2016 is at a close, and it marks 5 years of my blogging about local news and events in Fishers.  As I have written numerous times in this space, when starting this venture in January of 2012 by attending my first Fishers Town Council meeting and writing about it, I had very low expectations.

This was started in reaction to changes in the news business.  I had subscribed to the Noblesville Daily Ledger and after it essentially shut down as a daily paper, I subscribed to the Noblesville Times.  Both covered Fishers news.  But both dailies succumbed to the decline of journalism we have seen in the last 10-15 years.

It is my belief that people want journalism now more than ever.  The problem is how to harness the progress in technology and deliver news while making a profit.

When I retired from by civil service job in 20011, it was clear there was no daily news presence in Fishers.  Current in Fishers is a weekly, but the news in that publication is several days old when you get it in the mail.  This is not a criticism of Current…….those people do the best they can as a weekly using the US Mail for delivery, but a weekly can only do so much.

So I decided to embark on a mission to provide timely news through the Web for people living in Fishers.  I could see there was little or no prospect of making such an operation profitable, so I have kept this a one-man-band volunteer effort.  I expected a few news and government junkies to read it.

Once I began measuring the number of page views and unique visitors, I was astounded. Both measures are in the thousands each month of 2016.  For a locally-focused news blog, those are incredible audience figures.  I thank each and every one of you for reading what I have to write.

In February of this year, I began a new experiment – podcasting.  One series was a failure, another is still ongoing and a third is still in the experimental stage.

I started with a daily tax podcast.  I have a tax background and thought such a podcast would draw an audience.  In only a few weeks, I could see the handwriting on the wall.  The tax podcasts had a very loyal, but very small audience, so it came to an end in March.

I replaced that series for an occasional podcast about the arts.  I would attend local events and write reviews about them.  I knew there would not be enough local arts events to keep the podcast going, so I’ve supplemented that series with reviews of television programs and events, as well as film.  I did some film reviews many years ago, so why not try again? The Arts&Fishers Podcast is building an audience, so that will continue into 2017 and we will see where it goes.

But the podcasts that continue to be popular are the interviews I conduct, mostly with local people.  Mayor Scott Fadness was very kind to be my guest on the first podcast.  I have tried to talk with a wide variety of people doing important things around Fishers.

I interviewed Fishers Police Chief George Kehl a few months before his retirement.  He made some very kind remarks at the end of that interview, basically reassuring me that people are listening to the podcasts and that people are reading my blog.  I like our new Police Chief Mitch Thompson, but I do miss George.

Here is one request I have for everyone listening to my Podcasts.  They are available on several platforms, but one of the biggest is iTunes.  You can search iTunes under “Podcasts by Larry Lannan” and find them all there.  If you listen on iTunes, please take a moment to comment and rate the podcasts.  That is a big help to me in making my podcast series more visible to others.

2017 will be an eventful year.  Yes, we will have a new president but I won’t get into that here.  Mayor Scott Fadness enters his third year in office.  He has been very aggressive in developing the city and I see no abatement in his efforts to economically grow the city.

We will have 2 new members of the Hamilton Southeastern School Board.  The school system will undergo a number of renovations, including to the administration building, and begin the process of constructing a new (as of yet unnamed) elementary school on Cyntheanne Road.

The Fishers City Council will likely get a new president.  Early indications are that long-time Councilor David George will preside over the body in 2017.

In closing, the one thing that keeps me going as a volunteer writing on this site and podcasting, points directly at you.  You take the time to read this blog, listen to my podcasts, and that motivates me to continue this endeavor.  Once again, thank you, and allow me to wish each and every one of you a happy and blessed 2017!