Predictions are dangerous so I try not to make them whenever possible.  But looking ahead and exploring what may be ahead in the coming year is fair game.

Just so you know, I am finalizing the top news stories in Fishers for 2021 and will have that posted shortly.  In the meantime, let’s look at what we expect will be part of the Fishers news landscape in 2022.

The city is planning a new City Hall with an arts center as part of the new complex.  There is also a recreation center, sometimes described as a community center, in the planning stages.  Mayor Scott Fadness expects some preliminary ideas on what those facilities may look like sometime in the spring of 2022.

The city will see 116th Street downtown begin to come to life with the new development under construction starting to open, including the new headquarters of First Internet Bank.  The Nickel Plate Trail is expected to open in the downtown area, including the tunnel underneath 116th Street, in the spring of 2022.

A long-awaited housing study is expected to be produced next year that can guide local decision-makers on where to go next with housing policy in Fishers.

The Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools will likely determine the future of Fishers Elementary School.  It is the oldest structure in the HSE school inventory, and is the old Fishers High School of many, many years ago.

But the biggest local story next year will be the election of 4 HSE School Board members, a majority of the 7-member body.  The election will be in the fall (November) and candidates will begin filing in the summer.

There will be county elections and state legislative races in newly-drawn district maps.  Many of you may be in a new legislative district since the lines were re-drawn based on the 2020 census numbers.

Of course, the biggest story locally in 2022 will be COVID.  Will it ease, or will another variant complicate the pandemic?  Will the third year of COVID be better or worse?

This listing is by no means comprehensive and many other stories are anticipated in the coming year.  And, of course, there will always be the unanticipated issues that will surely arise.

This is not a set of predictions, just a few thoughts on what will almost certainly be on the public table for those of us living in Fishers.  Let us hope and pray 2022 is good to us.