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Old News: Indiana's Statehouse gets its start

This week 146 years ago, the cornerstone of Indianapolis' most recognizable government building was laid.

State Capitol, Indianapolis, Indiana', circa 1897. Designed by Edwin May on solid foundations with Neoclassical facade, completed in 1888. From "A Tour Through the New World America", by Prof. Geo. R. Cromwell.

The Indiana Statehouse, circa 1897. Photo: The Print Collector/Getty Images

This week 146 years ago, the cornerstone of Indianapolis&#x27; most recognizable government building was laid with thousands of people watching and a time capsule tucked inside.Why it matters: The ceremony marked the beginning of a structure that still anchors Indiana government today.

History

This weekend, the Circle City will get its first look at a revamped Classic.

Why it matters: The change is a major reset for one of Indianapolis' longest-running Black cultural and sports traditions.

Driving the news: After more than 40 years of being a fall showcase of HBCU football teams, the annual Circle City Classic will give the spotlight to younger student athletes in 2026.

Indiana Black Expo leaders said the pivot to a high school football and girls flag football showcase at Lucas Oil Stadium was made to reduce costs, respond to changing engagement and sustain the Classic's role in supporting year-round programs.

Yes, but: HBCU bands will still be in the house to bring the funk.

Zoom in: The Saturday schedule starts with Crispus Attucks vs. Arsenal Tech girls flag football at 10am, followed by Lawrence North vs. Ben Davis girls flag football at 11:30am.

Warren Central vs. Pike boys football starts at 2pm, followed by the HBCU Battle of the Bands at 5pm featuring Talladega College, Kentucky State University and Miles College.

The night wraps with Lawrence North vs. Ben Davis boys football at 7pm.

Plus: The weekend also includes the Circle City Classic parade at 10am Saturday, an Education Day and college fair, a 21-and-up day party and more.

Check out the full lineup of events here.

🎃 Have a spooky, artsy good time when Harvest Nights returns to Newfields Friday night at 7pm. The celebration along the museum grounds and gardens and in the Lilly House runs through Nov. 1.

Tickets start at $25 for adults, $23 for seniors and $16 for kids.

🤼 Swing a steel chair with some WWE superstars when Friday Night SmackDown slams Gainbridge Fieldhouse, 7:30pm Friday.

🎼 Hear the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra pair Beethoven's Fourth Piano Concerto with Stravinsky's intense "Rite of Spring" at Hilbert Circle Theatre, 7:30pm Friday and 5:30pm Saturday.

🎭 Join the Indiana Repertory Theatre as it presents its stage adaptation of Dan Brown thriller "The Da Vinci Code" with an opening-night celebration following Friday's performance.

7:30pm Friday, 5pm Saturday and 2pm Sunday.

🖼️ Find a masterpiece when the free Carmel International Arts Festival brings more than 130 juried artists, live performances and food to Carmel's Arts & Design District, 10am-6pm Saturday and 10am-5pm Sunday.

🥳 Party at a free, family-friendly neighborhood when the Rocky Ripple Festival hits Hohlt Park, 11am-6pm Saturday.

🎨 Spend a Saturday evening with local musicians and artists during the free Garfield Park Art and Music Festival.

4-9pm Saturday at the MacAllister Amphitheater at Garfield Park.

🏈 Support the Colts as they chase their first win of the season and debut their "Anvil Strike" rivalry uniforms against the Texans, 1pm Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium:

🎨 Celebrate Latina women in the arts during the free Mujeres en Arte event, 3-6pm Sunday at the Indianapolis Artsgarden.

high school football and girls flag football

Your weekend plans: Circle City Classic, Harvest Nights, Colts vs Texans and more. 

Illustration of a concert ticket with "Weekender" written on it.

This weekend, the Circle City will get its first look at a revamped Classic.Why it matters: The change is a major reset for one of Indianapolis&#x27; longest-running Black cultural and sports traditions.

Things to Do

Welcome back to Axios Indianapolis' "30 Over 30," a series celebrating the icons that have shaped our city for 30 years or more.

In my two-plus decades of Central Indiana living, I've heard hours of debate over who has Indy's best breaded tenderloin.

But when I start talking wings, one of the quickest and most consistent answers I receive has been holding it down in Castleton for the past 44 years.

Why it matters: Ale Emporium has grown from one neighborhood sports bar into a four-location local brand without losing the family-run feel that helped make it a Circle City staple.

Flashback: Marc Luros and his partners opened the original Ale Emporium at 86th Street and Allisonville Road in 1982.

Herman Perryman joined in the late 1980s, eventually becoming kitchen manager, while Luros' daughter Shannon and son-in-law Scott Baun joined the business in the 1990s.

After 36 years with one location, Ale expanded to Fishers in 2018 and Greenwood in 2019.

Its fourth location opened in Avon this March, bringing the brand west after customers told the owners they were driving across Indianapolis for the award-winning wings and "Honest Pizza."

Two-panel image: left shows a beige storefront with a bold red "ALE EMPORIUM" sign, blue sky, and colorful flowers; right shows a wood-paneled bar/restaurant with TVs and a round mural.

Photos: Courtesy of Brett Glaze/Curious Courtney's Photography for Ale Emporium 

Zoom in: About those wings. The legend began with Perryman experimenting with sauces after work. Customers would see him eating his creations at the bar, ask what he was having, and get a sample.

Eventually, demand forced the owners to write down the recipe.

"He came up with a 'Herman' sauce as like the core secret sauce," marketing representative and chicken-wing hype man Brett Glaze tells Axios. "From there he created three variations: the Hermanaki, the Hermazian and Hermaican."

💭 Justin's thought bubble: While enjoying a plate of wings at Ale, don't sleep on the ranch dressing, made in-house with a bit of Parmesan cheese and other secret ingredients.

Three wooden-backed bar stools with the "Ale Emporium" logo face a polished bar; behind them are beer taps and bottle shelves, with TVs and dark wood decor.

Photo: Courtesy of Brett Glaze/Curious Courtney's Photography for Ale Emporium

Between the lines: Glaze says the secret to their staying power isn't really a secret.

"You've got to have a quality product. You've got to reinvest in your business. And you've got to take care of your staff," he says, noting that some Ale bartenders and servers have been there for 20 or 30 years.

The Ale has also long paired sports with live music and community events. During the 2025 Pacers finals run, the Castleton restaurant was standing-room only with tables filling hours before games.

In December 2025, Ale also took its wings to the national stage with a Hermanaki Wing Eating Championship at Big Ten Fan Fest.

Plus: The family has backed local schools, youth sports and other charities over the years.

Glaze points to a $30,000 donation to Gleaners Food Bank as SNAP benefits were being squeezed, plus support for Riley Hospital for Children and other local causes.

11am-midnight Monday-Thursday; 11am-1am Friday-Saturday; and 11am-11pm Sunday.


30 Over 30: Ale Emporium serves wings, pizza and community

The Ale grew from a neighborhood sports bar into a four-location local brand without losing the family-run feel that made it iconic.

Plate of fried chicken pieces and tater tots with a white dipping sauce on a bar table; a Yuengling beer carrier and several TVs on a brick-wall backdrop are visible.

If you're talking Indy wings, you've gotta be talking about Ale. Photo: Justin L. Mack/Axios

Welcome back to Axios Indianapolis&#x27; &quot;30 Over 30,&quot; a series celebrating the icons that have shaped our city for 30 years or more.In my two-plus decades of Central Indiana living, I&#x27;ve heard hours of debate over who has Indy&#x27;s best breaded tenderloin.<ul><li>But when I start talking wings, one of the quickest and most consistent answers I receive has been holding it down in Castleton for the past 44 years.</li></ul>

News

The state of Indiana is putting tens of millions of dollars behind arts and culture as an economic-development strategy.

The big picture: The people in the room during the 2026 Indiana Creative Economy Summit say the real challenge lies in turning those investments into lasting businesses, jobs and talent attraction.

By the numbers: Indiana's arts and cultural industries contributed $10.1 billion to the state's economy in 2023, according to Indianapolis creative nonprofit Pattern and the Indiana Economic Development Corp., up nearly 33% from $7.6 billion in 2020.

But those industries represented about 2% of Indiana's gross state product, ranking 47th nationally.

Pattern says that figure also doesn't capture the broader creative economy, which includes fields such as design, technology, fashion and media.

Zoom in: The theme of this month's two-day, Pattern-organized Indiana Creative Economy Summit — "Creativity Is Big Business" — reflected the push to treat creativity as more than just an amenity.

Keynote speaker Carol Coletta, a Bloomberg Public Innovation Fellow and public-space expert, urged Indiana leaders to look beyond parks, theaters, trails and cultural districts as physical projects.

The real economic value, she argued, comes from what places make possible: people gathering, creative businesses growing, visitors spending money and talent choosing to stay.

State of play: The conversation is unfolding as Indiana deploys its largest statewide investment in creativity yet.

READI 2.0's Arts & Culture Initiative awarded $62.3 million to 49 projects statewide this summer as part of a roughly $65 million initiative supported by Lilly Endowment.

The projects are expected to generate more than $369 million in investment in the state's arts and culture economy.

They range from cultural destinations and entertainment venues to public art and programs supporting artists and entrepreneurs.

What they're saying: Indiana's support of creatives took another symbolic step at the summit when Gov. Mike Braun designated September as Indiana Creative Economy Month for the first time.

"Art is a business. Design is a business. Film, music, advertising and digital media all create jobs, generate economic activity and give talented Hoosiers a reason to build their careers here," Braun said in a statement.

Indiana bets on creative economy

Illustration of various U.S. bills framed on a gallery wall

The state of Indiana is putting tens of millions of dollars behind arts and culture as an economic-development strategy.The big picture: The people in the room during the 2026 Indiana Creative Economy Summit say the real challenge lies in turning those investments into lasting businesses, jobs and talent attraction.

This week's news from around the region includes the end of a lengthy investigation in Carmel, an update on the next big addition to Noblesville's Innovation Mile and cancer research gains made in the memory of a Fishers man.

🎄 Carmel City Council has ended its more than yearlong investigation into the city's handling of the Christkindlmarkt board shake-up, unanimously accepting a report that largely cleared city officials of wrongdoing.

The $125,000 investigation found Mayor Sue Finkam had the legal authority to remove two board members in late 2024 after the city and market failed to reach an agreement on issues like control of the nonprofit and its insurance obligations.

But investigators concluded that some statements Finkam made about the market's financial transparency were inaccurate, including her assertion that the market had failed to provide requested financial records. 

Finkam has called the report "flawed," arguing investigators failed to interview city staff about additional financial requests she says were made. Former Christkindlmarkt chair Sue McDermott disputed that account and said the report confirmed the market's finances had been handled properly. 

🤸 Noblesville is now expecting a March 2027 groundbreaking for the planned $100 million-plus USA Gymnastics Training & Wellness Center at Innovation Mile, a year after the city landed the organization's new national headquarters and training facility.

The city is seeking a development team, with proposals due Tuesday and a selection expected by the end of October.

The roughly 200,000-square-foot facility is expected to play a role in Olympic athletes' preparations for the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

👷 Also in Noblesville, INDOT plans to build a $2.35 million roundabout at Indiana 38 and Prairie Baptist Road, with construction expected to begin in spring 2028.

The project is driven by crash history at the intersection, where 20 crashes were reported from 2019-21, including injuries or fatalities in 35% of them. Right-of-way acquisition should start next summer.

🕯️ The family of late Fishers resident Jeff Schwarz made a $10 million gift to Indiana University to establish the Jeff Schwarz Center for Neuro-Oncology Research at the IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center in Indianapolis.

IU's School of Medicine is adding $5 million, bringing the total investment to $15 million to study brain cancers and develop new treatments while recruiting two endowed neuro-oncology researchers.

Schwarz, a Zionsville High School grad with a love for IU, was diagnosed in 2022 with an aggressive form of brain cancer called glioblastoma. He died in November 2023.

🏎️ Westfield resident Roger Harvey of Bose Public Affairs Group has been named the new chair of the 500 Festival Board of Directors as the organization begins its 70th year.

Harvey will lead the 33-member board, which oversees the nonprofit's events and programs celebrating the Indianapolis 500, with four new directors also joining for the 2026-27 term.

💰 Hamilton County is weighing a 2027 budget that would add staff for two new Superior Courts and the county's new public safety center, an $85 million facility set to open next year.

The county has about $115 million in cash reserves and expects $15.4 million in interest income, but officials say declining assessed values make careful budgeting more important.

The County Council plans to adopt the budget Oct. 19, with the new spending taking effect Jan. 1 if approved.

USA Gymnastics Training & Wellness Center at Innovation Mile

new chair of the 500 Festival Board of Directors

'Burb Bites: Carmel Christkindlmarkt case closed

News from around the region includes the end of a lengthy investigation, Innovation Mile's next big thing and a big gift in honor of a Fishers man.

Night scene of a Christmas market with a tall, orange-lit windmill centerpiece atop a decorative pavilion, string lights, people at stalls, and surrounding illuminated buildings.

A big update on the ongoing Carmel Christkindlmarkt controversy. Photo: Justin L. Mack/Axios


This week&#x27;s news from around the region includes the end of a lengthy investigation in Carmel, an update on the next big addition to Noblesville&#x27;s Innovation Mile and cancer research gains made in the memory of a Fishers man.🎄 Carmel City Council has ended its more than yearlong investigation into the city&#x27;s handling of the Christkindlmarkt board shake-up, unanimously accepting <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="a report" data-vars-click-url="https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:VA6C2:359769ff-7904-46f7-a94b-c184e8db0621" data-vars-content-id="e370db15-87fb-4d74-a548-cd27ae961b74" data-vars-headline="&#x27;Burb Bites: Carmel Christkindlmarkt case closed" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:VA6C2:359769ff-7904-46f7-a94b-c184e8db0621" target="_blank">a report</a> that largely cleared city officials of wrongdoing.

Justin L. Mack

Featured stories

Old News: Indiana's Statehouse gets its start

Indiana bets on creative economy

'Burb Bites: Carmel Christkindlmarkt case closed

Your weekend plans: Circle City Classic, Harvest Nights, Colts vs Texans and more.

30 Over 30: Ale Emporium serves wings, pizza and community