One of the most unique classrooms in Hamilton County isn’t inside a school building. It’s located in a log cabin and across hundreds of acres of historic grounds at Conner Prairie.

In this podcast episode, I talk with Amy Murch, the Hamilton Southeastern Schools teacher-in-residence at the living history museum. In that role, Murch works with every fourth-grade class in the Hamilton Southeastern Schools district, helping students connect classroom lessons with hands-on experiences on the Conner Prairie grounds.

The program, known as “Adventures on the Prairie,” brings thousands of HSE fourth-graders to the museum each school year. Instead of worksheets and desks, students learn by doing — building cardboard boats to study buoyancy on the White River, trying archery and tomahawk throwing to understand forces and motion, exploring simple machines in Prairietown, and interacting with historic interpreters to better understand Indiana’s past.

Murch previously spent more than a decade teaching in the district before taking on the unique position, which blends science, engineering, and history with the outdoor setting of the museum. Her goal is to help students see that learning doesn’t only happen inside a traditional classroom.

Conner Prairie itself is one of Indiana’s best-known living history museums, recreating 19th-century life along the White River and welcoming hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. Through the partnership with HSE Schools, the museum becomes an extension of the school day for Fishers-area students.

In this conversation, Murch discusses how the program works, why experiential learning can make such a difference for young students, and what it’s like to teach history and science in a place where the past quite literally surrounds you.

Listen to the podcast at this link or the link below.

The Indy Ignite shook off a slow start Sunday and rallied to defeat the Grand Rapids Rise, winning three straight sets for a 3-1 victory in Major League Volleyball action at the Fishers Event Center, the team’s seventh straight win.

Grand Rapids came out strong and captured the opening set, putting the Ignite briefly on their heels in front of the home crowd. But Indy quickly regained control of the match, responding by taking the next three sets to secure the win.

The victory continues a strong inaugural season for the Ignite, who have been among the league’s top teams and have turned the Fishers Event Center into a difficult place for visiting clubs to play.

After dropping the first set, the Ignite tightened their defense and became more efficient offensively, gradually wearing down the Rise. Indy’s balanced attack and improved serve-receive play helped swing the momentum, allowing the home team to dictate the pace through the final three sets.

Sunday’s match also coincided with events at the arena celebrating International Women’s Day. Before the match, Ignite President and General Manager Mary Kay Huse hosted a panel discussion featuring several Indiana women business leaders as part of the team’s community programming.

The win marked another successful outing for Indy against Grand Rapids this season. The Ignite previously defeated the Rise in four sets during an earlier meeting in Fishers.

With the victory, Indy improves its position near the top of the Major League Volleyball standings as the league moves deeper into its first season. Grand Rapids, which had played the night before, was unable to sustain its early momentum after claiming the opening set.

The Ignite will return to the court later Thursday against Orlando as the home schedule continues at the Fishers Event Center.

For Fishers, the Formula 1 season opener in Australia was more than an international motorsports event. It was the first real test for Cadillac’s new F1 operation, which is building its headquarters here, and the team came away from Melbourne with one car at the finish and a realistic picture of the work ahead.

Cadillac’s debut was modest on the results sheet, but not without meaning. Sergio Perez qualified 18th and finished 16th in Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix, giving the American team its first completed race. Teammate Valtteri Bottas started 19th but retired after a fuel-system problem.

At the front, George Russell won the season-opening race for Mercedes, leading home teammate Kimi Antonelli for a 1-2 finish, with Charles Leclerc third and Lewis Hamilton fourth for Ferrari.

For Cadillac, simply getting both cars qualified and to the starting grid was an achievement for a team that only recently secured its place in Formula 1 and is still building out its full operation across Fishers, Charlotte and Silverstone. Team principal Graeme Lowdon said afterward the weekend provided “a really good start to our journey,” while Bottas called it “a proud moment” despite his early exit.

The bigger story, however, was performance. Cadillac was eliminated in Q1 with both cars and never threatened the points on race day. Perez finished three laps down, a reminder that the new team is not yet ready to fight the established midfield, much less the front-runners.

Still, as first races go, this was not a disaster. New teams often struggle just to look organized in their debut, and Cadillac at least cleared the most basic benchmark: one car reached the checkered flag, the operation functioned, and the team gathered the kind of race data it could never simulate at the factory. AP reported Lowdon believes Cadillac earned the respect of rival teams in the paddock, even after a tough opening result.

From a Fishers perspective, that makes Australia less a breakthrough than a beginning. Cadillac did not arrive in Formula 1 ready to contend. It arrived to survive, learn and build. In Melbourne, it did enough to suggest the foundation is real.

After battling to a 1-1 tie through regulation, the Indy Fuel and Wichita Thunder needed overtime to decide Saturday night’s contest at the Fishers Event Center. It was the Fuel who came out on top, thanks to Cody Laskosky’s game-winning goal with 4:40 remaining in the three-on-three overtime period.

The seven-minute overtime featured plenty of pressure from Indy, which controlled much of the play before Laskosky finally broke through to give the Fuel the victory.

Fuel goaltender Mitchell Weeks turned in one of his strongest performances of the season, allowing just a single goal while keeping Wichita at bay for most of the night.

Indy opened the scoring early in the second period. Michael Marchesan found the back of the net five minutes into the frame to give the Fuel a 1-0 advantage.

Wichita answered later in the period when Jay Dickman scored with less than eight minutes remaining in the second to even the game at 1-1.

Much like Friday night’s matchup between the same two teams, defense and goaltending dominated the contest. Both teams generated chances, but neither was able to solve the opposing goaltender again until Laskosky’s decisive strike in overtime.

The referees kept busy throughout the game, calling a number of penalties on both teams. The most notable exchange came when Indy’s Christian Berger and Wichita’s Christophe Fillion dropped the gloves, each receiving five-minute major penalties for fighting.

The Fuel now head back on the road for a Tuesday morning matchup against the Bloomington Bison in Illinois. The game is scheduled for an unusual 10:30 a.m. start.

Indy returns to the Fishers Event Center on Friday night to face in-state rival Fort Wayne.

There are a number of updates this week in the road construction report in and around the City of Fishers.  You will begin to see lane restrictions at 116th Street and Allisonville Road as that project begins this season.  Traffic signals will be undergoing maintenance all around Fishers over the next few weeks.  Also, there are important updates on construction at State Road 37 and 141st Street.

Those are just a few items included on the road construction report.  Here is the full listing, as provided by the City of Fishers:

Continue reading Fishers area road construction report for work week starting March 9 →

The Wichita Thunder relied on strong defense and standout goaltending from Gabriel Carriere to shut out the Indy Fuel 1-0 Friday night at the Fishers Event Center.

Despite generating significantly more shots on goal, the Fuel could not find a way past Carriere, who turned aside every scoring chance.

The game’s only goal came in the first period when Wichita’s Ryan Finnegan scored what proved to be the decisive tally.

The Thunder were assessed two four-minute major penalties during the game, but the Fuel were unable to capitalize on either opportunity.

Unlike Wednesday night’s contest — which was delayed by a power outage and ended with several on-ice fights — Friday’s matchup featured no such fisticuffs.

Despite the loss, the Fuel remain in third place in the Central Division of the ECHL Western Conference.

The two teams will meet again Saturday night at the Fishers Event Center, marking the third matchup between the clubs in four days.

The Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Board of School Trustees plans to appoint longtime district administrator Dr. Matt Kegley as interim superintendent following the departure of Superintendent Dr. Patrick Mapes.

The board is expected to formally consider Kegley’s appointment at its next meeting scheduled for Wednesday, March 11. If approved, the appointment would take effect immediately after the board vote.  The school board and the City of Fishers are also planning their annual join meeting March 11.

Mapes recently announced he will step down as superintendent effective April 13 after serving in the role since February 2024, when he came out of retirement to lead the district.

Kegley currently serves as HSE Schools’ deputy superintendent and brings three decades of experience in education, including 20 years within Hamilton Southeastern Schools. District officials say his appointment would provide leadership continuity during the transition.

In a statement released by the district, Kegley said he intends to focus on maintaining stability and continuing the district’s academic progress.

“Serving Hamilton Southeastern Schools in this role is a responsibility I take seriously,” Kegley said. “My focus remains the same: supporting students, teachers, staff, administrators and families, and ensuring our schools continue providing engaging, high-quality learning opportunities every day.”

Kegley has held several leadership positions within HSE Schools. Before joining district administration, he served as principal at Riverside Junior High School and Hamilton Southeastern High School. Earlier in his career he worked as a teacher, assistant principal and athletic director.

This would not be Kegley’s first time serving in the district’s top role. He previously served as interim superintendent in 2023 during a prior leadership transition.

School board president Tiffany Pascoe said Kegley’s long history with the district makes him well suited to guide the school system during the upcoming transition.

“Dr. Kegley has a rich knowledge of HSE,” Pascoe said. “We are confident that Matt is the right person to steward the district through this transition period.”

District officials say Kegley will continue to focus on several ongoing initiatives if appointed, including implementation of the district’s Innovate 2028 strategic plan and continued efforts to improve student achievement.

Kegley earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Indiana University and later received both an Education Specialist (Ed.S.) degree and a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) from Ball State University.

A Fishers resident since 2007, Kegley and his wife Jennifer have three children, all graduates of Hamilton Southeastern High School.

If approved next week, Kegley will assume the interim superintendent role as the district begins the process of determining its long-term leadership plan.

Brian Brosmer is a local photographer I have come to know over the years, as we often find ourselves covering the same community events around Fishers. Now Brosmer has taken on a new project — creating a mural celebrating the history of the city.

The mural now hangs in the new lounge area at Parks Place Pub, located in the municipal complex at 116th Street and Municipal Drive. A full house gathered Thursday night to watch as Bosmer signed the finished work.

Parks Place Pub recently added the lounge as part of the establishment. Management noticed the large amount of empty wall space above the bar and decided it would be the perfect place for a mural highlighting Fishers’ past.

Many residents may not realize the rich history of the community, which dates back to the arrival of Salathiel Fisher in 1872. The mural reflects that long and storied past through a collection of historic images connected to the city’s development.

Salathiel Fisher, a settler from New York, played a key role in establishing the community that would eventually bear his name. When the railroad was extended through the area in the early 1870s, Fisher donated land for a rail station and helped plat the small settlement that grew up around it. The area was first known as “Fisher’s Switch,” referring to the railroad switching station located there. Over time, the name evolved to simply Fishers as the town continued to grow.

Larry Reynolds of the well-known Reynolds family in Fishers provided many of the historic photographs featured in the mural.

Parks Place management says there is still additional wall space available, raising the possibility that more historical displays could be added in the future.

For now, visitors to the new Parks Place Pub lounge can take a few moments to study the mural and reflect on the people and moments that helped shape the history of Fishers.

An unexpected leadership change in Hamilton Southeastern Schools leads this week’s edition of Fridays with Larry.

In the March 6 podcast, I discuss the surprise resignation of HSE Superintendent Patrick Mapes. The announcement caught many in the Fishers community off guard, and almost immediately social media began filling with speculation about the reasons behind his decision. In the podcast, I caution listeners to take much of that speculation with a grain of salt while the school district works through the transition.

The timing of the resignation comes as the district faces several major developments. As the school board begins the search for a new superintendent, Hamilton Southeastern Schools will likely also be considering a funding referendum for the November ballot. That potential referendum is largely a response to changes enacted last year by the Indiana General Assembly that are affecting school district finances across the state. In addition, four of the seven seats on the HSE School Board will be up for election this November, meaning the coming months could be an important period for the future direction of the district.

I also briefly mention a separate podcast conversation I recently recorded with Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness about actions taken by the Indiana General Assembly this year that will impact the city.

My guests this week are Liz and Todd, who share the story of their two young children living with a rare medical condition. Thanks to advances in medical science and treatment, both youngsters are thriving. It’s an uplifting story about perseverance, family and the progress being made in modern medicine.

The Fridays With Larry podcast series is sponsored by Citizens State Bank.

You can listen to the March 6 edition of Fridays with Larry using the video or audio links here or below.