NOV. 8-14, 2019
While the cheers from the IndyCar paddock were loud in the wake of the news that Roger Penske is buying the open wheel racing series and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, that doesn't mean smooth sailing for either property. IndyCar still faces significant obstacles with sponsorship and viewership, and the track could use upgrades to bring it up to speed for modern audiences, Anthony Schoettle reports. Also in this week's issue, Susan Orr digs into problems with IndyGo vendors that are disrupting the Red Line's operations and hurting the transit agency's bottom line. And Mickey Shuey examines how groups that stage large events in convention cities like Indianapolis have reacted to local plans to expand capacity for events and visitors.
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Penske’s purchase of IMS, IndyCar Series isn’t panacea for sport needing more fans, sponsors
Despite IndyCar’s modest progress in recent years, it still faces significant obstacles, including the need for more corporate sponsorships, a broader fan base and higher TV ratings.
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IndyGo says vendors causing missed Red Line deadlines
IndyGo vendors are still working to deploy two key features that were supposed to be in place when the Red Line launched Sept. 1—and the delays are both disrupting Red Line operations and hurting IndyGo’s bottom line.
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Dow Agro lawsuit accuses employees of stealing secrets before quitting
The company says Sotero Ramirez and Robert Lemon downloaded thousands of files of valuable and confidential information in the days leading up to their resignations, amounting to theft of company property and a violation of their non-disclosure and non-competition agreements.
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Album, CD business booms for one firm, even as streaming grows
Over the last decade, streaming sites and compressed file-sharing technologies such as MP3 have chased most “physical” media from the forefront of the audio and video recording industries. But Chip Viering sees that as an opportunity.
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As other retailers stumble, dollar stores are on growth tear
Consider the humble dollar store: modest in size, basic in appearance and laser-focused on selling cheap stuff. But don’t discount them: These stores are big business.
Read MoreQ&A with Gavin Thomas, Bottleworks project chief
Gavin Thomas, 43, joined Wisconsin-based Hendricks Commercial Properties in August after five years working in development at Kite Realty Group Trust.
Read MoreFraudster Tim Durham wins hearing on whether lawyer’s $1M fee created conflict
Fair Finance fraud felon Tim Durham will get a chance to grill his former trial attorney and call more than a dozen witnesses during an evidentiary hearing into whether he received proper representation before he was sentenced to 50 years in federal prison.
Read MoreHogsett to aim for bipartisanship even after Democrats’ big wins
Elected to a second term on Tuesday, Democratic Mayor Joe Hogsett said he’ll continue to look for common ground between parties on the City-County Council, although Democrats will outnumber Republicans about 4-to-1.
Read MoreSchools, coaches more willing to fight NCAA allegations
When schools run afoul the Indianapolis-based NCAA, they no longer blindly accept whatever punishment is meted out. Even those that suggest or levy self-punishments often close ranks, hire outside counsel and vow to fight.
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Steak n Shake slows closures, continues to lose money
Indianapolis-based Steak n Shake drastically slowed the pace of “temporary” restaurant closures in the third quarter, but showed little progress in its plan to turn company-owned eateries into franchises.
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Convention industry swells, but future hinges on Pan Am development
Visit Indy, which isn’t involved in the Pan Am negotiations, is in “somewhat of a holding pattern until we have the exact details finalized and presented to us,” Vice President Chris Gahl said.
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How the sharing economy can fit into your next trip
Peer-to-peer transactions, in which one party buys a service and the other lands a gig, are on the rise and can be found in every category.
Read MoreIEDC president to lead state’s new tourism agency
State lawmakers passed legislation during the 2019 session that allowed the Indiana Office of Tourism Development, which is under Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch and funded by the state budget, to become a quasi-governmental corporation as of July 1, 2020.
Read MoreFrench Lick Resort to open hotel addition
The addition—part of a $17 million expansion project—are adjacent to the resort’s Event Center and French Lick Casino.
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Editorial: Momentous sale of racing empire is cause for sadness, optimism
We’re confident that IMS and the racing series will benefit from having Penske, a proven businessman known as “The Captain,” at the helm. But that alone isn’t enough to ensure a new era of prosperity for the iconic, 110-year-old venue.
Read MoreMICKEY MAURER: I’ll pay my share to get us out of this mess
It’ll be worth it to return my beloved country to honest, moral stewardship.
Read MoreAnn Murtlow: Alice? She’s missing from recent Census report
ALICE isn’t an actual person; she’s an acronym for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. ALICE is a growing population of people in Indianapolis and our surrounding counties who are employed (in one or more jobs) but struggle to make ends meet.
Read MoreClaire Fiddian-Green & Maureen Weber: Preschool teachers are important. Pay them accordingly
The professional training required to build and sustain the skills to teach our youngest learners is expensive and time-consuming, especially relative to the pay. This makes it challenging to find and retain well-trained teachers.
Read MoreSantiago Jaramillo: Why almost everyone hates employee surveys
Surveys diagnose problems; leaders prescribe solutions.
Read MoreKIM: Is WeWork the ‘canary in the coal mine’ for profitless ‘unicorns’?
When investors compete to give their capital to private companies, you get standards that are lowered at the same time valuations are raised, a recipe for disaster.
Read MoreLetter: MacAllister knew how to compromise
I was honored to become P.E.’s friend. He would mock me given my alleged liberal political views in the same fashion that I would laughingly forgive him for his Republican dedication.
Read MoreBONANON & CUROTT: The dollar’s dominance has a downside
Cheap debt encourages fiscal irresponsibility—among teenage boys and politicians.
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High-end Nora furniture store to close at year’s end
Form + Function owner Helmut Fortense is shutting down his store at the end of the year following 23 years in business so he can retire.
Read MoreIndianapolis Motor Speedway to host high-speed autonomous vehicle race
The Indy Autonomous Challenge will be a five-round competition that features a $1 million prize.
Read MoreTech academy Kenzie secures $100M for student tuition financing
Indianapolis-based Kenzie Academy said the financing will help it offer programs across the country. The financing is backed by San Francisco-based Community Investment Management, an institutional impact investment manager.
Read MoreArbor Homes expands into Louisville market with acquisition
The deal marks Arbor’s first entry into a territory outside of central Indiana since it was founded in 1994. Arbor is the Indianapolis area’s most active home builder.
Read MoreSoftware startup Costello acquired by fast-growing Atlanta firm
SalesLoft plans to maintain Costello’s Indianapolis office—albeit with new branding—and keep all 11 of its employees.
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Rep. André Carson: Trump betrayed America, threatened national security
Congress has a duty to hold the president, regardless of party, accountable to the law and to the people he was elected to serve. I believe it’s not only necessary, but right, that Congress conduct a thorough and fair impeachment inquiry to find the facts.
Read MoreRep. Jim Banks: Trump is innocent of accusations about Ukraine
President Trump sent aid to Ukraine. The Trump administration has delivered lethal aid to Ukraine ever since his inauguration began in 2017.
Read MoreBill Oesterle: Population contraction means recruiting must change
In a world where every open job has, on average, fewer than one applicant, employers will be forced to abandon standardized skill requirements. They are going to have to move from a skills-first model to a talent-first model.
Read MoreCurt Smith: Barr speech clarifies what’s at stake in 2020
William Barr’s Oct. 11 address at the Law School of Notre Dame University offers the clearest critique yet of the status and significance of the left’s decades-long assault on religious liberty.
Read MoreMichael Leppert: Finding the best platform for activism is the key
I have long thought the private sector would end up playing a bigger role in gun safety than the government would. Not just because the private sector is more capable at some aspects of it, but also because government has become so incapable in general.
Read MoreShariq Siddiqui: Donor-advised funds shouldn’t be tool of hate
The real challenge we face is not about the instrumentality of a DAF. The real challenge is that there is hate, bigotry and prejudice in our country. We must find different ways to come together and educate society.
Read MoreAndrew Ireland: Patients need right to control genetic information
Creating a property interest in a person’s genetic information helps foster an efficient market for information, encourage ethical and equitable research practices, and mitigate the inherent risks of the exposure of genetic information to the world.
Read MoreMarshawn Wolley: Shifting needs as Indy moves to majority-minority city
The black community has been a sizable population in this city for much of its early development through the 19th and 20th centuries, while the Latinx community and Asian communities are relatively smaller and newer.
Read MoreDeborah Daniels: Campaigns shouldn’t be about ‘fighting’
The point of this rhetoric is not necessarily to persuade additional people to the cause being advocated; it is to rally the already-convinced and bring them into the camp of the speaker (shouter).
Read MoreJim Shella: A former partisan is trying to make sure everyone votes
Moreau wants everyone who is eligible to get out and vote. The Indianapolis attorney is behind a large-scale effort to increase the number of Indiana voters in the 2020 election. It’s already underway.
Read MoreJennifer Wagner: Democrats need more money to win in Indiana
You have to raise enough money to show that you’re a serious contender. Once you hit that mark, and you’re able to pay for a poll that shows a path to victory, those who guard the gold are willing to give you the time of day and invest in your race.
Read MoreRichard Feldman: Atrocities led to ethical standards for human trials
Their “medical” experiments punctuate Nazi Germany’s cruel, brutal and ruthless obsession to “cleanse” the world of Jews and other groups they considered unworthy of living.
Read MoreAbdul-Hakim Shabazz: Eliminating charters, vouchers won’t boost teacher pay
Over the course of the teacher-pay debate, I’ve heard numerous advocates for increasing teacher pay argue that if the state got rid of the voucher program and no longer funded charter schools, there would be plenty of money to increase teacher salaries. Their math doesn’t add up.
Read MoreTom LoBianco: Morphing your way to the top
So who is Mike Pence? The guy who understands a paramount lesson in politics: change to win.
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Mike Lopresti: Seven-footers on the hardwood? It’s a Smits family tradition
Former Pacer Rik Smits and his son, Butler center Derrik Smits, talk basketball, family and the future.
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