Mayor Scott Fadness issued a statement Saturday morning as Fishers braces for two events reflecting sharply different views of immigration — a public march supporting immigrant neighbors this afternoon and an invitation-only “Mass Deportation Rally” tonight at a still-undisclosed location.

“Fishers is a thriving community that has become a global destination for all people to raise their families,” Fadness said. “Fishers did not ask to be a part of this debate, but today, people have chosen to express their constitutional right to free speech and assembly in our city.

“Our community expects those participating will obey all laws and will exemplify civil discourse. Fishers Police will be prepared to keep everyone safe and hold anyone accountable who does not follow the law.

“Today, and every day, we remain focused on creating and sustaining one of the best communities in the country.”

Two events, two messages

Fishers Resists and partner organizations plan a public “Hoosier Hospitality March” from 3 to 6 p.m., beginning at Roy G. Holland Memorial Park. The roughly 2-mile route is expected to follow Lantern Road and the Nickel Plate Trail to the Fishers Municipal Center, where speeches and a vigil are planned for those who died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody and enforcement actions, before returning by 116th Street. Organizers describe the march as a nonviolent show of support for immigrant neighbors and say safety marshals will be present. Participating groups include several Indivisible community chapters, Indy Resistance, Somos Latinos, Action Neighbors, Indiana Organizing Project and Voices 4 Democracy.

The march is a response to Save Heritage Indiana’s “Mass Deportation Rally,” billed by organizers as the first of its kind in the country, set to begin at 7 p.m. Tickets have been advertised at $50, with the location promised only to approved guests shortly before the event. Former U.S. Border Patrol commander-at-large Gregory Bovino is scheduled to speak, and Republican Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith is expected to provide prerecorded video remarks rather than attend in person.

Save Heritage Indiana’s website calls for ending and reversing “mass migration” and backs universal E-Verify and mandatory local cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Executive Director Daniel Poynter has said the event is about enforcing immigration laws, not promoting violence or racial division. The Southern Poverty Law Center describes the group as anti-immigrant, a characterization Poynter disputes.

Bovino retired in March after nearly 30 years with the Border Patrol. He led high-profile immigration operations in Los Angeles, Chicago and Minneapolis and was removed from his commander-at-large position after federal agents fatally shot U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. Bovino drew condemnation for saying Pretti planned to “massacre” officers, a claim The Associated Press reported authorities had not substantiated. Bovino also has claimed 100 million people are living in the United States illegally, without presenting supporting evidence; Pew Research Center’s latest comprehensive estimate was 14 million in 2023.

The city’s role

Fadness has said the city did not bring the private rally to Fishers, had no coordination with its organizers, and cannot suppress lawful expression on private property. Fishers police have been working to identify the rally site so they can protect participants and the public, but will not provide private security. Census data show 11.5% of Fishers residents were foreign-born in 2020-24, a figure that includes people with a range of legal statuses.

As of Saturday morning, organizers had not publicly disclosed the private rally’s address, venue or expected attendance, and no reliable crowd estimate was available for either event.

Weather could be a factor

Marchers should pack rain gear. The National Weather Service forecast for Fishers, updated at 8:45 a.m. Saturday, calls for an 80% chance of showers and thunderstorms throughout the day, with some storms capable of producing heavy rainfall. New rainfall amounts of three-quarters of an inch to one inch are possible, with a high near 77 and southeast winds of 9 to 13 mph gusting to 22 mph.

That puts the 3-6 p.m. march window squarely in the wet weather. Forecasters expect showers and thunderstorms before 3 p.m., then showers and possibly a thunderstorm mainly after 3 p.m. — meaning the walk from Holland Park to the Municipal Center could see rain from start to finish. Lightning would be the bigger concern for an outdoor crowd; standard safety guidance is to head indoors or to vehicles when thunder is heard.

The evening rally may be less exposed if it is held indoors, though attendees traveling to the event face an 80% chance of showers and possible thunderstorms before 11 p.m., with a low around 67.

Fishers drivers should expect several closures, lane restrictions, and detours in early August. The intersection of 96th Street and Cyntheanne Road is fully closed for roundabout construction, while 136th Street is closed to through traffic between Southeastern Parkway and Prairie Baptist Road. Signed detours are available for both projects.

At 116th Street and Allisonville Road, traffic has shifted to inside lanes and designated turn lanes through early October. Businesses remain accessible, but Fishers Crossing Boulevard is closed immediately west of Allisonville Road through mid-August. USA Parkway north of 106th Street will have lane restrictions through October for widening, trail construction, curb improvements, and resurfacing.

Short-term restrictions include the eastbound lane of 126th Street east of Brooks School Road from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on August 4, plus temporary lane closures at Allisonville Road and 111th Street on August 3–4. Cumberland Road also remains restricted between 106th and 116th streets from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Construction continues at the Southeastern Parkway–Olio Road roundabout. Early-August restrictions will reduce Olio Road to one lane in each direction and close the roundabout’s fifth leg. Resurfacing and trail work may also cause temporary restrictions and delays across several neighborhoods and roads.

Regional projects include overnight Clear Path 465 closures and restrictions, continued finishing work near State Road 37 and 141st Street, and temporary traffic impacts for Woofstock on August 8. All schedules are weather-dependent; drivers should follow posted signs, use caution, and allow extra travel time.

Here is the full road construction listing for the week beginning Sunday, August 3, as provided by the City of Fishers:

Continue reading Road Construction Update for the week beginning Sunday, August 2 →

Drivers on the northeast side should brace for another round of overnight restrictions on I-465 Friday and Saturday nights as crews race to finish work ahead of forecasted rain.

The Indiana Department of Transportation says work under the Clear Path 465 project will run from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. both nights. Crews will install signs, remove barrier wall, put down pavement markings and perform other road maintenance.

INDOT is warning of delays and asking drivers to plan ahead and use alternate routes when possible.

Friday, July 31

• The ramp from Allisonville Road to eastbound I-465 will be closed.
• The ramp from eastbound I-465 to southbound Binford Boulevard will be closed.
• I-465 will be reduced to one lane in both directions between Fall Creek Road and 71st Street.
• Eastbound I-465 will be reduced to two lanes from River Road to Allisonville Road, with brief 15-minute stoppages for sign installation.
• Eastbound I-465 will be reduced to three lanes from Allisonville Road to I-69/Binford Boulevard.

Saturday, Aug. 1

• The ramp from Allisonville Road to eastbound I-465 will be closed.
• The ramp from eastbound I-465 to southbound Binford Boulevard will be closed.
• Eastbound I-465 will be reduced to two lanes from River Road to Allisonville Road, with brief 15-minute stoppages for sign installation.
• Eastbound I-465 will be reduced to two lanes from Allisonville Road to I-69/Binford Boulevard.
• Southbound I-465 will be reduced to one lane from 71st Street to Fall Creek Road for road maintenance.

The 15-minute stoppages mean traffic will be held completely while crews hang overhead signs, so drivers who find themselves in the work zone should expect to sit briefly rather than roll through.

INDOT cautions that the schedule could change. Dates and planned work may be adjusted if inclement weather or other unforeseen circumstances arise.

Indiana created the Office of the Public Access Counselor in 1998 to give citizens a fast, free referee when government agencies deny access to records or meetings. Today, that office is under scrutiny. A recent Indianapolis Star analysis found the current counselor, Jennifer Ruby, has taken an average of nearly 250 days to issue advisory opinions — far beyond the 30 days contemplated in state law — and has sided with government agencies in roughly two-thirds of her opinions, the exact inverse of her predecessor’s record.

On this week’s edition of the Fridays with Larry podcast, I trace how Indiana’s public access laws were built over seven decades, and how 2024 legislation changed the counselor’s independence and authority.

My guest is Zachary Baiel, president of the Indiana Coalition for Open Government. We discuss what open government should look like in everyday life, the practical impact of the changes at the Public Access Counselor’s office, and the hotline ICOG launched to help Hoosiers who can’t get answers. Baiel also explains how government agencies use cloud services and outside vendors to sidestep records requests — and why he urges civility and persistence for anyone seeking public records. The ICOG hotline is 260-ASK-ICOG (260-275-4264), and the group’s website is indianacog.org.

Also in this episode: a look at New York Times reporting on the enormous global build-out of AI computing power, and the story of an upstate New York school district that paused plans for an AI-powered classroom robot.

Fridays With Larry is sponsored by Citizens State Bank.

Watch the podcast using this link, listen at this link or use the links below.

The weather finally cooperated. The crowd showed up. And Hamilton Southeastern Schools got exactly the send-off it wanted into the 2026-2027 school year.

The fifth annual Before the Bell celebration drew a large turnout to the Nickel Plate District Amphitheater Thursday evening under near-perfect summer skies — a welcome change from recent years, when storms forced the free community event to be scrapped altogether.

There was music. There were cheerleaders. There was the particular buzz of families running into neighbors they hadn’t seen since May.

Superintendent Matt Kegley worked the crowd throughout the evening and took the microphone to welcome families to his first Before the Bell since the HSE Board of School Trustees appointed him superintendent in April. Kegley is in his 20th year with the district and his 30th in education.

Kids had plenty to keep them occupied. Inflatables and face painting drew steady lines. Student robotics teams ran demonstrations. An FFA petting zoo brought animals to the amphitheater grounds, and a touch-a-bus gave younger students a look inside the vehicle many of them will be riding come Wednesday morning.

Every HSE school building had a booth, joined by district departments and a long list of education-related community partners handing out prizes and information. All of them stayed busy from start to finish.

The event, presented by Meijer, has become the district’s unofficial opening ceremony for the school year — one of the few nights when families from all of HSE’s schools land in the same place at the same time.

The calendar moves quickly from here. New teachers are already working through their orientation sessions. The full teaching staff reports to their buildings Monday, August 3, and students have their first day of class Wednesday, August 5.

If the energy at Before the Bell is any indication, it should be a special school year ahead for HSE Schools.

All 23 recipients of Fishers’ 2026 Neighborhood Vibrancy Grants have now received final approval after some neighborhoods needed additional time to complete the required paperwork.

The city awarded $339,729 for resident-led projects intended to improve neighborhood common areas and residents’ quality of life.

Projects range from new entrance monuments, lighting and landscaping to rain gardens, sidewalk repairs and safety bollards. The grants will also support a public bicycle repair station, trail improvements, benches and a Little Free Library.

“Neighborhoods are where residents experience Fishers every day, and these grants give residents a direct role in shaping and improving the places they call home,” Mayor Scott Fadness said. “These projects reflect the pride residents have in their neighborhoods and their commitment to investing in the broader Fishers community.”

Fishers has offered the Neighborhood Vibrancy Grant Program since 2018. Homeowners associations and neighborhood groups may apply for assistance with eligible maintenance, beautification and improvement projects.

The program covers 80% of eligible project costs, up to $25,000. Grant recipients are responsible for the remaining 20%.

Eligible expenses include project design, construction and installation. The city gives priority to visible projects that address an existing neighborhood need, benefit the wider community or incorporate sustainable and innovative features. Projects must be completed within the program’s required one-year period.

Applications for the 2027 grant cycle are expected to open in November. More information is available at FishersIN.gov/NVG.

The 2026 grant recipients are:

Continue reading Fishers finalizes nearly $340,000 in grants for 23 neighborhoods →

Hamilton Southeastern Schools students return to class Wednesday, Aug. 5, and Superintendent Dr. Matt Kegley heads into the day with a longer list of changes than most opening days bring — a new state phone law, redrawn attendance boundaries, fees that families haven’t paid in years, and a referendum question waiting on the November ballot.

Kegley sat down for the latest LarryInFishers.com podcast to walk through all of it.

A familiar building, a new chair

Kegley has spent two decades in HSE, most of it as a building principal and the last few years in the central office. He said the start-of-year rhythm is familiar, but the vantage point isn’t.

“A lot of the beginning of the year activities were things that I knew of or knew about,” he said. “I wasn’t maybe always directly involved with those things.” Now the messages going out to families and staff start with him.

Staffing, he said, is “in pretty good shape,” with a few outlier positions still being monitored.

Phones off, all day

The state’s new bell-to-bell device law covers phones, smartwatches and personal earbuds — not just during class, but through lunch and passing periods. HSE has its own rules layered on top for middle and high schools.

Kegley said the first phase is education, not enforcement. Devices are to be stored in lockers or backpacks and kept inaccessible, with individual buildings and even individual classrooms setting their own procedures. Violations fall under progressive discipline, with consequences escalating on repeat offenses.

“We acknowledge it’s going to be an adjustment for our students and our families,” he said. “The silver lining is we’re all in this together.”

Rethinking screen time

Asked about the growing body of research questioning how far schools went with one-to-one devices, Kegley said the technology “was never meant to be the vehicle for instruction” — it was meant to be a tool. He acknowledged that textbook publishers moving to digital-only resources has pushed student screen time up.

The district put written caps on screen time for its youngest grades this past spring and early summer. HSE is also in the final year of phasing out “bring your own device” at the upper grades; after this year, every student will be on a district-issued device, which Kegley said gives the district more control over what can appear on it.

New boundaries

New attendance boundaries take effect this year. The final lines were set in December, and Kegley said the spring was spent getting information to affected families and having buildings do intentional outreach — especially at the elementary level — so students changing schools could visit and meet staff before the first day.

Fees are back

Consumable material fees and athletic participation fees return this year. Kegley said the district stopped charging for essentially everything when the state took over textbook funding, and absorbing those costs became a financial burden. Consumables are items students use up and can’t be passed to the next student — a novel a student marks up, clay in an art class.

“We don’t want any of those fees to interfere with participation,” he said, directing families facing hardship to contact their athletic director or building for one-on-one help.

$7.7 million in cuts

The fees are part of a broader budget reduction package of roughly $7.7 million approved this spring. That included reduction-in-force notices to 18 teachers, all of whom were offered other positions in the district.

Outside the classroom, HSE consolidated services in its technology department, eliminated some bus routes — partly enabled by redistricting — and trimmed support staff and administrative positions. Kegley’s own former position of deputy superintendent was not backfilled when he became superintendent.

Class size targets moved up slightly. Kegley said the district is taking a conservative approach to staffing until it sees who actually shows up in August, since families who move away don’t always notify the district.

Why the referendum is back

HSE will ask voters in November to replace the referendum approved in 2023 — a distinction Kegley stressed repeatedly.

“It’s not in addition to,” he said. “We’re actually asking to replace what we have with another rate.”

The driver is the state’s new property tax law, which pushes assessed valuation down. At the current rate, that means less money flowing to the district — a decline that continues for roughly six to eight years before recovering. Kegley described the math this way: if the value you apply the rate against keeps shrinking, the rate has to change to produce the same revenue. Whether an individual taxpayer pays more or less depends on their situation.

If the measure fails, the 2023 referendum stays in place, but the district projects a shortfall of about $4 million in the first year and $6 million in the second — roughly $10 million over two years. Because state law now limits referendum questions to even-numbered years, HSE couldn’t go back to voters until 2028. Over eight years, the projected gap is about $45 million.

Rebuilding with the teachers association

Kegley said he has been meeting with association leadership since his interim appointment and through the summer, including early conversations about what bargaining will look like. Last year’s cycle produced no raise for teachers, and insurance increases left many with less take-home pay.

Echoing CFO Tim Brown’s comments on a recent podcast, Kegley said he is cautiously optimistic about this cycle — and noted that no employee group in the district received a raise last year, not just teachers.

Innovate 2028

Year two of the freshman seminar course begins at both high schools, with last year’s freshmen now starting the three-course sequence in their chosen career network.

The welding program has expanded, with more bays and the Level 2 certification now offered in-house rather than sending students to J. Everett Light Career Center. Students can earn the full slate of Ivy Tech dual credits alongside work-based learning. Kegley said a similar model is in the works for construction trades, and that building out guaranteed experiences in grades six through eight is a priority over the next few years.

Also mentioned

Kegley praised departing operations chief Brian Rausch, who has left to join local construction management firm Meyer Najem, calling him “an invaluable piece to our team.” The position has been reposted at the executive director level rather than assistant superintendent, with some of Rausch’s duties redistributed.

He also flagged a new transportation app, test-driven in the spring and launching this fall, that lets families track how far their student’s bus is from the stop.

Before the Bell — the district’s annual back-to-school celebration, with all schools represented — runs Thursday evening, July 30, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

The LarryInFishers Podcast is sponsored by Citizens State Bank.

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

A new AutoRacing1 report by Mark Cipolloni says the Cadillac F1 staff relocation from England to the Indianapolis area is meeting resistance from experienced employees.

The report cites Formula 1 journalist Jacky Martens, who discussed the situation on the Paddock Access podcast. Martens said many United Kingdom-based employees were effectively told to relocate to the United States or lose their jobs.

According to AutoRacing1, some employees have already resigned or begun seeking positions with other racing organizations rather than move their families across the Atlantic. The story argues that those departures could cost Cadillac valuable technical knowledge at a critical point in the team’s development.

Cadillac currently operates technical, production and logistics facilities near Silverstone, England—part of the region known as “Motorsport Valley” because of its concentration of Formula 1 teams, suppliers and experienced engineers.

The personnel concerns come during a difficult debut season. After 11 races, Cadillac ranks 11th in the constructors’ championship with no points. Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas have yet to record a top-10 finish, while Formula 1’s official team statistics list nine retirements.

Cadillac’s permanent American headquarters is under construction in Fishers. The $200 million, 400,000-square-foot facility near Indianapolis Metropolitan Airport is expected to employ about 300 people and include race-car manufacturing operations, according to the Indianapolis Business Journal.

However, Cadillac’s official careers website continues to describe Silverstone as the team’s United Kingdom technical, production and logistics center. That leaves the scope and timing of the reported relocation directive unclear.

The AutoRacing1 story does not specify how many employees may be affected and does not include a response from Cadillac. If accurate, the dispute could bring more positions to Fishers while creating a significant staff-retention challenge for the new team.

A weather-delayed Spark!Fishers celebration will return to downtown Fishers on Friday, July 31, with live music, food, family activities and a drone show.

P!NK’D, a tribute act celebrating the music of pop star Pink, will take the stage at 8 p.m. at the Nickel Plate District Amphitheater, 6 Municipal Drive. The concert will be followed by the return of the Spark!Fishers drone show at 10 p.m.

Admission is free, and no tickets are required.

Gates will open at 7 p.m., when vendors will begin selling food and drinks. Food, beverage and treat vendors will remain active from 8 to 10 p.m., while Fishers Parks hosts games and other activities on the amphitheater grounds. Gates will close at 11 p.m.

The event was originally planned as part of the city’s annual Spark!Fishers festival in June but was postponed because of forecasts calling for rain and possible evening storms.

Free street, surface-lot and garage parking is available throughout the Nickel Plate District. The amphitheater generally permits lawn chairs and blankets, though visitors should review any event-specific guidance before arriving.

Event schedule

• 7 p.m.: Gates open and vendors begin selling
• 8 p.m.: P!NK’D concert begins
• 8–10 p.m.: Food and drink vendors, games and activities
• 10 p.m.: Spark!Fishers drone show
• 11 p.m.: Gates close

Weather and safety updates will be posted through Fishers Parks and the Nickel Plate District Amphitheater’s social media channels.

Drivers traveling between Fishers and Indianapolis should prepare for delays this weekend as crews continue work on the Clear Path 465 project.

The Indiana Department of Transportation said overnight restrictions will affect portions of Interstate 465, Interstate 69 and nearby roads beginning Thursday, July 30. Crews will install signs and pavement markings, remove barrier walls and perform road maintenance.

The work is taking place just south of Fishers near the heavily traveled I-465 and I-69 interchange. INDOT is encouraging drivers to plan ahead and use alternate routes when possible.

Thursday, July 30

From 9 p.m. Thursday until 6 a.m. Friday, the ramp from southbound I-69 to southbound I-465 will be restricted to one lane through Fall Creek Road.

Friday, July 31

From 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., westbound 75th Street will have a single-lane closure.

Northbound Binford Boulevard will also be restricted to one lane between 75th Street and northbound I-69 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The westbound 75th Street right-turn lane leading to northbound I-69 is scheduled to reopen by 6 p.m.

Beginning at 9 p.m. Friday, eastbound I-465 will be reduced to two lanes between River Road and Allisonville Road. Drivers may also encounter brief traffic stoppages lasting up to 15 minutes while crews install signs.

Northbound I-465 will be reduced to one lane between Fall Creek Road and 71st Street during the same overnight period. The restrictions are scheduled to end by 6 a.m. Saturday.

Saturday, Aug. 1

Additional closures will begin at 9 p.m. Saturday and continue until 6 a.m. Sunday.

The affected ramps include:

• Allisonville Road to eastbound I-465
• Eastbound I-465 to southbound Binford Boulevard

Eastbound I-465 will be reduced to two lanes from River Road to Allisonville Road, with brief stoppages of up to 15 minutes for sign installation. The two-lane restriction will continue from Allisonville Road to the I-69/Binford Boulevard interchange.

Southbound I-465 will also be reduced to one lane between 71st Street and Fall Creek Road for maintenance.

INDOT said the schedule could change because of bad weather or other unexpected conditions.