at Concerts
Throwing objects at performers has become a recurring hazard at arena and amphitheater shows over the past few years. Riley Green, Morgan Wallen, Luke Bryan and Kelsea Ballerini have all been hit by items launched from the crowd, in some cases requiring the show to stop.
Theories about the motive vary. Some fans appear to be trying to get an artist’s attention — tossing a phone toward the stage in hopes the performer picks it up and films a clip. Others may simply be angling for a viral moment when someone in the crowd captures the throw and posts it.
Whatever the reason, a hard object thrown from a dark arena at a person under stage lights is a genuine safety risk, both for the artist and for anyone standing nearby.
About the Venue
Fishers Event Center opened in late 2024 and has quickly become a regular stop for national touring acts in the Indianapolis metro area. Strings’ three-night stand is among the venue’s larger bookings of the summer.
Neither Strings’ representatives nor Fishers Event Center had issued a public statement as of Friday.
Hamilton Southeastern Schools board of trustees will vote Wednesday on a rewritten fee schedule for renting school gyms, fields, pools and auditoriums — a change that would raise most rates for the first time in years while creating a discount tier for Fishers-based youth organizations.
The current schedule charges every renter the same price. The proposed version splits users into three tiers: Fishers-based youth organizations, Fishers-based organizations, and non-Fishers-based groups. In most cases, out-of-town renters would pay roughly double what a local youth club pays.
The steepest increases land on practice space. High school practice fields, now $32 an hour for everyone, would go to $75 for local youth groups, $95 for other Fishers organizations and $110 for outside groups. Elementary practice fields double from $13 to $26 at the lowest tier. Elementary gyms jump from $58 an hour to $100, $125 or $150 depending on the renter.
A few rates move very little. The high school auditorium — already the most expensive space in the district at $441 an hour — rises to just $450 for local renters, though non-Fishers groups would pay $675. Tennis courts stay at $8 per hour per court for Fishers youth groups. And the high school football stadium would actually get cheaper for those groups, dropping from $278 an hour to $225.
The schedule also adds something the current one lacks: flat weekend day rates for Saturday–Sunday tournament use. Renting the football stadium for a full weekend day would cost a Fishers youth organization $1,125, compared with $1,700 for an outside group. Similar day rates appear for the soccer stadium, baseball and softball fields, the junior high stadium and tennis courts.
The proposal arrives during a difficult budget stretch for the district. In June, the board approved a separate package of family-facing fees for 2026-27 — reinstating consumable material fees, adding athletic participation fees and raising preschool tuition — on a 5-1 vote. Trustees also advanced a referendum resolution the same month.
Facility rentals are a comparatively small revenue line, but the tiered structure signals a policy choice as much as a financial one: local kids’ programs get the district’s best price, and everyone else subsidizes them.
The following message was sent by the Hamilton County Highway Department Friday afternoon:
Please be advised, beginning on Friday, August 7th, drivers should expect daily lane restrictions on Cumberland Road, south of 116th Street, for bridge preservation work. The expected completion date for this project is Friday, August 21, 2026.
Please use extreme caution while driving through the construction zone. Drivers are encouraged to be vigilant and watch for flaggers in the area.
Fishers Arts Council is expanding its leadership and exhibition space in 2026, adding two board members and opening galleries in partnership with Build BW and the Ball State Fishers Center.
New board members Fabi Gonzalez and Esperanza Alonzo bring experience in business, law and the arts.
Gonzalez is a business owner, architect and concrete contractor with more than 15 years of commercial and residential construction experience. Alonzo, a Mexico native who has lived in Indiana for more than 20 years, practices family law, criminal defense and workers’ compensation. She also founded the Hispanic Cultural Hub and creates sequin artwork and jewelry.
At its January annual meeting, the council elected Chris Hayes as president, Erica Foreman as vice president, Amanda Wilhite as treasurer and Ross Hilleary as secretary.
Returning board members are Susan Dickey, Greg Dierfeldt, Tyna Green Seall, Olivia Harris, Molly Hammer and Latrica Schooley. Pat Grabill was named board emeritus, while Les Reinhardt will continue as executive director.
The council also partnered with Build BW to establish a gallery in the first-floor lobby at 11 Municipal Drive. Open seven days a week, the gallery is currently exhibiting work by Fishers Arts Council artist member Casey Williams of McCordsville.
Reinhardt said the partnership provided a new home for the council’s Hub Gallery after the Hamilton County Community Foundation decided to sell its building.
“Having an accessible space is important to us, not only for artists, but also for the public,” Reinhardt said. “Being able to come after work or on the weekends to see an art gallery isn’t always an option, but the Build BW Gallery makes that possible.”
A third council exhibition space, Ball State Gallery-Fishers, is opening this month at 8626 E. 116th St., Suite 300. The gallery is accessible from the Switch Patio by elevator.
Its first exhibition, “Summer Shine,” will feature floral themes, bright colors and work from artists who are new to the council.
Both galleries will participate in the Second Friday Gallery Hop from 5 to 9 p.m. Aug. 14, along with the Art Gallery at City Hall and other Nickel Plate District galleries. Seven galleries will take part during at least a portion of the event.
Four Day Ray is sponsoring the hop and will offer a free dessert with a dinner purchase to participants who complete the hop and dine at the restaurant between Aug. 14 and 16.
On the August 7, 2026 edition of the Fridays With Larry podcast, Larry asks whether America has too many lawyers—or whether its attorneys are simply concentrated in the wrong places. He examines rising law school applications, the effect of artificial intelligence on the legal profession and the rural “legal deserts” where residents may struggle to find an attorney.
Larry also talks with Fishers High School graduate Emersen Kolb about her experience in the prestigious Trial by Combat mock-trial tournament. Now preparing to attend the University of Cincinnati College of Law, Kolb discusses courtroom storytelling, the programs that inspired her career path and her goal of becoming a public defender. The episode ends with the lighter story of an Arizona driver whose unusual excuse for traveling 112 mph did not keep him out of trouble.
Fridays With Larry is sponsored by Citizens State Bank.
Hamilton Southeastern Schools is preparing to sell roughly 16 acres of district-owned land at 136th Street and Prairie Baptist Road, with an auction possible as soon as September, officials told the school board’s Finance and Facilities Committee on Thursday.
The property, currently leased out and being farmed, is left over from a larger parcel the district once owned at the intersection. A portion of that original tract was used in a partnership with the City of Fishers to build a fire station, leaving the roughly 16 acres now on the table.
District officials said the remaining ground is not a realistic site for a future school building — too small, and in the wrong spot, to support one.
Chief Financial Officer Tim Brown told the committee the district is working through the legal steps required before a public school corporation can dispose of real estate. The first appraisal of the property is expected in mid-August, with a secondary review of that appraisal following shortly after.
Once the appraisal work is complete, Brown said he anticipates bringing a full resolution to the board, with the goal of engaging an auctioneer in September.
The sale would come with no strings attached on how the land is used. The district does not plan to attach contingencies restricting the buyer, Brown said, and any zoning questions or land-use approvals would be handled by the City of Fishers rather than the school district.
The school board will weigh in twice. Members will vote to authorize the sale before the property goes to auction, then vote again to approve the final sale once the auction is complete.
No estimated value for the property was discussed at the committee meeting.
In other items before the committee Thursday morning:
–A ribbon cutting ceremony is scheduled for August 20th for the Fishers Elementary School renovation.
–At HSE High School, Royalty Drive is open but construction continues in the parking lot area. Brown anticipates the new parking area will be open and ready for use following fall break.
