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Andrea Muirragui

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Children’s Bureau reaches out: State prevention program helps social-services agency enter new areas, lift budget

Since its origins as the Widows and Orphans Asylum in 1851, the Children’s Bureau has been working to fix broken families in Indianapolis. Now the local not-for-profit has expanded its reach into 37 Indiana counties-growing its budget 22 percent in the process. Despite the regional push, the agency remains focused on Marion County, where it’s building a $9.2 million service center at 16th and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. streets. The engine driving the organization’s recent growth: a statewide program…

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Indy’s IKEA hopes dashed, but not decimated

What does Cincinnati have that Indianapolis doesn’t? As of today, an IKEA. The popular Swedish home-furnishings chain opened its 34th U.S. store this morning in suburban Cincinnati, its final foray into the Midwest after a five-year growth spurt that never quite made it to Indianapolis. Instead, IKEA chose to add locations in Bloomington, Minn., near […]

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Radio station unveils new format

Cumulus Indianapolis ended more than a month of mystery this morning, unveiling a new format for its WWFT-FM 93.9. Dubbed “Warm 93.9,” the radio station rolled out the soft-rock format at 9:39 a.m.; it had been playing Christmas music since November and spun techno tunes in the past week. Its first song this morning: “Every […]

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‘ Set the bar high’: LESSONS LEARNED KEVIN TEASLEY President, GEO Foundation CEO, 21st Century Charter Schools

KEVIN TEASLEY President, GEO Foundation CEO, 21st Century Charter Schools Kevin Teasley didn’t have clear-cut expectations when he and a small group of reform-minded dreamers opened 21st Century Charter School in 2002. The publicly funded-yet-independent schools were brand new in Indiana, and no one really knew what came next. Would 21st Century’s one-room schoolhouse approach draw talented teachers? Would students respond to a different kind of education? Organizers had high hopes, to be sure, but they operated more on instinct…

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‘BUILD YOUR BUSINESS by investing in it’:

Creative Street Media Group has come a long way-literally and figuratively-from its humble beginnings 23 years ago. The small video production company has become a corporate conglomerate, with 67 employees in five facilities who handle everything from promotional materials to interactive education. Oh yeah, and they also crank out some award-winning TV shows-like the Emmy Award-winning “Vietnam Nurses with Dana Delany.” For all its progress, Creative Street is not done growing. Any day now, the company will expand its reach…

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LESSONS LEARNED JENNIFER Q SMITH Queen of Fuzz, AvantGarb: Have

LESSONS LEARNED JENNIFER Q SMITH Queen of Fuzz, AvantGarb Have It’s hard to take Jennifer Q Smith too seriously. Oh, she’s the consummate professional, to be sure-responding to an e-mail inquiry about her company with the speed and savvy you’d expect from someone who has run her own business for 20 years. Her marketing materials are slick, her shtick smooth. Her northeast-side work space is clearly well used. But the hot pink fuzz ball that looms in the entryway (dressed…

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CEDIA delaying comeback to convention center

One of the two massive trade shows forced to leave Indianapolis because of a convention center space crunch isn’t coming back
as soon as expected. Locally based Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association is changing course three years after
agreeing to return its fall CEDIA Expo to Indianapolis for four years beginning in September 2010.

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LESSONS LEARNED: PAUL KNAPP CEO, Young & Laramore: ‘Shoot for the Stars ‘

LESSONS LEARNED PAUL KNAPP CEO, Young & Laramore ‘Shoot for the Stars ‘ Paul Knapp isn’t one to declare victory. Nor is he eager to toot his own horn. But even he has to admit that something’s working at Young & Laramore. The Indianapolis advertising agency Knapp leads has a stable of national accounts, is opening a satellite office in Canada, and has projected capitalized billings in 2007 will hit $80 million. So what’s the secret of its success? Y&L’s…

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‘Find your niche ‘:

His goal was to provide the proverbial one-stop shop, a place where “honey do” lists got done. Before long, he realized he may not have been aiming high enough. It seemed homeowners with not-so-handy honeys weren’t the only customers interested in what Schneller was selling. He also got calls from real estate agents who needed some last-minute home repairs completed before a sale could close. “They came to us with a laundry list of items,” Schneller said, ticking off an…

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City gained momentum with Super Bowl bid

Indianapolis’ bid to host the 2011 Super Bowl missed by inches, but observers said the city nevertheless scored major points
that still could result in a victory. But not without suiting up again.

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UPDATE: Irsay vows to land Super Bowl another day

NASHVILLE, Tenn.-Indianapolis will get a Super Bowl, Colts owner Jim Irsay said today. When is another matter. NFL owners voted this afternoon to play the 2011 game at the 100,000-seat Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The decision, which Irsay said came down to a 17-15 vote, dashed Indianapolis’ hopes of strengthening its status as a […]

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Super letdown: Indianapolis loses bid for 2011 game

NASHVILLE, Tenn.-National Football League owners today awarded Dallas the 2011 Super Bowl, dashing Indianapolis’ hopes of strengthening its status as a sports powerhouse. The 32 team owners voted by secret ballot following 15-minute presentations from representatives of North Texas, Arizona and Indianapolis. Owners of the Dallas Cowboys, Arizona Cardinals and Indianapolis Colts also addressed their […]

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UPDATE: Dungy’s nerves worse than during football games

NASHVILLE, TENN.-Indianapolis’ Super Bowl bid has been delivered. Now comes the wait. A five-person contingent from the Circle City, led by Baker & Daniels partner Fred Glass and headlined by Indianapolis Colts Coach Tony Dungy, spent more than 20 minutes in a closed-door meeting with NFL owners. They emerged a few minutes before 1 p.m. […]

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UPDATE: IMS, Conseco would host bowl bashes

NASHVILLE, TENN.-Lucas Oil Stadium isn’t the only local sports venue that would see action if NFL owners pick Indianapolis to host the 2011 Super Bowl. Indianapolis Motor Speedway would be decked out for the league commissioner’s prestigious Friday night party, and Conseco Fieldhouse would be the site of a “star-studded concert” on the eve of […]

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SUPER BOWL UPDATE: City boosters prepared for payoff

NASHVILLE, TENN.-Preparation and practice are taken care of. All Indianapolis’s Super Bowl bid team can do now is hope for a payoff. City boosters were set to make their 15-minute presentation today before NFL owners vote on a site for the 2011 game. Indianapolis is vying against regional bids from North Texas and Arizona. A […]

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Irsay: Indianapolis’ time has come

NASHVILLE, Tenn.-The team pitching Indianapolis as a potential Super Bowl city is huddling with NFL staff this afternoon, preparing for tomorrow’s vote on a site for the 2011 game. Local representatives, including Baker & Daniels partner Fred Glass and Deputy Mayor Steve Campbell, expected to get last-minute feedback and have the opportunity to respond to […]

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Indianapolis’ offer on the table:

INDIANAPOLIS HAS: Seating for up to 73,000 and a retractable roof at Lucas Oil Stadium, set to open in 2008. The press box seats 200, but event space could be converted for additional media use. PRACTICE FACILITIES NFL WANTS: Comparable practice facilities for both Super Bowl teams, including a covered field with the same turf as the stadium, locker rooms for players and coaches, meeting rooms, and laundry service. INDIANAPOLIS HAS: The Colts’ 56th Street football complex. Bid organizers have…

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LESSONS LEARNED: ‘GIVE BACK’ANDY MEDLEY AND SCOTT HILL co-owners, CIK Enterprises LLC

Small-business owners have plenty on their plates-like finding customers and keeping them happy. But CIK Enterprises partners Scott Hill and Andy Medley have found room for a heaping helping of generosity, too. The west-side direct marketing firm has a program in place that directs 1 percent of monthly profit to local charities, a seemingly small number that nevertheless is growing along with the 7-year-old company. That’s the idea. “Capitalism has a negative connotation as something that’s profitdriven and cut-throat,” Medley…

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TO DO LIST: BUTLER BASKETBALL: All together now: ‘Let’s go Bulldogs, let’s go!’

TO DO LIST BUTLER BASKETBALL All together now: ‘Let’s go Bulldogs, let’s go!’ Looking for a way to satisfy your sports jones now that football season’s over? Check out Indianapolis’ other team-the Butler Bulldogs-at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse. The nationally ranked basketball squad is at its prime, and taking in a home game is an entertaining reminder of the good old days when college athletes played their hearts out for four years and communities came out in force to rally ’round…

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Breaking up may be hard, but museum thrives anyway: Conner Prairie turning red ink to black as it embraces independence after years-long governance dispute

Nearly a year after its split from longtime trustee Earlham College, Conner Prairie is on the rebound. The Hamilton County living-history museum is poised to close out 2006 with more revenue than expenses-the first time in years it’s been in the black. “We feel very good about it,” said Berkley Duck, board chairman for both the museum and its affiliated foundation. “We’re coming in pretty well against what we estimated.” That’s impressive, considering the 32-member board didn’t have much time…

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