By Niki Kelly | Editor-in-Chief
On Sept. 26, 1774, John Chapman was born in Massachusetts. He became known as “Johnny Appleseed” and established orchards throughout the Midwest. He died in Fort Wayne in 1847.
It only took 25 years but Indiana has a new State Archives Building. And we have a full tour with details on historic documents in the collection.
Indiana will receive significant federal grant for electric transmission upgrades.
Lawmakers take a lap on early paydown of a state pension obligation. The attorney aeneral sues the Indiana High School Athletic Association.
Plus, a commentary on considering the merits on school referendums and data centers.
Shelves of records fill one of four storage floors at the new Indiana State Archives in downtown Indianapolis. Staff moved about 90,000 cubic feet of boxes into the building. (Photo by Casey Smith/Indiana Capital Chronicle)
Inside Indiana’s new downtown archives, where state history gets a new home
By Casey Smith
Indiana’s centuries-old paper trail — from the state's original constitutions to governors’ correspondence and millions of agency records — is back downtown after a quarter-century in a temporary warehouse.
State officials marked the opening of the new Indiana State Archives with a ribbon-cutting Thursday, celebrating a long-awaited home designed to better protect the records and make them easier for Hoosiers to explore.
U.S. Department of Energy General Counsel Jonathan Brightbill announces $1.9 billion in transmission grants, while Indiana Energy and Natural Resources Secretary Suzanne Jaworowski looks on, at the Statehouse in Indianapolis on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026. (Photo by Leslie Bonilla Muñiz/Indiana Capital Chronicle)
Indiana nabs $175M from feds to fix regional electricity ‘choke point’
By Leslie Bonilla Muñiz
Indiana has won $175 million in federal funding to upgrade a critical “choke point” between two regional electricity grid operators, officials announced Thursday.
“The challenge isn’t simply generating more electricity,” U.S. Department of Energy General Counsel Jonathan Brightbill said. “It’s making the grid so that it can move power where it is needed quickly, affordably, and reliably across one of the most important regional seams in the country — and that comes and lands right here in Indiana.”
The “seam” is where the Midcontinent Independent System Operator’s service territory meets that of the PJM Interconnection. The border between the two regional transmission organizations runs through Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Kentucky.
COMMENTARY
A rendering of Meta’s massive data center campus coming to Lebanon. (Courtesy photo)
Don’t just say ‘no’ to school referendums and data centers
By Niki Kelly
What do school referendums and data centers have in common? They are all unpopular but not all of them are bad.
That's why I hope Hoosiers consider each proposal on their individual merits instead of automatically opposing all of them. And there are key things you should think about when weighing the pros and cons.
NATIONAL NEWS
Police officers exit a polling station in New York City. Voters in nine states will decide on 11 ballot measures this fall addressing a variety of criminal justice and drug policies. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
States put criminal justice, marijuana policies before voters in 2026
By Amanda Watford
Voters in nine states will weigh changes to their criminal legal systems and drug policies this fall.
The Nov. 3 ballot measures include questions about pretrial release, fentanyl and human trafficking penalties, immigration enforcement, traffic cameras, drug cartels and marijuana regulation.
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