The month of April saw the Indiana legislature end its spring 2019 session, with little drama. We open our monthly News Roundup with a look back at what was accomplished at the State House.
Indiana Public Broadcasting's Brandon Smith covers state government. His feature on the end-of-session took a look back at what Hoosier legislators accomplished, with much less drama than unusual, on issues from the familiar, like abortion, to more recent as payday lending.
WBOI sat down with frequent guest Andy Downs of the Mike Downs Center for Indiana Politics to hear his perspective on the contested Republic primary to unseat long-time Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry. He also talked about whether municipal primaries are now feature contests pulling further right or further left. The 2019 primary contest reminds us of the 2007 contest between Allen County Commissioner Nelson Peters and local architect Matt Kelty. We weren't alone in noticing the similarities.
Downs also shared with us where Henry ranks in city history for longevity, having first been elected in 2007 by defeating Kelty.
WBOI's Zach Bernard spent April covering Fort Wayne City Council, groundbreakings and putting together profiles of the Fort Wayne Republican primary mayoral candidates.
City council continued to wrangle over the Legacy Fund, debated drones flying downtown and expressed concern over motorized scooters.
This past month went on a bit longer for purposes of our new Question of the Month feature (fund drive makes everything seem longer). We had asked "what is the most important to you as you cast your vote in November's municipal election." Here are those results.
For the month of May, we want to know "what makes a good neighbor." Use your recording app on your smartphone, tablet or computer and record your name and response. Email it to news@nipr.fm. Please keep it brief. You may also write your response and email it to us.
Thanks for joining us in this endeavor.
WBOI's Barb Anguiano spent part of the month of April looking into the theories surrounding the death of Taemon Blair, a young man from North Carolina, found deceased in the cab of his semi here in Fort Wayne.
While the Allen County coroner ruled the cause of death a suicide, and released much more information than usual, social media was filled with #justicefortaemon suggestions that he was lynched and the police were covering it up.
Barb took a look at why these kinds of theories persist and how Indiana's own history of racial violence can contribute.
We heard a feature from Side Effects Public Media on the role of translators in assuring adequate access to health care for refugees. And we congratulate WBOI alum and current Side Effects reporter Araceli Gomez-Aldana for being part of their team named "Journalists of the Year" by the Indiana Society of Professional Journalists.
And before we signed off for the month, we revisited Julia Meek's conversationwith the group behind the local iteration of Creative Mornings, a gathering for local creatives over coffee and inspiration.