By Niki Kelly | Editor-in-Chief
“I believe everybody has the right to go and vote, but they need to do it the right way.” — Secretary of State Diego Morales
Before we get to the news, if you’ve ever wanted to hang out with the Indiana Capital Chronicle team, here’s your chance. We are hosting an informal event with readers on Aug. 12. We would love to hear your feedback. Details at the end of the newsletter.
This week we focused on a wetlands program that is taking in millions but lagging in accomplishments.
Big Friday news shook up the race to lead the Indiana Senate.
ICE provided details about immigrant detention at the Miami Correctional Facility.
Plus, news on carbon storage, a recount, artificial intelligence and inspector general reports.
A constructed wetland at Monroe Lake. Wetlands provide water quality protection for the lake downstream as well as habitat for a vast array of wildlife. (Photo courtesy of the Army Corps of Engineers)
Indiana DNR wetlands program found out of compliance by federal government
By Jack Forrest
Indiana’s Department of Natural Resources has taken in at least $109 million in wetlands payments from landowners, but many of the projects supposed to offset disruption have stalled since the program’s launch in 2018.
The state mitigation program is regulated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Per federal regulations, land acquisitions and initial improvements on these mitigation projects generally must start within three years of the first sale in a given area. That regularly hasn’t happened in Indiana.
Bray won’t seek another term as Indiana Senate leader after redistricting fallout
By Casey Smith
Eight months after Indiana senators rejected President Donald Trump’s congressional redistricting push — and about three months after six Republican incumbents paid for that opposition in primary defeats — Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray announced Friday that he will give up the chamber’s top leadership position.
Bray, R-Martinsville, said he will not seek reelection as president pro tem when Senate Republicans choose their leaders in November. The decision reverses his declaration in May that he intended to remain in the position he has held since 2018.
COMMENTARY
A new study from Evan Shapiro, media cartographer, found that consumers 13-54 spend more time on YouTube and TikTok than traditional media. (Courtesy of Evan Shapiro)
No surprise: Most of us get our news from scrolling on our phones
By Tracey Compton
It’s not a shock to learn that most of us get our news from social media. News consumers are developing entirely new patterns of the way they get their news based on their age. The dividing line is age 55, according to a new study from Evan Shapiro, “Media Cartographer.” In a first-of-its-kind index, he looked at how we spend our time on screens across major U.S. media platforms.
Our Indianapolis newsrooms are transforming the way news is delivered in an effort to meet people where they are.
NATIONAL NEWS
A bipartisan U.S. Senate bill would create a panel to advise Congress on artificial intelligence policy. (Photo illustration by Getty Images)
Bipartisan US Senate proposal on AI ethics panel good step but incomplete, experts say
By Amelila Twyman
WASHINGTON — A proposed federal commission on artificial intelligence ethics could help address moral questions associated with the rapidly developing technology, but there are still some areas in which they believe the proposal falls short, experts say.
Sens. Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, and Raphael Warnock, a Georgia Democrat, introduced a bill last week that would create a cross-party body of experts to “advise Congress on the ethical and policy implications of emerging technologies” such as artificial intelligence.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
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