Indianapolis Blog

Indiana Senator Evan Bayh decided not to run for president back in 2006, but Hoosiers may still get a chance to vote for him in November.

As Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama visited Indiana yet again yesterday, he was joined by the very popular Senator Evan Bayh, and it has even the big Washington media folks take notice, as evidenced by this CNN story, with video.

Obama was in Indiana to give a big foreign policy speech regarding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which he hopes with soften the ground for his planned trip to Iraq and beyond later this summer. His opponent, Republican John McCain, gave a rival speech from New Mexico.

Colts nation was rocked late last night when news broke that Peyton Manning was undergoing knee surgery to remove an infected bursa sac from his knee.

The notoriously resilient quarterback, who is roundly considered one of the best, if not the best, active quarterback in the entire NFL (and who is loved much more than that by locals), will miss the entire Indianapolis Colts training camp and most of their preseason games.

While Manning rarely plays more than a series or two in each of the four preseason games, his ability to start the first game of the season is also uncertain. That is a huge deal for Manning, who leads currently playing quarterbacks for the most consecutive games played, and trails only Brett Favre, who is currently in retirement limbo, for the all-time record.

The Indianapolis Star will have updates throughout the day on this late breaking news.

The Indiana Black Expo is hosting a whole slew of business-centric events over the next couple of days, dabbled with a healthy dose of fun and entertainment. It's all part of the 2008 Summer Celebration.

The career fair takes place on Thursday, with plenty of concerts, art shows, and parties still lined up for the weekend.

Visit the Summer Celebration page or the July Events Calender to see what events are coming up.

This week is the week where the Indiana Black Expo takes over Indianapolis, and sends us on a week long celebration of African American culture, accomplishment, networking and education. It's called the Summer Celebration, and this will be the 38th year it descends on our fair city.

For the next week, the IBE will be holding job fairs, educational work shops, health seminars, concerts and panel discussions about anything and everything that relates to the African American community, and the larger Indianapolis and national communities that surround it.

Jesse Jackson, famous civil rights leader and chairman of the Rainbow/PUSH coalition, was a key speaker at the Summer Celebration's first night. His name is just one of many star-studded names the Indiana Black Expo has seen over the years, including B.B. King, Muhhamad Ali, and many more.

Jackson made national headlines this week when he was caught saying very disparaging things about Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, and those headlines followed him here, to Indianapolis, where he was still asked repeatedly about his comments, still fresh in people's minds. The Indianapolis Star has the story.

Check July's calendar of Indianapolis events to see when the biggest moments will be occurring this week.

As more damaging rainstorms swept through the state last night, drains on the roof of the still under construction Lucas Oil Stadium failed, and water flooded into the interior of the building.

Officials and construction managers have assessed the damage and reported it to be moderate, and that it will possibly take several weeks to repair. The damage is not significant enough, however, to be a threat to delay the first time the stadium is scheduled to be used, during the Indianapolis Colts' first preseason game at home against the Buffalo Bills on August 24.

Damage included water leaking into several electrical rooms, as well as the flooding of several meeting rooms. The Indianapolis Star has a report from today's press conference regarding the damage.

An interesting little graphical representation of over 9,000 students at Indiana's two biggest schools, Indiana University and Purdue University, shows where in the state each of the school's students are coming from -- and where they go after they graduate.

The zip code data was released this week, and the Indy Star has plugged the data into an illustrated example of the sources and destinations of IU and Purdue students.

Surprisingly, the schools, which are rivals in the Big Ten, have remarkably similar demographic information, not just regarding where the students come from, but also where they go. So, despite what the students may passionately tell you about the vast differences between the schools, the student bodies themselves are more similar than they might like to hear!

As the new Lucas Oil Stadium rapidly takes shape downtown this summer, a lot of people are asking a lot of questions about how exactly the beautiful new structure will stack up against the city's beloved RCA Dome, which it will be wholly replacing.

Are there ways it's clearly better (seats)? Are there ways it might be worse (parking)?

This quick fact sheet comparing Lucas Oil Stadium to the old RCA Dome should be able to help curious residents out, be they Colts season ticket holders or otherwise.

July 4th is a social holiday, most often associated with barbecues, boating trips, summertime fairs, and anything else friends and families can find to forget their worries and enjoy each others company. Not to mention the fireworks!

But if you're looking for something unique to do today, to celebrate one of our nation's favorite holidays, here's a quick mini-list of notable events in and around Indianapolis that you and your family can participate in (and don't worry - I didn't forget the fireworks):

• Free public skating at the Pan-Am Plaza
  From 12:40 to 2:40 p.m., the public can enjoy free skating on the Fourth of July! Just visit the historic Pan-Am Plaza in the heart of Indianapolis.


• Free admission to the Eiteljorg Museum
  From 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., admission is free to the Eiteljorg Museum of Native American History and Western Art. No Independence Day would be complete without recognition of the first Americans - Native Americans. And there's no better place to do that than at the Eiteljorg Museum, where educational, family friendly, and interactive exhibits always abound.


• Be "Indypendent" on First Friday
  Just because it's July 4 doesn't mean that it's not still the first Friday of the month, which means that, just like every "First Friday," there are gallery openings and new exhibits featuring local artists all over the city. Visit the website of the event, Be Indypendent, to find a gallery for you.


• Symphony on the Prairie's "Star Spangled Symphony"
  Last, but certainly not least - the fireworks. The summer long concert series played outdoors by the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra at Conner Prairie, Symphony on the Prairie, once again plays host to one of the city's favorite fireworks celebrations. Set to such powerful classics as the 1812 Overture, this fireworks display is so spectacular, they play it nearly all week. If tonight doesn't work for you, try again tomorrow!

For more things to do this weekend, and throughout the rest of July, check out the July Calendar of Events.

On August 17th, an Olympic-length Triathlon will be run in the heart of Indianapolis, just in time for this year's Olympic games in China. And while it may not be anything new for local organizers to create an event for the fitness and fun of residents, this event will have an interesting twist:

A leg of the event will involve athletes taking a swim in the canal downtown.

Swimming isn't normally allowed, and the idea has some people wondering if the artificial waterway is safe for exposure. But city officials and the event's organizers have tested and prepped the water to make sure it's extra safe.

And if you're still wondering about it, check out more details (including a photo of WTHR Reporter Mary Milz swimming in the canal!) at WTHR.com

Today is the last day Hoosiers are allowed to vote on their favorite "signature food" for our famous Indiana State Fair.

Every year, a theme is selected, and those delicious food vendors who will be offering everything from deep-fried Snickers to elephant ears are asked to whip up an item that reflects our state and our theme. This year, it was "the year of Indiana trees," and such a theme made for some very interesting (and scrumptious sounding) treats. Here is this year's selection:

• Deep-fried Maple Latte
• Maple Twists on a Stick
• Deep-fried Bananas Foster Cheesecake on a Stick
• Hickory-Smoked Beef Kabob
• Hickory-Smoked Pulled Pork Shoulder Sandwich

Sadly, not all of them can be the official signature food. You have to vote for it, and today's the last day! Visit the official voting page on the Indianapolis Star's website to vote for your favorite.