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ICE protests held across the state 

The protests against the use of the state prison continue to grow.

Photo illustration of people protesting ICE in Chicago with colorful overlays and boxes of color

Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photo: Kamil Krzacynski/AFP via Getty Images

Thousands of Hoosiers gathered at dozens of prayer vigils, teach-ins and rallies across the state to protest the state&#x27;s continued use of the Miami Correctional Facility to hold immigration detainees.Why it matters: Opposition to the facility&#x27;s use by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has grown as reports of deaths and poor conditions have emerged from the northern Indiana prison.

News

Maddox Richey is just 3 weeks old — a perfect blond-haired, blue-eyed infant.

Why it matters: "He's calm and peaceful. … He's just a normal baby," says his aunt Jody Feiss.

Except baby Maddox also has an exceedingly rare genetic condition called Krabbe disease, a devastating degenerative neurological condition that progresses quickly and usually ends in death.

Driving the news: Half Liter BBQ in Broad Ripple, where one of Maddox's aunts works, is hosting a fundraiser for the family on Tuesday, donating 15% of all sales and $1 from every beer sold from open to close.

Maddox's parents, Jenna Burton and Mason Richey, live in Greencastle but have essentially moved into Riley Children's Hospital while they wait for a spot to open up at the nearby Ronald McDonald House.

He started a week of chemotherapy Saturday and will receive a stem cell transplant in the coming days — all of which needs to be done before he's 30 days old. He'll need to stay in the hospital for monitoring for several months afterward.

What they're saying: "It doesn't impact a tremendous number of families," Feiss tells Axios, "but the families it impacts, it changes their lives forever and ever."

She's hoping efforts like the fundraiser at Half Liter and the GoFundMe that's been set up for Maddox will educate people about the disease and provide the family enough support so that his parents can focus on being with their son — not worrying about bills, missed work or the costs of what his long-term care may be.

State of play: Maddox's condition was caught on his newborn screening.

While the average lifespan for an infant with Krabbe is 13 months, research shows that asymptomatic babies, like Maddox, treated within the first 30 days of life can live longer and have normal childhoods.

Because of the rarity of the condition, which occurs when both parents are carriers and both pass on the gene to their child, there's little information available about long-term outcomes.

Context: Feiss, who lives in Indianapolis, and her family have some idea of what it can look like.

Her uncle was diagnosed with Krabbe at 4 years old. He lived to 15, she said, and progressed from a normal, healthy toddler to a child who was blind, wheelchair-bound and required a feeding tube.

Maddox's parents did not know they were both carriers and had no idea anything was wrong until after the newborn screening.

"Everything changed overnight," Feiss says. "Having a new baby, being at home and being in love. … That was all quickly taken from my sister."

While there is no cure for Krabbe disease, Feiss hopes that with treatment, one will be developed in Maddox's lifetime.

"He's just this beautiful soul and he's got a village here," Feiss says. "We're hoping to see him through and walk with him every step of the way."

If you go: Half Liter BBQ, 5301 Winthrop Ave., is open from 11am-10pm Tuesday.

Greencastle infant at Riley Children's Hospital with rare genetic condition

The Greencastle infant will receive chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant before he's one month old.

Two side-by-side photos of a sleeping newborn. Left: blue-striped hat, pacifier, wrapped in beige blanket. Right: white knit hat with hospital tubing, tucked in blankets.

Maddox Richey is just 3 weeks old — a perfect blond-haired, blue-eyed infant.Why it matters: &quot;He&#x27;s calm and peaceful. … He&#x27;s just a normal baby,&quot; says his aunt Jody Feiss.<ul><li>Except baby Maddox also has an exceedingly rare genetic condition called Krabbe disease, a devastating degenerative neurological condition that progresses quickly and usually ends in death.</li></ul>

The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park at Newfields is closed until further notice after historic flooding along the White River. 

The big picture: Formerly farmland and later excavated as a gravel quarry to build nearby I-465, the park sits in a floodplain, surrounded by water.

It's positioned on a dramatic bend of the river that bounds two sides of the triangular island. A man-made canal separates the other side of the park from the rest of the Newfields grounds. 

Driving the news: The river overtopped its banks Aug. 15, and floodwaters merged with the 35-acre lake at the heart of the park. 

A 1.5-mile trail that circles the lake, winding between it and the river along a berm that separates the two, received the most damage. 

A section of trail in the northwest portion of the park experienced significant erosion and will need to be repaired, Newfields told Axios. 

Yes, but: "A nearby site was the subject of significant erosion mitigation efforts, and we are happy to say that our efforts were successful," Le Monte G. Booker Sr., president and CEO of Newfields, told Axios in an email. 

The park has used geotextile mats with native vegetation to stabilize soil and mitigate erosion along the mile-long riverfront. 

Zoom in: The artwork throughout the park, including the popular "Funky Bones" sculpture, was spared significant damage, Booker said. 

The pollinator meadow was almost completely submerged at peak flooding and worked as intended, he said. 

What's next: Booker said Newfields is coordinating restoration efforts with local and federal agencies and is continuing to monitor the artwork and trails in the park. 

A reopening date has not been determined. 


Newfields' art and nature park closed due to flooding damage

The White River flooding damaged the trail around the park's lake.

Wide landscape of blue sky with wispy clouds, flanked by dense green trees on both sides. A grassy field leads to a distant white building visible between the trees.

The pollinator meadow at the Art & Nature Park, as seen in May. Photo: Arika Herron/Axios

The Virginia B. Fairbanks <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Art &amp; Nature Park at Newfields" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/indianapolis/2026/05/29/five-reasons-to-visit-newfields-art-park-while-funky-bones-is-closed" data-vars-content-id="7e5f0906-6306-4d3e-8173-01ce7cc33ed1" data-vars-headline="Newfields&#x27; art and nature park closed due to flooding damage" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/indianapolis/2026/05/29/five-reasons-to-visit-newfields-art-park-while-funky-bones-is-closed" target="_self">Art &amp; Nature Park at Newfields</a> is closed until further notice after historic flooding along the White River. The big picture: Formerly farmland and later excavated as a gravel quarry to build nearby I-465, the park sits in a floodplain, surrounded by water.<ul><li>It&#x27;s positioned on a dramatic bend of the river that bounds two sides of the triangular island. A man-made canal separates the other side of the park from the rest of the Newfields grounds. </li></ul>

Things to Do

Newfields' latest endeavor, set to open next year, will almost certainly bear fruit for the art museum campus.

Why it matters: The $10 million flower and vegetable garden replaces a parking lot and restores the last missing piece of the historic Lilly House's landmark grounds.

Driving the news: The new space opens next spring, nestled against the existing historic glass greenhouses where the Lilly family had their own kitchen garden, full of cut flower beds and vegetables to feed the estate known as Oldfields.

Jonathan Wright, the Ruth Lilly director of the garden and Fairbanks Park at Newfields, says the project will respect the history of the early 20th-century garden while bringing it into the modern day.

"It needs to be relevant for the next generation and serve the mission for many years to come," he said.

State of play: One of the biggest changes will be the addition of a gently graded wall along one side of the garden that rises to a viewing platform, allowing visitors to look out over the whole of the space.

Wright said the idea came from touring magnificent kitchen gardens in places like France and England where visitors enjoyed looking out at them from above, usually from the accompanying castle.

Without such an amenity, Wright said they had to find a way to add elevation.

Hedges, already in the ground, will serve as the additional walls around the space.

Rendering of a lively park plaza with a central wooden pavilion, green trees, and colorful flowers; people gather at seating areas while a balcony with two figures appears on the right.

Plus: It will include new bathrooms, a grotto, a reflecting pond, a pavilion and a refreshments outpost.

The pavilion will double Newfields' current capacity for garden-based programs.

The museum is working with local artists to create benches and sculptural seating.

Zoom in: The heart of the garden is three-quarters of an acre, split between a cut flower garden on one side, which can be used for floral arrangement and design and edibles.

The edible side will be largely vegetables that will eventually produce food for local food pantries.

Five espalier fruit trees, which are sculpted into ornamental designs, will flank the new wall and walkways.

Between the lines: Every detail has been carefully considered, from bathroom tiles that harken back to the Lilly family swimming pool to the sidewalks.

Wright said they didn't want plain concrete, but also couldn't bring back the raked gravel seen in historic photos of the original garden for accessibility reasons.

So, 14 concrete samples later, designers chose an exposed aggregate that has a light, pebbled finish that nods to the original gravel paths but will be easy to maintain and smooth enough for strollers and wheelchairs.

The latest: The first round of plantings, more than 1,000 individual plants, is growing in the nursery behind the scenes, waiting for their permanent home. 

Work will continue through the fall and winter, with completion expected by next May. 

Restoration of historic garden at Newfields nearing completion

The kitchen garden brings the grounds of Oldfields back to how the Lilly family enjoyed it.

Sunlit botanical garden with colorful flower beds along a gravel path, visitors strolling, glasshouses in the distance, and lush green trees under a clear blue sky.

<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Newfields&#x27;" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/indianapolis/2026/07/28/30-over-30-the-indianapolis-museum-of-art-newfields" data-vars-content-id="84ab665f-b0bf-4edf-acf4-c72d9a19fb36" data-vars-headline="Restoration of historic garden at Newfields nearing completion" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/indianapolis/2026/07/28/30-over-30-the-indianapolis-museum-of-art-newfields" target="_self">Newfields&#x27;</a> latest endeavor, set to open next year, will almost certainly bear fruit for the art museum campus.Why it matters: The $10 million flower and vegetable garden replaces a parking lot and restores the last missing piece of the historic Lilly House&#x27;s landmark grounds.

Building back trust in the office will be the first order of business for Indiana's next secretary of state.

Why it matters: The high-profile race will be top of the ticket in November and the winner will be charged with ensuring the state's elections are fair, open and secure.

The big picture: Democrats are hoping to finally take back a statewide position with Beau Bayh, capitalizing on the controversies that have plagued the office and current Secretary of State Diego Morales for the last four years.

Yes, but: Republicans turned away from Morales at the nominating convention and chose Max Engling, staffer to U.S. Sen. Jim Banks.

It's set up a race between two relatively unknown quantities representing the two major parties and two third-party candidates with the potential to have a real impact.

Driving the news: Big differences in how to reinstill that trust were on display during Wednesday night's debate between the four candidates.

The widest gap in policy and opinion was between Engling and the other three candidates on stage, who largely agreed on issues of voter ID, election security and mail-in voting.

Case in point: Bayh, Lincoln Party candidate Greg Ballard and Libertarian Lauri Shillings all committed to auditing the office if elected to investigate whether it was misused by Morales.

Engling did not. He was also the only candidate to unequivocally support the SAVE Act, which would put new restrictions on voter registration.

Inside the room: Though it felt like three versus one at some points, the debate stayed largely amicable and on topic.

All four candidates agreed that the state's business registration process should be transparent.

Ballard was dinged by the other candidates for his $2.5 million voter guide proposal.

Engling was the only candidate who didn't question the decision of the Indiana Recount Commission in rejecting a handful of ballots in a close state Senate race, changing the original outcome.

What they're saying: Beyond the general policy agreement, Bayh said his campaign has a unique message. 

"The common refrain that I hear is that people are fed up with the divisiveness, the fear, the anger in our politics," he told reporters after the debate. "This campaign is about rooting that out."

The other sides: Engling said he's best positioned to get things done because he already has good working relationships with state leaders.

"We could step into this role immediately and get to work," he said.

Ballard said his campaign will open the doors for more independents in the state to run for elected office, while Shillings said she's the only alternative to the major parties that many voters are fed up with that has a clear, transparent platform.

Worth noting: All four candidates committed to serving the entirety of the four-year term, saying they had no plans to leave early and seek higher office.

What's next: Another debate is scheduled for Oct. 7.

decision of the Indiana Recount Commission

Indiana secretary of state candidates meet in first debate

It was the first of two planned debates between the four candidates.

Four people in front of podiums on a stage.

The four candidates for secretary of state debated at the Indy Chamber's HobNob event. Photo: Arika Herron/Axios

Building back trust in the office will be the first order of business for Indiana&#x27;s <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="next secretary of state" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/indianapolis/2026/06/24/indiana-secretary-of-state-race-is-taking-shape-2026-bayh-engling" data-vars-content-id="b283b9f0-cedf-4893-8ae4-e154d140ad34" data-vars-headline="Indiana secretary of state candidates meet in first debate" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/indianapolis/2026/06/24/indiana-secretary-of-state-race-is-taking-shape-2026-bayh-engling" target="_self">next secretary of state</a>.Why it matters: The high-profile race will be top of the ticket in November and the winner will be charged with ensuring the state&#x27;s elections are fair, open and secure.

Arika Herron

Featured stories

ICE protests held across the state

Restoration of historic garden at Newfields nearing completion

Indiana secretary of state candidates meet in first debate

Newfields' art and nature park closed due to flooding damage

Greencastle infant at Riley Children's Hospital with rare genetic condition