By Niki Kelly | Editor-in-Chief
“Plaintiff is not entitled to shut down the State’s utility regulatory body while he seeks post-deprivation relief.” — Gov. Mike Braun’s lawsuit response
Gov. Mike Braun’s legal team hit back on former state senator Andy Zay’s lawsuit — alleging improper spending of campaign dollars.
The Indiana Senate has found its future leader.
Indiana lottery revenues are holding steady.
The Trump ballroom is back in court.
Finally, I have been loving the fun stories from the state fair by The Statehouse File. I linked one below but be sure to check others out.
Former Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission Chair Andy Zay leads a daylong utility affordability hearing on March 24, 2026, at the IURC’s downtown Indianapolis headquarters. (Photo by Leslie Bonilla Muñiz/Indiana Capital Chronicle)
Former senator used campaign funds for gifts at state utility agency, Braun alleges
By Niki Kelly
Andy Zay used thousands of dollars in campaign funds to give gifts to staffers at the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, new court filings by Gov. Mike Braun allege.
Braun’s legal team submitted a response to Zay’s lawsuit late Sunday that was made public Monday. In addition to new details on why he fired Zay, the document argues case law doesn’t allow a preliminary injunction sought by the former state senator.
“Simply put, as set forth in the following exhibits, Governor Braun had cause for removal,” the filing said.
Sen. Chris Garten, R-Charlestown, speaks in support of the congressional redistricting bill during Senate debate on Dec. 11, 2025. (Photo by Casey Smith/Indiana Capital Chronicle)
Indiana Republican senators endorse Garten as chamber’s next top leader
By Tom Davies
The question of who’ll be the next leader of the Indiana Senate is essentially decided as GOP senators are backing Sen. Chris Garten for the president pro tem position.
The Senate Republican caucus announced that it had “endorsed” Garten during a private meeting Tuesday to replace current President Pro Tem Rodric Bray.
Indiana’s State Lottery Commission meets on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. From left: Commissioners Luke Bosso and Alyssa Cochran. (Photo by Leslie Bonilla Muñiz/Indiana Capital Chronicle)
Hoosier Lottery to send estimated $350M surplus to state coffers
By Leslie Bonilla Muñiz
The Hoosier Lottery had nearly $1.7 billion in sales last fiscal year and will send almost $350 million back to the state, according to preliminary and unaudited data presented Tuesday by State Lottery Commission officials.
The $350 million expected surplus is above the previous year's $341 million total, but remains below record-breaking figures recorded during the pandemic — peaking at almost $376 million in 2021.
COMMENTARY
Staff members of the Indianapolis Recorder accept awards from the Indiana chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. (Courtesy photo)
Newsroom Profile: Indianapolis Recorder
By Tracy Compton
Indy resident Karis Dix, 18, is more likely to get her news from social media than a newspaper. But every year since she was 16, she has looked to the Indianapolis Recorder for coverage about the Debutante Cotillion and Scholarship Ball.
When she was a child, her mother, an avid Recorder reader, would take her to the cotillion to see the debutantes and experience the ball.
NATIONAL NEWS
A crane on the construction site of the planned White House ballroom, where the East Wing used to be, during the early morning of Thursday, June 11, 2026. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)
Trump’s ballroom ‘illegal’ without congressional approval, high court told
By Ashley Murray
WASHINGTON — Historic preservationists asked the U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday to deny President Donald Trump’s appeal to continue construction on his $400 million White House ballroom on the grounds of the demolished East Wing.
In response to Trump’s application to the high court, the National Trust for Historic Preservation argued irreparable harm would result if construction continued, and that the project is “illegal” without authorization from Congress.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
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