Officers of the Fishers Police Department are working with their civilian support volunteers, the Police Corps, to brighten up the Christmas season for six Fishers families.  Also, on Saturday, December 2nd, you can view the decorations on the first floor of police headquarters.

I recorded 2 videos for more information on this.  Above is my conversation with Angela Ellison, Public Information Officer for the Fishers Police Department.  Below, I speak with Art Hennig, long-time volunteer active in the Police Corps.

The Fishers Events Center is now under construction and is set to host the Indy Fuel hockey team and the Indoor Football League team to also call the Fishers building home.

Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness and Indy Fuel President Larry McQueary join the podcast to talk about what to expect about one year from now when the Events Center opens its doors,

Skyler Braun may be a young man but he already has a very busy life.  A graduate of Hamilton Southeastern High School, Skyler had dabbled in a number of enterprises and spent 4 years serving in the armed forces.

Skyler has returned to his hometown and started an e-mail newsletter, Fishers Digest, which started 6 months ago.

The newsletter is free and you can sign up at this link.

Skyler sat down with Larry to talk about his newsletter and much more in this podcast.

At least 10 Fishers neighborhoods are in line to have sidewalk improvements installed in 2024 now that the city has accepted a bid of just over $485,000 from Howard Companies.  The funds will come from cash reserves and are part of the 2024 city budget.

Removal and replacement repair work of existing sidewalks are scheduled in sections of the following subdivisions:

Windermere

Sunblest

Pleasantview

Britton Ridge

Sweet Briar

Sweet Briar North

Ridgefield

Brooks Chase

Tanglewood

and

Saxony

Mayor Scott Fadness says the bid came in under the engineers’ estimate, allowing change orders and raising the possibility of 2 more neighborhoods receiving sidewalk upgrades.  2,160 sidewalk panels will be removed under this plan.

Fadness described this sidewalk improvement plan as “a quantum leap forward for us in terms of being able to knock out these sidewalk concerns.”

The Board of Public Works and Safety unanimously approved the bid award.

Giving Tuesday is now a tradition in the United States.  The Tuesday after Thanksgiving is now a day to think about your favorite charities and provide financial support.

There are so many worthy nonprofit groups in Fishers, I will not even try to suggest where you may want to contribute today.  I would only say this – find an organization doing good work in the local community and do what you can to support that tax-exempt group on this Giving Tuesday.

I realize this blog is centered on Fishers, but the new Costco store in Noblesville is just a few blocks from the Fishers city line.  I suspect lots of Fishers people will be shopping there.

I have been a regular at the Castleton Costco, which had been the nearest Costco until Noblesville opened.  I decided to wait a few days, let the Thanksgiving holiday run its course before visiting the newest area Costco.

This is likely true of all warehouse retail operations, but this place is big….very big.  It is also organized much differently compared to the Castleton operation, so it will take some time before I know where to find my regular items.

I went early Monday morning, so the crowds were down, making it easier to get around without playing bumper-carts with the other shoppers.

There has been much anticipation as this Costco was under construction, but the crews were able to get the building completed and ready for the public just before the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday seasons.

I do often shop locally but there are some things only Costco can offer.  Let’s see how the public reacts to the Noblesville version.

The Thanksgiving holiday did put me a bit behind, so here is a reminder from the City of Fishers that there are plenty of opportunities to shop local small businesses in your Christmas shopping adventure this year.

Check out what deals are happening at local businesses around Fishers. Please note that deals may change and city officials  encourage you to check with the business for the latest deals and details. Be sure to follow Fishers on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and follow #ShopFishers to see deals happening at local businesses throughout the season.

The City of Fishers Web site offers a local gift guide at this link.

The Christmas season is upon us so consider local businesses as you shop.

I rarely go several days without a blog post here, but decided to take some time off for the Thanksgiving holiday.  I spent time with family and friends, and hope that you did so as well.

I am always thankful for my family, friends and reasonably good health for a guy my age.  I am always thankful for all of you, the readers of this local Fishers news blog.

When I began the blog in January of 2012, I projected a few local news & government nerds like me would read it, maybe a few hundred readers would come along with time.  I was very wrong.

I will have my largest number of unique visitors to this site in 2023, that is already in the books.  My unique visitor count is well into the tens of thousands.  So, thanks to all of you for reading and letting your friends know about this blog if they might have any interest in Fishers news.

Thanksgiving weekend is normally a slow news time in Fishers, but allow me a couple of items that may be of interest.

First, congratulations to the Fishers High School Marching Tiger Band.  They have returned from the trip to New York City, performing in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.  Out of about 1,000 schools that apply, 5 are chosen each year.  Macy’s invited the Tigers to march in the 2023 parade.  Their performance on NBC’s coverage was amazing.

The 2023 Macy’s Parade drew 28.5 million viewers for the NBC telecast, a 6 per cent increase in audience size compared to 2022, per the Hollywood Reporter newspaper Web site.

One other item of interest….I posted a story on this blog November 21st about the opening of the Cooper & Cow Steakhouse & Bourbon Lounge in Fishers, in the downtown location that once housed the small plate eatery Louvino.  The new restaurant is slated to open in December, but we don’t have an exact opening date at this time.

Apparently, lots of people are interested in this development,  I had tons of people reading this blog post.  I would expect to see good crowds for Cooper & Cow once it does open its doors.

Allow me to end this post with the closing I have used at the end of my podcasts ever since COVID hit us hard in 2020…..be safe, and be kind!

The weekly road construction report for the Fishers area is out early this week to warn motorists of road closures for the Gobblers Jog & Wishbone 4K events.  Also, on Monday, November 27th, watch for a sidewalk closing on the northeast side of Municipal Drive and 116th Street.  Crews will be installing a new sign for the restaurant using the site that once contained LouVino….the new restaurant set to open in December at that location is Cooper & Cow Steakhouse & Bourbon Lounge.

For all the details, check out the latest road construction report below, as provided by the City of Fishers:

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To learn more about the State Road 37 Improvement Project and sign up to receive text updates, visit 37Thrives.com. 

STATE ROAD 37 AND 141ST STREET
A pre-construction phase at SR 37 & 141st Street is currently in place. During this phase, 141st Street will be a Right-In-Right-Out (RIRO) traffic configuration. 
This is not the permanent configuration. This will allow for traffic to flow more freely along SR 37 until the next phases of construction can be activated. This will eliminate backups along SR 37 that have caused dangerous stops to the free flow traffic and backups on the 146th Street interchange. Again, this is not the permanent configuration for 141st Street. The full timeline for the 141st Street interchange will be provided after project bids are accepted in the Spring 2024. View detour routes here. 

View how to merge safely onto Northbound SR 37 from 141st Street here and onto Southbound SR 37 from 141st Street here. To navigate the merge, remember:

• Use the accel lane to gain speed, not stop
• Use your mirrors and pay attention
• Look for a gap in SR 37 traffic and safely merge

To learn more about the Clear Path Improvement Project and sign up to receive text and email updates, visit clearpath465.com 

I-465 & I-69
Drivers will see an increase in construction along the I-69 corridor in the coming months. This work will focus on reconfiguring the interchange at I-465 and I-69. New ramps will provide direct movements from eastbound I-465 and northbound I-465 to northbound I-69. Binford Blvd. will also be reconstructed to separate local traffic from traffic entering and exiting I-69 and I-465. Access to I-69 from Binford Blvd. will remain open. 

In the coming weeks, drivers on WB I-465 can expect to see traffic being shifted onto new pavement between I-69 and Allisonville Road. Traffic will also be shifted onto new pavement for SB I-69 onto WB and SB I-465.