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Indiana-based singers, bands and other musicians – did you know we’ve got our own music awards?The Naptones are a lot li...
11/27/2025

Indiana-based singers, bands and other musicians – did you know we’ve got our own music awards?

The Naptones are a lot like the Grammys, except it's in Indianapolis. You can submit a single and a full-length album or EP to nine categories:
- Blues
- Country
- Folk/Americana
- Jazz
- Pop/EDM
- R&B
- Rap
- Rock/Punk/Metal
- Reggae

A committee of five people in the Indianapolis arts community will review each submission. They’re looking for songwriting ability, creativity and innovation.

They will nominate three artists per category.

Do you want to submit your music? You’ve got until Dec. 31. Nominees will be notified mid-January.

The 2026 Naptones awards ceremony will be held Sunday, March 29 at Phoenix Theatre Cultural Centre.

You can grab a ticket for $15 starting in January.

📸 Nichelle Short for Mirror Indy

Gratitude can be a prickly feeling, if we’re being honest with ourselves as humble Midwesterners.We have been taught to ...
11/27/2025

Gratitude can be a prickly feeling, if we’re being honest with ourselves as humble Midwesterners.

We have been taught to appreciate what we have and to strive for more, but also to never be greedy. It’s a constant karmic balancing act.

To get out of overthinking it, artist Clockwork Janz reflected on how gratitude sounds and what memories those sounds bring up.

They invited one of their oldest friends and sources of constant gratitude, Max Maneater, to listen for gratitude sounds together as a practice in deepening their friendship. 

Here are some aural tokens from us to help you hold gratitude with tenderness this Thanksgiving.

🎨 Jeneca Zody for Mirror Indy

The city’s winter contingency plan opens up extra shelters during the colder months to get more people off the streets a...
11/26/2025

The city’s winter contingency plan opens up extra shelters during the colder months to get more people off the streets and inside.

But this year the plan will start on Monday, Dec. 1. That’s later than in the past. For people like Alyssa Clark who has been homeless most of this year, the delay doesn't make sense.

“The people that are pushing it off,” she said, “I’m sure they don’t have to deal with the outside weather.”

Andrew Merkley Andrew Merkley, director of the Office of Public Health and Safety, told Mirror Indy that the decision is partly because of a changing climate and November becoming warmer.

Data from the National Weather Service shows the average November temperature in Indianapolis hasn’t changed much over the last five years. But the temperature still regularly drops below freezing.

This November, there have been at least four days at or below freezing and 13 days with temperatures below 40 degrees.

📸 Brett Phelps/Mirror Indy/CatchLight Local/Report for America

Some Wayne Township educators are unhappy with a new teachers’ contract approved this month.The Wayne Township school bo...
11/26/2025

Some Wayne Township educators are unhappy with a new teachers’ contract approved this month.

The Wayne Township school board voted unanimously on Monday, Nov. 24, to accept a single-year contract that would give teachers a one-time, $1,000 bonus.

The agreement, however, brings no raises to teachers’ salaries and, some educators said, does little to keep up with increases in insurance premiums this year.

“I’ve never been so disappointed in negotiations and a contract,” Danelle Engel, a teacher with more than 30 years’ experience, told board members before their vote. She was one of about a dozen teachers who attended the meeting to protest the contract.

The Wayne Township school board approved the changes after several weeks of bargaining, during a time schools across the state plan to take in less property tax revenue in the coming years.

11/26/2025

In Sheridan, Indiana, there’s an equine therapy program that helps girls and wild mustangs learn to trust.

Free Press Indiana’s women & girls reporter, Ashley Ford, visited Harmony Farms to learn more about its programming, including Harmony in Horses, which focuses on healing mental and emotional health for girls who have grown up in some of the harshest environments.

You can read her full story about the program with the link in our bio.

📸
Stephanie Amador for Free Press Indiana
Brett Phelps/Free Press Indiana/CatchLight Local/Report for America

11/26/2025

What is going on in Decatur Township?

Sabey Data Centers, a Seattle-based company, wants to build two data center buildings on land north of Camby Road and southeast of Kentucky Avenue.

The area is zoned for industrial use for the Decatur Technology Park, which means Sabey will need to file a rezoning petition first. There was a community meeting to discuss this Nov. 18.

Here’s the recap on what happened from southside reporter Elizabeth Gabriel.

If you're wondering, "Wait, didn't you already post this story?," we did. But, we took down the original post from Nov. ...
11/26/2025

If you're wondering, "Wait, didn't you already post this story?," we did. But, we took down the original post from Nov. 25 because the story had inaccurate information and needed more context. We apologize for the errors. Here's the correct version.

On Nov. 3, Indy Documenters Toby Raab and Kelli Jack-Kelly went to the Nov. 3 City-County Council meeting and took notes on what happened. Here's what they learned:

The Marion County Sheriff’s Office is asking the City-County Council to approve a funding transfer to cover the cost of higher officer salaries and new equipment.

The proposal under consideration would transfer $6.8 million to the sheriff’s office to pay for the collective bargaining agreement between the Indiana Fraternal Order of Police Labor Council and the city of Indianapolis.

Most of the funding is from the county general fund, along with $630,650 from the medical care for inmates fund.

Small Business Saturday is almost here and local shops are teaming up on Saturday, Nov. 29 for neighborhood-wide events....
11/26/2025

Small Business Saturday is almost here and local shops are teaming up on Saturday, Nov. 29 for neighborhood-wide events.

Swipe through to see what’s going on in your neighborhood.

📸 Ted Somerville for Mirror Indy

We’ve all got places to be, but how do we get there without spending a lot of money? We put together a guide on cheaper ...
11/25/2025

We’ve all got places to be, but how do we get there without spending a lot of money?

We put together a guide on cheaper ways to get around Indy, especially since it’s going to cost more to ride the bus in 2026.

Starting Jan. 1, a two-hour transfer ticket will go from $1.75 to $2.75. And starting July 1,prices will increase anywhere from $4-$7 for IndyGo Access, a reservation-based service for people with disabilities to share rides.

📸:
Doug McSchooler for IndyStar via Imagn Images
Lee Klafczynski for Mirror Indy
Doug McSchooler for Mirror Indy
Enrique Saenz/Mirror Indy

Do you have family coming into town for the holidays and need help making plans?There’s plenty of affordable activities ...
11/25/2025

Do you have family coming into town for the holidays and need help making plans?

There’s plenty of affordable activities to do in Indy that appeal to a lot of different interests.

Here are five ideas for a day out with family in Indy:

1. Flick through records at Square Cat Vinyl and sit in one of the cozy nooks to listen to a record. There’s also a bar that serves coffee, local beer and wine.

2. Test out typewriters and read rare books at Indy Type Shop and Pen and Pink Vintage. The vibes are immaculate and both shops are in Garfield Park, a great area to spend an afternoon.

3. Shop locally made gifts and multicultural reads at Ujamaa Community Bookstore in Flanner House. The store is filled with inspiring and empowering stories for people of all ages and backgrounds.

4. Have a coffee and a pastry at Mansion Society. The coffee shop is inside a Victorian style building and has a cozy, antiquated aura.

5. Move your body and let the stress of the holidays melt away at Iris Rosa Dance Studio. They offer classes focusing on dance and music from the African diaspora.

Are you a musician or singer who makes original music in Indy?You can perform your song at Square Cat Vinyl’s open mic n...
11/25/2025

Are you a musician or singer who makes original music in Indy?

You can perform your song at Square Cat Vinyl’s open mic night. It happens once a month, with the next one at 6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 1. Sign-ups begin at 5:30 p.m.

There are some house rules for open night:
- Sign-ups are first-come, first-served.
- The order will be drawn at random.
- Only three musicians per group.
- Drums are not allowed.
- You can bring guitars, bass, and keyboards, but other instruments must be approved before signing up.
- You can only perform every other month.

📸 Will James for Mirror Indy

Over the last few months, Indiana’s Republican lawmakers have met, largely behind closed doors, to discuss redistricting...
11/24/2025

Over the last few months, Indiana’s Republican lawmakers have met, largely behind closed doors, to discuss redistricting.

State Democrats, who hold a superminority at the Statehouse, have held protests and phone banks to oppose the redistricting effort.

We wanted to know what people outside of the Statehouse had to say.

So we hit the pavement and traveled to neighborhoods across the city to ask Indy residents. In all, we spoke to more than two dozen residents across the city.

No one we interviewed said they support redistricting ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

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