I talked to four Merrillville residents whose house had been without power for days, and they had no idea when it would return. They had just purchased the last lithium-battery powered fan at the mall, hoping it might bring some relief from the heat.

Three days later, I drove to Jennings County, 220 miles southeast of Merrillville, where Vernon residents had kept a wary eye on the rising Muscatatuck River. The White River tributary mostly stayed within its banks, sparing people the devastation seen in central and eastern Indiana.

But storms still hurt the community — residents are mourning the loss of a 4-year-old boy who died when an uprooted tree fell on his home.

FPI News reporter Laura Lane covers the people and issues of rural Indiana. Reach her at 812-760-1540 or laura.lane@fpinews.org.

Read the story about Jennings County

Read the story about northwest Indiana

Historic flooding had destroyed Gerber’s house in Connersville, where she lived with her husband and two kids. The family doesn’t have flood insurance.

We heard stories like this from all around the state. It’s heartbreaking, but all too common. Less than 1% of Hoosiers carry flood insurance.

That statistic is staggering, but understandable. If you don’t live in a high-risk area, you may think flood insurance is too expensive and not necessary. But last week’s destruction proves why it’s worth considering if you live anywhere near a river, lake or stream.

Lilly Carbajal, an Indiana insurance agent, told me that everyone should do themselves a favor and at least get a quote on flood insurance. Your future self may thank you.

“At least check the price just to see, and if you can afford it, do it,” she said. “You never know when you can have floods like we have.”

FPI News reporter Carson Gerber covers pressing issues throughout the state and how local communities are tackling those challenges. Reach him at 756-204-4250 or carson.gerber@fpinews.org.

Read the story

After storms tore through central Indiana, Brett Phelps, a Free Press Indiana photographer, and I set out to see how the historic flooding had affected Anderson residents. It was the kind of reporting where you find stories by following one tip after another.

When we met a sheriff’s department chaplain, he pointed us down the street where we found yards piled high with soggy furniture and broken appliances, and houses with caved-in foundations. We met a homeowner struggling to salvage possessions and contemplating whether to rebuild in such a flood-prone place.

When we stopped by a nonprofit giving out cleaning supplies, the executive director sent us to her own neighborhood. There, we found a man who had spent nearly a year fixing up a small, one-story home himself only to have it destroyed by flooding.

They were the kind of stories that you find by showing up and listening to people generous enough to share what they’re living through.

FPI News reporter Dylan Peers McCoy covers pressing issues throughout the state and how local communities are tackling those challenges. Reach her at 508-259-4809 or dylan.mccoy@fpinews.org.

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There’s a conflict between two groups — the Southern Indiana Homeless Coalition and the grassroots group Jesus Cares at Exit 0 that work with the homeless community in Clark and Floyd counties — that hinders progress toward helping people find stability and a place to live.

Meanwhile, the Indiana Department of Transportation had planned to evict dozens of people living in a homeless camp near the I-65 Jeffersonville exit ramp. They had until Thursday to get out before bulldozers were sent in. Volunteers helped people move.

But the day before the camp was to be cleared, Exit 0 founder Paul Stensrud heard from INDOT. The camp clearing had been postponed. The people he moved out could have stayed longer.

“We’ll be meeting with the Indiana State Police next week to discuss the best way forward and figure out the next steps in the vacate process,” the message from INDOT’s director of stakeholder services to Stensrud said. “I’ll keep you in the loop and share any important updates so we can stay aligned.”

“Same BS from the state,” said an exasperated Stensrud.

FPI News reporter Laura Lane covers the people and issues of rural Indiana. Reach her at 812-760-1540 or laura.lane@fpinews.org.

FPI News reporter Laura Lane covers the people and issues of rural Indiana. Reach her at 812-760-1540 or laura.lane@fpinews.org.

Read the full story.

Town Council President Melanie Barrett showed me the new community center and a thriving park that attracts visitors from across the region. As we walked through downtown, everyone we passed seemed to know her. And there were lots of people out walking.

But people with strollers, wheelchairs and walkers are often forced to go in the street because the sidewalks are crumbled or there are none at all.

The challenge is that making streets safer for pedestrians is expensive. Holland won a federal grant to help plan those improvements. But actually making the changes may be unaffordable.

📲 Plus: Follow along as I walk the Holland sidewalks.

FPI News reporter Dylan Peers McCoy covers pressing issues throughout the state and how local communities are tackling those challenges. Reach her at 508-259-4809 or dylan.mccoy@fpinews.org.

Read the full story.

Flooding was so intense in Wayne County that part of westbound I-70 buckled. Part of State Road 38 in the same county also washed away. Some good news: INDOT shared Friday that the interstate has reopened, and S.R. 38 has at least been temporarily repaired.

More than 60% of NIPSCO customers were without power at the worst point this week. The northwest Indiana utility described it as “one of the most significant outage events in company history.” As of midday Friday, approximately 185,000 customers remained without power.

Damage is so widespread that Gov. Mike Braun issued a state of emergency on Thursday and mobilized the Indiana National Guard to help provide manpower and resources in Gary, Munster and Hobart. He also has requested federal assistance.

We put together a resource guide on what you should do if your home flooded and where to find flood shelters.

Next week, we’ll be talking to residents and local officials about clean-up efforts and looking into what you should know about flood insurance.

➡️ Hit reply to this email/post and tell us what’s happening in your community.

How to find help.

Then the tariffs hit April 2025, and everything changed. The company lost a million-dollar account. By November, Clark was wondering if he would have to layoff his seven employees.

I spoke with Clark for a story about Indiana companies receiving refunds from a set of tariffs the Trump administration implemented that the U.S. Supreme Court in February ruled unlawfulful.

Clark told me his company so far has received around $65,000, but should get back in total at least $150,000. But it doesn’t come close to making up the financial hit 7PSolutions took from the tariffs.

Clark said he’s not opposed to import taxes, but the way they’ve been rolled out so far has made operating a business complicated, unpredictable and stressful.

Now, the company could take another hit — the Trump administration last month announced another round of tariffs on more than 60 trading partners.

“It just feels like if, this afternoon, the cheese on Trump’s cheeseburger isn’t melted enough and he wants to throw another 20% tariff on the cheese guys, then it’s going to happen,” Clark said. “And there’s just no warning.”

FPI News reporter Carson Gerber covers pressing issues throughout the state and how local communities are tackling those challenges. Reach him at 756-204-4250 or carson.gerber@fpinews.org.

Read the full story

It turns out, I’m not alone. Insurers now regularly offer policies that either have higher deductibles or only pay some of the replacement cost for roofs — leaving homeowners with steep bills if disaster strikes.

Those policies are appealing for insurers because hail damage is one of the biggest costs they bear. One industry study found that severe hail, thunderstorms and tornadoes were the costliest disasters for insurers globally in 2025.

FPI News reporter Dylan Peers McCoy covers pressing issues throughout the state and how local communities are tackling those challenges. Reach her at 508-259-4809 or dylan.mccoy@fpinews.org.

Read the full story.

On July 27, I laced up my hiking shoes and took a walk into the woods on Bloomington’s south side to talk to people living in a homeless camp about Indiana’s new law that makes sleeping outside on public property a crime that can land you in jail for six months.

Photographer Jeremy Hogan and I found Rob Lawson and Ashea Lucas at their campsite. They said police haven’t bothered them since the law went into effect July 1. If their camp is threatened, they’ll move deeper into the woods.

We heard from a reader who said the story should have mentioned the addiction that often contributes to homelessness. “I don’t believe you got the full picture,” the email said. “When an article is published I think it should have all the facts and truth to the matter.”

Agreed. In this instance, the story was about how the new law is playing out in homeless camps. Are police going in to offer help and give the required 48-hour notice to move on? Has anyone been arrested? How substance use disorder plays into the mix is part of the street homelessness big picture, but not the focus here.

Reporting the news means meeting people where they are without judgment and preconceived notions about their lives. Not from a distance, but up close.

FPI News reporter Laura Lane covers the people and issues of rural Indiana. Reach her at 812-760-1540 or laura.lane@fpinews.org.

Read the full story

Read the full story.

FPI News reporter Laura Lane covers the people and issues of rural Indiana. Reach her at 812-760-1540 or laura.lane@fpinews.org.

Read the full story.

FPI News reporter Dylan Peers McCoy covers pressing issues throughout the state and how local communities are tackling those challenges. Reach her at 508-259-4809 or dylan.mccoy@fpinews.org.

FPI News reporter Carson Gerber covers pressing issues throughout the state and how local communities are tackling those challenges. Reach him at 756-204-4250 or carson.gerber@fpinews.org.

Read the full story.

The Haitian immigrants came to Indianapolis to escape the country that has collapsed into chaos. Today, armed gangs control the capital, Port-au-Prince. The country remains under a national state of emergency.

Cetoute told me all this during a phone call last week to talk about the real possibility her dad could be deported back to Haiti. On Monday, he will lose his Temporary Protected Status following a U.S Supreme Court ruling last month.

Cetoute joined her dad in Indianapolis in 2023 for a better life. She now owns a flower shop. He works as a team leader at a local warehouse.

The story I wrote this week focuses on the fact that the state’s workforce will lose around 7,000 people on Monday when companies will be forced to lay off people like Cetoute’s dad.

But whether you agree with ending TPS or not, it’s important to understand that this policy is impacting real people living real lives in Indiana.

Read the full story.

We want our reporting to capture the diverse beauty and challenges across the state, and we need your help finding the local stories that matter.

Next week, I’m headed to Lebanon to meet our readers and sources on their home turf. I’ll be hanging out at Just Love Coffee Cafe from 9 a.m. to noon on Friday, July 31. Stop by to say hi, share a coffee and find out more about FPI News.

Once they took the scenic route from Chicago to Bloomington for a visit, and it took them six hours, not the usual four, to get to my house.

“Did you know Indiana doesn’t print roadmaps anymore?” she asked one day. “You should write a story about it. All the other states will send you one in the mail, but I couldn’t get one from Indiana. I couldn’t believe it.”

Neither could I. After calling around to various state transportation departments, I confirmed that indeed, Indiana no longer prints or provides free paper highway maps. Kentucky, though, still does. The state still prints about 700,000 every year at 19 cents each, and gives them out for free.

Read the full story

Housing is the next big story I’m digging into in my reporting. National data shows that rent and homeownership are comparatively less expensive in Indiana. But costs in some communities have gone up rapidly in recent years.

I’m going to be looking at those places ( 👀 South Bend and Kokomo) and asking — why? And I’m on the hunt for cities, towns and counties that are trying new approaches to make housing affordable.

If you are having trouble paying your housing bills or if something unusual is happening in your area, send me a note. My email is dylan.mccoy@fpinews.org and my cellphone is 508-259-4809.

Read the story

This wasn’t the first story I’ve written about the man. Jennifer Jill Fowler and I shared a byline on a breaking news story published in The Herald-Times newspaper June 30, 1995.

A Bloomington man was arrested in Virginia Beach, Va., this week in connection with the June 18 murder of a 21-year-old vacationing Atlanta college student.

Dustin Allen Turner, 20, of 100 E. Miller Drive, was one of two Navy SEAL trainees assigned to Virginia Beach who were arrested in the case.

They were charged after Virginia Beach police found the partially decomposed body of Jennifer Lea Evans, a student at Emory University in Atlanta.

From then until now, I wrote 21 stories about Turner as he fought a legal battle to be freed from prison. His mom, a teacher named Linda Summitt, would come to the front desk at the Bloomington newspaper office with legal documents being presented on her son’s behalf. Persistent and unfazed that the odds were against them, she never gave up.

On July 11, I stood at a distance and watched the two of them laugh and cry with family and friends during a welcome-home party at Lake Monroe. Something I never imagined I’d see.

Turner is seeking exoneration, to clear his name of murder. If that happens, I’m pretty sure I’ll be writing about it.

Read the story

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Residents there have watched with concern, he said, as tech giants like Amazon and Microsoft build massive, energy-intensive campuses just miles to the north in St. Joseph and LaPorte counties. Those facilities will house thousands of computer servers processing data and supporting AI.

“We saw just how upset the people there were about it and how much that was impacting their lifestyle,” Bohannon said.

Marshall County commissioners in January 2025 approved a temporary moratorium on data center developments — the first county in the state to do so. In April 2026, the county became the first to outright ban the facilities.

Now, more than a third of Indiana counties have also restricted data center developments through regulations, temporary moratoriums or bans, according to Indiana University’s Environmental Resiliency Institute.

Local officials are having to react quickly. In just the last two years, around 60 large-scale data center proposals have been filed in Indiana, according to consumer advocacy group Citizen Action Coalition (CAC).

Tech companies say the developments create news jobs and generate millions of dollars in new investment and tax revenue for local communities.

But many Hoosiers are pushing back against the facilities over concerns they could increase utility bills, strain the electric grid and pollute the environment, said Ben Inskeep, program director for CAC.

“They are struggling to really see many tangible benefits,” he said. “They’re just kind of scratching their heads wondering ‘Why would we want to welcome this development?’”

At the same time, 27 public interest organizations in May signed on to a letter urging local governments across Indiana to immediately enact a moratorium on new data center developments to “allow adequate time for reasonable policies and regulations to be enacted.”

The county-level restrictions come as lawmakers in 15 states have proposed legislation implementing statewide data center bans or moratoriums, including Michigan, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

In Indiana, just two counties have outright banned data centers. Most have approved temporary moratoriums to create “breathing room” as they craft ordinances regulating the facilities, explained Janet McCabe, senior policy advisor at IU’s Environmental Resiliency Institute.

The goal isn’t to ban developments, she said, but implement setbacks and noise requirements aimed at protecting residents.

“We’re seeing tremendous public interest in these proposals, so counties want to be responsive to that and think about what’s best for their communities,” she said.

That’s the case in Miami County, where commissioners in April passed a moratorium as they hash out details on a proposed data center ordinance that could bar developers from using water-intensive cooling systems or building near schools and hospitals.

Indianapolis is also advancing a proposal to create a specific zoning district for data centers that includes rules for building setbacks, utility usage and noise limits.

Bohannon said no data center projects have been proposed in Marshall County. Even so, after seeing the strife and infighting that the developments create in other Indiana communities, the best option was to simply ban them.

“We’ve seen a lot of peace since we put the moratorium in place, and we believe the ban is going to preserve that peace for us long term,” he said.

FPI News, a nonprofit newsroom, is funded through grants and donations from individuals, foundations and organizations.

FPI News reporter Carson Gerber covers pressing issues throughout the state and how local communities are tackling those challenges. Reach him at 756-204-4250 or carson.gerber@fpinews.org.

To make up for the higher costs, Murphy has cut back on using his tractor to spray fertilizer on the more than 4,000 acres of corn and soybeans on his farm in Northwest Indiana.

“You start burning two gallons of diesel an acre, it adds up quick,” he said. “You have to think for an extra few minutes before you decide you’re going to do something.”

Slumping corn and soybean prices this year already threatened to hit farmers’ bank accounts. Now, profit margins have become even slimmer after diesel and fertilizer prices skyrocketed in March following the U.S.-Israel attack on Iran.

From January to June, the price for anhydrous ammonia — a fertilizer critical for corn and wheat — jumped from $837 to $1,133, marking a 35% increase. Another essential fertilizer, liquid nitrogen, increased by nearly 30%.

Farmers who purchased fertilizer after the price spike now face the possibility they could earn next to zero from this year’s harvest, and some could end up losing money, explained Michael Langemeier, director of Purdue University’s Center for Commercial Agriculture.

To break even, farmers buying fertilizer and diesel right now need to earn around $5.25 for a bushel of corn and about $11.60 for soybeans, according to Langemeier. This week, in Indiana, rates on average hovered around $4.09 for corn and $11.19 for soybeans.

“It looked like a tough profit year anyway, and then this just added insult to injury,” he said.

According to Purdue University’s Ag Economy Barometer, which surveys around 400 agricultural producers each month, 51% said the cost of inputs such as fuel and fertilizer was their top concern in May. That’s the highest percentage since the survey began in 2016.

Brian Bays, a crop farmer near Anderson, said his farm purchased all its fertilizer and diesel last year and avoided the higher prices. But had they bought anhydrous ammonia now, it would have cost an extra $60,000.

Even so, Bays isn’t planning on earning much income this year as a large global supply of corn and soybeans keeps grain prices low.

“They’re really not at profitable levels,” he said. “They’re kind of at survival levels.”

Bays anticipates an even more difficult financial year ahead if negotiations between the U.S. and Iran to end the war drag on through the summer and shipping disruptions continue in the Strait of Hormuz. Much of the world’s fuel and raw ingredients for fertilizer flow through the seaway.

If prices remain high into the fall, Bays said, his farm will have to make some “serious decisions” whether to eat the extra expense or cut back on the amount of fertilizer they use, which could impact the health of the crop.

“There’s just total uncertainty in terms of supply and pricing,” he said. “I don’t have a crystal ball that can tell us what’s going to happen, but we are concerned about costs next year.”

Bays isn’t alone — nearly two-thirds of growers surveyed by Purdue’s Ag Economy Barometer also reported they expect the Iran war to have a negative or very negative impact on their farm’s net income.

Murphy, the Chesterton farmer, says the war, combined with other U.S. policies on tariffs and trade, is hurting his operation.

“If it’s not one thing kicking you in the knee, it’s another,” he said.

Those high costs have driven backlash from ratepayers around the state. People in Evansville protested in the streets and a local bar shut off its own lights in response to CenterPoint Energy rate increases last year. An anti-NIPSCO Facebook group has attracted more than 36,000 members upset with the northern Indiana utility. And people regularly take to the Indianapolis Reddit page to ask: Why is my AES bill so high?

State leaders have taken notice. One of the legislature’s signature bills in 2026 will help some low-income ratepayers avoid shutoffs during periods of high heat, among other changes. Gov. Mike Braun — who says energy affordability is one of his top priorities — ousted the chairman of the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission this week after it approved a rate increase for AES.

That shakeup at the IURC came despite the commission’s attempt to highlight affordability this spring by holding listening sessions across the state and questioning executives from the five investor-owned electric utilities at a public inquiry.

So what’s behind rising bills in recent years? Hot and cold weather always drive up costs, but there are other factors behind recent increases, from investments in infrastructure to higher fuel costs. At the same time, new data centers built to power AI could drive rates up even higher.

Rate approval process

Most Indiana electric consumers are served by one of five investor-owned utilities that are overseen by the state regulatory commission. When energy companies want to charge more per kilowatt hour, they need to ask for approval.

Utilities have won increases in base rates in several recent cases, including CenterPoint, which serves Evansville and the surrounding area, and NIPSCO. Those two utilities, which already had the highest bills for homes using 1,000 kilowatt hours in the state, had the largest increases last year, according to data from the IURC.

Investments in infrastructure

When utilities spend on infrastructure and maintenance, it’s passed on to consumers. That includes building new plants, keeping existing ones running — like the aging coal plants the Trump administration ordered NIPSCO and CenterPoint to keep open — and maintaining the grid.

“We have an aging and aged electrical grid, particularly our distribution and transmission systems,” said Tremaine Phillips, an energy consultant and former member of the commission that regulates Michigan utilities.

That system — which includes power lines that go the last mile to homes and high-voltage lines on highways — has gotten less attention historically, Phillips said. “There is now a need to continue to retrofit, to repair and replace components of that system.”

Indiana’s utilities say they have made necessary investments that comply with regulations, increase safety and improve service for consumers by reducing outages. At the IURC affordability inquiry, a CenterPoint official said the average number of minutes power was out for customers declined by 57% since 2018.

The cost for improvements has been driven up by inflation, said Shane Bradford, a vice president for CenterPoint.

“With these cost increases, we’ve remained focused on only necessary investments that support safe, reliable, and cost-effective service for our customers,” Bradford said.

Profits can drive up costs

IURC-approved rates include built-in profits for investor-owned utilities. That means rates not only account for costs like maintenance and investments in infrastructure, they also include an approved rate of return.

Those margins aim to attract investment but critics say because utilities earn them on investments like building power plants and not regular maintenance like tree trimming, they can incentivize companies to spend big and pass the costs on to consumers.

The rates of return vary by utility, but they are close to 10% for Indiana investor-owned electric providers, according to Ben Inskeep, program director at the Citizens Action Coalition, an Indianapolis-based advocacy organization.

While those returns are similar to the national average, consumer advocates like Inskeep argue they are higher than they should be.

“Utilities repeatedly are getting very high guaranteed profit margins that are then built into our rates and that are artificially increasing our cost of electricity,” Inskeep said.

At the IURC affordability hearing, utility officials pushed back on the idea that they make investment decisions based on the potential to earn returns set by the state.

“The capital investments that we’re making in the system are really driven by need,” said Andrew Williamson, vice president of regulatory and finance for Indiana Michigan Power. The company must offer “fair” returns to attract investors, he added.

Rising fuel costs passed on to consumers

Base rates are not the only costs on an electric bill. Customers are also required to pay so-called “trackers,” which can change more often.

Fuel charges can fluctuate throughout the year based on the costs utilities must pay for the fuel they use to generate electricity. When fuel costs go up because of weather or global conflict, that cost is passed on to consumers.

Data centers could drive up prices

As new data centers are built across Indiana, they could continue to push up electric costs.

Wholesale power prices have increased in parts of the country near data centers, according to a Bloomberg News analysis. And if energy demand exceeds current capacity, Indiana utilities may have to build new power plants, and those costs could be passed on to residential ratepayers.

Inskeep argues the data center boom is already increasing consumer bills, and as new centers are built, costs will go up even further.

“We’re talking about sites that use more power than an entire city — just at one facility,” Inskeep said. “This is just unprecedented in every way.”

Or data centers could help pay for grid upgrades

Indiana utilities have taken some steps to make data centers foot the bill for investments in the electric grid. A recent agreement between Indiana Michigan Power, consumer advocates and three incoming data centers created new tariffs for large load customers such as data centers. NIPSCO has created an affiliate for data center power generation that the company says will protect residential ratepayers.

Phillips, who works with a national energy affordability advocacy group called PowerLines, said data centers could help finance essential improvements to the grid.

“But that doesn’t happen by accident,” Phillips said. It requires regulatory reform from state public utility commissions, governors’ offices and legislatures — and business model reform by utilities.