Welcome to Thursday!

👋 Today is International Lefthanders Day! If you see southpaws (like Justin) out and about, be sure to give them a high five with the right — ahem — the correct hand.

🌧️ Today's weather: Scattered showers and thunderstorms, with a high of 83 and a low of 71.

Today's newsletter is 1,123 words — a 4-minute read.

The IndyFringe Festival returns this week with a bigger push to make the Circle City’s most daring annual gathering easier to explore.

Why it matters: More than an arts event celebrating its 21st year, IndyFringe stands as one of Indianapolis’ clearest examples of a shared cultural space — one where artists can experiment and audiences can discover something they didn't know they needed.

What they're saying: "Everybody has the right to tell their story, and being at a place where you can see everyone's stories and expand your experience of the world simply through their stories ... that is the beauty of a fringe festival," IF Theatre executive director Paul Daily said.

Driving the news: This year’s festival starts Thursday and runs through Aug. 23.

• It’ll deliver 63 shows by more than 500 artists across six stages in a three-block radius of the Mass Ave Cultural Arts District.

By the numbers: 60% of this year's acts are Indiana-based.

• One-third are produced by creatives who are Black, Indigenous Americans or people of color; and about half come from first-time producers.

Zoom in: Accessibility is a larger focus this year. A busking site across from the festival district and a KidZone outside IF Theatre will both offer free performances.

• The new Curated Adventures option groups performances into collections of six shows based on genre or theme, giving newcomers an easier way to decide what to see.

Plus: IndyGo is partnering with IF Theatre this year to teach people how to use the city's buses to get to the festival.

If you go

Mooove over, Iowa. Your 600-pound butter cow ain't got nothing on the Indiana State Fair's cheese sculpture.

The big cheddar: Nearly 1,500 pounds of cheese anchor the starting point for this 20-year tradition.

• From a bevy of bovine beauties to an IndyCar, each year's sculpture is different.
• They're designed around the fair's theme by the one constant: sculptor Sarah Kaufmann, also known as "The Cheese Lady."

What they're chewing: Kaufmann says she was born an artist, but it took more than 40 years before she unwrapped the medium she was meant to work in.

• "Cheddar is perfect," Kaufmann tells Axios. "It's dense and consistent. And it tastes great."

Cutting the news: This year's creation, a mix of white and yellow cheddar, is an ode to both baseball and the tradition's two-decade milestone.

• In addition to baseballs, a bat and glove, it features Buttercup, mascot of the Indiana Dairy Association, sculpting Kaufmann out of cheese.
• Colors are made by squishing white cheddar shavings into a cheese putty and mixing them with food coloring.

Between the slices: An annual highlight for many fairgoers, the cheese sculpture is a novel way to teach people about the work of Indiana's dairy farmers, says Jenni Browning, CEO of the American Dairy Association of Indiana.

• All of the cheese, donated by Kroger, is made in the state.
• "People are so disconnected from the farm now," Browning says. "This is a fun way to learn."

If you go-uda

🗳️ A paperwork mistake has left Indiana Democrats without a candidate for the Senate District 39 seat.

• Vincennes Mayor Joe Yochum was selected as the Democratic candidate during a July caucus, but the form required to add him to the November ballot wasn't filed on time. Greene County Republican Chair Jeff Ellington is now running unopposed. (Indiana Capital Chronicle)

🗣️ Community members are invited to share their ideas for the future of the Mass Ave Cultural Arts District during a land-use workshop that starts at 3:30pm today at The Athenaeum. It's the first of three workshops planned for this year. (Mirror Indy)

🏎️ IndyCar revealed the first phase of the 2027 NTT IndyCar Series schedule yesterday. It confirms May 15 as the date of the Sonsio Grand Prix at IMS, followed by the 111th running of the Indianapolis 500 on May 30. (WISH-TV)

🦅 Indiana conservation officers and animal rehabilitation groups are seeking help or donations as the ongoing severe storms have led to an influx of displaced wildlife throughout the state. (WTHR)

The City of Indianapolis is hoping to enroll another cohort of pregnant women in its groundbreaking BIRTH Fund, which provides no-strings cash payments to low-income moms for the first three years of their baby's life.

Why it matters: Babies born into poverty have less access to quality healthcare, nutrition and educational resources.

The big picture: The program launched last year with $3 million in philanthropic support, enrolling 150 people to begin receiving cash payments to support them through the second half of pregnancy and into the beginning of their child's life.

• The goal is to reduce infant mortality and improve health, education and economic outcomes for the entire family, says Ben Tapper, the City of Indianapolis' chief diversity and equity officer.

How it works: Modeled after a national program called The Bridge Project, it provides monthly payments through the first three years of a baby's life totaling around $20,000.

• Indianapolis opened the BIRTH Fund to expectant mothers with household incomes of $39,000 or less living in zip codes with the city's highest infant mortality rates.

What's next

If July felt hotter to you than usual, you're not alone.

Driving the news: Last month was the hottest on record for the contiguous U.S., per new federal data dating back to 1895.

• The average temperature was 76.9°F, topping the 76.8°F mark set in July 1936.

Zoom in: Indiana's month started with a six-day heat wave that ran from June 29 through Independence Day, according to the National Weather Service.

• Daytime highs in the 90s were commonplace and overnight lows hovered in the mid-70s.
• On July 3, an overnight low of 77° was recorded in Indianapolis, tying a daily record high minimum set in 1911.
• The city also observed its second-highest average minimum July temperature since 2012 at 69.1°F.

What we're watching: More wild weather may be on its way.

• A flood watch is in effect through tomorrow with a chance for more storms over the next week.

Our picks:

👖 Arika will not return to the dark days of low-rise jeans, but did venture outside of her high-waisted comfort zone with these mid-rise pants from Old Navy and is very happy with them!

🎟️ Justin is thankful to everyone who responded for a chance to win IndyFringe Festival tickets and is congratulating our three winning readers!