By Niki Kelly | Editor-in-Chief
“You don’t need a law degree to have common sense. I just think it’s really important that people not be intimidated, ‘Oh, that person’s a judge, I can’t understand it.’ No law degree ever made anyone smart.” — former Court of Appeals Judge Linda Chezem
What’s a comptroller, and who wants to serve as Indiana’s? We introduce you to the office and the candidates.
Also on your ballot this year are four judges who voters can choose to retain or boot.
A new group of Indiana National Guardsmen are headed to the southern border.
Did President Donald Trump break federal law with his plan to import Russian diesel?
Pictured from left: Elise Nieshalla, Jessica Bailey and John Schick. (Courtesy photos)
Get to know Indiana's comptroller candidates
By Mackenzi Klemann
A little-known statewide office responsible for disbursing and reporting how Indiana’s state tax dollars are spent is on the ballot this election season.
Three candidates are vying to be Indiana’s next comptroller: Incumbent Elise Nieshalla, a Republican, is seeking re-election against Democratic nominee Jessica Bailey and Libertarian John Schick.
The comptroller, formerly known as the state auditor, is responsible for accounting, disbursing and reporting how Indiana spends its $26 billion in annual state general fund revenues.
The Court of Appeals of Indiana was created by the Indiana General Assembly in 1891. (Photo by Marilyn Odendahl/Indiana Citizen)
Court of Appeals and Tax Court judges are on the ballot for retention
By Marilyn Odendahl
As Hoosier voters head to the polls this election, they will find on their ballots the Court of Appeals of Indiana judges and the Indiana Tax Court judge who are up for retention, but many of those voters may struggle to decide whether to retain them or not.
Retention questions are difficult for the electorate, especially for those who are not lawyers. Some voters may even be uncertain as to what the judges on the Court of Appeals and Tax Court do and, therefore, feel unable to make an informed decision.
COMMENTARY
Applied behavioral analysis is a therapy that helps kids with autism, but Indiana has had to strengthen guardrails on the expensive service. (Getty Images)
Indiana shows states how to stop the Medicaid abuse, protect the care
By Thomas Savidge
Medicaid dollars intended for vulnerable children and families are not a slush fund. Every dollar lost to fraud, waste, inflated billing, or care that was never properly delivered is a dollar taken from a child who genuinely needs help. And when government fails to protect those dollars, honest providers are undercut, taxpayers are forced to foot the bill, and the families Medicaid was created to serve are left with less.
Gov. Mike Braun has decided Indiana will not accept runaway spending and weak oversight as the price of providing care.
NATIONAL NEWS
Gas and diesel prices in Indiana on Sept. 17, 2026. (Photo by Niki Kelly/Indiana Capital Chronicle)
US senators from both parties blast Trump order to import Russian diesel as illegal
By Jacob Fischler
The Trump administration’s order to allow import of Russian diesel violates a 2022 law banning Russian energy imports while the country’s war with Ukraine is ongoing, according to a bipartisan group of U.S. senators.
Following an Oct. 9 call between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control lifted sanctions against the “import sale, delivery, offloading, or importation” of Russian diesel. Prices of diesel have skyrocketed in recent months during Trump’s war in Iran.
The administration did not consult with Congress before lifting the sanctions, which is required by the 2022 law, six senators said Sunday in a statement.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
125 Hoosier National Guard members deploying to Texas for immigration enforcement support | Leslie Bonilla Muñiz
Zombies help an Indiana teacher bring civic lessons back to life | Chalkbeat Indiana
How 5 Indiana data centers avoided needing federal water permits | Free Press Indiana
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