Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Superintendent Patrick Mapes sent a message to families in the district lately explaining how some of the proposals from state legislators could impact the money available to our local schools.  A news story posted April 8 from WFYI reporter Rachel Fradette provides details of the budget legislation now before Indiana lawmakers, and it is not good news for HSE Schools.

Based on the numbers provided in the bill, with important footnotes, HSE Schools could lose $21 million in funding over a 3-year period.  It is difficult to imagine how our local school district would be able to absorb such a loss in funding, with so many programs on the chopping block in such a situation.

If there is any good news, this is a process and it is not over yet.  Much can happen between now and later this month when it is likely a legislative conference committee will write the final version of a 2-year budget for the state.  However, both House and Senate leaders seem to be saying this is the budget they want.

Other local government entities, including cities, towns, townships, counties and libraries, would all suffer financially under this proposal for property tax relief.

You can read Rachel Fradette’s entire story at this link.

I was unable to attend the first Fishers Freight home game last Friday due to a long-planned family trip.  But I did watch the game on the IFL Network (IFL stands for Indoor Football League).  Here are a few observations from watching that game on TV.

–The Freight have a first class defense and focus on running the football.  The success of the ground game allows openings to exploit defenses with the pass game.  So far, for the first two games of the season, it looks like Coach and General Manager Dixie Wooten has put together a competitive squad.

–The crowd of 5,600 was clearly into the game and enjoying every minute of it.  I sincerely hope more people at least sample a Freight game in person during this inaugural season.

–The IFL Network allows you to watch every IFL game with very good video production values. If you signup (at this link) you get a 30-day free trial….after that, it’s $9.99 a month or $29.99 for the entire 2025 season.

–I would say Andrew Smith, Jim Leisure and Eva Hallman are a great team on the video production of the Freight.  They did a very good job and were clearly prepared to call a game with a number of rules different from the outdoor game.  There were some technical glitches, such as not having access to the audio from the public address system to properly cover the pregame festivities and clearly hear the referee when his PA mic was turned on.  There were some glitches with the graphics, such as not showing the play clock, but those are small things.  Overall, the video production was good,

–Finally, I look forward to seeing my first Freight home game April 19th and hope I do not miss another home game.  The next game for the Freight takes them to Massachusetts,  taking on a team that made the championship contest last season (they lost to the Arizona Rattlers in that title game).  April 19th is the next home game for the Fishers Freight, taking on Bay Area, a team from Silicon Valley.  Our head coach Dixie Wooten was the offensive coordinator for the Bay Area for the past two seasons prior to taking the Freight job.

The Fishers Freight are out to a good start.  I cannot wait to see what the rest of the season has in store for us.

With Hamilton Southeastern Schools on spring break this week, you will notice some changes in and around Fishers.  Restaurants will not be as crowded.  There will be less traffic on the streets and no school buses on local roads.  Special speed limits around school buildings will not be in place.

All in all, it will be a quiet week in our city.

It should be noted not everyone has left town this week, but many families have chosen this time to take a family trip out of town.  Others have chosen a ‘stay-cation” or send their young ones to camps and other local activities.

So, enjoy spring break.  Classes start again Monday of next week and just over 6 weeks of classes remain for the local school district.

Every few weeks I will get a question from one of my readers – when is Hy-Vee grocery coming to Fishers?  The answer I always get from city officials is, yes, Hy-Vee is coming and we do not know when.

Since the announcement was made that Hy-Vee planned to build new grocery stores in Fishers and Zionsville about three years ago, no ground has been broken on either store.  Reporter Daniel Bradley of the Indianapolis Business Journal (IBJ) did a deep dive into the Hy-Vee story in a piece posted April 4.

Reporter Bradley got the same answer I always received on the Fishers store.  Zionsville Mayor John Stehr indicated Hy-Vee is holding off the store in his city due to high construction costs and concerns about the impact tariffs will have on what money it will take to build a new grocery.

I had always been told Hy-Vee needed some infrastructure improvements for the Fishers store.  Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness told reporter Bradley he had not had any Hy-Vee update recently but indicated the grocery chain wants a roundabout constructed west of their site at 134th Street and Olio Road.  There are no current plans to build a roundabout at that location.

Daniel Bradley goes into much more detail in his reporting.  You can find the IBJ story at this link.  (Note:  If you are not an IBJ subscriber, you may not be able to access this story)

In front of a sellout crowd of 6,601 fans at the Fishers Event Center, the Indy Fuel pulled off a dramatic 4-3 overtime victory over the Fort Wayne Komets on Saturday night.

After falling behind 2-0 early in the second period, the Fuel clawed their way back with goals from Colin Bilek—who scored twice—Ty Farmer, and ultimately Cam Hausinger, who netted the game-winner on a power play tip-in during the extra frame.

The back-and-forth battle saw tempers flare in the third, including a fight just seconds after Fort Wayne reclaimed the lead at 3-2. Bilek responded with a clutch power play goal to tie things up and force overtime.

Goaltender Ben Gaudreau stood tall for the Fuel, and Indy outshot Fort Wayne 28-21 overall.

The win is a crucial one for Indy as the playoff race heats up, and it added another fiery chapter to the always-intense in-state rivalry.

Road work in and around Fishers is ramping up as we head into the month of April.  Plenty of items are on the weekly listing,

Here is the official update for the work week starting Monday, April 7, as provided by the City of Fishers:

Continue reading Fishers area road construction update for the week of April 7 →

The Indy Fuel leaned on special teams and timely scoring Friday night to earn a 4-2 win over the Fort Wayne Komets at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.

After falling behind early to a goal from former Fuel forward Zach Jordan, Indy responded with a power play tally from Matus Spodniak and a quick follow-up by Darby Llewellyn to take a 2-1 lead late in the first. Jordan struck again, this time with a shorthanded goal, to knot the game 2-2 before the first intermission.

The second period saw no scoring but plenty of penalties, as both teams battled to gain the edge. Fuel goaltending and the penalty kill unit stood strong, fending off several Komets power plays.

The turning point came early in the third when Llewellyn struck again—this time shorthanded—for his second of the game and fourth shorthanded goal of the season. The Fuel held tight defensively the rest of the way, and Kevin Lynch sealed the win with an empty netter at 18:48.

With the win, the Fuel stay in fourth place in the Central Division with 68 points, maintaining their edge over Bloomington and Kalamazoo, who sit just behind with 64.

It was a big night in Fishers as professional football came to our fair city for the first time.  The Indoor Football League’s (IFL’s) one expansion franchise this season, the Fishers Freight, kicked off its first home game Friday night.  A raucous crowd of about 5,600 fans left the Fishers Event Center happy with a 40-29 win over the Tulsa Oilers.

Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness, IFL Commissioner Todd Tryon, and Freight owners Jim & Sean Hallett, greeted the fans just before the kickoff, celebrating the big night for Fishers.

Dixie Wooten and his squad provided an exciting game where the Freight scored early and never trailed  Friday night.  After the game, the Freight coach and general manager gave all the credit for the team’s early success to Jim Hallett, Sean Hallett and team President Larry McQueary for providing the front office support.  The Freight may be an expansion franchise, but the team has started 2-0 with their first game on the road at Northern Arizona a Fishers win.

The Freight picked up three rushing touchdowns from quarterback Jiya Wright with JT Stokes coming up with big plays in the passing game.  The defense came through when the chips were down, particularly in the 4th quarter when Tulsa made moves to bring themselves back into the game.

Tulsa hurt themselves with key penalties, particularly when kicker Mike Baloga missed a field goal attempt with 3:21 left in the game, but the Oilers were called for a roughing the snapper penalty.  That gave the Freight a first down on the Tulsa 6 yard line and resulted in Jiya Wright quarterback keeper run touchdown, putting the contest out of the Tulsa’s reach.

Coach Wooten was clearly miffed about a taunting penalty late in the game by the Freight, but in the end did not impact the outcome.

The Freight next travel to Massachusetts, Saturday, April 12.  Fishers is back at the Event Center Saturday, April 19, taking on the Bay Area Panthers.

The Indianapolis Star has sponsored a series of all-star games with Indiana seniors pitted against the best high school hoops seniors from Kentucky since 1940.  The 2025 team has been announced and for the second consecutive year, a Fishers High School senior has been named to the team.

The Star announced the team Friday and Tiger Justin Kirby will be a part of the Indiana All-Star squad.

“Justin’s story is 1 of true perseverance & work,” says a social media post by the Fishers basketball account. “He is 1 of the most improved players in Indiana & has earned this. Congrats, Kirb, we are proud of you!”

Keenan Garner represented the Tigers on last year’s all-star team.

For more on the 2025 team, read the Star story at this link.  (Note:  You may not have access to this story unless you are an IndyStar subscriber)