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Food deserts and food insecurity are common on the west side. Mary Rigg Neighborhood Center’s food pantry does its best ...
15/08/2025

Food deserts and food insecurity are common on the west side. Mary Rigg Neighborhood Center’s food pantry does its best to feed people, but they’ve been at their limit for a while now.

A mile away from the center, Elanco Animal Health is almost done constructing its new corporate headquarters. The company wants to help the neighborhood that surrounds its new offices.

So, they’re going to start providing free weekly groceries and nutrition classes to about 250 families at the nearby Edison School for the Arts.

Elanco will partner with Hatch for Hunger, Gleaners Food Bank, IU Health and other local nonprofits to start the Nutrition Secure Indy program.

“This is going to be life-changing for so many of our families,” said Amy Berns, principal at Edison.

Read more below:
https://mirrorindy.org/west-indianapolis-elanco-edison-nutrition-secure-indy-2025-food-insecurity/

Did you know the old Indianapolis zoo was located in Washington Park from 1964 to 1987?After the zoo moved to its curren...
15/08/2025

Did you know the old Indianapolis zoo was located in Washington Park from 1964 to 1987?

After the zoo moved to its current spot on the White River, neighbors thought the city would forget about them and lose interest in their park.

Thanks to a $3.5 million grant, Washington Park has gotten a huge upgrade.

One of the city’s largest parks now has a new playground, new shelters, a splash pad, restrooms, a better parking lot and an event lawn.

If you’re still looking for weekend plans, go check out the “new” Washington Park at 3130 E. 30th St.

📸 Photo credit:
Brett Phelps/Mirror Indy/CatchLight Local/Report for America

The BUTTER Art Fair is back at the Stutz for Labor Day weekend. The 5th annual fair will showcase artwork from 50 Black ...
15/08/2025

The BUTTER Art Fair is back at the Stutz for Labor Day weekend. The 5th annual fair will showcase artwork from 50 Black visual artists, who keep 100% of the sales.

“There aren’t any restrictions on subject matter at BUTTER,” said Mali Bacon, co-founder of GANGGANG, which hosts the art fair. “No censorship, no commission. We want the artists to say what they want.”

Arts & culture reporter Mesgana Waiss put together a list of 5 events you won’t want to miss. Check them out!
https://mirrorindy.org/new-things-to-do-at-butter-fine-art-fair-2025/

WeeMac, Osiris and Cream Ale, oh my! Mirror Indy is having a member meet-up from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Aug. 28 at Sun King Brew...
15/08/2025

WeeMac, Osiris and Cream Ale, oh my! Mirror Indy is having a member meet-up from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Aug. 28 at Sun King Brewery.

Who’s a member? Anyone who’s ever donated to Mirror Indy, no matter the amount. But, anyone who wants to support local journalism is welcome to join us.

For every beer bought, $1 will be donated to Mirror Indy, so stop by for a fun and relaxed evening with reporters and fellow readers.

You’ll have a chance to meet the Mirror Indy and Free Press Indiana teams and learn more about our mission and impact.

No ticket required but please RSVP at the link below, we want to have enough merch to share.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mirror-indy-membership-meet-up-sun-king-brewery-tickets-1542765817089

4200Kory was born and raised on Indy’s Far Eastside. He grew up on the 4200 block, at 42nd Street and Post Road.“There’s...
14/08/2025

4200Kory was born and raised on Indy’s Far Eastside. He grew up on the 4200 block, at 42nd Street and Post Road.

“There’s no other place in the world like the 317. When people listen to this record, I want them to understand that whatever they thought of Indy, this is another representation of it.”

Kory wasn’t a fan of rap as a kid because a lot of songs were about materialistic things. Stuff he didn’t have access to.

After his dad died when he was 11, he realized he could use rap as an outlet for sharing his story.

He’s released several projects in recent years, but his debut full-length album, “Cobra Son,” comes out on August 20.

📷 Will Johnson, Caleb Pfiefer, Jshootin and Slum Baby Family

Safe Park Indy offered a space for people who sleep in their cars to park and spend the night. But, the program could on...
14/08/2025

Safe Park Indy offered a space for people who sleep in their cars to park and spend the night.

But, the program could only help 20 people at a time. The waitlist had more than 400 people on it.

Elizabeth Friedland, Safe Park Indy’s founder, works full-time and was volunteering her time to run the program. She also had a volunteer board of directors helping out.

“Logistically, it just wasn’t possible to give it the attention it deserved to be successful,” she said.

The group did collect data on the people who signed up to better understand who exactly is sleeping in their cars in Indy.

The average age was 40, and half had at least one job.

“We had nurses, we had social workers, we had teachers,” Friedland said.

She hopes an established nonprofit will pick up the program. Safe Park Indy proved the need is there, she said.

“We Demand Transparency.” “We Demand a Qualified CEO.”Those were the demands written on signs carried by parents and sta...
14/08/2025

“We Demand Transparency.” “We Demand a Qualified CEO.”

Those were the demands written on signs carried by parents and staff who protested outside of the Irvington Community Schools board meeting earlier this week.

The board wanted to appoint its chair, Rashay Foster, to CEO. But, Foster had sat in on interviews with other candidates earlier in the summer. This didn’t sit well with parents and teachers.

“I certainly don’t think it’s ethical to have a candidate in on the interview process for other candidates, without resigning their influential board chair position,” said John Elmore, a social studies teacher at Irvington Preparatory Academy.

The board said in a statement that it “acted within the parameters of a fair, professional and transparent search,” but have since reopened the CEO search after the backlash.

Teachers are happy to have been heard but said they aren’t very confident in the board.

“They have removed the chance for meaningful discourse along every step of the way by cancelling meetings, refusing to respond to questions from the public, and by failing to communicate with any transparency or regularity,” Irvington teachers wrote in a provided statement.

Read the full story below:
https://mirrorindy.org/irvington-community-schools-board-reopens-ceo-search-after-candidate-protested-summer-2025/

A quarterly newsletter delivered to your door by the mayor. That’s the sort of charming service you’ll find in the small...
14/08/2025

A quarterly newsletter delivered to your door by the mayor. That’s the sort of charming service you’ll find in the small city of Southport.

Mayor Jim Cooney has been delivering the newsletter since 2020. In it, residents will learn about local community activities and business owners. There’s also an update from Conney, along with the clerk-treasurer, police chief and other city leaders.

Cooney, 69, doesn’t know if he’ll run in the 2027 mayoral election. That’s part of why he’s passionate about sharing information, to get younger people more involved with local government.

“I’m also trying to hand the baton off to the next generation because I can’t do this forever. And we need new ideas, different ideas, fresh ideas.”

Look out for the next newsletter in late September. You might even get to see the mayor on his route to visit nearly 800 homes.
https://mirrorindy.org/southport-mayor-hand-delivers-newsletters-local-events-recruits-younger-generation-southside/

Staffing shortages, ICE, the potential for a state takeover and a new youth curfew policy. IMPD Chief Chris Bailey had a...
13/08/2025

Staffing shortages, ICE, the potential for a state takeover and a new youth curfew policy. IMPD Chief Chris Bailey had a lot to talk about when he sat down with reporters this week.

Here’s the rundown:
- He is hopeful that IMPD will be able to recruit more officers. The department will have at least three classes of new officers next year.
- He isn’t worried about losing potential recruits to ICE, even with the six-figure salaries and hefty bonuses it promises.
- He dismissed concerns that Indiana State Police could do a public safety takeover of downtown. He has a good relationship with the state police and said crime has been going down in Indy for three years in a row.
- He is optimistic about the new youth curfew policy and is working with the police’s legal department on how it will be enforced.

See more of what he had to say below:
https://mirrorindy.org/indianapolis-police-chief-chris-bailey-ice-curfew-staffing/

Confused about all the federal and state budget cuts? Worried about what it means for you and your community?Common Caus...
13/08/2025

Confused about all the federal and state budget cuts? Worried about what it means for you and your community?

Common Cause Indiana will host the “Uphold the People’s Promise” town hall where you can learn more about the cuts and what you can do to voice your concerns.

There will be a panel including speakers from the Indiana Justice Project, Feeding Indiana’s Hungry, and Democratic Sen. Andrea Hunley.

If you do go, don’t worry about dinner. They’ll have pizza and drinks.

🗓️ Aug. 14
⏰ 5:30-8 p.m.
📍 Southeast Community Services, 901 Shelby St.

Artwork Credit:
Dawn Mitchell for Mirror Indy
Adobe Stock

On Monday, Mayor Joe Hogsett presented his $1.7 billion budget proposal to the City-County Council.While the city has $4...
13/08/2025

On Monday, Mayor Joe Hogsett presented his $1.7 billion budget proposal to the City-County Council.

While the city has $43 million less than they had anticipated, Hogsett says the city is able to pass a balanced budget. That means the city won’t be spending more than they are taking in—for the ninth year in a row.

The budget shows us what the city will be spending taxpayer money on next year. For example, public safety, like police and fire departments and the sheriff’s office, makes up 40% of the budget.

The Department of Public Works, which handles things like maintaining roads and waste removal, will make up about 15%.

See what else Hogsett proposed below:
https://mirrorindy.org/indianapolis-2026-city-budget-mayor-joe-hogsett/

See art from Black artists and dance the night away to rhythm and blues at GANGGANG’s first-ever Ju’s Juke Joint. The th...
13/08/2025

See art from Black artists and dance the night away to rhythm and blues at GANGGANG’s first-ever Ju’s Juke Joint.

The three-day party during BUTTER art fair is dedicated to exploring Black musical heritage.

Buddy Red, a rock and blues musician, will headline with a special family-friendly performance at 8 p.m. Aug. 30 on the outside stage on 10th Street.

The lineup also includes local talent like Rob Dixon, Bashiri Asad and artists from the Chreece hip-hop festival. Along with live music, there will be food and drinks from local chefs.

Want to go? It’s free for anyone with a BUTTER ticket. More info below.
https://mirrorindy.org/ganggang-to-host-juke-joint-music-event-during-butter-fine-art-fair-in-indianapolis/

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