By Niki Kelly | Editor-in-Chief
“Alyssa and Caleb are not just names on a case file, dates in a record, or photos in an evidence box.” — Lisa Lynch
We had a full mix of news for you this week, starting with a draining clemency hearing in the case of a condemned man asking for a reprieve.
The team combed through new travel reports for the state’s top officials to tell you who is spending what and where they are going.
We had two final profiles in the secretary of state’s race that you should definitely read.
Plus, federal election monitors are headed to Indiana; an update on absenteeism and more.
Alyssa Lynch, 8, and her brother, Caleb, 5, were killed in a 2010 house fire set by Jeffrey Weisheit. Weisheit is seeking clemency ahead of his scheduled Nov. 5 execution. (Courtesy photo)
‘Every single day without them is a struggle’: Mother urges Indiana to uphold death sentence
By Casey Smith
The mother of two children murdered by Jeffrey Weisheit urged Indiana’s parole board Monday to reject his plea for mercy, saying her children deserved the futures he took from them.
Her appeal came hours after Weisheit’s family and attorneys asked the five-member board to recommend sparing his life, citing his history of mental illness and head injuries, his religious conversion and a written request from the murdered children’s father for forgiveness and a sentence of life without parole.
Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith and his wife attended the White House Christmas party in December. (Photo from official account)
White House visits, overseas conferences among Indiana officials’ $132K in travel expenses
By Casey Smith and Tom Davies
Gov. Mike Braun led Indiana’s top officials in reported travel expenses last fiscal year, narrowly outspending Secretary of State Diego Morales even as most of the governor’s travel kept him within Indiana.
Other officials ventured farther. Their schedules included a White House Christmas reception, an Israeli delegation, a nuclear energy conference in South Korea and a Swiss apprenticeship exchange.
COMMENTARY
A sign supporting a referendum for the Elwood Community School Corporation from September 2026. (Photo by Niki Kelly/Indiana Capital Chronicle)
Schools are making cuts even though more money is coming in
By Niki Kelly
A lot has been made of the changes in Senate Enrolled Act 1, which will lower schools’ property tax revenue by $744 million over a three-year period. Those savings are going mostly to homeowners.
But some lawmakers think there is nuance being lost in the message.
One important caveat is that property tax revenue for schools is still increasing — just not as fast or high as before.
NATIONAL NEWS
Work continues on the new QTS data center in Eagle Mountain, Utah, on April 17, 2026. Today’s data center buildout has become the largest industrial boom since the railroad era of the 19th century, with $10 trillion in investment and almost twice the economic impact. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)
Data centers are now the largest financial bet in US history
By Tim Henderson
The sheer size of investment in data centers is drawing concern as it surpasses all other historical booms and crowds out other more job-creating ventures.
Until now, no industry had driven the U.S. economy with such force since the railroad expansion of the late 1800s, when titans battled one another to lay the transcontinental tracks that would connect America from coast to coast.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
We had two profiles in the secretary of state race: Max Engling by Tom Davies and Lauri Shillings from Leslie Bonilla Muñiz
DOJ sending election observers to Indianapolis, Lake County | Leslie Bonilla Muñiz
Indiana K-12 chronic absenteeism rate declines for fourth year | Mackenzi Klemann
Senator facing theft investigation says he will resign if reelected, citing ‘changes in my judgment’ | Niki Kelly
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